Текст книги "Be My Temptation"

Автор книги: Rachel Brookes

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Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 24 страниц)

“Sounds great. Let me finish this email, and then I’m all yours.”

He returned to his desk and started tapping away, while I headed for the visitors couch near his floor-to-ceiling windows. I pulled my phone from my purse, and started mindlessly flicking through Facebook to waste time. The usual whining and complaining, beautiful baby announcements, and photos from people’s weekend shenanigans filled my timeline.

What the fuck?

I inhaled sharply and stalled when a photo appeared and was linked to Josh’s wall. There I was, fast asleep, with a content smile playing on my lips. I was curled up, hugging a pillow, with a navy blue comforter covering my body.

With shaking hands, I scrolled down and looked at the comments.

Mitch Edwards: Is this your new girl? Fuck me, how do you get so lucky?

Angela South: Why haven’t I seen you lately? I miss your hands and mouth.

Samuel Decker: I’d love a piece of that ass. Why are you taking photos, you should be fucking her.

Mel Brown: She isn’t even that pretty. Call me soon babe.

My focus centered on the comments of the girls who’d obviously had a piece of Josh. At least I had something in common with them; we were all notches on Josh’s belt. The final comment under the photo caused my heart to hammer like crazy in my chest.

Josh Crawford: Prettiest girl in the world and all mine.

There was that word again: mine.

I hastily clicked out of Facebook and locked my phone. Josh couldn’t creep into my mind while I was having lunch and a meeting with Ky. What was Josh thinking? Why would he post a photo like that when we both knew Eden was just as addicted to Facebook as I was?

“What was that?” Ky asked beside me, his eyes locked firmly on the screen of my phone.

I had to think quickly. How could I possibly explain why his brother had a photo of me on his Facebook, asleep, and with an epic sex haze covering my face? Oh god, now I was thinking about sex with Josh. Shut up, hormones. “It was your brother being an idiot. Let’s go and get sushi,” I finally said, cringing at the weakness of my response.

Anxiously, I watched Ky process what I said. After what felt like an eternity, Ky swallowed my words as truth and I unleashed the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“Let’s go.”

After the ten-minute walk to Sake, we took a seat at our usual table, and I couldn’t ignore the questioning looks Ky continued to fire at me. Being best friends with him was amazing, but it was also impossible to hide anything from him. He wasn’t as thorough as Josh at reading me, but he had his own unique way, and right now, he was trying to read me, because he had the look plastered all over his face.

“Has Lachlan been in contact with you? I am so fucking sorry all that shit went down. If I had known . . .”

My regret of not being honest with him still sat heavily in my heart. He was my best friend, and I needed to make it right between us. “No, he hasn’t, and I don’t think he will. Josh made it very clear that he should stay away from me. I’m moving on, Ky. Full force. And I just want to forget that I gave him a second chance. I’m spending some time finding myself again, and I’d really love my best friend to help me with that. I am so sorry that I didn’t say anything to you.”

“I’ll help anyway I can, and please, no more apologies.” The smile he offered in reply disappeared, and his eyes narrowed as he gave me the don’t-give-me-bullshit tone. “Now tell me what’s got you so on edge today?”

I clutched the glass of sparkling water that was placed in front of me, and lifted it to my lips. I needed a moment to figure out what the hell I was going to say. How could I possibly tell him that his brother had ravished me, given me more orgasms in two weeks then my ex gave me in two months, and that I was still throbbing in beautiful delight as I sat across from him?

“I’m just tired. It’s been a big couple of days with moving back home and working on the blog. Lots of emails, phone calls, and not enough sleep.”

Being under Ky’s intense glare caused me to become a mass of anxiety. Seriously, these Crawford brothers were going to leave me with early-onset grey hair and wrinkles at the rate they were going. I continued sipping my water and tearing at my napkin. I felt his eyes bearing into me, and my head snapped up at the sound of his soft laughter.

“You do realize that’s a sign of sexual frustration.” He laughed and nodded to the pile of torn napkin in front of me.

Water shot up my throat and threatened to escape out my nose as I started choking. My unfortunate scene only encouraged Ky’s laughter to grow louder. Once I got myself under control, I shot Ky a look of pure fury and folded my arms across my chest like I was a child throwing a tantrum.

“You’ll have to go out with Josh one night and rectify that,” Ky continued with a touch of tease to his voice.

This was getting worse by the minute. Little did he know that his brother already rectified any form of sexual frustration I would have for eternity, and had single handily ruined me and my vagina for any other man.

“My frustration is none of your concern.” I pushed my little pile of shredded napkin to the side and avoided his gaze. I could feel my cheeks flushing. This was horrendous.

