Chapter 13 Asha
ASHA
“We’re not just going to break your dry spell, we’re going to shatter it.
So let me tell you how this is going to go.
” Rook’s voice was a low growl as he pinned me to the wall.
“First, I’ll make you come. Then I’ll fuck you slow, hard, and every way you need.
And if you’re a very good girl, we’ll keep doing that until you can’t stand.
I’ll have you shaking, dripping, and begging for more. Say you want that, pet.”
My breath caught in my throat. I wasn’t afraid. Nothing about Rook scared me in the way it should. It was the intensity in his eyes, the promise in his tone, the way every part of me lit up under his stare.
Great. I was turned on by his dominance. That felt healthy. This was probably the part where a smarter woman would run.
I was not that woman. I nodded fast and whispered, “I want that.”
God help me, I would let this man do unspeakable things to me.
“Good. If I only get this night with you, I’m going to make sure you remember it every time you close your eyes.”
Then his mouth crashed to mine, and our bodies fused as I grabbed at him, a rock climber scrambling to find purchase on a cliff face.
Rook’s kiss was commanding, savage, desperate. Nothing like the sloppy first kisses I’d had before. He didn’t fumble or hesitate. He kissed me as though he’d been rehearsing it, as though my mouth already belonged to him.
My ears popped just as the elevator dinged open. Rook lifted me like I weighed nothing and wrapped my legs around his lean waist.
“You know this is insane, right?” I said against his lips as he carried me into the apartment.
“Aye,” he muttered. “I’ve lost my mind over you.”
His words knocked the air out of me. So did the view.
I pulled back from the kiss to take it all in. The soaring ceilings, gleaming designer kitchen, the massive expanse of windows overlooking the glittering city.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “This place belongs on Million Dollar Listing.”
Rook didn’t respond. He buried his face in my neck and inhaled as if he were trying to imprint my scent into his memory. “You smell so fucking good.”
Then he stalked down the hallway, past abstract art and low lighting.
He pushed into the bedroom. Moody walls, plush furnishings, floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing stunning city views.
I had half a second to clock the enormous bed and impossibly soft-looking duvet before he tossed me onto it.
“Strip,” he said. Just one word. Low, steady, final.
My heart thundered in my chest. Not from nerves. From the way he stood over me like he owned the air I was breathing.
“Bossy much?” I flashed him a teasing smile.
“Aye.” His gaze swept over me, dark and hungry. “And you’re going to do what you’re told anyway.”
All right. I’d play his game.
I sat up and reached for the zipper on my dress, hands fumbling under the weight of his stare. The fabric slid down my arms and pooled in my lap before I shimmied out of it completely.
“Bra,” he ordered roughly.
My fingers worked the clasp, and I dropped the bra on the floor.
Rook’s jaw flexed. “Panties.”
I didn’t hesitate. I slipped them down my legs quickly and kicked them to the side.
He let out a slow, controlled exhale. “Spread your legs for me.”
With any other man, a demand such as that would’ve sparked anxiety in me.
And it sounded batshit crazy, but even though Rook and I had just met, there was something about him that put me at ease.
Like we’d known each other for far longer than this one night.
Like he saw beyond the pretty dress and makeup to the real Asha hidden to all but those closest to me.
A woman who spoke her mind, asked too many questions, and refused to play nice just to make someone feel bigger.
A woman who was too much for a lot of men.
But I wasn’t too much for Rook. I couldn’t say exactly how I knew. I just knew. And something about that was very appealing.
So I obeyed, slowly. Deliberately. My thighs parted, baring me to him in a way that felt as dangerous as it did intoxicating.
His eyes dropped to the slick heat between my thighs and stayed there. Dark. Focused. Ravenous. “Christ. Laid out for me like that…you’re breathtaking.” He didn’t touch me at first. He just stared, as if he were memorizing me.
My ego might’ve been fragile before I’d approached Rook’s table tonight, but having this godlike man looking ready to devour me made me feel all kinds of special.
Rook’s hands found my ankles first, then slid up my calves, my thighs, with firm, possessive strokes that had me arching into him before I could stop myself.
“I haven’t even touched this sweet cunt yet, and you’re already trembling,” he said, almost to himself. “So fucking perfect.”
He sank to his knees at the end of the bed. His palms went under my ass, tugging me closer to the edge until I was spread wide for him, open and helpless and far too eager.
