Chapter Nine
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Ashleigh no longer had to worry whether her cell phone was working or not. The call from her agent proved that it was. Even though her original excitement over who might be on the other end had been doused when Madeleine’s sweet voice echoed through the speaker, it had been renewed after five minutes on the phone.
Her agent was clearly satisfied with her last submission, the book about the horse and the barn owl that Ashleigh had pondered over for far too long. At least now it was out of the way, and she could move on to her current project.
This one was keeping her up at night, but not with worry. Her bout of writer’s block had long since moved on, and she was writing furiously, the pages all but writing themselves.
She had one man to thank for her renewed burst of creativity. At least where the sex was concerned. As it appeared, her hormones were roaring like wildfire, and she was able to conjure up some juicy, erotic scenes, which worked out well for her hero and heroine.
At least someone was getting laid these days because it certainly wasn’t her. But then again, she and Alex had come full circle in the dating game.
She had committed herself to making just as much of an effort as Alex, although, at times, she wondered if maybe she should resume life as she knew it before moving back to Dallas.
For the last few weeks, she’d been busy. Her social life had taken off like a jet airplane, which meant the time she wasn’t spending with her grandfather and niece and nephew, she was spending with Sam and Sierra. As for Alex, well, she hadn’t seen nearly enough of him in the last two weeks for her wellbeing, but more than enough for her sanity.
Apparently he had gotten a look at her list of things she wanted to do, and he was bound and determined to check off each and every one. There were a few items she hadn’t written on her list, and sometimes she wondered whether they just might get around to them as well.
To top it off, he was being a perfect gentleman.
Too perfect in fact.
So much so that they hadn’t shared another kiss since the night he’d invited her over for dinner. Ashleigh had no idea what was going on with him, but something was. He was cordial, friendly, but nothing more.
On top of that, something or someone was taking him away frequently. She didn’t think he was going far when he left, but he was obviously going somewhere. One afternoon when he had taken her fishing, something she had on her list, she’d thought about asking him, but instead chickened out.
That had been an interesting day, but not one she cared to relive. Apparently fishing was not her forte. Too much down time in her opinion. But hey, to each his own and all that.
Delving back into her work, Ashleigh was trying to work out a scene that she was having trouble with. A sex scene. Imagine that.
Lunch with Sam and Sierra earlier in the week had provided her a little insight, but not nearly as much as she hoped for. She’d gone with the intention of getting some hopefully discreet details of what it was like living the ménage lifestyle. Since she didn’t have any idea about the subject matter, she was hoping for details from the experts so she’d gone out on a limb and asked for their help.
So how she ended up sharing way more information with the two of them than they had shared with her, she had no idea. Although she got a brief glimpse into what it was like to be the focal point of two men, Ashleigh had found they were way more interested in understanding how she was still a virgin.
And no, maybe a twenty eight year old virgin wasn’t the norm these days, but it wasn’t unheard of. By the look on Sam’s face, Ashleigh would’ve thought she was the oldest living person yet to have ever had sex. It was comical actually. Kind of.
Much to their dismay and her own, Ashleigh couldn’t answer the question as to why she’d never had sex. There had been a couple of men in her life who had sparked her interest, but they’d never made it that far. Could’ve been cold feet on her part, or it might’ve been the hope that had been burning bright and obnoxious in her chest for ten long years.
Either way, Ashleigh would admit to having harbored some crazy, mixed up feelings for Alex through the years. Anger, admiration, hurt, love. Pick one.
If she thought about it – which she did... a lot – she could almost put a name to those feelings. Infatuation. The man encompassed everything she hoped to find in a lover – he was gorgeous, intelligent, and dominating. Yes, the last one unquestionably had caught her interest when she was old enough to know what it actually meant. Or what it could mean.
Ashleigh remembered the day she met him. It was at her grandfather’s house and she’d just gotten home from school. She’d been a high school senior, she remembered that much. And in her teenage mind, he’d been much older than her, although she didn’t know by how much. At the time, it hadn’t mattered one single bit. She had fallen head over heels in love the moment she laid eyes on him.
