Endless Obsession (33 page)

He pulls his head back, his lips glistening from kissing me, eyes blazing an emerald green. I liquefy in his intense gaze, my legs going weak.

He grabs my hand and stalks us across the bar, out the door, and practically throws me inside the back of the car. He barks for the driver to make it a quick drive. We buckle up, but his hands and mouth are all over me. Our clothes stay in place, but that doesn’t mean we don’t feel each other up underneath them. I’m panting, nearly out of breath, and I know the silk panties I have on are soaked with my arousal.

We stumble out of the car once we reach the hotel. He has a hold of my hand and takes determined strides toward the elevator. Once we step inside, he has me against the wall with my legs wrapped around his hips. The hardness of his erection grinds against me, and I feel pleasure in every part of my body. I arch my body against his hardness and fist his thick, soft hair. He groans against my lips.

The elevator dings and the door slides open. Asher walks forward, just outside the elevator, before my back is slammed against the nearest wall.

“Taking you right here, right now,” he grunts, and slips his hand between us. My panties are ripped apart, his pants are undone, and then he’s blissfully slamming into me.

“Ahhh!” I cry out, throwing my head back. It bumps against the hard wall, but I barely notice. He buries his head into my neck and grunts with each powerful thrust. My back slides up and down the wall as he slides my pussy up and down his cock. His tongue dips out and licks along my neck before latching onto my skin. He sucks, bringing blood to the surface, and I know a mark will be left behind.

My grip around his neck strengthens as his thrusts do the same. Asher is branding me with his fucking, and I’m only too happy to take it. Releasing my hold around his neck, I bring my hands to his shirt and try to work the buttons free. I want to feel his skin, to run my nails down his back, mark him the same way he’s marking me. When I become frustrated, Asher releases one of his hands from my butt and yanks at the material. Several buttons pop loose and ping to the floor. Next, my shirt is pulled over my head and my bra is torn off.

“Touch me,” he growls and lifts my breast to his waiting mouth, his hips meticulously still pounding forward.

My hands go to his pecs, where I rake one fingernail over his nipple.

“Fuck,” he hisses against my nipple.

His pubic bone nails my clit each time he pushes forward, sending shards of pleasure billowing through my body. What we’re doing is definitely
not
making love, but I love it just the same. This is raw and passionate, and so damn good.

I feel myself getting closer to the edge, knowing Asher is as well. I bring my head down to his shoulder and bite down to stifle the scream I feel building up. Asher curses and bucks his hips harder, hitting that perfect spot inside me that has my pussy clenching his cock hard and emptying me of all the strength I have left.

I sag against his shoulders as he relentlessly powers into me over and over again. Mini spasms rack my body. My heart pounds inside my chest and my breaths come out in rough pants. Asher groans in my ear, and I feel the jerk of his cock as he empties himself inside me. He leans his weight on me against the wall, like his own strength has waned. Moments later, we both slide to the floor with my legs still around him and him still inside me. We’re both slick with sweat as we sit there in silence as we try to catch our breaths.

“This is what you do to me. You make me lose all reason,” he says, his forehead leaning against mine, looking longingly into my eyes.

“You do the same to me,” I say, meaning every word. I never knew it could be like this. It seems so simple with Asher. Loving him will be one of the easiest things I ever do.

My eyes flicker open to the light shining through the big window in Asher’s room. A smile breaks across my face when I think about yesterday. I’ve never had so much fun in my life. My life, up until I started working for Asher has been… for lack of a better word,
boring
. I was happy and content, but I didn’t realize how staid it was until I met Liv and she showed me how much of life I was missing. But the last two days with Asher have been breathtaking and exhilarating. I never knew he could be so open and carefree. There are so many facets to him I never knew existed. He’s not the same man as the one at the office. I just hope that he stays
this
Asher once we make it back. He wasn’t mean before, he was just quiet and withdrawn, opting to stay silently in the background. I want the funny and open Asher to stick around.

I reach over to his pillow and feel the cool indent of where his head laid last night. Once we finally made it to his room, we followed up the wall sex with more wall sex, except in the shower. Then another two rounds in bed. The last time, he made sweet, passionate love to me, taking his time and thoroughly exploring every part of my body, never removing his eyes from me. I was a quivering mess, begging him to take me, when he slowly sank inside my body. It was one of the most tender moments of my life. One that I will always remember and cherish.

I sit up in bed, holding the sheet to my naked chest, and spy Asher sitting in a chair that’s in the corner. He’s back in his jeans from last night, button undone, legs spread wide out in front, barefoot and no shirt. He looks incredibly sexy sitting there with both his arms resting on the armrest; one hand lifted and a thumb rubbing across his bottom lip. I just don’t understand
why
he’s over there and not in bed with me. The sheets are cool on his side, indicating he’s been there for a while.

My brows dip down in confusion. “Why are you…” I stop when something draws my attention to the right. I look over and freeze. There, on the cherry wood nightstand, sitting next to the lamp and my phone is a big vase that has to have at least two dozen sterling silver roses. I try to gulp down the lump in my throat, but it lodges itself there and won’t move. I feel like I can’t breathe. My heart is pounding so hard I feel it all the way to my toes.

Did Sterling find out where we’re staying? Why would he send me flowers here? Especially after the text he sent me the night before last. Is this his way of saying he’s not letting me go?