“One night out with Josh and you’ll find yourself a man to scratch that itch.”

My eyes shot wide. “For the love of all things holy, can you please not mention the words ‘scratch that itch’ when referring to my sex life?”

“Whatever you say, Ash, but you know I’m right. One night out with Josh and you’ll be a changed woman.”

He had absolutely no clue how right he was.

My meeting at Bangs and Beats was productive and Josh free. I sighed in relief as I walked toward the elevators to head home and get a start on my new assignment. Though I wasn’t styling with Alessandra anymore, I was contracted for some advisory work on an upcoming issue, and I couldn’t say no to the opportunity.

I felt him before I saw him.

The familiar scent that caused shivers to run down my spine and goosebumps to take over my skin hit me, and my eyes slammed shut as I felt his heat penetrate my back.

“You thought you could come to the office and sneak away without seeing me?”

“I had a meeting with Ky,” I whispered breathlessly.

“My office is right next door, Ashy.”

Josh grabbed my waist. His hands felt like they burned through the material of my skirt and hit my skin. His breath danced over the sensitive area of my neck, and I involuntarily shivered in delight.

“I’m just heading home,” I stammered, and turned to face him. That was my first mistake. My eyes took a life of their own and traveled down his body. The perfect amount stubble graced his jaw, his hair was wild, and his body was covered in a tailored charcoal grey suit with a dark blue shirt. Damn it to hell, he was dangerous to my libido.

“I love that fucking shirt.” His eyes darkened and roamed freely over my white shirt that showed a classy amount of cleavage.

“I love that suit,” I admitted, the words tumbling out before I could stop myself.

Like an unexpected flash of lightening, Josh grabbed my hand and we started moving down the hall, away from the elevators, at a quick pace.

“What are you doing?” I gasped and tried to pull my hand away, but my fight only encouraged him to hold on tighter. “People will see.”

His eyes, full of amusement, flashed to mine. “Stop making a fuss, and people won’t pay attention. And what I’m doing is having a taste of you before you up and disappear again.”

“Joshua, there are rules,” I hissed, trying desperately to ignore the shot of heat that fired through me.

“Fuck the rules, Ash. Anyway, there was one point I did not agree to.”

The instant he opened the door to the storage room, I knew I was in for the best kind of trouble. It would seem that my desires, needs, and now wants, were delivered to him with a big red bow and an open invitation to play whenever he wanted. That should have pissed me off, but all it did was excite me.

The click of the door and the turn of the lock sent my body of into overdrive. I was trembling with delight and anticipation. All hope of telling him that this wasn’t going to happen disappeared when I got lost in his eyes. His expression was clear and obvious. He had something on his mind, and that something was me. I could try to fight him, but I could never deny him.

My back pressed against the door, and his eager hands ran the length of my body until they found my hair. I gravitated toward him, and we became one when the heat of his body consumed mine. A million goosebumps covered my skin, though my body was soaring to epic heat. The tip of my tongue traced my bottom lip as his eyes held mine with fierce contemplation. My silent invitation of what I wanted was all he needed.

When his lips slammed into mine, he stole my breath and ability to think. My arms circled his waist as his hands fell to my ass and pulled me closer. I groaned against his mouth, as he ground his body hotly into mine. Our tongues entwined in the desperation brought on by three days of separation, and we craved the offer of ownership that swirled around us. Kissing Josh was like tasting cotton candy. It ignited your senses, it blasted you to an incredible high, and one taste forged a craving you’d never be able to fully satisfy. I was screwed.

In a swift move, Josh wrapped my ponytail around his hand and my head was pulled back. I gasped as a sharp pain shot through me, but it complimented the pleasure igniting my body so perfectly. My breathing was a shuddering mess of shallow and needy gasps as I tried to regain control. But losing control had never felt so right. There was a battle within me, as my body screamed at me for more, while my subconscious shook her head in disapproval.

“It would be an absolute fucking joy to have your mouth every day.” His forehead fell to mine and his soft pants hit my lips like a teasing summer breeze. “And it’s going to be an absolute pleasure working for it.”

“I’m not one of your girls who will drop her panties whenever you look at her, Josh. You know me. I’m not that girl. You and I both know emotions will get involved. You know I wear my heart on my fucking sleeve. I’m that girl, Josh. That’s reality.”

He pulled his face away from mine and took a step back. I fixed up my shirt, straightened my skirt, and redid my ponytail, all while under his constant gaze.

