Читать книгу The Dare Collection September 2019 - Stefanie London - Страница 28

I COULD FEEL the tension gathering in Ash’s hard, muscled body. His scarred face was full of his usual ferocity, but there was something else burning in his eyes, something other than anger for a change.

If I hadn’t known any better I would have said it was longing, though why he’d be looking at me that way I had no idea.

Though it all vanished the instant I asked the question.

I shouldn’t have asked it, not when the post-sex warmth between us had been so wonderful, but I couldn’t let it go.

I had felt the force of his anger when he’d pinned me to the floor and taken me hard. My poor bear with his sore paw...

He didn’t want to tell me and he’d been trying to distract me ever since, but something had hurt him, and I had a feeling it wasn’t simply the fight he’d been denied. It was something more and I wanted to know what it was.

I was betting it had something to do with the strange thing he’d said to me, about how I needed someone patient and kind, which was such obvious bullshit, I didn’t even know what to say.

‘Come on,’ I said crisply, digging my nails into the hard muscle of his chest and meeting his glowering look without flinching. ‘Tell me.’

‘I don’t know,’ he said after a moment and with great reluctance. ‘I was expecting a fight. I wanted it. And then Seb just took it away.’

‘I think it’s more than that, though,’ I said, stroking him carefully.

For the first time, his gaze avoided mine, the tension in his body palpable now. ‘I’ve done nothing but burn bridges with him ever since I lost that money. And yet, he just gave up those islands. After twelve years of me making his life difficult. It doesn’t make any sense.’

‘Why is that such a bad thing?’ I asked carefully. ‘So you didn’t get your big fight. So what?’

His gaze came back to mine, fierce and hot. ‘Don’t you see? Mum didn’t want to give the money to me, but I convinced her. I told her it would make our lives easier. And it didn’t. I broke her trust, Ellie.’ A muscle flickered in his jaw. ‘Like Dad did.’

I saw it then, why he was so angry and so bloody driven. I reached up and touched his face gently. ‘You’re not like him, Ash.’ Because that was what he was afraid of, wasn’t it?

‘You don’t know him so you can’t tell me that.’

‘That’s true. But honestly? Your father sounds awful. He got a woman pregnant and then threw her out, not caring one bit what happened to her. And then turning away his own son? By telling you that you weren’t his problem?’ I stared right into his eyes. ‘You’re protective and possessive, Ash Evans. Are you seriously telling me that’s what you’d do to anyone you care about?’

That muscle jumped in his jaw again, the fierce blue glow in his eyes getting fiercer. ‘I did to Mum. And I did to Seb. He kept trying to pay that money back to me and I refused to take it. Hell, I refused to see him at all. And as for Mum...’ He paused. ‘We never spoke of it again.’

It didn’t surprise me in the slightest. And I thought I knew why.

‘You pushed them away, didn’t you?’ I brushed my fingertips over his cheekbone. ‘So they wouldn’t reject you like your dad did.’

He shifted beneath me, clearly uncomfortable. ‘I appreciate the psychology, Miss Little. But I assure you, it’s not necessary.’

So, he was back to being a grumpy bear again, was he?

I stilled my fingers on his face, pressing lightly. ‘The islands sound to me like an olive branch, Ash. And as for your mother, you should talk to her.’ I held his gaze. ‘It’s not too late. None of it is. If I still had my mother, that’s what I’d be doing.’

He blinked then turned his head so his mouth brushed over my fingertips instead. ‘That’s a low blow, pretty thing.’

It was, but too bad.

‘If you can’t handle it, don’t deal.’ I traced the line of his lower lip, revelling in the softness of it, then grazed over the stark line of his scar.

He stilled as I did so, watching me. ‘I was hard on you,’ he murmured after a moment. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek gently, his big palm warm against my skin. ‘I shouldn’t have been so rough.’

I couldn’t help myself, leaning into that hand, loving the warmth of it. ‘No, I’m glad you were. I’m not made of glass, Ash.’ I gave him a level look. ‘I don’t want to be treated like a victim just because some dumb bastard thought he could put his hands on me. I mean, I might be a woman who cries after sex, but I’m tough.’

