6. Asher
6
ASHER
The elevator dings, and I slip through the doors and stride to Lilah’s desk. It’s still dark out as I follow the same path I’ve followed for years on the way to my office. You could blindfold me and I could find my way there without tripping over anything.
As I approach Lilah’s desk, situated directly outside my office, my heart skips a beat because I can smell her perfume. It’s delicate and understated but it drives me wild nonetheless. It has been hell keeping my hands off her. And when she moved outside my office, I thought I was going to lose my mind being unable to steal glances at her throughout the day.
But then I remembered the camera. I could watch her on my monitor the entire day. And I did. I think I did less work with her outside my office than inside it because I could stare at her all I wanted.
But all of it is coming to an end at 5 PM today. The thirty days will be over and I can touch Lilah. I can kiss her. Taste every inch of her body. And I will. I’m going to make up for lost time. There were so many moments during this month that I wanted to pin Lilah against a wall or shove her onto my desk or the bed we shared in Cherry Ridge and kiss some sense into her. My feelings for her are never going to change. There’s no one else in this world that I want but her.
I love Lilah. I knew from the moment we met that she was special. I’ve tried to show her that throughout this month, checking off items on her bucket list one by one. Doing everything in my power to prove my feelings for her.
But there are more items I want to check off. I want to marry her. I want a family with her. I want everything with her.
I never thought I’d settle down. Work has been my sole focus. My steady relationship. But all that changed once Lilah swept through my life. Nothing matters unless she’s mine. My wife.
I sit down on her chair, the leather moaning as I swing my legs under her desk. I’ve been leaving her notes on her desk ever since she moved out here. Little reminders. And she’s kept each one, lining them up on her desk.
I open a drawer and retrieve another sticky note and pen and begin writing out another.
Last day, Lilah. Let’s celebrate with a bang.
When Lilah opens the door to my office, my pulse quickens. I’ve negotiated multi-million dollar deals with the most cutthroat executives. Completed Ironman competitions. Marathons. Boxed and fought MMA. But nothing makes my heart beat faster than seeing Lilah, and today is no different.
“Gorgeous,” I rasp under my breath as she glides into the room like a breath of fresh air, wearing the same outfit she wore on her first day here. Conservative and professional but it drives me wild, and I think she knows that.
And I know what that prim exterior is hiding. I’ve tasted every inch—every slender curve and valley. I’ve spent every single night for the past thirty days torturing myself with images of her each time I close my eyes. But today marks the end of it.
It’s the beginning of us. I swallow hard as I stand up to meet her, heels clicking with each step.
“A bang?” Lilah asks, holding the sticky note in front of her.
I smile, arms folded across my chest as I lean against my desk. “Are you going to report me to HR, Ms. Foxe?”
Her faux-outrage softens as she says, “I might have to because I was hoping for more than just one… bang .”
My cock lurches as I stare transfixed at her mouth. That pink little tongue. Plush lips. I can’t help but think about what I’ll be doing to that mouth later.
“I can arrange that,” I rasp. My throat feels dry and ragged as the words crawl from my lips. “And much more.”
“Oh?” Lilah asks, brows raising. “You have something else planned?”
She moves forward and then reaches for me.
“It’s not five o’clock,” I say, sliding away from her. I skim my hand along the polished wood of my desk as I move around it. “No touching. You made that clear when you signed the contract.”
I sink into my chair and look at Lilah. I think she might be pouting.
“You touched me in the elevator,” she huffs.
I pause, closing my eyes as I remember that moment. It wasn’t long after we returned from Cherry Ridge where we shared a bed for nearly a week. It was driving me mad not touching her. Being so near. Her sweet scent in every breath. I dreamed of her every night. Did things…
And when she wanted to leave me alone in my office, I snapped.
“I’ll double your salary for that… outburst.”
I glance at her over my shoulder.
“I don’t want more money. I want you to touch me. I want to feel you. I want another outburst but this time I want you to kiss me.”
There will be more than enough time for that. After that outburst, I made peace with it. Thirty days is nothing in the grand scheme of a lifetime together. And make no mistake, I’m spending the rest of my life with Lilah.
“We’ve made it this far. What’s a few more hours?”
Lilah stares at me silently for a moment. The redness in her cheeks begins to subside.
“Okay, then,” she says, unbuttoning her blouse one button at a time. “But I’m going to make it hard for you.”
I sink into my chair, staring at the swath of chest Lilah’s revealing to me. The sensual curves. Delicate collarbones. My mouth’s watering as I consider dragging my tongue across her skin.
