7. Lilah
7
LILAH
I’m yours.
The words ring in my head as I stare down at Asher. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I’ve never been so consumed by anyone before. I’ve never felt so wanted before.
I thought this was nothing more than a game for him, but it’s become clear over this past month how wrong I am. Asher wants me and no one else. And I want to be his.
I want him to be mine.
“On your feet,” he rasps, grabbing me by my hand as he stands up.
Thankfully, he has a hold on me because my legs are jelly, and it takes a few moments for me to regain my footing.
“I’m a little wobbly after that,” I say, glancing over my shoulder at him as I move toward the bedroom at the back of the penthouse. I’ve only seen glimpses of it when I’d join him for lunch here over the past month.
“You’ll be more than a little wobbly after I’m through with you. You won’t be able to walk.”
“Are you planning on breaking my legs?” I joke, pausing a few feet from him. God, he’s magnificent. I’d almost forgotten how athletic he is. And now that he’s naked apart from his boxer briefs, I’ve got the perfect view of his firm chest, ripped abs, and powerful arms.
I’ll need to remind myself how they feel against my tongue.
Asher moves toward me, each step sending a sharp, jagged jolting sensation through my core as I see those muscles flex and bulge. See his bulge. I haven’t forgotten about that. My mind would never let me forget about that. And I have a feeling Asher will give me a refresher soon enough.
“No,” he says, hardly above a whisper as he closes the gap between us. I can feel the heat from his body. The crackling energy between us as he brings his hand down my cheek and thumbs my lips. “But I’m going to break your desire for any other man. Ruin you for any other man. Remind you that there isn’t a single man in the world but me who can satisfy you the way you need. Treat you the way you deserve.”
I swallow hard.
“That’s a tall order.”
But one that he’s already filled. I don’t want any man but him.
Asher exhales harshly, amusement playing across his features as he says, “I expect a full report of how I did on my desk tomorrow morning.”
“How about I spread myself out on your desk instead?”
“That’s what I like to hear, angel.”
His lips crash against mine again and again, and I feel weightless. I’ve never met anyone who could erase all thoughts from my head like this. I forgot all my problems the first night I was with him. And over the month I’ve known him all of those problems have been addressed, one by one. I’ve done things with him I thought I’d likely never achieve in my lifetime. Who cares about my bucket list anymore? Asher’s making it inconsequential.
“You. Bed. Now,” Asher huffs when we finally pull away, our foreheads touching. My lips tingling from his.
I don’t speak. I turn on my heel and move toward the doorway. As much as he wants this, I want it too. I’ve been aching to feel him inside me again, pumping and pulsing. Filling me.
“God you’re so fucking sexy,” he rasps from behind me, stopping me in my tracks again. My entire body erupts in goosebumps. “A goddess.”
I hear something fall to the ground and turn in time to see him striding toward me, bare feet smacking against the floor with each stride. My breath lodges in my throat when I see that weapon between his legs pointed at me.
Good lord, it’s thick. And when he closes the gap between us, it slides up against my belly, slick and throbbing and so hard.
“Fuck the bedroom,” he growls against my neck before sinking his teeth gently against my skin. “I need you now.”
He grabs my ass with both hands and lifts me effortlessly into the air as I slot my legs around his body. My back hits the wall seconds later and his hands find my breasts, cupping and massaging me as he thrusts against me.
“Fucking need to worship your body.”
My nails dig into his back as I moan, frissons of pleasure rolling through me. What is this man doing to my body? Is it possible for skin to orgasm? I’ve felt nothing like this before. Every raspy word from his lips, every caress of my skin with his lips, fingers, and cock gives me a headrush.
His lips find my throat. That tongue of his comes next, drawing a line across my skin as I feel my nipples tighten and tighten and my entire body throbs.
He exhales harshly as he pulls away. “Your taste is intoxicating.”
“And your lips are addictive,” I breathe, sliding my hands across his face and kissing him.
God, I love it. The way his lips seal against mine and his tongue roves in my mouth, owning it.
His thrusting becomes erratic. Harder. Faster. And then he lifts me higher, angling my hips until I feel the length of him slide against my folds, forcing me to break our seal.
“You’re distracting me,” he rasps, pressing his lips against my neck.
I snort. “I didn’t mean to.”
