Chapter Eighteen
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Ok, so that definitely didn’t come out the way he wanted it to. “I’m not seeing anyone, except you, Ashleigh.” He told her, trying to recover the inadvertent derailment of the conversation.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong, Alex. You aren’t seeing me. Not anymore.” She stared down at his hand on her arm before shrugging him off and walking back to the table.
Before he could follow her, Dylan walked up.
Perfect fucking timing.
“Woman troubles?” He smirked before edging up to the bar and ordering a beer.
Alex wasn’t about to go into it. Not even with Dylan.
“What’s Jessie doing at your house?” Dylan asked, surprising Alex.
“What?” How the hell did he know that?
“I called the other night. She answered your phone. Please tell me you aren’t seriously seeing her again.”
“Fuck no.” Jessie was the last woman Alex wanted to be with. If he’d been smart, he’d have cut ties with her all those years ago. Instead, he’d tried to do the right thing, and he was beginning to think she was taking advantage of him.
“You might want to let her know that.”
“It’s not like that. Her fucking boyfriend beat the shit out of her again, and she called me. I brought her home from the hospital, and now she’s refusing to leave.”
“Well, I suggest you don’t leave your phone unattended.” Dylan said, taking a deep pull on his beer. “You’ll have hell to pay if Ashleigh gets wind of this.”
Alex looked down at his glass and then away.
“Fuck.” Dylan didn’t need an explanation. “She knows?”
“She won’t let me explain. Jessie answered the phone when she called too. I have no idea what she said to Ashleigh, but your sister’s as hard headed as they come. She won’t give me the time of day.”
“That’s Ashleigh. She’s not big on second chances.”
If that wasn’t the damn truth.
Dylan sauntered off toward the table and Alex followed. Shit, he didn’t have anything else to do. Might as well get the cold shoulder while he could. By the end of the night, she’d have to hear him out.
Two hours passed, and Alex wasn’t making any headway with Ashleigh. She was still refusing to look at him, but he did notice she’d had more than her fair share of alcohol, and she was in no shape to drive. Alex had cut himself off after the drink Cole had gotten him earlier. He knew he needed a clear head if he expected to talk to her and have any chance that she would listen to him.
When Logan hauled Sam out on the dance floor, Alex decided to make his move. No way was he letting Tag get his hands on Ashleigh again. Not if he had anything to say about it.
Walking around the table, he came up beside her and took her hand when she wasn’t paying any attention to him.
“Dance with me.” He told her, pulling her until she slid from her chair. She was reluctant, but he could tell she was trying not to cause a scene.
A slow song came on, which was right up his alley. Alex didn’t do that hard core, body grinding shit. But this he could do. Within seconds, he had her pulled flush against him, and his body was fighting a losing battle not to be affected by her nearness.
Tilting her head so she had to look him in the eye, Alex held her gaze. What he saw there was so unexpected, his chest constricted. She was close to tears, and the sight of her glassy eyes hit him like a punch in the solar plexus.
Leaning in, he kissed her gently on the lips. She didn’t pull away, which was a surprise, but she didn’t kiss him back either. Sliding one hand into her hair, he cupped the back of her head and kept her face turned toward him.
“I’m not with Jessie. Or anyone else, for that matter.” He told her, hoping she wouldn’t pull away.
“It doesn’t matter, Alex. You can see whoever you want.”
“I’m having a problem on that front.” He told her, keeping her pressed against him. “The only one I want is you, and you’ve been ignoring me.”
“It’s obvious I can’t handle a man like you.” She said, but Alex barely heard the words. He didn’t think she meant to say them out loud.
“What?”
“You were right. I’ll never be enough for you.”
What the hell was she talking about? When did he ever say anything like that? If anything, Ashleigh was more than he deserved. “Who said that?”
“You did.” She told him, then turned her head away, but she didn’t pull away.
“When did I say that?”
“It was a long time ago. It’s no big deal.” She said, trying to shrug him off.
Taking a step back, Alex had to pull her off the dance floor and out of the path of the other dancers before they were trampled. He took her hand and led her to the darkened hallway where at least it was a little bit quieter.
“What are you talking about?” Alex crowded her against the wall, blocking out the people walking in and out of the restrooms behind them.