“A couple of things, Ashlyn.” Shit, he used my full name. No Ashy and no Ash. “I don’t want you to drop your panties for me. I want you to make me work for it, because you are worth every last bit of effort I have. I hope to Christ there are emotions involved between us, because I want you to feel everything thing that’s beautiful about being wanted. The fact that you wear your heart on your sleeve makes you the strongest person I know. You are the happily-ever-after girl, and you should be fucking proud of that. I don’t give a shit about what reality you thought you knew, this is a new reality. Hold on tight, Ashy. This is just the beginning.”

Thank you for the flowers. Very sneaky of you, coming in and putting them on the counter. I might need to change my locks. ;-)

I read Ashlyn’s text message for the fifth time, trying desperately to comprehend what I was actually reading. I hadn’t seen her since our tryst in the storage closet at the office, and I certainly didn’t sneak into her place and leave her flowers.

Dread filled my now highly-tense body, as I stood from the couch and placed my laptop on the coffee table. Scenarios hit me from all angles, but there was one that immediately haunted me. Ky and Eden had gone down the coast for a few days, so it wasn’t them, and the three of us were the only ones that had keys to Ashlyn’s place. One name continued to stab my thoughts, digging in deeper until I was drowning in anger.

Lachlan fucking Johnson.

I needed to get to her, it was as simple as that. Whether I locked my apartment or not was the least of my concern, as I rushed down the hall toward her apartment. Thank fuck for living on the same floor.

“Ashy, where are you?” I announced, after barging into her place and finding an empty living room. Where the fuck was she? I walked through the living room and halted as my eyes locked onto the offending flowers that were sitting on the kitchen bench. Roses? Ashlyn hated roses.

“What are you doing here? It’s not even three P.M.”

I turned at the sound of her voice behind me. She walked straight to me, wearing black sweat pants and a fitted pink tee, with her hair hanging freely over her shoulders. The smile that greeted me was pure happiness, and I would have absolutely loved it if I knew it was for the right reasons.

“I worked from home today.”

Raising her hands and resting them on my chest, her big green eyes shimmered with thankfulness and glee as she gazed longingly at me. She truly thought it was me. How was I meant to tell her my assumption was that her mother fucker of an ex had come into her apartment without her knowing? That it wasn’t me who brought her the flowers that made her radiate with happiness?

“Thank you again. The flowers are beautiful.” She rose on her tiptoes and edged closer, her lips heading for mine.

“Wait,” I whispered, knowing I couldn’t kiss her under false pretenses.

She froze and lowered herself down as rejection flashed across her face. All happiness disappeared, and she stepped away like I was poison. The distance she put between us was immediate, as she crossed the living room toward the kitchen. This was so fucked up. She didn’t need this, she didn’t deserve this bullshit.

“Josh,” she said softly as she stood by the offending flowers. She turned back to look at me as the color fled her face. “Why did you send me roses? You know I don’t like roses.”

The look of unease on my face seemed to be the only answer she needed. Slowly, she began shaking her head as the stark reality of who brought the flowers collided head first with the fantasy that I had given them to her.

“You know I don’t like roses,” she repeated in a barely-there voice. The sparkle I saw when I first walked in had faded into a pit of emptiness. In a flash, I moved to the kitchen and grabbed both of her hands. The only thought I had was getting her as far away as possible from the flowers and all that they represented. We crossed the apartment, her eyes shimmering with hurt, until we hit the couch.

“Tell me what happened. When did you find the flowers?” I asked as we both took a seat.

Ashlyn pulled her knees to her chest as she sat on one end, as far away as possible from me. She twisted a piece of her long blonde hair around her finger and nibbled on her bottom lip. A million emotions appeared on her face, and it was obvious this was tormenting her, like the pieces of the puzzle were slowly joining to form the bigger picture.

She took a deep breath and dropped her gaze to lap. “I slept late, then got up, made coffee, and had some toast. Then I cleaned and did some blog work, before I had a bath and read for a bit. When I came back out, they were on the counter, and that’s when I sent you a text.”

When she finally looked at me, my blood began to boil. Utter defeat plastered her face, and the Ashlyn that began to reappear over the past few weeks had been stolen.

“It was Lachlan, wasn’t it? He was in here,” she whispered, her eyes pleading with me, yet contradicting themselves. One minute she looked like she was begging with me to tell her that he hadn’t been here, but then she was begging me to confirm her biggest fears.

“Who has keys to your apartment?” I stammered over my words. I already knew the answer, but it was the only way I could confirm her fears without saying the fucker’s name. If I said his name I knew I’d completely lose it, and losing it was something I couldn’t do while Ashlyn was on a one-way course to losing it herself.

“He could have come into the bathroom.” She shot up from the couch as the reality of the situation hit her. Her face clouded with anger, and her eyes, once fearful, now simmered with hatred and complete frustration. “Josh, he could have come into the bathroom while I was in there. I was here on my own. Shit, I didn’t even have my phone with me.”