Up and down. Up and down. Each time his cock slides against my clit, it feels like I’m going to burst.
“Not all distractions are unwelcome. But right now…” His cock stops sliding against me and I feel the tip pressing into me. Pushing. Nudging. Urging me open. “I need to feel your pussy strangle my cock.”
I open my mouth to respond but it’s lost as he breaks through the last bit of resistance.
“Lilah,” Asher moans into the crook of my neck as he pushes deeper, filling me up. “You’re so tight. So wet.” In and out. He increases his pace, each thrust inching deeper inside me. Hitting spots no man but him has ever hit and electrifying my body as I cling to the hard plane of his back.
“You’re.” Grunts and thrusts. I can hardly get more than a word out as he keeps pumping me against the wall. “Huge.”
“Your pussy was made for my cock. Perfect fit. Perfect…per fuck!”
I’ve never been taken like this before. Not even our first night was like this. He was measured and in control. Not like this. There’s no semblance of control as he thrusts into me. Grunting. Huffing. Hands all over my body. Lips on my breasts. My neck. Everywhere that’s in reach.
“Asher,” I moan, nails digging into him as he finds the perfect rhythm. “Like that.”
“Need to feel you come,” he growls into my skin as his fingers dig into my ass. “Need to…” he grits out before sliding his hand to my lips and I take his fingers into my mouth.
“Fuck, baby. Missed this.”
Asher’s sac slams against my ass as he makes me his. My body twisted into knots, coiled tighter than my legs around his waist.
“I love you, Lilah,” Asher whispers into my skin.
I swear I think I’m hallucinating until he pulls back, threads his fingers through my hair, and tells me once again before sealing our lips together. Every nerve ending feels like it’s exploding as my orgasm crashes through me.
“Good girl,” Asher moans against my lips as I scream his name. “That’s it.”
I’m only vaguely aware of moving from the wall as I’m reeling from whatever the hell Asher did to my body. It’s only when my back hits the soft cushion of his bed do I realize that he carried me to our bedroom.
Our? I don’t know where the thought came from, but it feels right. Everything about this feels right. Like it was meant to be.
Asher’s looking down at me, cock aimed straight at me as he smiles. “You’re gorgeous, Lilah. But when you come, you’re a masterpiece.”
“I could get used to hearing that.”
Asher slides onto the bed, the one knee in between my legs, and the other to my side as he straddles me. And speaking of masterpieces…
I can’t help but grab his, stroking him as he rears his head back and lets out a chesty growl.
“There won’t be a day that goes by that I won’t tell you. You’re special, Lilah. A dream. One I never want to wake up from.”
“Are you telling me nice things because I’m stroking your cock?”
He snorts.
“I love you.”
I pause because Asher’s the only person in the world besides my parents who have ever told me that. But this kind of love is different. And it’s the same kind I feel for him too.
“I love you too,” I say as my chest bubbles with emotion. And then a few seconds later. “And I love this.”
I lean forward and kiss the tip of his cock.
Asher shivers and then lets out a deep laugh. “It’s yours, angel. And you can have it anytime you want.” He reaches down for my face, caressing my cheek before guiding my chin to meet my gaze. “Live with me, Lilah. I can’t bear to be without you any longer. I want your face to be the first thing I see in the morning. And your lips to be the last thing I taste at night.”
I smile up at him. “I thought you’d want something else to be the last thing you taste.”
A soft snort. “I didn’t specify which lips, did I? The only way you’ll find out is by accepting.”
“I’ll consider it,” I say, rubbing my thumb along his tip, spreading the slickness across the velvety head. “If you can make me come again.”
Asher laughs. “Consider it done.”
Before I have the chance to respond, Asher slips between my thighs, and his mouth and tongue connect with my clit.
“I meant…” I gasp as my fingers tunnel through his hair. “That’s cheat— oh, fuuuuck…” I moan, no longing caring about anything but the way Asher’s mouth feels against me.
The noises this man is making as he devours me turn me on almost as much as his tongue fervently stroking my clit. He sounds like an animal. Manly. A caveman staking his claim as he paws at my breast with one hand and fixes the other on my belly, pinning me against the mattress.
As if I’m going anywhere. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. And from the sound and feel of it, Asher feels the same way.
