Chapter 11 #2
His eyes search mine. “I get it. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Ash, I’m a mess, I don’t know who I am. What does my life even look like now. We hide out here for a bit, but then what? We’ll all need to go back into the real world, and I can’t be Daisy.”
He brushes the back of his hand down the side of my face.
“We’ll work out all the details while you recover, and don’t worry about your dancing.
I promise I will personally make sure you get that audition next intake and you get all the prep time you need with Paige.
You will follow your dreams, princess. I will make sure of it.
Might just take a little longer than we planned.
All I ask is that while we’re locked up here with not much else to do, you spend some time with me.
When we’re together, you make me forget all the other shit.
” His eyes light up with that damn cheeky sparkle that gets me every time. “No one else can do that.”
“Is that what you wanted when you found this horror show? To hang out with me?” I motion to myself, trying to lighten the mood. I know I must look ridiculous.
That puts the grin back on his face. “Actually, you distracted me from what I came to see you about. Sloane’s sent a project for us to work on today. If you’re up for it.”
“Sounds like exactly what I need.”
His hands slide under my ass, and he picks me up, carrying me to my room with my legs wrapped around his waist.
“You know I can walk.” I laugh, hugging in closer to him.
“I know.” He places me down on my bed, staring down at me like he wants to devour me. Why do I wish he would.
“You can’t look at me like that, Ash,” I whisper, getting all sorts of ideas that I shouldn’t right now.
“I can’t help it. I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“That’s because I have a weird haircut, right?” I laugh.
“It’s because you’re fucking gorgeous and cute and funny and so fucking strong you put all three of us to shame.”
Butterflies take flight through my body. “Maybe we should do this work out in the living room, it might be safer.”
“Nowhere’s safe, princess,” he practically growls. He looks like he’s trying to hold himself back from pouncing on me, but I know what he wants.
I inhale a deep breath because I know it’s true. My body is alight with a desperate need for him right now. I sit up in a rush and take the laptop he must have left on my bed, opening it. “What do we need to do for Sloane?” I ask quickly.
He sits beside me, so close I can feel the heat radiating off him.
He takes the laptop and types in a password.
“They have their opening night next week and want some promo stuff made. Something they can send out to their VIP clients to explain how different this new club will be and The Game. I have all the images saved in here, and it’s pretty self-explanatory even for someone who hasn’t done much with computers. If I can do it, you can.”
“The game?” I ask, having no idea what he’s going on about.
“You haven’t heard gossip about it around the club?
Sloane and Romeo have created a love-match game, something to find your ideal match but sexier, and the stakes are higher.
With a live audience who will vote and all.
The whole thing is going to make a stupid amount of cash for the club.
And hopefully, the couple will end up finding a good match or at least someone to have a bit of fun with. It’s genius if you ask me.”
“So, it’s like multiple men and one girl? And then you get one winner at the end?” I ask, fascinated.
He shrugs. “It can go both ways, depending on who applies for the game. See, this one.” He points to the screen, and I see an image of Myriah from the front bar.
“She’s going to be our first girl applicant, and we need to send her application out to our list of VIPs to see who wants to play for a chance to be her ideal match.
They’ll bid, and the highest three bidders will be a part of the game.
It could also go the other way. If a dude wants to settle down, he might apply as well, and the same thing, we’ll vet the applicants, then there’ll be an auction. ”
I don’t know why, but I get a flutter of excitement at the thought.
It’s not traditional romantic, but it’s one up on online dating and has a thrill to it that would be enticing for someone hunting for love or even just a fun night.
“Sounds like a cool idea, and great for you guys if it’s going to be so lucrative. Can you show me what to do?”
He clicks around in the program on the screen, his fingers moving faster than I can keep up.
“This app is simple, select the document you want to work on then pick a template to fill in. Once you get better, you can start from scratch, but for now, we have a heap of templates already, so you can go with them to get you started.”
I take over the mouse pad, clicking on different templates and fiddling around with the layout as I try to get comfortable with the app. He’s right, this is pretty simple, even for me. “So you just want me to make some of these promo things?”
“There’s a list here of what we need. You can work on them while I sort out some staffing issues.
” He leans back against the headboard of my bed and types away at his phone.
I watch him for a sec. He’s one sexy bastard.
It’s hard to work when he’s so close and all I want to do is crawl up onto his lap. ..
Concentrate, Daisy.
I pull my eyes off him and get to work playing around with what they gave me.
None of the items on the list takes long after I work out how to use the program.
What I can’t get over is that it’s Myriah playing the game first. She still has a thing for Ash.
I know it from the way she looked at me when we were drinking together that night.
She had been so nice to me before that. She’s super pretty, with long chocolate-brown hair and piercing green eyes.
She has a fun vibe in her images that I’m sure would be attractive to potential players and to Asher.
And I can’t help but wonder what happened with them.
“So, Myriah is looking to settle down?” I watch for his reaction. I know for sure she was one of the girls he was sleeping with.
“Guess so.” He glances up from his phone and shrugs like it’s no big deal. “What?”
“It’s unnerving how you can just look like you don’t care,” I snap, knowing I sound bitchy, but will this be us in a few months’ time?
He tucks his phone away. “I wasn’t sure about this at first for her. But she’s ready to find her person, so I’m happy for her. And she trusts us. She knows Sloane will look after her and find a perfect match.”
My eyes narrow because he’s giving me nothing, and I hate the way they all do this. It’s like they don’t want to lie to me, so they skate around the truth. “She was one of the girls you screwed, wasn’t she?” My heart races like mad the moment I utter the words.
Our eyes meet, and I hold my breath, waiting to see if he’s going to tell me the truth or brush it off like every other girl I’ve asked about. He runs a hand through his hair, mussing it further. “For a while, yeah.” He raises his brow, his lips twisting. “Jealous?”
“No,” I mutter quickly, brushing a fake piece of lint off my skirt.
“It was a bit of fun, princess, not what we have.”
I look away. I can’t keep staring into his eyes when he’s being all intense like this. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
With a sudden thud, I’m flat on my back, Ash’s gorgeous body looming over me.
He takes a sharp breath, his expression shifting to something raw and untamed.
“I’ve tried to give you space to recover.
Waited for you to come around on your own.
But I’m not waiting anymore. I want you and only you, Daisy.
” He kisses me, and it’s not soft and delicate this time.
It’s primal and passionate in a way that steals my breath.
I kiss him back, needing his lips on mine just as much.
When he pulls back, he gazes into my eyes. “I’m in love with you.”
My heart pounds against my rib cage as I stare back up at him, not sure what the hell to say. Asher doesn’t fall in love. It was the one thing I could rely on. He can’t be in love with me as well. “You’re just horny, Ash,” I mutter back, trying to derail this runaway train.
His eyes turn into slits, an iciness washing over him. “That’s the cruelest thing you have ever said to me, Daisy.” He pushes off the bed and strides toward the door. I feel the loss of his weight immediately. I thought he was going to screw me, not tell me he was in love with me.
“Ash,” I call after him, my heart hammering like crazy. The last thing I want to do is hurt him when I know I feel the same. “Come back, I’m sorry.”
But he doesn’t turn back, he slams the door behind him. Fuck, why did I have to say that? What the hell is wrong with me.