Forcing my gaze from the vase, I move them back to Asher. He hasn’t moved from his spot, and he’s still watching me intently. His eyes bore into mine, making me nervous. Is he mad at me for Sterling sending my weekly flowers here? I certainly wouldn’t blame him. I wasn’t at work the day I normally get them. I’m surprised it didn’t cross my mind, but then again, I was preoccupied getting things ready for this trip.

I stop breathing, not sure what to say to him. From his comment the other night, he obviously knows I get the flowers every week. I had no way of knowing Sterling would find out where we are and still send them.

A look to my left shows another vase full of roses, then another on the dresser, and another on the desk. Looking around, I see them everywhere. How could I have missed them when I first sat up.

An ache forms in my chest. I’ve decided to tell Sterling I can’t be with him, but seeing all these flowers has my heart hurting. Why does this have to happen now? Why do two good men have to come into my life at the same time?

I turn sad eyes back to Asher, ready to explain. “Asher…” my words stop in my throat when he lifts his phone from where it was sitting on his leg and starts typing out a message.

I’m confused again. Why does he choose now to fiddle with his phone?

My phone pings from the nightstand. Now isn’t the time to be playing with my phone, so I leave it there. When it pings again a second later, Asher lifts his head and looks at me. His eyes flicker over to my phone, and understanding dawns. He sent me a message. Wearily, and with shaking hands, I grab it.

My stomach bottoms out when I see the name displayed on the phone.

Sterling:
To make up for missing my normal delivery.

And then another message.

Sterling:
A

I glance up and find Asher’s penetrating green eyes on me. Without looking down, his finger presses down on his phone, right before my phone pings again.

I get a sick feeling in stomach as I look down.

Sterling:
S

Another ping.

Sterling:
H

And another.

Sterling:
E

Sterling:
R

Sterling:
K

ASHERK

Asher Knight

AESRKH

Oh. My. God!

Sterling, my mystery man, is none other than Asher Knight—my
boss
! The man I’ve been sleeping with.

With my heart in my throat and my breaths coming out in pants, I look back up at Asher, who looks like he’s preparing to spring from the chair and come after me. His hands are gripping the arms so tight, it wouldn’t surprise me if they splintered apart. His jaw ticks and his eyes are blazing with fire.

How could I have been so stupid? How could I have not known it was him? All the signs were there. The flowers started a couple months after I started working for him. Now that I look back, he’s always had his eyes on me, although I didn’t realize it at the time. Sterling claiming I would know who he was by next week. This extended weekend trip. Asher’s strange behavior lately.

Hurt, betrayal, and remorse slam into my chest, stealing every last bit of air I have in my lungs. Tears spring to my eyes, and I roughly wipe them away.

“How could you?” I whisper low, but I know Asher hears me when he winces. I ignore the pain I see flashing in his eyes. He has no right to feel pain. He was the one that tricked me, made me look like a desperate fool.

God! I’m such an idiot!

“Poppy—”

“No!” I yell, holding my hand up when he stands and takes a step toward me. “Don’t you fucking dare come near me!”

He stops in his tracks, but I can tell he’s barely restraining himself. His entire body is rigid and his hands are fisted at his sides. I clutch the sheet tighter to my chest and try to breathe through the suffocating pain in my chest.

“Beautiful, please let me—”

“No!” I say sharply. “You don’t ever get to call me that again, you son of a bitch! Ever!” My voice breaks, and I squeeze my eyes shut.

When I open them again, Asher’s closer to the bed. He holds out a hand, looking at me pleadingly. His eyes look desperate and the pain in them, so raw and bare, has my heart aching more. I’ve never seen him look so undone. He’s normally so strong and self-assured. The man in front of me is anything but. Still, I can’t let it get to me. He betrayed and played me.

I scramble back against the headboard, seeking a way to escape. I can’t let him touch me. He puts a knee to the bed, stopping my movements with his knee on the sheet. There’s no way I’m climbing from this bed naked. He’s seen enough of me already. Why in the hell do I have to sleep naked?

I close my eyes in mortification when I remember what I did with Sterling—
Asher
—at the window.

I tug, desperately trying to pull the sheet away, but it’s no use. His solid weight is there, and from the determined look in his eyes, he knows he’s trapped me and will take advantage of it.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Poppy,” he says, his voice hoarse with emotion. “That was never my plan.”

I shake my head and start pulling on the blanket frantically. I don’t want to hear this. I just want to get away from him. There’s no excuse for what he did. I thought we had something special, something real, but it wasn’t. I don’t know what it was to him, but it definitely wasn’t real. You don’t hurt someone you care about.

“The first time I saw you, you were at Maverick Holdings
,
waiting for an interview in the waiting area,” he explains, ignoring my attempts to get the sheet free. He doesn’t move closer, but doesn’t let me go, either. I’m stuck, and sure enough, he uses it.

“You were in a tight black skirt, light purple blouse, and fuck-me black heels. From the very second I saw you, you had me utterly enthralled with your beauty. I couldn’t look away. It was like I was seeing the other half of my soul. For the first time in my life, Poppy, my knees actually grew weak, and I felt flutters in my stomach. Me, a
man
, felt a thousand fucking butterflies in my stomach. Men don’t feel that kind of shit, Poppy.”