22. Veda
VEDA
I couldn't believe what I was reading. I'd only been at this company about eight weeks now but I knew this memo wasn't right.
It came in the files Jared dropped on my desk and moments later Asher walked into that meeting.
It was no wonder when he stormed past my desk grumbling for me to follow him that he was upset. Clayton was a total jerk.
My skirt bunched as I popped up from my desk to scurry after him, barely keeping pace until the office door slammed shut behind us loud enough for the whole office to hear. Asher locked the door, which wasn’t like him, and then shuttered the windows and turned on me like a rabid dog.
"I can't believe the nerve of that man!" he hissed. "And to think I call him my brother. He's no brother. He's a—"
"Asher," I blurted out, stopping him from saying something he'd regret. "Take a breath…" I had no clue how to calm him down. I hadn't seen him this upset in more than a month and all I could think was that he might spiral and start drinking.
"He's crossed the line, Veda." Asher started pacing, hands fisted at his side, taking large strides.
"He keeps pushing the limit and this time he's gone too far.
He thinks by horning in on my business that he'll prove to the board that he's a better leader.
But it doesn't matter. I’m in charge. I am the CEO by my father's choice. "
"It was a good choice," I said, grabbing his hand before he started his next march across the long narrow office.
"Your father made the right choice. Clayton is a monster.
" Without going into the specifics of how I knew that, I managed to halt him.
"You deserve to be where you're at and you're right.
Clayton is doing the wrong thing by pushing you to your breaking point.
" I wondered how much of Asher's drinking had been because of his brother’s instigation all along.
"I'm so angry and out of control," he growled, so I wrapped my arms around his chest in a hard hug. My own anxieties and worries could wait.
This moment wasn't about how I could get out of the mess I'd gotten myself in. It was about helping Asher regulate himself so he didn't drink. That was the last thing he needed.
So I clung to him, pressing my ear to his chest, until his arms came around me, and his breathing started to slow.
"You don't deserve anything he's doing to you. You are a good man, a strong man." I hoped my words comforted him, that they gave him some sort of reassurance. Because he really was an incredible man and I hated watching him go through this.
"Kiss me," he grumbled, and I pulled back to look up at him.
"What?"
"You heard me… Kiss me," he repeated before his lips descended on mine in a kiss so crushing it took my breath.
"Right now?" I asked, "Right here?"
"You're my medicine, Veda," he said, backing me toward his desk as he started unbuttoning my shirt. "Fix me… Make me feel better."
Asher’s kiss turned feral the moment our lips met again. He backed me up three strides until my thighs hit the desk, then gripped my waist and lifted me like I weighed nothing, setting me right on the polished edge.
Papers fanned out beneath me. A stapler clattered to the carpet, but his hands were already tearing at my blouse, buttons popped open, and he shoved the silk open and yanked my bra up to my collarbone. My breasts spilled free, nipples instantly tight under the cool office air.
“Perfect,” he growled, cupping them hard, thumbs flicking the peaks until I arched. “Look at these. Mine to play with whenever I need.”
I bit my lip to stay silent but it didn’t stop the whimpers that escaped until he kissed me again while fondling my breasts. God this was hot, the way he wanted me so desperately he'd take me with such passion.
His eyes flashed approval. “Good girl. Not a sound.” His hands worked open his fly as he kissed me again, and now I was eager for him.
Desperate almost. With Clayton on the rampage I didn't know how many more times I'd be able to enjoy Asher, and his demanding demeanor right now couldn't put me off from wanting him.
He scrunched my pencil skirt higher, until it bunched around my hips.
One rough tug dragged my lace panties to the side, exposing me completely.
I felt his dick nudge my entrance, and then he surged forward.
One long, merciless thrust seated him to his base.
My back bowed. The desk rocked hard enough to send a framed photo crashing to the floor.
But Asher didn’t pause. His hips snapped forward again and again, each stroke deep and punishing, the heavy oak desk slamming against the wall in a reckless rhythm that rattled the windows. My thighs spread wider to take him, heels hooking behind his calves, ankles locked.