“ Fuuuuck! ” he growls against my folds before rearing back and grabbing hold of my legs and pulling me closer to him. He’s on his knees, cock sliding against my stomach as his balls slam against me.
“You drive me wild, angel. I can’t control myself when you’re near. Every time you entered my office I wanted to throw you up against the wall and fuck you senseless. Jesus, I’ve never felt like this about anyone, and I never will.”
His thrusting gets more feverish. He looks feverish. And if I don’t feel him inside me soon…
“Make me yours.”
And with those words, there’s a shift in Asher’s expression. I thought he was an animal before, but this is different. It would be terrifying if I didn’t trust him completely. He doesn’t speak. Me grunts and growls and grabs and paws at me as he repositions me on the bed.
Head down. Ass up. And seconds later, he’s inside me as his palm collides with my ass. He grabs my waist as I see stars in the blackness behind my eyelids. I see fireworks. I see the heavens, gods, goddesses. I see my life flash in one movie reel as Asher makes good on his need to fuck me senseless.
“Lilah,” Asher growls. He keeps repeating my name as he keeps thrusting into me. “So damn tight,” he moans as his teeth sink into my back and I feel another orgasm building. “Ride me, angel.”
I gasp as his cock slips out of me and he moves to the head of the bed.
“Need to see your face when you come. Smother me with those gorgeous tits.”
I swear I’m in a daze, my body reeling as tingling sensations roll over my skin. Thrumming. Humming. Everything feels so good.
I slide on top of him, grinding against him as he palms my tits.
“That’s it, angel. Just like that..”
“It’s so deep,” I moan as he pumps into me from below. “It’s so…” I bite down on my lip as I feel myself dangling precariously on the edge. Asher’s way too good at this. He knows what my body wants. He knows what I need as he thumbs my clit and nipple.
Him.
I want him.
I need him.
Everything he does turns me on.
“That’s it, baby.”
He reaches for my face, and when we lock eyes, he tells me to come for him and a few seconds later, I do.
“Fuck,” he moans. “Gorgeous. Just… fuuuu ? —”
Asher pulses into me as his hands hold onto my waist, digging in and riveting me in place as he unleashes inside me. God this feels amazing. And seeing him so overwrought makes me even more turned on.
“Jesus,” he rasps when we finally come down.
I collapse onto him in a heap, both of us panting against each other.
“So that means you’re living here now?”
I snort. “I guess so.”
“And what happens if I make you come again? Will you marry me?”
I laugh, slapping his chest, but when I glance up at him, I’m not sure he’s joking.
I think he really does want to marry me.
“Maybe,” I say, pressing a kiss against his chest.
Although another part of me screams, yes, yes, YES!
I let out a long, soft sigh as I try to stretch, but fail because Asher’s arm and leg are hooked across my body. And I’m pretty sure each one weighs at least fifty pounds, stacked with so much muscle. So much power.
I try to turn my body to face him, but once I move, his grip around me tightens as he pulls me closer, and… good morning.
His cock presses against my ass and then slides up against my back as he growls. Snarls? Something animalistic that lights me up in no time. My nipples tighten as a frisson of excitement races through me and my mind wanders to last night and what happened. Again and again and again. I’d go through another month of no-touching if it always led to that .
Well, maybe not. I’m not sure either of us will be able to keep our hands off each other anymore, and I like that a whole lot. I love it. And I love Asher.
It’s strange. When I thought about finding love, cooking up the imaginary man of my dreams as I wrote out that entry in my bucket list, Asher wasn’t close to the kind of guy I thought I’d end up with. Someone a little more… not filthy rich? A school teacher. An accountant. Or maybe a chef. The CEO of a major entertainment company didn’t register in my wildest dreams.
But I guess that’s because it doesn’t matter to me. What matters is how we make each other feel. Our interactions. It doesn’t matter to me that he has more money than a small country’s GDP. Of course, it’s a nice bonus, especially after living a life where there never was enough money. I’m not saying no to the trip to Italy.
My jaw nearly fell off when he snuck that one in last night. He visits their family villa each summer for his mother’s birthday ever since his father passed. And now he wants to take me with him. It’s a little spooky that I’ll meet his family soon, but I don’t mind moving at this pace with Asher.