His thumb stroked the side of my cheek, his gaze unreadable. ‘Why do you trust me? I don’t understand it. Not when I haven’t done one fucking thing to deserve it.’

The question took me by surprise and for a second I didn’t quite know how to answer. ‘I trust you because...well, I just do. Maybe it’s an instinctive thing.’ I flushed, remembering. ‘That first night in the limo, well, I kind of thought you were like a car and as long as I was driving nothing bad would happen. And then I wasn’t driving any more and you were in charge and I just felt...’ I struggled to find the right word. ‘I suppose I felt free. There’s something quite liberating about giving yourself up to the speed, you know?’

An intense expression flickered across his face. ‘Ellie, you should know right now that I would never do anything to make you regret that trust, understand me? Not a single thing.’ He was absolutely serious, I could see it in his eyes. He meant this.

I put my hand over his where it rested against my cheek and gave him back a smile. ‘I know you won’t.’

He didn’t smile back. If anything, the look in his eyes intensified. ‘I don’t know what you want after tonight is over, but I think we should stay on in Dubai for a couple of days.’

Something bloomed inside me like a flower. ‘You mean, you want me to stay with you? And not to drive you around, I take it?’

His hard mouth relaxed, curving into one of the sexiest smiles I’d ever seen. ‘No, not to drive me around. I want you to stay with me as my lover.’

Heat pulsed through me. To stay with him, in that lovely hotel by the sea, as his lover...

I couldn’t think of a single reason why I shouldn’t. Not one.

Sure you can...

But I pushed the thought away before it could form. No, I could do with a couple of days in a nice hotel with a hot AF billionaire. I’d be returning to Australia pretty soon anyway, so why not take the chance while I could?

And apart from anything else, I hadn’t had a holiday for ages.

And when it comes to say goodbye?

Then I’d say goodbye. It wouldn’t be a problem.

‘I would love to.’ I ignored the strange ache in my chest. ‘I can call the company and tell them not to schedule any jobs for me for the next week.’

‘That means you won’t get paid, though.’

He was astute, I’d give him that. ‘No, but I’ve put some money aside to cover holidays and sick days.’

His thumb brushed over my skin again. ‘Just a few days, yes?’

I put my palm flat on his chest and reached up to kiss him. ‘That is an absolute, yes.’

We didn’t leave the room immediately after that.

I pushed him back onto the mattress and straddled him, indulging my need to touch him, and he let me. Then he found another condom from somewhere and made me ride him, and I loved the growls and curses I brought from him. Then, when we were sweaty and sated, I made him turn over so I could examine the beautiful Chinese tattoo that covered his back.

He’d got it done after his first fight, he told me. Because one of the people who’d bet on him was a tattoo artist who’d won a lot of money and was so pleased he’d offered Ash a free tattoo.

Luckily the artist was good and the tattoo amazing, and after I’d explored it thoroughly, as a reward for his patience, I made him turn over and lie there while I kissed my way down his body and turned the same attention I’d given his tattoo to his cock, taking it into my mouth and sucking him until he roared my name, his fingers clutching tight in my hair.

After that, we thought we’d better move, which turned out to be problematic when I remembered that he’d basically ripped my dress from me and now it was nothing but emerald green bits of fabric on the floor.

We solved the dilemma by Ash ripping down one of the silk curtains from the window and draping it sari-like around my naked body.

I didn’t care what it looked like. There was something wild running through me, the same kind of recklessness I’d felt when I was driving one of the Pythons, wanting to go faster and uncaring about the consequences.

The Little madness, my mother had called it once, slightly disapprovingly.

But she wasn’t wrong. It was a kind of madness. As we left the suites, people stared at us, me in my improvised dress, and Ash in his rumpled tux, and I didn’t care.

In fact, I enjoyed the attention, relishing it even more as Ash put his arm around my waist and pulled me tight against him, making no bones about the fact that I was his.

And this time it was almost real. For the next few days at least, I was his.

Ash took us back to the bar so he could firm up the deal with Delaney, acting as though him leaving abruptly and us both being away for a couple of hours hadn’t happened.

Delaney was delighted and after a handshake and the numbers of their respective lawyers had been exchanged, we left the bar and headed towards the exit, both of us eager to get back to our hotel and resume what we’d started up in the private suites upstairs.