She stormed out of the living room, hips swinging, hair flying behind her like a sheet on a windy day, and disappeared down the hall like a woman with a score to settle.

“Where the fucking fuck are you?” She growled in frustration. It was evident in her emphasis of the word fuck that she was beyond pissed.

Tentatively, I stepped into her bedroom to find her ripping at her bedding and throwing pillows to the floor. She was like a woman possessed, like a tornado on a mission to completely destroy anything in its path.

“Ashy, you’ve got to settle down.”

Immediately it hit me that I’d made a mistake when her body went rigid and she whipped around and offered me a hellish glare.

“Settle down?” She scoffed in disbelief. “He came into my house, Josh, and put the flowers I hate on my counter like it was some kind of prize. Worse still, he made me think they were from you, and in that moment I fucking liked roses because they were from you. You, Josh, not my psychotic ex-boyfriend, or whatever the hell he was, because apparently we weren’t dating when he put his cock in another chick’s pussy. I am seething mad. No, it’s beyond that. I am livid, and when I find my phone I will be telling him exactly that. This shit needs to stop. Now I’m not going to be able to take a shower or bath without thinking someone is walking around my apartment. He doesn’t deserve that control.”

What could I possibly say to that? I leaned against the doorframe, crossed my arms over my chest, and waited. Even though I knew she was ready to rip Lachlan a new asshole, I also knew that she would break when reality finally hit her, and I would make sure I was here to pick up the pieces.

With a hoot, she found her phone and waved it frantically at me like she had discovered gold. I pushed off the door and headed toward her before she could dial. My hand grabbed hers and halted her movements. She looked at up me, her wide eyes shimmering with indecision and contemplation.

“Let me do this, Josh,” she whispered. The fierceness in her had all but dissolved.

“I’m staying in here while you call him,” I stated, and took a seat on the edge of her bed.

Ashlyn began pacing as she held her phone to her ear. “He isn’t answering,” she hissed in frustration with a scowl etched firmly on her face. Even when she was beyond pissed, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world. “Why won’t he answer? See, that just pisses me off even more. Right, I’m leaving him a message.”

The caveman within me couldn’t wait to come face to face with him again. I’d enjoy every fucking part of destroying him. The fact that he had come into Ashlyn’s house without her knowing fucked with my head. What kind of asshole does that, and why? What did he honestly think he would achieve by putting fear in Ashlyn? He was an absolute mother fucker, and he would not be getting anywhere near her again. As soon as she was done with this call, we were heading to Lowe’s and getting new locks. That would be step one.

“Lachlan. This is Ashlyn. I would appreciate if you did not step foot in my apartment again. You do, and I will be calling the police. My brother, his best friend, and Josh’s uncle are all in the force, so think about that. Yes, this is a fucking threat. Do not come into my fucking apartment a-fucking-gain. Forget me, because I am quickly forgetting you.” She jammed her finger on the screen and then dropped her phone to the floor.

I shot up from the bed and wrapped my arms around her, and she didn’t fight me. There was no way Lachlan would have answered the call. He was playing with her. He was making sure he had the upper hand. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to absolutely, without a doubt, destroy him. First the engagement party debacle, and now this. I couldn’t let him have another opportunity at her. She was mine to protect and, although I would forever want to comfort her, I didn’t want to have to comfort her due to the fucked up mind games of Lachlan Johnson.

“Let’s take a trip to Lowe’s,” I said softly.

Her head lifted from its place on my chest. “Lowe’s?”

“You are about to see my handyman skills on display. I’m changing your locks and getting you a deadbolt. No one but me and you are getting into this apartment without an invitation.”

Her smile was a welcome sign. “It’s very confident of you to think I’d give you a key, Joshua.”

“Do you really want to get out of bed in the middle of the night to let me in? After a night out with Duke, I may want to come and spoon.”

“You want to spoon?” She laughed as we made our way to the door.

“Tonight we spoon and, if you’re lucky, tomorrow we might spoon again.”

“Josh, there are rules.”

“And I told you, I’m all about breaking your rules.”

“You are impossible,” she said with a shake of her head.

I counted that as a win.

An hour later, after one trip to Lowe’s, two arguments over the positives of spooning, and three new locks, I was back in Ashlyn’s apartment, changing the locks on her door while she was on the couch with her kindle. During our trip to Lowe’s, she never left my side. She fell into moments of silence before she’d offer me a small smile and come back to me. I told stupid jokes, which caused her to giggle and tell me I was an idiot. I had never been more thankful to be insulted in my life, because it meant that Lachlan and his fucked up actions weren’t winning and the carefree Ashlyn was still with me.