When she looked up at him, she looked far away. “You came to the guest house that night, and you told me I would never be enough for you.”
Alex didn’t remember the night she was referring to and for the life of him, he didn’t remember ever going to the guest house.
“I’m sorry.” He said, knowing it wouldn’t change a damn thing, but if he’d ever said anything of the sort, he couldn’t blame her for trying to keep distance between them.
“You remember?” She asked, sounding both hurt and hopeful at the same time.
“No, baby. I don’t.”
“Of course you don’t.” Ashleigh sighed. “You kissed me that night.”
Alex dug deep into the dark corners of his memory but didn’t remember ever having kissed Ashleigh before recently. He was sure if he’d had those sweet lips on his, he’d have remembered it. But he didn’t doubt what Ashleigh was telling him.
“But it doesn’t matter, Alex. I think you’re right. I’ll never be able to handle you.”
Alex thought back to the first time he’d had her or the many times after... she hadn’t had any problem handling him then.
“Up until recently, you were treating me like I’d break. I don’t want a man who’s going to hold back from me.”
Alex was pretty sure they’d gotten past that part because if the other day in his office, when he’d fucked her ass like a wild animal, was anything to go by, he wasn’t holding anything back. And neither was she. Before he could tell her as much, she pulled away.
“I really need to go.” She said, but then she swayed when she pushed away from the wall.
“I’ll drive you.” He insisted, knowing she was far too drunk to drive.
“No. I’ll drive... whoa.” Ashleigh put her hand on the wall to steady herself. “I’ll have my brother take me home.”
“I’ll take you home, Ashleigh. No arguments.” Alex was not going to let up on this. He was taking her home.
~~*~~
Her muddled brain told her this wasn’t a good idea. She should argue; she should go back to the table and insist that Dylan take her home, but when Alex put his arm around her, it felt too good to resist. As much as she wanted to be angry, Ashleigh couldn’t deny that her heart hurt and being near him soothed that ache, even if it was only temporary. Leaning into him, she allowed him to walk her back to the table as he said their goodbyes.
Ashleigh’s eyes met Sam’s and she saw the other woman’s concern. She hadn’t asked if something was wrong, but there was no way her body language would have fooled anyone. And now, she looked like a complete idiot, one who lacked a spine, allowing Alex to take her home.
When he pulled her along beside him, she put one foot in front of the other, although the room was beginning to spin. She definitely shouldn’t have had that fifth drink. But by the third, she was beginning to feel no pain.
Alex helped her into his truck, even buckled her seatbelt while she sat back and closed her eyes. That was worse. Forcing her eyes open, she tried not to focus on any one thing for too long because her stomach began to churn.
Oh, God. She was going to be sick.
“Alex.” She warned him, but then thankfully he pulled over to the side of the road immediately, and she pushed open the door and vomited right there in the grass. Her stomach heaved, the alcohol pulsing through her blood until she was puking again, then dry heaving when there was nothing left.
Alex, bless him, had come around to her side of the truck and managed to help her back in; got her resituated before once again climbing behind the wheel. “We’ll be home in a few minutes, baby. It’ll be ok.”
With that, Ashleigh did close her eyes, and she willed sleep upon her. There was no way she would live this down.
The sun crept through the slats in the mini blinds, teasing the edges of Ashleigh’s vision and making her want to cover her head with a pillow. Reaching out, she felt the bed beside her and thankfully she was alone.
That would be the last time she drank. Ever. Well, the last time she indulged in hard liquor anyway.
At least Alex wasn’t there to watch her relive it. Her head was throbbing, but not as bad as it would have if she hadn’t choked down the aspirin he insisted she take before she passed out in her bed.
And now, she had to go to the bathroom and that was going to be hell in and of itself. Pushing up from the bed, she walked lightly across the cold, wood floor to the bathroom before closing herself inside. Maybe a shower would help.
Fifteen minutes later, she felt like a different person. Before she had gotten in, she’d downed some ibuprofen, and that had taken some of the heat from her headache. The next item on her agenda was coffee.
When she walked into the living room, she stopped dead in her tracks.
