Chapter 3 #2
I tapped the card against the side of my thigh. If I scanned it, there would be no turning back. The label of slut and whore could be used about me, right?
No. No, it couldn’t. This was one time with someone with whom I’d felt an immediate pull.
Right?
Besides, no one would ever believe me.
And I would never tell anyone.
Brushing some of my hair over my shoulder, I tapped the toe of my boot against the floor. One time, that was it.
I took a deep, reassuring breath, lifted my hand, and scanned the card. It beeped, and the light turned green.
So far, this wasn’t some prank just to see if I would turn up here.
So far, this was the real thing. Twisting the golden handle, I pushed open the door and cautiously stepped inside.
The room was dark, and I could barely see a thing.
Fumbling for the light switch against the wall, I finally found one and flicked it on.
My jaw nearly hit the floor.
Stretching in front of me was a full-on living room.
Cream couches faced a beautiful, intricate glass coffee table.
Champagne sat in an ice bucket with two glasses beside it.
Fresh flowers and a few potted plants sat in the corners of the room.
I stepped carefully down the two steps and ran my fingers across the back of the couch in awe.
The fireplace to my left wasn’t on, nor was the television that was mounted above the black brick mantle.
The door to the bathroom was back up the two steps to my right, and cracked open enough I could see just a smidge of the interior.
It was bigger than any bathroom I’d ever owned for my personal use before.
The porcelain tub stood alone beside an open shower concept.
White, clean, and sparkling. It was all elegant.
I continued to meander past the living area and rounded the corner to stop full force.
Floor-to-ceiling windows stretched before me with the glittering lights of the city beyond them.
The view was incredible. Absolutely stunning, despite my love of living in a smaller town, the city was undeniably gorgeous.
I couldn’t deny how intricate it all looked.
The massive California king bed to my right was untouched, white silk sheets clean and unstained, stretched across it. The kitchen behind me, on the other hand, was filled to the brim with what looked to be gifts. I wandered toward the unopened boxes, stacked on the chairs and table and counters.
Running my hand across the top of the cardboard, I glanced at the labels.
Most of them were made out to names I recognized: Void, The Reaper, Soul Shredder, Slayer, or Dark Banshee.
Some of them were even made out to their real names.
My eyes landed on one I hadn’t heard yet: Asher.
Asher Stone. I liked that. It was powerful and strong. Maybe that was his?
Sighing, I looked around once more, a little disappointed.
He wasn’t here. Nobody was.
How desperate would I look if I waited? Probably very desperate.
Walking back toward the coffee table, I placed the keycard down and pulled my phone out. Erasing the original message, rejecting him entirely, I typed out a new one.
I left your room key on the coffee table.
That was it.
My thumb once again hovered over the send button.
Strange that I felt so put out that he wasn’t here.
That I’d been, I guess, stood up. Maybe unintentionally, but all the same, he’d not shown up.
I thought I would be more angry than disappointed, but I apparently was not.
Maybe because there was a small amount of relief mixed in with it all?
“Well, I guess that’s it,” I muttered to myself and finally hit send. Stuffing the phone into my pocket, I looked up just as the lock disengaged on the door.
I stared at the handle, my heart nearly plummeting to the floor as it swung open, and in stalked the very man I’d thought wasn’t coming. It closed quietly behind him, and he paused. His eyes met mine, fiercely piercing into my soul.
Wrapping my arms around my body, I swallowed sharply as a hungry grin stretched across his most delicious lips. Could I be attracted to a mouth?
“Did you wait long? The last group at the meet and greet refused to leave,” he said casually, breaking the silence, but he didn’t walk any closer. He shoved his hands in his pockets and remained still.
I slowly shook my head.
His smile softened. “If you don’t want to do this, all you have to say is no. I won’t be offended.”
I was scared. He wasn’t supposed to have shown up. I’d already felt a smidge of relief amongst the disappointment. I’d already accepted that I was burned. But instead, he was patiently waiting by the door.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I responded, my voice squeaking.
He chuckled, and it rumbled in his chest. Deep and gravelly, just like his singing voice. “That you are,” he whispered.
I took a hesitant step forward. The smile slipped from his face as his gaze raked across my figure. It dripped with a primal desire that was so intense, I thought I’d burst into flames.
“What’s your name?” he asked, and I furrowed my brows.
“What?”
“What’s your name?” he asked again.
“You want to know my name?” I was confused. Wasn’t I simply a conquest for him?
“Obviously. You’re not just some object that I want to fuck. You are a person.”
Silence slipped between us as I stared. I wasn’t more than just someone he was sexually attracted to, but I also wasn’t just a random notch on his belt to him.
If I told him my name, would it make things too personal?
No, he would eventually forget it. This was a means to make me feel comfortable so he could get what he wanted. Like every man wanted. It had to be.
And for tonight, I was okay with that. I was willingly participating because I, too, wanted the same thing he did.
“Cosette,” I whispered.
He nodded once, slowly. Everything in me spun with anticipation. A rich desire to tell him exactly how I wanted things. To ask him to show me things I’d never experienced.
Could I ask him? I spent so much of my life trying to be in control, trying to hide.
For one night, letting someone else take the reins would be a relief, right?
But I didn’t want my pleasure to be thrown out the window simply because I wasn’t the one in control.
The risk, the chance I was about to take, would determine whether or not my gut instinct was right.
“Stop being polite. Please,” I quietly asked, my voice barely louder than a whisper.
But he’d heard. His brows lifted, and a wicked grin spread across his lips.
My heart raced, my chest lifting faster and faster as he stalked predatorily towards me. His hand suddenly wrapped around my neck, and he tilted my chin up with a single thumb.
“You’re mine for tonight. Understand?” he growled, and my knees narrowly gave out on me. A low ache began pulsing between my legs.
“Yes,” I whispered, and he pushed us a step toward the wall.
“Pick a safe word,” he purred, an inch away from my mouth.
“Uh… I don’t know…um…muse.” Why the hell would I—
And his lips fused against mine. I couldn’t gasp while his fingers tightened around my throat, and he slammed his body into me, every inch of his well-endowed length pressed between my legs. He wrapped his free hand around my ass, lifting me from the ground, and shoved my back against the wall.
Every inch of me was screaming in delight. On fire. A carnal side of me rising from deep within as my pleasure rushed into his hands. I would definitely not be leaving in a couple hours.