CHAPTER 23
Asher
Hannah’s pussy squeezes my dick so hard I believe she might be coming again. That knowledge sends me over the edge, and I plant deep inside of her before I explode.
My forehead drops to hers and I groan out the release, relishing the ripples of pleasure that roll up my spine.
“Goddamn,” I huff out as I let some of my body weight down onto her.
Those beautiful eyes of hers flutter open, locking right onto me. One corner of her mouth pulls up into a smirk. “You outdid yourself that time.”
I can feel my ego swelling. “Did you come a third time?”
She nods with a dopey grin on her face. It makes me laugh as I gather her in my arms and roll us to the side.
We’re practically nose to nose as we settle in, still trembling and huffing from that marathon of a fuck-fest. Christ, I think Hannah has completely ensnared me into her web of sexuality laced sweetness. I’m pretty confident sex with anyone else would be so lackluster I’d want to become a monk.
“Stay the night?” I ask.
“Okay,” she replies with a tiny smile. My arms squeeze her to me a little tighter.
Tonight was perfect. Despite the fact we’ve been having sex for weeks, I was still anxious over what would be our first true date. It had all felt a bit new to me.
Nelson had picked up Hope this morning, and Hannah spent most of the day looking at new housing for them. I spent the day watching the clock tick by while working at the office because I have no life and nothing better to do.
And then it was time for our date, and the evening was a revelation.
Hannah dressed up—classy, not sexy—and looked magical. We had an amazing dinner that lasted almost three hours, not because the food was slow but because the conversation was never ending. While I’ve been able to put together bits and pieces of Hannah over the last several weeks, I finally got the complete picture tonight.
Let me tell you… she’s a force to be reckoned with.
She grew up dirt poor in rural South Carolina with an absentee father and a mother who worked her hands to the bone to put food on the table. Hannah had to work at an early age while helping to raise her siblings. She told me she felt incredible guilt when she met Nelson, had a whirlwind romance, and then realized that meant she’d have to move back to Vegas where he was from. She felt terrible leaving her family behind.
Throughout it all, the one thing they were never lacking was love. It’s an interesting juxtaposition to my family. We had all the money in the world and lived a lavish lifestyle, yet we weren’t overly close as a unit. Sure, our mother was loving, and Christina and I were close because we’re twins, but that was it. I can tell, though… Hannah, her mom, and her brothers were a team.
She misses them terribly. Had it not been for Nelson insisting Hope stay here, she would have gone back with her daughter.
To my surprise, Hannah declined my suggestion we see a movie after dinner. I was trying to do a classic first date, but Hannah was done with it.
“Let’s go to your place and get naked,” she murmured in my ear as we were standing outside the valet stand at the restaurant waiting for my car. She was tucked into my side, both of her arms wrapped around my one. “We’ve not had a lot of time together, and I miss you.”
A bolt of lust hit me, and something inside my chest seemed to stretch and awaken. Hannah missed sex with me, but I believe she also just missed me. Our time together this week on her new schedule was sparse for sure.
She was able to put into a few simple, honest words how I had been feeling. I had missed her, too.
So here we are, having just achieved maximum orgasms, and I’m not sure why I deserve this goodness in my life right now. I fucked up my first real relationship and never asked for a second chance. Yet, here it is, and I’ve tentatively reached for it.
“Asher,” Hannah murmurs, pulling me out of my reminiscence. I focus in on her beautiful face. “How upset would you be if I looked for another job?”
“You mean a second job?” I ask curiously. “Do you need more money?”
“No,” she says as her eyes cut sideways a second before coming back to me. “A whole new job. Not working for you.”
This is shocking, and it causes me to rise to an elbow so I can look down at her with better clarity. “Don’t you like what you do?”
“That’s a loaded question,” she replies as she props herself up, putting her on equal footing with me as we stare at each other. “This basically started as sex for money, plain and simple. We’ve couched it in terms of a job, and sure, I clean your place because I can’t fuck you forty hours a week.”
“That would be great if you could,” I point out.
She grins and brings a hand to my chest, where she presses her palm to my skin. “You’re not paying me for sex anymore, though. We’ve moved past that, but I can’t in good conscience take that type of money from you for twenty hours a week cleaning your place. It feels… wrong.”
I blink, hating what she says but also understanding it. Hannah has pride. She’s got an incredible work ethic. She’s not the type who wants a white knight swooping in and pulling her up from despair. She’d rather just have him reach a hand out and give her a little boost, which I’ve already done.
To continue would be degrading to her self-esteem.
I get it.
“Hannah,” I say gently. “You can’t make that type of money somewhere else with just one job. You’d have to go back to three. That’s impossible as you have Hope.”
“Well, I can’t let you be my sugar daddy,” she snaps with a fierce glare.
“God, you’re fucking adorable when you’re mad,” I say before I plant a swift, hard kiss to her mouth.
She glares harder, and I laugh. “What if I were to offer you a job at Knight Investment Group that would be comparable with the salary you’re making? I’d also offer you and Hope health and dental as well as a 401K.”
I get more blinking, but it doesn’t stop and goes beyond just surprise. Before I know it, she’s blinking back tears.
“Oh no,” I say in a panic, placing a hand on her shoulder and patting her awkwardly. “Oh no you don’t. Don’t start crying on me.”
“I’m sorry,” she sniffs as she wipes at her cheeks. “It’s just… I could never thank you enough for the opportunities you’ve given me. It’s because of you I have my daughter back.”
Hannah really doesn’t know just how true that is because I’ve never told her about my deal with Nelson, and he’s clearly not said anything to her.
I can’t stand to see the pure, raw emotion on her face. It’s too much to handle, so I pull her back into my arms and tuck her face into my chest where I let her cry for a bit.
“Will you accept my offer?” I ask.
Hannah pulls back, her eyes still a little shiny but I can tell she’s back in control. “I’m not qualified for much, Asher. I’ve got some basic secretarial skills, which is what I did until we had Hope. Then I was a stay-at-home mom.”
“Then I’ll find you a basic secretarial job within the company,” I assure her.
“Not at what you’re paying me, though,” she says with a shake of her head. “I’m actually getting good child support from Nelson, so I don’t have to make that type of salary.”
“Not budging on that, Hannah,” I tell her firmly. “It’s what you’re paid now, and what you’ve given me has been worth ten times as much.”
“Orgasms aren’t worth that much,” she says dryly.
“You know fucking good and well I’m not talking about orgasms,” I say quietly. “Just accept the offer as is and let’s move on, okay?”
She nibbles at her lip. Of course, that makes me want to fuck her again. But I wait patiently for her answer. An idea seems to strike her. “Maybe I could still clean you place on the weekends or something?”
One of my eyebrows arches, and I just stare at her.
“Okay, maybe not,” she amends.
“Just say yes,” I order.
“And if I don’t?” she challenges, a spark of defiance in her eyes that turns me on.
“You get the palm of my hand,” I tell her ominously.
“Then I most definitely will not say yes,” she says with a smile, and that’s all I need to hear. I crush my mouth to hers, pulling back to bite at her lip.
“Going to redden your ass good,” I promise.
“God, I hope so,” she purrs in return.