3

ASHTON

DAWSON ASKED, “So what are you going to do now?”

Ashton took a fast gulp of the strong drink that he held. The party was in full swing and was far more sedate than he would have liked. Dawson had a reputation to protect, so there was a decided lack of craziness happening. In truth, the only reason Ashton had even come was because he was hoping Lexie might have talked Laura into showing up too.

So far, she hadn’t shown up, and Ashton was a little frustrated with himself. In the week since he’d seen Laura and spent the night with her, he had thought about her a lot more than he would have liked to.

Realizing he hadn’t answered Dawson, Ashton said, “I have no idea. I guess I should have some idea, but I can’t seem to think past it all. I mean, it’s a lot of money, and while I like expensive stuff, I don’t like it enough to end up broke again. So, I was thinking about making some investments or something.”

“Good idea. I’ve got a guy that can help you with that.”

Nothing sounded less appealing than sitting down with some guy to discuss his money. Ashton summoned up a smile. “Thanks. I’ll get with you on that.”

Dawson chuckled. “It seems weird that the two of us have so much money, doesn’t it? I mean, I keep remembering that one house we stayed in. You remember, the one where the walls were so thin and all we got to eat was bologna sandwiches and Hamburger Helper.”

Ashton grimaced. “Don’t remind me. That was not even the worst one either.”

Dawson shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.”

Ashton’s eyes went back around the room. Still no Laura. “Man, I can’t believe we got out of there and did so great.”

“Me neither. But we did.” Dawson nodded toward a lean blonde in a very expensive cream-colored sheath. “Some advice. Stay away from that one.”

“Oh yeah? Why?” Hell, if Laura wasn’t showing up he might as well try to find some fun.

Dawson said, “She’s looking for a husband, and a rich one.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Ashton chuckled. “No way am I interested in getting married. Not to a woman who doesn’t want me for my money and really not to one who wants me for that and nothing else.”

Speaking of women…Laura strolled into the room, wearing a stunning red dress that accented her amazing figure and dark hair. Ashton’s dick stiffened, and he grinned.

Dawson asked, “What’s so funny?”

“Oh nothing. Just thinking about what all those assholes who said we’d never amount to anything would say if they saw us now.”

That was true. That had been exactly what he had been thinking right before Laura walked in, and he lost all ability to think about anything but her and that dress, and ways to get it off her.

She spotted him and smiled. Lexie and Laura were deep in conversation; that was easy to see. No way was he going over there and interrupting her. His eyes scanned the room as he considered ways to get her into a corner so they could talk privately.

Dawson turned away to talk to someone else, and Lexie crossed the room, leaving Laura standing alone. Ashton strolled across the room and asked, “What brings you to a party like this?”

She gestured with the glass she held in her slim fingers. “The same thing that brought you, I’d say. It’s hard to say no to friends.”

He sipped from the heavy tumbler filled with a single ice cube and scotch. “Yeah.” He’d been hoping she’d say that she’d come in the hope of seeing him again. His grin drooped a little at the corners of his mouth. Damn. The first woman he’d had a one-night stand with that made him want more, and she wanted nothing else.

Someone up there hated him.

Laura sipped from her glass. “Did I miss anything?”

“I’d be lying if I said yes.”

Her low, throaty laughter stroked along his senses. He shifted a little and asked, “Why so late?”

She pulled a face. “Work. They’ve got it out for me. I swear to God, I need a better job.”

“Then why don’t you get one?’

Laura sighed. “I was just so happy to have any job here in the city I took the first one that would get me out of that shitty small town – hindsight, as they say. It’s tough in my field. The whole city’s crawling with accounting and IT companies, both of which are my only specialties.”

He nearly spewed his drink out of his nose. “You’re an accountant?”

Her eyes danced. “I am. So? I would love an IT job, but if I don’t get one soon I’m afraid I am going to be left behind. Tech changes so fast and what I have in the way of education might be obsolete tomorrow if I’m not careful.”

“Believe it or not, the local community college has great classes, and they’re cheap if you only sign up for the continuing education and not the full program. That’s how I stay afloat in the tech world. That, and I read every book I can find on the subject. But having the cred on paper is helpful.”

“Wow. I never would have thought you were so serious. Or so up on tech.”

A grin tugged at his lips. “What did you think I do for a living?”

She surveyed him over the rim of her glass, then lowered it. Her tongue snaked out and licked along her lower lip, whisking away a few drops of the wine she was drinking. “I don’t know. I guess I never thought to ask.”

He shrugged, “I do a little tech stuff.”

They were interrupted by a friend of Dawson’s, who obviously had the intention of hitting on Laura. The man, older and carrying himself like he had every right to everything in the world – that rich, trust fund kid arrogance blatantly emanating from him – horned right in.

“Well, hello,” he said to Laura, ignoring Ashton completely.

“Hello.” She frosted him right out, giving him an icy smile and making her words chilly enough to freeze the air between the two of them. Ashton fought back a sudden spate of jealousy and sipped at his drink again, interested in seeing what would happen next.

Obviously, the new admirer was not used to women who didn’t just fall right at his feet. He shot her a smile that was a little less assured than his original one. “I’m Richard Davenport.”

He said nothing else. Laura just gave the dude a blank expression, obviously discomforting him. Richard shifted on the balls of his high-end loafers. “Of the Davenports, of course.”

Laura’s face stayed blank. “But, of course.” There was a thread of contempt below the words – thin, but there.

Richard looked even more uncomfortable. He looked around, said, “Well…er…”

“Nice to meet you.” Laura’s tone held sheer dismissal.

Richard took the hint. Ashton lifted his mouth in a half-grin. “Wow. I’m glad you didn’t run me off like that. That was harsh. Hell, that was the work of a master.”