Imogen stopped us as we left, murmuring something to Ash about the next club event that was supposed to be held at one of his new luxury hotels in Monte Carlo. Then she mentioned something about supercars, which made my ears prick up.

‘What do you mean the supplier fell through?’ Ash demanded.

Imogen was frowning, her poise not quite what it had been when we’d met her at the beginning. ‘There was some production issue. The cars had to be recalled and they won’t be ready in time.’

Ash flicked a glance at me. ‘I think I might know where to get some more.’

Something moved like lightning through my whole body. Imogen had turned to look at me expectantly. ‘You know someone?’ she asked.

‘Actually, I do,’ I said, the wild recklessness still burning inside me. ‘My family makes hand-built supercars.’

Imogen frowned. ‘We have a certain market—’

‘They meet the market,’ Ash interrupted flatly. ‘I’ve seen them. The club members will love them, I guarantee it.’

‘Well, we need them in a month in Monaco. That’s not a lot of time.’

I could feel my excitement deflating slightly. Of course it wasn’t. Not when the cars were built in Australia and we’d need to ship them.

‘Not a problem,’ Ash put in again. ‘We’ll get them to you.’ His gaze burned as he looked at me. ‘I can work it so we’ll meet the deadline.’

Imogen gazed at the pair of us sceptically. ‘I’m not so sure. But seeing as how I don’t have a lot of choice... Fine. I’ll need to be kept in the loop, though, since I’ll have to adjust the marketing.’

‘No problem. Give me a couple of days to sort a few things and I’ll get back to you with the details.’

This appeared to satisfy Imogen and a minute or two later, I found myself being tugged along as Ash pulled me towards the entrance.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ I asked worriedly as we walked.

‘Taking advantage of an opportunity.’ The blue of his eyes burned incandescent and not with anger this time, but with excitement. And I could suddenly see why his mother would have given him all her money—why many people did. When he was like this, he was mesmerising.

‘An opportunity? I can’t get a bunch of cars to Monaco in a month,’ I protested. ‘Not when we have to ship them from Aus.’

‘Don’t limit your thinking, Miss Little.’ He flashed me a grin as the limo came for us. ‘We don’t need to ship them from Australia, not when I have a factory in France. We can build them there and drive them to fucking Monaco.’

I stared at him in shock. ‘What? You just happen to have a factory vacant in France? Really?’

‘I have lots of different companies doing different things. And yes, one of those things is a factory in France that just happens to be vacant. Or rather, it produces automotive parts and I’m sure we can make a few adjustments for your Pythons.’ He frowned and I could almost see him sorting through all sorts of ideas and plans, weeding the wheat from the chaff. ‘I’m happy to fly your father and any engineers he might want to bring out. In fact, I’ll get Petra to contact him. No, scratch that, I’ll contact him myself.’ He had his phone out already, his thumb moving swiftly over the screen, obviously typing out some notes to himself.

I kept on staring, dumbfounded at how quickly he moved when he wanted to. ‘But I—’

‘Unless you want to call him?’ Ash suddenly lifted his gaze to mine. ‘After all, you were the one who came here to solve his debt problem. If this works out, he’ll be making some returns even sooner than we anticipated.’

It was true. But the thought of talking to Dad felt wrong. I would be excited and he wouldn’t. He’d try and damp it down somehow, turn a big deal into something small. And I didn’t want small. Not yet. Right now, I wanted to enjoy the excitement of it all.

‘You can tell him,’ I said. ‘He’ll like that you called him directly.’

Ash scowled. ‘He should be fucking grateful that I thought of him at all. And I only did because of you.’

I flushed, feeling a little disloyal at how pleased that made me, but feeling it anyway. ‘I think he will be,’ I said. ‘Anyway, I’ll be helping—’

‘No, you won’t.’ Ash’s eyes gleamed as he waved away the chauffeur, opening the door to the limo for me himself. ‘I’ve thought of something else that you’ll be doing.’

‘Oh? And what’s that?’

There was a hot, feral light gleaming in his eyes. ‘Get in the car, Miss Little. Monaco can wait, but my cock can’t.’