Sending this moment straight to the core memory bank.
His eyes met mine. “You really want this? With me?”
I was all for a consent king, but I’d never once given Rook the impression that I didn’t want him. My brow knitted as I considered how much I should share. “Truth?”
“Always.”
“I can unequivocally say that I’ve never wanted a man as much as I want you right now.”
“Those are the right words, love.” I almost combusted when he licked his lips and returned his stare to my exposed flesh. “I’ve waited a long time for this.”
“Half an hour? You have the patience of an overtired toddler.”
His chuckle had a devious note to it. “Trust me. When it comes to you, I have the patience of a saint.”
Then his mouth was on me. Hot, slow, devastating. One long lick up my center, ending with a flick of his tongue against my clit that made my back bow and my fingers scramble for purchase in the sheets.
“Hands on me,” he commanded, voice rough against my sensitive skin. “Grab my hair. Scratch my back. I want to feel how much you need me.”
I threaded my fingers through his hair, tugging hard as he sucked and circled over and over. I cried out, and my hips lifted.
Rook’s grip on my thighs tightened. “Don’t run. Take it.”
“Fuck,” I gasped. “Rook, God—”
He growled like he wanted more from me. My nails scraped down his shoulders, and he moaned.
“That’s right,” he murmured. “Mark me. I want to see those scratches tomorrow.”
His mouth worked me slowly, methodically, but never with quite the pressure I needed to push me over the edge.
I arched my spine to chase his mouth, but he held me down with one firm hand.
“Rook,” I panted, frustration blooming.
He glanced up at me with glistening lips. “Not yet. You don’t come until I say.”
“That’s cruel.”
“Aye,” he said, dragging his tongue in a slow circle that made my legs shake. “But I want to hear you beg loud enough to wake half the city.”
I whimpered as my hands fisted his hair. I didn’t care how desperate I sounded. My release was so close I could taste it, and Rook was holding it just out of reach. “Please.”
His brows lifted. “Please what?”
Goddammit. He had me at my most vulnerable. I’d trade my soul, firstborn, and anything else he wanted for him to give me what I needed. “Please, let me come. If you don’t, I might have to hurt you.”
“There she is.” His voice dropped, humming with approval. “Go ahead, love. Give it to me.”
He sucked my clit hard and gripped my thighs as I shattered on his mouth and cried out his name. My legs locked around his shoulders, and my whole body tightened, then broke apart as the orgasm rolled through me.
Rook didn’t stop. Not until I collapsed, ruined and wrecked and completely his, even if it was only for tonight.
He stood slowly, licking his lips like he was savoring every last drop of me. His chest rose and fell in heavy, measured breaths as he looked down at me, wrung out and splayed open like an offering.
“What’s the time, Asha?” He gestured to the digital clock on the nightstand, the one he could clearly see.
“Eleven fifty-seven p.m.” I arched a brow. “Cocky.”
His smug smile made my heart skip a beat.
“Just a man who doesn’t like to disappoint his woman.”
His woman.
I really shouldn’t like the sound of that as much as I did. Damn, those postorgasm endorphins were doing strange things to me.
Fine. I’d lean into it. It might be fun to pretend this was something more than a one-night stand.
“Careful.” My grin was full of mischief. “I might make you promise me all kinds of indecent things.”
“You name it, love, and I’ll make it happen. I am but your humble servant who’ll do anything if you’ll let me fuck you in the next thirty seconds.”
“Hmm.” I tapped one finger against my lips. “The heads of my enemies? Overthrow a kingdom or two?”
“Done. Anything else?”
“No. Just you.”
Without breaking eye contact, he unbuckled his belt with one hand. The soft clink of metal made my insides squirm. His shirt came off next, revealing a tapestry of ink and muscle.
Sweet Jesus. The man was ripped.
My eyes met Rook’s. “Do exterminators lift a lot of heavy equipment?”
“Yes. Often.” Then he dropped his pants and boxer briefs in one smooth motion, and I forgot how to breathe entirely.
Mother have mercy.
My brain short-circuited at the sight of him—thick, hard, proud, and already glistening at the tip.
“You’re staring,” he said, a smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth.
I bit my bottom lip. “Just giving my soon-to-be-battered cervix a pep talk.”
His smirk widened. “You can take it. Can I fuck you now?”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
I’d died and gone to heaven.