“That’s it,” he rasped, “open up for me, sweetheart. Take every inch like the perfect girl you are.”
His hands never left my breasts, kneading, pinching, rolling my nipples between strong fingers until pleasure bordered on pain and spilled right back into bliss. Every thrust jolted through me until my vision blurred at the edges and I found it hard to contain my moans.
“Do you know how bad I need you?” he gritted out, hips pistoning. “You save me, Veda… This… You're my salvation."
I clung to the edge of his desk, swallowing every moan. The only sounds were the wet slap of skin on skin, the creak of expensive wood, and his ragged breathing in my ear as he bit down on my earlobe.
He shifted angle suddenly, driving even deeper, and the coil inside me snapped.
Pleasure detonated in fierce, silent waves.
My body clamped down hard, pulsing around him in long, greedy contractions that made my thighs quake and my toes curl inside my heels as I gurgled out a sound of enjoyment.
My head fell back and I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted copper, riding the crest wordlessly while he watched my face like it was the only thing keeping him sane.
“That’s my girl,” he groaned, feeling every clench. “Come all over me, sweetheart. Milk me with that perfect little body.”
Two more brutal thrusts and he buried himself deep, hips flush against mine. His head dropped to my shoulder as he came with a low, shattered sound. I felt every thick throb, heat flooding me in powerful surges that jerked through his big frame again and again.
His arms locked around my waist, holding me impaled as he emptied himself completely, and breathed raggedly against my neck.
When the last pulse faded he stayed inside me a moment longer, forehead pressed to mine, both of us trembling.
Then he eased back just enough to smooth my skirt down, fix my panties with gentle fingers, and tuck my breasts carefully back into my bra.
"God, I'm sorry…. I didn't use a condom," he grumbled like he was beating himself up. Of course it didn't matter at all to me. I was already pregnant. What was the worst he could do at this point?
I rested my hand along his cheek and smiled.
"It's okay, bud…. My panties will just drip the rest of the day because of you.
" My comment drew almost a half-smile from him as he tucked his dick away.
He handed me a tissue rather than wiping me clean like normal, and I knew how upset he really was when that happened.
"God, I needed that," he said, sinking into his chair as I slid off his desk and shimmied my skirt back down. My thighs were moist but it was a small price to pay to know he felt a little better. My heart was breaking for him when someone knocked on the door.
"God," he grunted before running a hand through his hair. He was decent, but his shirt was untucked and his belt was still open.
"I'll handle it," I told him, waltzing to his door expecting Clayton.
I buttoned my shirt on the way but didn't have it quite finished or tucked in when the door sprang open and Penny walked in.
Her eyes went wide, and her cheeks flushed dark pink, but she stood there staring at me while I stared at her and frantically tucked my shirt in.
I smelled like sex, and my hair was no doubt messed up. There was no confusion between us as her eyes dropped and she asked, "Is he okay? I got this memo from Clayton and I came to check on him."
"I'm fine, Penny," Asher growled, but the tone of his voice revealed he was very much not fine.
I felt a little embarrassed as I pushed the door shut again and whispered, "He's not… I could use reinforcements…" Carrying the weight of this man's sobriety on my shoulders felt like an impossible task.
Who would calm him down when I wasn't here?
Who would talk him back from the ledge when he found out what I'd done? If Penny was a source of encouragement and stability, I had to push her toward him. I knew I couldn’t be his only source, because I knew the storm that was about to hit that Asher would never see coming.
Penny's eyes took me in from head to toe and she sighed and looked away. Then she turned away from me, like she was ashamed of me for using my body to help Asher calm down, and stomped over to his desk.
"Now, Mr. Locke, I think we both know your brother is up to no good.
Let's not let his antics disrupt your peace…
" She dived in, babying him by forcing him to drink some water, getting him a tissue, and reminding him that his belt was undone.
Every so often while I stood there chewing my cheek she looked up at me, but I got the feeling she understood.
All I wanted was to help him, and all he wanted was for life to stop kicking him while he was down.
It made the fight to hold back tears that much worse.
Because I knew the biggest enemy he had to face was still out there coming for him, and there was no way for me to stop it.