It didn’t take long for Alex to become a regular fixture at the Thomas household and in her teenage dreams. He quickly began working as the head of security for XTX on a contractual basis. Then he’d established a friendship with Dylan, which had Alex coming around when her brother was home. He and Logan were friends – college roommates if she remembered correctly – which meant Alex was invited anytime Logan was present.
Needless to say, she saw as much of Alex as she did her grandfather there for a while. At first, she’d been smitten.
It wasn’t until he started treating her like she had a contagious disease and if he came anywhere near her, he’d be stricken with it. That didn’t stop him from sneaking glances of her from time to time. She was aware of each and every one, but over time, she grew irritated with his aloofness and she moved on.
Looking back on it now, Ashleigh had been far too immature for him, especially considering the age difference. At twenty eight, twelve years didn’t mean a thing. But at eighteen or even twenty, it meant everything. They had absolutely nothing in common. Other than a little physical attraction.
Then there was the small detail of his marriage. By the time she met him, he’d been divorced for years, but knowing he had been married, Ashleigh had accepted the fact that he wasn’t likely going to be a one woman man, though she had no idea why they had split up. She still didn’t know.
Not knowing the story, she didn’t care to be enlightened back then, although now she was more than a little curious. Just the fact that he had been married put him in an entirely different category than any boy or man she’d ever met. Suffice it to say, she kept her distance. And so did he.
Until that one night.
The week before graduation, Ashleigh had convinced Pops to let her stay in the guest house for a few weeks while she got ready to go off to college.
Since Dylan didn’t live at home at the time – he’d already gotten married to Meghan, and they had even had both Stacey and Nate by then – Ashleigh had wanted to see what it was like to live on her own as well. Reluctantly, Pops had given in to her request.
To celebrate her graduation from high school, Pops had thrown a party the likes of which Ashleigh had never known before. There had to have been one hundred or more people in attendance, yet out of all those people, she’d never seen Alex. Not until he stopped by the guest house a couple of hours after she went home.
Being eighteen and finally out of school, Ashleigh had a misconception of what it meant to be an adult. And adults had visitors, so she’d invited him in.
That was her first mistake.
He was more than a little intoxicated, barely able to stand on his own, but she was all grown up, she could handle anything he could dish out. Or so she thought.
They had talked for a little while, neither of them having much to say because it was blatantly obvious, they had absolutely nothing in common. Likely the dwindling conversation had led to what happened next.
They had been sitting on the couch, not much space between them, when Alex leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. Her first kiss.
Ashleigh remembered it like it was yesterday.
“What was that for?” Ashleigh asked, shocked by the intensity of her body’s reaction to the feel of Alex’s lips against hers.
“It was just a kiss.”
Just a kiss? There was nothing “just” about that kiss. She knew she shouldn’t push the issue because it was evident Alex was intoxicated, but Ashleigh couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Why’d you kiss me?”
“Don’t know.” He said, leaning in a little more.
Ashleigh knew it was going to happen again and despite the intense feelings that one kiss had ignited she knew she shouldn’t want him. But the intelligent side of her brain was being suffocated by her hormones and she found herself hoping he would.
Instead of waiting for him, Ashleigh leaned in closer, her eyes locked with his before catching a brief glimpse of his perfect lips. Before she knew what happened, she was on her back on the couch with Alex’s impressive body on top of her, pressing against her in the most delicious way, infusing her with heat and longing.
“I shouldn’t want you, Ashleigh.”
For the life of her, she didn’t know why not. They were both consenting adults, and there was something obviously between them. So when Alex pressed his lips to hers yet again, Ashleigh gave into him, pulling him closer and giving back as good as she was getting.
Shaking off the memory, Ashleigh tried to push it away. She would not go there. Not right now. Thinking about that night never did anything more than put her in a bad mood.
~~*~~
Alex tossed his cell phone into the center console, throwing the truck in Drive. Pissed off and in desperate need of a bright spot in his week, he pulled out of the XTX parking garage and aimed the truck toward Ashleigh’s house.