“Why do you think he is doing this?” Ashlyn’s voice sounded behind me.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, before I shoved the screwdriver in my back pocket and turned to face her. The feisty woman that held my heart in her hands now looked like a meek little girl, desperate for reassurance and answers. It pained me to no end.

I crossed the living room and sat on the couch beside her. She shifted slightly closer to me, then lifted the blanket that was covering her legs and offered some to me.

I covered my bare feet, and replied with the only answer I could come up with, “He is realizing the mistake he made of letting you go.”

“There are a billion better ways of saying sorry than breaking into someone’s house and giving them their most hated flowers.” She sighed in defeat. “What would you do? I mean to say sorry.”

I didn’t even need to consider my answer, because there was only one response. “If I had you, Ashlyn, there is no way in hell that I’d do anything to hurt you. I certainly wouldn’t be putting my dick anywhere near another chick. To have you would be the greatest gift.”

Stillness fell around us, and the air immediately felt thick. I knew I had touched on a subject that would make her uncomfortable, but it was a chance I had to take. If I had to show her my intentions every day I would, and I wouldn’t back down. She pulled her lip between her teeth, but never broke my gaze. I could practically hear her brain ticking over, and I was sure she’d be coming up with an excuse.

“We would never work, Josh.”

“Why wouldn’t we work?” I ran my hands through my hair and narrowed my gaze. My interest in her response was soaring to extremes. She was dismissing being with me before I had a chance to prove to her how serious I really was.

“Because there is only one of me, and you need a smorgasbord of women. I’ve been your friend for years, Josh, so I’ve seen how you work. I can’t be that girl. As you said yourself, I’m not a casual girl.”

“I don’t need a smorgasbord of women when all I want is you.”

Ashlyn broke our stare and looked down at her hands. I was done with hiding my thoughts, so she would have to get familiar with hearing me lay it on the line. Finally, she looked up and softly said, “You’d get bored, and then I’d lose you. I can’t risk that.”

I shifted on the couch until I was flush against her. “I’d never get bored of you, Ashlyn.” I cupped her cheek with my palm, and her eyes closed under the sensation. With the pad of my thumb, I traced her bottom lip. She opened her mouth and took a broken breath. Finally, her deep greens found my eyes before they fell to my lips.

“How do you know that? I’m afraid of not being enough for you.”

“Forget Lachlan, forget your parents, and think about me, about us, about what you want. You are beyond enough for me, Ashlyn. Don’t you get it?”

She was my future, my forever girl. I had been in love with her for years, and wanted her in every sense of the word, but I made a huge sacrifice long ago. Did I regret it? Yes and no. I had to do what I did, but what I did regret more than anything was that she could have been mine. I could have protected her from all of this. Lachlan would never have gotten to her, and neither would any other man. But what could I do? It was a choice between my brother, my blood, and the girl I would always love. It was a fucked up position to be in, but I had to live with the decision I made.

“You’re vibrating,” she whispered as her eyes rose from gazing at my mouth.

Oh, I was vibrating alright.

“Your phone.”

Fuck.

I shifted my body to grab my phone from my back pocket. I glanced at it, and groaned when I saw Duke’s name flash on the screen. Worst timing ever.

“Duke,” I said quickly after I answered.

“I’ll be at your place in an hour.”

Fuck, I had completely forgotten that we were meant to be meeting up tonight for the game and beers. I looked at Ashlyn, who was now looking down at her kindle, and I knew there was no way in hell I’d be leaving her tonight.

“I’m going to have to give tonight a miss, something has come up.”

He scoffed loudly, and I knew he would call me out. “What? Don’t be a fucker. Get your ass to your apartment.”

I was about to reply and state the fact that I would not be there, when my phone was ripped from my hands by Ashlyn.

“Hey, handsome. Josh was helping me with a couple of things in my apartment, but he is finished now. Yeah I know. You truly are a ladies man, Duke. Yes, I am sure you are overdue for some random pussy as you so lovingly call it. I sure will. Talk soon.”

She touched the screen to end the call and handed me back my phone with a smile. “Go out with Duke.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” I stated matter of factly.

“I’m okay. I’ll be locked in, and no one will be getting in. I have a hot date with my kindle, the couch, and ice cream.”

“Nope, not leaving.”

She turned and gave me Bambi eyes. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you go out with Duke, you can use your key and come spoon with me tonight.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

“Spooning or no spooning, the decision is yours.”

“You play a hard bargain, Ashlyn Hart.”

Her smile told me that she knew she had me by the balls.