Seduction (Club Destiny) (23 page)

Turning to his
bedroom, he found the door shut, which immediately set his senses on high
alert. He hadn’t shut the door, never having reason to. When he pushed the door
open, he found Jessie lying in his bed, sprawled out naked.

“Damn it,
Jessie.” Alex said, immediately turning back the way he’d come. “Fucking get
dressed and get out of my damn bed.”

“Alex, wait.”
She called out to him, and he froze in the doorway, his back to her.

“Jessie, get
dressed. Then come talk to me.”

“No, wait. I
need you.” She said, and Alex heard her attempt at seduction. He wasn’t buying
it.

“No, you need to
get your shit together so I can take you home.” Feeling like a total jackass
that she’d played him yet again, he stepped into the hallway.

“I love you.”
She called out.

Was this her way
of showing it? Did she think sex constituted love? “Get dressed.”

He slammed his
bedroom door and went to the kitchen.

That’s where he
found the something different.

His liquor
cabinet was open. And there were two empty bottles of Jack Daniels sitting on
his counter. That would have been his first sign that she’d fallen off the
wagon. The fact that there were two glasses, both containing the last remnants
of an apparent drunken bender made his hackles rise.

Who the fuck was
in his house?

He rushed back
to the bedroom, not giving a shit whether she was dressed or not. He threw the
door open, sending the solid wood into the wall behind it, echoing in the open
space.

“Where the fuck
is he?” He asked, knowing exactly who she’d invited over.

“Who?” Jessie asked,
trying to sound innocent and not making any attempt to cover her naked body.

“Jeff. He better
not be in my fucking house, Jessie.” Alex moved through the bedroom, a man on a
mission. He threw open the bathroom door, but it was empty. Turning to the closet,
he glanced at it and then back at Jessie. Her eyes widened as he moved to the
closed door.

Opening it
slowly, he found exactly what he was looking for. A naked, and very drunk, Jeff
was sitting on the floor.

“Get the fuck
out.” Alex said, trying to keep his anger in check.

He’d been played
again.

“You’ve got five
seconds to get the fuck out of my house, so you better move quickly. I’m about
to call the cops.”

How could she? Alex
took a step back, holding his fists at his sides to keep from punching the shit
out of the asshole hiding in his fucking closet. He was half tempted to start
counting, but the idiot was fumbling enough as it was.

When Jeff was
finally out of the house, five minutes, not five seconds later, Alex turned his
attention on Jessie.

“Get your stuff
together. I’m taking you home.”

“But...”

“I don’t want to
hear it, Jessie. For years, I’ve listened to your sob stories. Came to your
fucking rescue more times than I can count and how do you thank me? You live in
a house that I pay for. You drive a car that I pay for. And you keep putting
yourself in the same situations over and over again. I’m done.”

He left her
sprawled naked and intoxicated in his bed. It was time to do what he should
have done seventeen years ago. It was time to cut ties with his past and
strengthen those of his future. As far as he was concerned, Ashleigh was his
future.

Now he had to
convince her of that.

~~*~~

“Will you read
it?” Ashleigh asked, holding her breath in anticipation. She’d never asked
anyone she knew personally to read her unfinished manuscript.

Sure, she had a
couple of critique partners who would contribute, checking for errors, or
making sure the flow was good, but never had she requested someone she knew to
give it a glance.

“Of course.”
Sierra squealed into the phone. “Oh, my goodness. I’d be honored, Ashleigh.”

“Just keep in
mind, its rough.” She told her friend over the phone.

That morning
she’d managed to put the finishing touches on the rough draft, finally getting
it where she wanted it. Now she needed to sit back and give it a little time
before she polished it for the final draft.

“I’ll stop by
your house this afternoon and pick it up. I’ve got to run some errands anyway.”
Sierra said.

“Sounds like a
plan. What do you think Sam will say when I ask her?” Although their
friendships had evolved in recent months, she’d never been one to ask much of
her friends, not wanting to seem overbearing.

“Holy crap. Are
you kidding? She’ll be at your house first thing to make sure she gets it
first.” Sierra laughed. “I’ll be there in a couple of hours. Hold her off if
possible.”

“I’ll try.”
Ashleigh said, then hung up. Turning back to her computer screen she reviewed
the title page. Now if she could come up with something that encompassed the
entire story.

Her thoughts
drifted to Alex, and she wondered what he’d think. After all, he’d been her
inspiration. Or rather, the phenomenal chemistry that seemed to brew like a
hurricane when they came together. It was hot. Probably one of the hottest yet.
And the ménage she’d incorporated had put it over the top, in her opinion.

Two and a half
hours later, Ashleigh’s house was full of people.

Not only had
Sierra and Sam come over, but they’d invited their significant others. Luke,
Logan, and Cole were sitting on the back deck talking while Sierra and Sam sat
on the couch, curled up with their own copies of Ashleigh’s book.

Logan and Sam
had brought food – enough barbecue to feed an army – and they’d all been
hanging out, laughing and talking. The only thing that would have made it
better would have been if Alex was there. Ashleigh hadn’t bothered to call him.

She was nervous
enough that Luke and Cole now knew who she was thanks to their irritating need
to know exactly what Sierra had been doing. They’d plied Sierra with questions,
followed by some kisses that still had Ashleigh’s mind whirling.

It was the first
time she’d seen something so hot – with the exception of the night Sierra, Luke
and Cole announced their permanent arrangement. That had been the first night
she’d seen two men kiss and holy hell, it had been hot. The thought still sent
chills down her spine.

Ashleigh stepped
out on the back deck with the men while the women chattered and sent some
heated looks at one another as they continued reading. It was one thing to hear
their feedback, another to see how excited they were when they read the book.
She didn’t want to disappoint them.