After that phone call, he wanted to simply turn off the ringer, hang out with the one woman who would be able to make him smile at this point. That had been his plan all day anyway, and though the phone call from Jessie had been somewhat expected, he was going to pretend it never happened.
His ex-wife had made it her life’s work to suck him into the mess she called a life, but today he didn’t have the patience, nor the desire to try and rescue her from herself. He’d been spending way too much time with her as it was trying to talk to her, calm her down, or chase off that good for nothing boyfriend of hers.
Not today.
Ten minutes later he was pulling into Ashleigh’s driveway, trying to get his bearings. He was frustrated, and he knew he needed to take a minute to clear his head. The last person he wanted to see his temper was Ashleigh. Having not seen much of her in the last two weeks, showing up at her house unannounced was going to be bad enough.
He needed to see her. Need being the key word.
Ever since their afternoon of horseback riding, Alex had purposely backed off a little bit. She was getting to him in ways he hadn’t expected. The desire was there, but it always had been. It was the other feelings stirring around inside of him that had made him take some time to process exactly what was happening between them.
He wanted her in ways he feared she couldn’t handle. And until today, he’d been able to reason with himself. Today his need for her had intensified, and he wasn’t strong enough to resist it. So instead of doing the right thing, he’d given in to temptation, despite the perfect excuse to stay away for at least one more day.
After a few minutes, his blood pressure had finally reverted to the more normal range, and he exhaled a sigh of relief. It took a lot to get Alex riled up, but today everything seemed to be stacking up against him. Even the thought of seeing Ashleigh was getting him worked up but for an entirely different reason.
Alex exited the truck, glancing at Ashleigh’s Tahoe parked in the driveway. At least she was home. It would have been the perfect end to a shitty day for him to have driven all the way there to find out she wasn’t.
When he made it to the front door, he rapped his knuckles on the wood, pacing back and forth in front of the door while he waited. A good minute later, he figured she wasn’t going to answer. Thrusting his hands in his pockets, he stood on the porch for a minute, wondering where the hell she might’ve gone.
Glancing around toward the side of the house as he walked back to his truck, he stopped. It was worth a shot.
Alex turned the corner and saw Ashleigh sitting at a table on her back deck, her fingers flying furiously over the keys on her laptop. For a brief moment, he just watched her.
She was breathtaking. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a clip, and from where he stood, it didn’t look like she was wearing makeup, which made sense because she was still in her pajamas. He couldn’t ever remember a time when he was still in his pajamas at three o’clock in the afternoon.
“Hey,” he called out, not wanting her to see him standing there staring at her.
Ok, so maybe he startled her. There was a little squeak, a little jump, and now she was staring back at him with her hand clutched over her heart.
“What the hell are you doing?” She asked, obviously not shocked for long.
He grinned. “I could ask you the very same question.”
Alex made his way up the steps, his eyes glued to the woman standing before him, dressed as though she had just crawled out of bed. He’d like to drag her back there.
“What are you doing here?” She rephrased her question, her hands now on her hips.
“Bored.” He lied, but smiled as he said it.
“I find that hard to believe. Dylan said you guys are busy, so I know that’s not it.”
“Ok, I just wanted to see you. That better?”
The smoldering look in her eyes told him that she definitely liked the answer, but he was willing to bet she wasn’t going to verbally agree.
“What are you writing?” He asked, glancing down at the computer that sat on the table between them.
Ashleigh glanced down, her eyes wide before she slammed the lid closed. Obviously she didn’t want him to see what she was writing. If he had to guess, she wasn’t writing about horses and owls like she’d told him before. He grinned again.
No, he grinned still. Since the moment he laid eyes on her, he’d had a permanent smile on his face.
“Nothing.” She covered quickly, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Nothing, huh?” He was tempted to grab the computer, just to see what she’d do. He knew about her pen name, he knew exactly what she was writing about, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
But, he wasn’t in the mood to get slapped at the moment. Ashleigh wouldn’t take too kindly to him intruding on her personal space, so he kept his hands in his pockets.
“Well, since you aren’t working,” he made a point to look back down at the laptop, then back up at her, “I was thinking we could do something.”