Laura’s eyes gleamed, and she grinned right back at him. “Oh well, thank you. I’ve had a lot of experience with douchebags, unfortunately.”

“I bet.” He twisted the glass in his hands. He had no idea where he stood with her, but he was eager to find out. “I’ve had a few experiences with them, too, usually after they find out I right-swiped their girl while she was mad at them.”

Laura giggled, then said, “Now I’m dying to know. Is that what happened? I mean, I wondered why those guys at the bar were so mad, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask, all things considered.”

“Gerald’s had it out for me since I was a kid. We grew up in the same hood, sort of. I was a foster kid and none of the fosters that took me and Dawson in lived in the better places. Gerald’s dad…well, he’s a dope dealer, or was. I heard he got locked up for the rest of his sorry life not so long ago. Gerald was always a bully, and I used to have to fight him every now and then. It would not have shocked me at all to find out he put that chick up to asking me for a drink just so he could try to fight me again. But to answer your question, no, sleeping with her was not why he was mad. I would never have swiped right for her on any app.”

“Yeah you got to be careful with those apps. The worst one has to be Fly by Night.”

That was his app and it had made him rich. Biting back a grin, Ashton asked, “How so?”

“It’s all for the guys, haven’t you noticed? There’s no way to block dick pics, and the guys on there are animals. The women who use it are usually aware of what they’re getting into. Hell, I used it a few times. It’s okay for what it is – no apologies, no strings attached – but women must fill out detailed questions and give photos and then take a picture of themselves holding a sign saying ‘this is me’ just to prove that’s really us and all. But guys get to lie like hell. None of them have to prove how hot they are, and I know a lot of women who got stuck with some knuckle dragging, potbellied jerk as a result. Myself included. Oh, and let me tell you, when I walked out, he came after me yelling at me that I owed him four bucks for the coffee I had ordered.”

Wow. Why hadn’t he and Jackson considered those things?

Because they were guys, and like a lot of guys, they’d been pissed off about a woman who didn’t look anything like their pictures showing up. It had never even occurred to him that some guys were liars, too.

Damn.

Laura said, “You know what would be great? An app that’s somewhere between the hookup and the ‘oh my God, I love you forever’ app.”

His ears perked up. “Come again?”

“Me and my friend, Holly, were just talking about this the other day. I don’t want to get married. It freaks me out just to think about it. Seriously.”

Well, at least now he knew she was absolutely against marriage. But was she totally against seeing him again? He debated asking and chose not to. Yet. “I get that.”

Laura laughed, “If you’d had to live in the small-town hellhole I grew up in where all anyone ever does is get married and die, you’d really get it.”

“You said before that you grew up in a small town. That bad huh? And about that app, that sounds like an amazing idea.”

He wanted to know more about her and that app. He had the same giddy feeling he’d had the night he and Jackson had created theirs. Besides, it wasn’t a bad idea. Lots of people wanted more than a one night stand but a lot less than marriage. He mulled that over until she spoke again.

“It was just that bad. Maybe not as bad as foster though. That had to suck.”

There was something guarded in her eyes – something troubled and sad. He was good at reading people, and what he read right there on her face was that her childhood had had its own issues. “I guess it depends. Some bio families can be a real nightmare, too.”

The crowd swirled around them but they were alone, two people lost in a crowd with only each other to talk to. They were the only two people either of them wanted to talk to just then, too.

His dick stiffened yet again, shifting his mood from thoughtful to urgent. The hard press of his cock was helped along by her sudden movement, one that sent the dress sliding across her curves in a way that made his entire body ache.

Laura said, “I wish I could ask you if you wanted to get out of here.”

His dick gave a tremendous pulse. “Why don’t you?”

She gave him a regretful smile. “Because I’m swamped at work and sure to be passed over the one, measly promotion my tyrannical boss offers a year. Not for each person, but company-wide. I need that promotion, so I need to get some sleep.” She swayed closer. The scent of her perfume washed into his nostrils, making him harder than ever. “I know you’ll keep me awake all night.”

She was trying to murder him. Period. His cock hurt it was so swollen, and now he had to find a way to get past all the people in the room without anyone seeing that he was sporting a boner.

“You should call me.” He gave her an inviting smile. Her smile was equally inviting.

She said, “I don’t have your number.”

Hell, no woman had ever had his number. It was safer that way. He could walk away without having to worry that he’d be drowned by phone calls and cute little texts. By the time he saw those women again, they’d usually moved on or were so pissed off they just wanted to scream at him for a little while, which he solved by just walking away with a shrug and leaving them hollering at the empty air.

He reached for his pocket to take his phone out. His pants were tighter now than they had been when he had shoved that phone into his pocket, and he took the opportunity to give his throbbing rod a quick but deliberate squeeze, a painful one at that. To his relief, it started to subside a little. Just enough that he could think past the rushing desire spreading through his entire body.

They exchanged numbers. The party had begun to wind down a bit, and Laura said, “I’ll see you later. I’ll call you, too. What’s a good day?”

Now. Right now. He stifled that. Jesus, he thought, one night with her and I’m suddenly whipped!

No, not whipped. Captivated. There was a sense of something bigger than even the ardor he felt every time he looked at her. He just didn’t know what that feeling was.

He said, “Any day you’re free.”

She asked, “After six or so good for you?”

“Perfect. You sure you don’t need a ride home?”

She shook her head, that glorious cloud of dark hair swaying and rippling, catching the light. “No, I drove. I also only had the one glass of wine.”

She walked off. Ashton stared after her, his heart thundering in his chest and his dick – still semi-erect – giving off a few residual pulses. The single largest thought in his mind was that Laura was the woman he would have wanted if he had wanted a relationship made to last.