I feel safe with him. Protected. He listens to me, makes me laugh, and most importantly, he loves me. He’s the first person I’ve ever pictured spending the rest of my life with.
And I can’t think of a better place than here in his arms. But… I need to pee really bad. So as much as I love the feeling of him holding me, I need to move because I don’t want to wet the bed on our first night together.
It takes some doing, and a little bit of grunting, but eventually, I disentangle myself from Asher and slip into the bathroom.
After finishing up, I take another look at Asher. He’s still fast asleep so I sneak over to the bed and lift the covers, taking one last peek at that tight ass.
I don’t know what it is about his ass, but I can’t get enough of it. I’d grab a handful of it, but I want to surprise him with breakfast in bed. Although, now that I think about it, he’ll probably shove it aside and have me for breakfast instead, which isn’t such a bad idea.
I let the sheet fall and then head for the kitchen. I can't help but smile at the sight of our clothes strewn on the ground. My skin erupts with goosebumps as I remember the way his hands felt, peeling my clothes off, and the way his tongue owned my mouth and the rest of my body.
I consider cooking him breakfast completely naked, but it’s too chilly so I slip into his dress shirt, which hangs down below my knees and then grab his jacket and slide it on too. I moan, savoring his scent as I hug myself. It’s a poor replacement for Asher, but I’ll make do with it until he wakes up and I can have the real thing.
As I make my way to the kitchen, something heavy in the inside pocket of his jacket keeps rubbing against my chest. I slide onto a stool at the kitchen island and then slip my hand inside the pocket, my entire body going cold once my fingers touch the surface.
I don’t want to believe it.
I can’t believe it.
But there’s no way that it’s not .
I pull the folded sheets from the pocket and set them in front of me. I stare at them. I keep staring at them. I stare at it until my eyes are painfully dry and when I finally blink, it burns. The tears come next. Hot and salty and silent as rivulets run down my cheeks.
How could he do this? Why would he do this?
I feel… so naked. Some of my most personal thoughts and dreams were on those pages. I thought the cleaning staff for the hotel had simply thrown it out when I returned to ask about it.
Asher kept it.
And as I flip through the pages, he’s been checking off the entries. Is he using it like an instruction manual to get closer to me? A step-by-step guide on how to win me over? The more I look, the more sick I get because there are things he’s checked off that I haven’t seen yet. He’s?—
“Morning, beautiful,” Asher rasps.
I can’t breathe. For a brief moment, my entire body locks up. I try to turn my head but it feels like there’s another force counteracting anything I do. I can only stare at the pages in front of me as my fingers tremble.
But when Asher places his hand on the nape of my neck and moves next to me, everything unlocks and all I feel is heat. That trembling in my fingers spreads as anger like I’ve never experienced rolls through me.
“Delilah…”
Asher’s fingers fall from me as I grab the pages from the counter and slide off the stool, squaring up to him. “Don’t call me that.”
Asher tries to reach for me but I step back. “Please, let me explain.”
His voice is rough and ragged and I feel his pain in each syllable, but he’s not the one who’s been violated. And as angry as I am, I feel a disproportionate sadness. Loss. I shake my head, tears blurring my vision as I stare at the man I’d fallen so hard for. A man I’m not sure I know anymore, or if I ever did.
“Was any of this real?” I wave my hand between us.
“All of it,” Asher gusts. “Every word. Every kiss. Everything I did for you.” He touches my cheek with his hand and I’m mad that I’m still affected by him so much. That I want him to touch me, even after this. But I need space. I need…
I snort softly, taking a step back as his hand falls. “I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to do but I need to leave right now.”
“Anything. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
I shake my head. “That’s what you were trying to do with this, right? Hand over all my hopes and dreams and desires to me on a silver platter.”
I watch Asher’s throat bob as he swallows. He opens his mouth to say something but then he pauses.
“But that’s not the point of this,” I say after a few moments, shaking the pages in my hands. “It’s about the struggle. I want to earn it. This… it feels dirty. You might be used to throwing money around to fix issues or solve all your problems but there’s one thing in this world you can’t buy. A problem…” I swallow hard as I feel more tears coming. “Money can’t fix.”
I stare at the man I’ve fallen so hard for. The man I thought understood me. A man I’m not sure I know anymore.
I clench the pages in my hand. “You can’t buy me, Asher.”