There on her couch was Alex, sound asleep. His bare chest drew her eye, the sleek, tanned muscle teasing her. No matter how angry she was at him, he was still the sexiest man she’d ever seen. Taking advantage of him sleeping, she took a minute to look her fill.
“Keep looking at me like that and I can’t promise you I’ll keep my distance.”
His smooth voice drifted from across the room, sending chills down her spine and jolting her into action. She turned abruptly and headed to the kitchen. She could not handle him this morning. Not even if her headache was subsiding.
A few minutes later, armed with her blessed morning coffee, Ashleigh took her laptop and went out onto the back porch. Hoping if she acted as though she needed space, Alex would take a hint and go home.
Not that she wanted him to, but she should have. After all he’d put her through and everything she didn’t know about him, having him there was too much of a distraction.
“Morning.” He whispered when he came up behind her, wrapping those strong, warm arms around her. She stiffened, his action reminding her of the last time he’d approached her on the back deck. Despite the hurt that still pulsed in her heart, she secretly enjoyed the seductive scent of him as it drifted through her senses.
“Ashleigh, we need to talk.” He told her when he took a step back.
“No talking. I’ve got to work.” She insisted, pretending to be doing something on her computer. Her fingers wouldn’t work because from her peripheral vision, she could see he was still absent a shirt, and all of that gloriously tan skin was still there, still beckoning her to look.
She couldn’t.
“Call me later.” She told him, trying to brush him off.
It didn’t work.
“Now. It can’t wait until later. I have some things I want to tell you.”
Alex was as relentless as they came; she knew that much about him. If she didn’t give him a chance to talk, he’d never let up, and she’d never get him out of there.
“Talk.” Ashleigh said, daring to look up at him.
Mistake.
Taking a seat in the chair across from her, Alex waited patiently until she closed the laptop and gave him her full attention. As if she had any other choice. Couldn’t he have at least gotten dressed?
“I was married once.” He began.
She knew that much. She’d known when she met him, which was one of the reasons she kept her distance. At such a young age, he’d already been divorced. “I know.”
“But you don’t know the circumstances.”
She wondered what this had to do with anything. If he had been married, past tense, then why was his ex-wife at his house?
“I met Jessie when I was twenty-one years old. She had only been seventeen at the time, but she was working in a strip club because she lied about her age. It didn’t take long to realize she’d come from a very abusive home, and for some reason, I couldn’t sit back and watch her continue to suffer. After some coaxing, I managed to convince her father to let her marry me. That, or he was going to go to jail because I was going to turn him in.”
Ashleigh was dumbfounded. She couldn’t have said a word even if she had to.
“So, I married her. Only it didn’t take long to realize that she had just wanted out of her father’s house as much as I had wanted her out. She wasn’t faithful, not that she and I were having sex, but she wasn’t happy with me either. So, needless to say, we had the marriage annulled.” Alex said, pausing before glancing out at the water. “It should’ve been done and over, except Jessie kept finding herself in these situations, and when she called, I came running because I didn’t want to see her hurt.”
“Why?” The word blurted out before Ashleigh could think better of it. “Why did you keep going back?”
“Hell if I know. I’ve always had a problem with a man who put his hands on a woman in anger. Jessie seemed to be a magnet for men like that. Instead of turning my back on her, letting her finally grow up and take some responsibility for her own actions, I kept coming to her rescue.”
Another pause and Alex’s gaze returned to hers. “That’s what happened last week. She called. Said she needed me and I came running. Not because I have any feelings for her, but because I knew she couldn’t take care of it on her own. When I showed up, her boyfriend was there and they’d gotten into it. I found her beaten and battered, her wrist broken, and the bastard was drunk and still in the house. So I called the police.”
“So why is she at your house?” That was the part Ashleigh couldn’t wrap her mind around. So maybe Alex was a decent guy, with a heart of gold, apparently. That didn’t explain why this woman was at his house, answering his phone while he was in the shower.
“I brought her home from the hospital, and she said she was too scared to go back to her house. I fell for it, and I took her to mine.”
Made sense even if Ashleigh didn’t want it to. A little.
“I didn’t realize what she was doing until I confronted her about answering my phone. She won’t admit it, and she keeps playing up the scared card, but I think she’s just playing me.”