“Something?” The skeptical look in her eye had him biting back another grin.
“Sure.” He said, closing the distance between them. “What else you got on that list?”
Ashleigh surprised him when she didn’t take a step back, allowing him to stand close enough to inhale her fragrant scent. She smelled like vanilla and sunshine. It should’ve been outlawed in all fifty states. It was that damn good.
“I’m thinking... swimming.” Because he wanted to see her in a damn bathing suit. Or nude would be fine with him. Either way.
“Swimming?”
Was it him or was she tongue tied? She wasn’t smiling, but nor was she frowning. She looked confused.
“Yes, you know, water... pool. It’s heated and it’s nice out.” And you would be in a damn bathing suit which would be hot as hell in itself.
“Ok.”
He cocked his eyebrow, staring down at her suspiciously. Sure, he definitely liked the idea of getting Ashleigh wet – in more ways than one – but he got the distinct impression she was up to something. His Ashleigh would’ve come up with an excuse to make him leave. Instead of questioning her, because he wasn’t an idiot, he slid the back of his finger down her smooth cheek. “Ok, then. Go get your stuff and I’ll wait right here.”
~~*~~
What the hell was wrong with her? Swimming? Seriously? It was only sixty degrees outside at best. What in the world was she thinking?
Ashleigh grabbed her laptop from the table, turned and darted inside the house as fast as she could. Depositing it on her bed, she turned to her dresser to find a swimsuit.
Ha! Served her right. Staring down into the near empty drawer, Ashleigh took stock of the one and only bathing suit she’d unpacked as of yet. It was a two piece – two very small pieces – and it was bright, neon pink. Admittedly, it didn’t look all that bad on her when it was the middle of the summer and she’d had a chance to get a little sun. Right now, in February, she wasn’t sure which would be brighter, the bathing suit or her pale skin.
And now she was shaking. Actually, she’d been trembling since Alex had scared the daylights out of her a few minutes ago. Apparently those tremors were causing her to lose brain cells.
She hadn’t expected Alex to show up, so when he walked across her back lawn, her brain had lost some of its functionality. Apparent by her agreeing to go swimming. At his place. Those two things combined were a recipe for disaster. Especially considering her libido was in overdrive after the last couple of chapters she’d written.
Her body didn’t seem to be caught up with her brain’s reluctance because five minutes later, Ashleigh was traipsing across the living room, a small bag containing the neon pink bikini in hand.
“Ready?” Alex asked from his perch on the arm of the sofa.
No, not really. “Yep.” She blurted.
Alex stood, once again towering over her, and she wondered what he was waiting for. Standing there like an idiot, she watched him until a sexy as hell smile tipped his lips.
“After you.” He said, holding his hand up in the direction of the door.
Good grief. Her brain was overloaded, and now she wished she’d reconsidered this astronomically stupid idea.
By the time she was safely inside Alex’s truck, buckled up and staring out the side window, her stomach was a jumble of nerves.
“Do you swim a lot?” She asked, because, at this point, only stupid things were coming out of her mouth.
“No, not really.” Alex glanced at her, then back to the road, “In the summer, I get out a few times a month, but since I’m not home much, I don’t.”
“When I was a kid, Dylan and I would get in the swimming pool at Pop’s house all the time. Even in the winter and sometimes when he didn’t remember to heat it.”
“That’s commitment.” Alex laughed.
“I was on the swim team in high school. For one year anyway. Turns out I didn’t want to be a fish like I once thought.” Actually, it turned out she was way too shy and far too awkward to go out in public and compete in anything. She froze the few times her coach had tried to get her in the pool.
“No?”
“No. I found my writing niche while I was in high school though.” At least writing gave her exactly what she was looking for. Solitude. “Turned out to be a great way to escape. I could become someone else for a little while. Like a fantasy coming to life.”
“What did you write about back then? I couldn’t imagine a teenage girl had much interest in writing children’s books.”
Ashleigh laughed. “There wasn’t much rhyme or reason back then. I’d write short stories and most of them didn’t fall into any specific category.”