“Where’s Alex.” Luke
asked when she took a seat at the table, a glass of wine in hand.

“Don’t know.”
She didn’t either. She hadn’t seen him since earlier in the week, insisting she
needed to focus and he was a distraction unlike anything she’d ever known.

“I talked to him
earlier this morning,” Cole said. “I figured he’d be here this afternoon.”

Ashleigh
couldn’t imagine why, she hadn’t expected anyone to show up at her house, other
than the girls.

“Why would he be
here?” She asked, sounding entirely unsure of the conversation.

“Why wouldn’t
he?” Luke laughed.

So that didn’t
tell her much. Suddenly feeling her nerves take flight in her belly, she downed
the rest of her wine and excused herself back inside. Once there, she came face
to face with the reason for her nerves.

“Hey.” She
greeted Alex, stunned by his sudden appearance, and equally overwhelmed by how
good he looked. And smelled. If she could bottle his incredibly scent, she’d
make a fortune.

“Hey.” He
approached, pulling her into his arms and crushing his mouth to hers. Either he
was oblivious to Sam and Sierra sitting just a few feet away in the living
room, or he didn’t care.

When he pulled
away, she stared up at him. He was smiling. “What?”

“Nothing. I’m
just surprised I wasn’t invited to the party.” He told her, keeping her body
close, his hands wrapped around her waist.

“Well, it wasn’t
supposed to be a party.” It wasn’t.

“Well, I see
food,” he cocked his head in the direction of the kitchen, “I hear laughter,”
he tilted his head toward the living room, “and I see you’ve got security.”
This time he turned his eyes toward Logan, Luke and Cole sitting on the back
patio.

Laughing, she
pulled away. “When you put it that way...”

Alex followed
her into the kitchen, a tiny measure of privacy that he immediately took advantage
of. He pressed her against the refrigerator and pressed his lips to hers.

“If it weren’t
for all these people, I’d strip you naked right here and have you on your knees
with my cock in your mouth again. I’ve missed that mouth.” He traced her bottom
lip with his finger and Ashleigh fought the urge to suck his finger into her
mouth.

Leaning in
closer to her ear, he whispered. “Or maybe I should do it anyway. They all like
to watch.”

Her belly
fluttered, and her sex clinched. This was the side of Alex that she longed to
get to know. The man who didn’t hold back. Despite her nerves, she was tempted
to do it just to show him how much she liked the promises he was making. Except
she didn’t have enough nerve.

“Do you want to
be watched, Ashleigh?” He asked, licking her neck.

She didn’t
answer. She couldn’t. The answer surprised even her. Yes, she wanted to be
watched. Maybe not by her closest friends, but the idea intrigued her. But she
figured it was only in the hypothetical sense.

“Damn, baby.” He
said when he pulled back. “It’s a good thing my shirts not tucked in. Every one
of them would know exactly what you do to me.” Taking her hand, he placed her
palm against the hard ridge behind his zipper and Ashleigh eagerly rubbed him,
wanting him to keep going.

He growled.

“Now, that’s hot
as hell.” Luke said as he approached.

Ashleigh jerked
away from Alex, her face heating with embarrassment.

“What’s up?”
Alex asked, acting as though they hadn’t been groping one another only seconds
before in the middle of her kitchen.

“Just getting
some beers. Come join us when you’re done.” He laughed as he pulled three long
neck bottles from the fridge and turned back the way he’d come.

“I’ve never been
into the idea of being watched, but with you... I could get into it. Really
into it.” Alex said as he pulled her close once again.

Ashleigh
laughed, a rough sound that broke loose. She was in over her head right now,
and she needed to catch her breath before she did something stupid.

Alex retrieved a
beer from the fridge before turning back to her. “Don’t go far.” He grinned and
then walked off.

Ashleigh leaned
against the counter, trying to get her bearings. Holy shit. How did he do that?
Turn her into some wanton woman who’d do anything to please him.

With a deep sigh,
she steeled herself for what was to come.

***
~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***

Alex hadn’t
expected anyone to be at Ashleigh’s when he got there. And what made him come
on to her the way he had was beyond him. It had hit him the moment he saw her,
looking sexy as hell in those tight jeans she seemed to love, encasing her
beautiful ass so perfectly.

When he told her
that he’d never been into being watched, that had been partly true. He’d done
it on occasion. Once at the club, and a couple of times when he was younger,
when the moment presented itself and his curiosity won out. But never with
someone that he cared about. And he cared about Ashleigh.

It wasn’t the
idea of being watched that excited him, it was the idea of
her
being
watched that intrigued him. First of all, he got the impression she wanted to
venture into unfamiliar territory. Granted, he’d spent the last two days
reading her latest novel and holy hell, he’d had a hard on that just wouldn’t
quit.

And he’d been
making mental notes of some of the kinkier things he planned to do to her. All
in an attempt to see how far she was willing to go. Which was what happened
when he’d had her in the kitchen. The memory of the last time they’d been in
there, his dick buried in her sweet mouth had sent the blood flowing straight
to his groin, leaving him aching and eager.

But he wasn’t
serious. Was he? No, at least not at the moment.

Joining the
others in the back, Alex geared up to be ribbed.

Luke didn’t
disappoint.

“Man, you might
want to be careful.” He started in on Alex the second he sat down. “You know
how we feel about the whole voyeuristic thing. Turns us on.”

“Shut the hell
up, McCoy.” Alex muttered, taking a long pull on his beer. “That’s for my eyes
only, and you know it.”

“Is that right?”
Logan chimed in. “From what it sounds like, you’ve got a wildcat on your hands.
She might just push those boundaries you’ve put in place.”