“So why don’t you kick her out?”
“I told her she needed to leave this morning. I’m supposed to drive her back to her house.”
Ashleigh wondered where her anger was. Where was the disbelief? The hatred for her man seeing another woman? But he wasn’t, was he? Alex didn’t belong to her, and from what he said, he wasn’t seeing anyone else.
At least not according to the story he’d just given her. No, if that was the truth, and she feared it was, Alex was just too kind hearted for his own good. She didn’t know Jessie at all, but she was inclined to agree with him. The woman had a hidden agenda. And her guess was the agenda was Alex himself.
Ashleigh went to take a sip of her coffee, but realized the cup was empty. More caffeine was needed to deal with this situation. Grabbing her empty mug, she got up from her chair and went inside, not saying another word. First of all, she was stunned. What was she supposed to say?
By the time she got to the kitchen, Alex was directly behind her. “Talk to me, Ash.” He sounded... worried.
“What do you want me to say?” She asked as she poured another cup. “You’re a saint, Alex. You’re out to save the world, and I don’t know how I fit in with those plans.”
That was the honest truth.
But when he took her arm and turned her around to face him, effectively backing her up against the cabinet, Ashleigh’s breath lodged in her chest.
“I don’t care about the world. I care about you.”
It sure didn’t sound like it from where she was standing. He couldn’t seem to let go of his past. What did that say about him?
“I need you.” He whispered, not an inch between them and yes, having his body pressed against hers made her forget. About everything.
Her headache.
Her heartache.
Some jealous woman from Alex’s past.
All of it. The only thing that mattered was his warm body pressed against hers, chasing away the cold loneliness that had infused her since the moment that other woman answered his cell phone.
“Let me feel you.” He said, pressing his mouth against the sensitive skin of her neck. “I need to touch you, baby.”
And damn it, she wanted him to touch her. Everywhere. For the first time that morning, Ashleigh put her hands on him, and the electrical current sizzled between them once again.
His smooth skin was warm, and he smelled so damn good. That sultry cologne he favored and the unique scent of Alex. Mixed together it was a heady combination, and she was defenseless against him.
When his lips landed on hers, she tasted his hunger, the urgency in his kiss. And then it all came flooding back. The ache she fought to bury, but lost every time. The need for him to take her – roughly and in spite of everything going on.
But when he started to pull her away, she planted her feet firmly on the tile and resisted going anywhere with him. “What are you doing?” She asked, still rubbing her hands through the spattering of hair on his chest.
“Taking you to the bedroom.” He said, kissing her neck.
“No.” She said, and the warmth he’d infused her with moments before was suddenly stolen from her when he stepped back.
The question in his eyes deserved an answer, and she fought to scrounge up the courage to tell him what she wanted.
“Not the bedroom.” She said, staring into those brilliant emerald green eyes filled with a driving hunger she knew he battled with. “Right here. Right now.”
His left eyebrow cocked as though he were trying to understand what she was telling him, and Ashleigh took the opportunity to get it out in the open. “I won’t break. I think I’ve proven that.” She whispered. “I don’t want gentle and easy all the time, Alex. I see the hunger, and you forget, I know you. I know the real you. The dominant side. Don’t treat me like I’m fine china.”
He still didn’t seem to understand what she was saying, or he was just letting her talk. Either way, she knew she was on a roll, so she kept going. “You’ve read my books; you know what I write about. Those are the things I dream about. I want hard. Fast. Dirty. Not gentle and loving all the time.”
The growl he let loose said he understood.
“Right here.” She repeated as she put her hands on the waistband of his jeans, feeling daring and bold, maybe more so than ever before.
Unhooking the button, she turned them until he was against the counter and she had more room to move. Easing to her knees, right there in the middle of her kitchen, Ashleigh made quick work of pushing his jeans and underwear down over his magnificent hips until they were around his ankles.
She slid her hands up his thighs, letting the course hair tease her fingertips, his cock standing proud and tall not far from her lips.
The first time she had done this, they’d been in his shower and she’d been nervous. Intimidated by the newness. Now, just like every time since, Ashleigh wanted to explore. Chancing a glance up at him, she was awash with the heat in his eyes.
“Right here.” She told him again.