Her parents had died before she was old enough to even remember them, and Ashleigh found herself fantasizing about the mother and father she never had, putting their stories down on paper. It helped with the grief.
“And now?”
“And now what?” She asked. Ashleigh didn’t know where he was going with this, but she was half tempted to push him.
She knew, thanks to Sam’s admission, that Alex was well aware of her pen name. Oddly, she thought he’d be more determined to get her into bed because of that fact.
Originally she wondered if Sam had been mistaken, but Ashleigh didn’t think so. There was a gleam in his eyes when he talked about her writing. He knew, he just wasn’t going to bring it up.
“Do the children’s books hold your interest?”
“For the most part, yes.” That was partially true.
“Have you thought about writing something else?”
“Like what?” A knot formed in her stomach. This conversation was going in the wrong direction.
“Oh, I don’t know. Mysteries? Romance, maybe?”
Or erotica? She wanted to say the words out loud, knowing that’s what he was hinting at, but she didn’t.
Before she could answer his question, he was pulling his truck into his garage, shutting off the engine and closing the door behind them. The confines of the truck were intimate enough, but with the outside world shut completely out, the intimacy was almost disturbing.
She sighed, unable to keep up the facade any longer.
“When were you going to bring it up?” She asked bluntly, needing to get this out in the open. As much as she valued her anonymity, it was too hard to try to hide something that was out in the open anyway.
“Bring what up?” Alex’s dark eyebrow rose.
For the last week, Ashleigh had fantasized about how this conversation would go. Never once had she dreamed that Alex would feign ignorance. Turning her back on him, frustrated and still a little shaky, she pushed open the passenger door and stepped out of the truck.
She needed a moment to breathe and although she wasn’t claustrophobic, being closed up in his truck with him was just too much. When she was close to him, his unique scent alone made it hard to think, and that was something she couldn’t afford when Alex was around.
Alex walked around the truck and stood beside her. “Talk to me.”
“I know that you know.” She told him, wishing he would take a step back because he was much too close. It was hard enough to breathe, hard enough to think when he was near, but this close, she didn’t stand a chance.
From where she stood, looking up at him, she could see the darker flecks of green in his already dark eyes. His lashes were long and thick, and there was a day’s worth of stubble decorating his strong chin. The man was beautiful if that was an apt description for someone who exuded so much masculine power.
“What do I know, Ashleigh?” He asked, taking a step closer, if that was even possible, and successfully blocking her between him and the unmoving vehicle at her back.
“You know that I’m Ashton Leigh.” She spouted before she could think better of it.
“So?”
“What do you mean ‘so’?” Putting her hands on his chest, she tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge. “If you’re thinking that I’m anything like her –”
“Shhh.” He whispered, brushing his finger over her lips. “I don’t think anything.”
Didn’t he? Didn’t he think she was wild, spontaneous and openly adventurous when it came to sex? It’s what she wrote about, so it would make sense, wouldn’t it?
“I’ve wanted you since the first day I met you, Ash. Long before you began writing. I don’t have any preconceived notions about who you are or what you want.”
He wanted her?
His admission sent a shockwave of lust rippling through her insides. Without thinking, she glanced down at his lips, then back up to his eyes.
“Stop looking at me like that.” His voice was firm, but he didn’t move away from her.
“Like what?” She almost choked on the words.
“Like you want me, too.”
“I do want you.” There was no reason to deny it.
They might be playing a game, but he knew good and damn well that she wouldn’t have gone to his house to go swimming if she didn’t have a hidden agenda. Friends they might be, but not close friends. And never would she have put herself in this position if she hadn’t hoped for something more to happen between them either.
“Ashleigh.” The way he said her name was a warning, and her body didn’t heed it worth a damn.
In a move totally unlike her, Ashleigh instigated what happened next. With her hands still pressed against his chest, she was no longer trying to push him away; instead, she slid them up, feeling the solid muscle and his strong heartbeat beneath her fingertips. Cupping his jaw, she pulled him closer. She wasn’t sure if it was the weather, or what was sparking between them, but something was making it hotter than hell in that damn garage.