“You always do,” I rasp.
“I know how much you like this outfit, Mr. Blacke.”
I lean forward, adjusting my collar roughly as Lilah smoothes out her skirt.
“Lilah…” I mutter hoarsely as my cavernous office feels like a sauna.
“But I’m sure you like it better when it’s on the floor.”
Jesus. Lilah behaved herself the entire thirty days. Professional if a little distant. There were moments when this side of her crept through. Glimmers of it during our shared lunches. During our trip to Cherry Ridge. The Oscars. But right now I’m seeing Lilah at full blast.
She reaches beneath her skirt, the hem crossing her mid-thigh before she shimmies and then steps out of her lacy panties.
“I’m warning you, Lilah.”
She walks over to my desk slowly, heels clicking against the floor with each step as she dangles her underwear on her finger.
“Are you going to report me to HR, Mr. Blacke?”
She drops her panties on my desk.
“Or will you reprimand me, personally?”
My fingers are gripping the edge of my desk so tightly that I’m surprised it hasn’t splintered yet.
“I’ll see to it that you are dealt with appropriately.”
“I was hoping you’d deal with me inappropriately.”
She drags her teeth across her bottom lip and I barely resist the urge to launch myself over my desk and take her right then and there.
“My penthouse.” My jaw flexes as I feel my tenuous grip on my composure slips. We’re staring at the finish line and Lilah is pulling out all the stops. And she thought I was the one who would need reining in during these thirty days. “5 PM.”
Lilah hums, turns on her heels, and then walks slowly out of my office, pausing at the door to give me one last look over her shoulder before slipping through the door and closing it behind her.
I stare at the panties she left for me, palming them tightly a few moments later. They’re still warm. Damp too. I tuck them into my pocket alongside her bucket list and then check my monitor.
I watch her sink into her chair on the video feed. A few moments later she blows a kiss at the camera and then smiles. My girl’s known all along.
“Vacation?” Adrian frowns. But then that frown twists into a smile. “I’m picturing you in a bathing suit at the beach.”
“Never realized I was your type.”
Adrian leans back into his seat with a sigh as he knits his fingers behind his head. “Drinking a Pina Colada from a coconut shell. One of those pink umbrellas. A nice relaxing afternoon before another round of beach volleyball. Maybe a round of mini-golf. Karaoke to finish off the night.”
Adrian pauses for a beat, pressing his lips firmly together as he turns his attention back to me, a deep laugh booming from him as he leans forward in his chair.
“You’ve quite the imagination,” I say once he settles down.
“And so do you if you think you’ll last more than a day. You haven’t taken a single vacation day since I’ve known you. On your sick days, you’d still call into meetings, hacking up a lung. I’d get emails at odd hours that made little sense because you were hopped up on cough medicine. In other words, you can’t relax. You can’t stop working for more than a few hours.”
I lean back in my chair, glancing out at the skyline, glass and metal rising out of concrete. When I close my eyes, I see the image of the buildings silhouetted in my mind. But then they melt away and Lilah enters the scene.
I can’t help but smile, and when I open my eyes and glance back at Adrian, he seems to be more than a little confused.
“There’s more to life than work, Adrian.”
“Who are you?”
“We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. Short notice, but we’re in a lull with work. All big outstanding projects are either wrapped up or in a holding pattern.”
“We?” Adrian asks. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I shake my head. “I’m afraid you’ll be holding down the fort. I’ll have Lilah take a picture of me in swim trunks for you.”
Adrian snorts, reaching for his phone. “I’ll let Melvin know he needs to start looking for a new assistant for you.”
I stand up and readjust my jacket. “That won’t be necessary.”
“She’s going willingly? This isn’t a hostage situation?”
“Funny,” I say flatly.
Adrian sets the phone back down in the cradle. “I’m surprised she lasted this long. Only a few more months and she’d break the record.”
“Marie was with me for three years.”
Adrian hums, eyes going a little glassy. “That’s right. Forgot about her.” His eyes refocus on me. “She stayed because I doubled her salary each year.”
“Interesting,” I say. “I doubled it too. Must have made off like a bandit.”
She was the only assistant who stuck around during the chaotic years following my father’s death. I’m not the easiest person to work with at the best of times, and those years were the worst. But she was very, very well compensated for it.
“Jesus,” Adrian sighs, his face paling.
I check my watch. It’s time to see my girl. “See you in a few weeks,” I say, heading for the door.
“Yeah,” Adrian says flatly, undoubtedly trying to figure out how much we paid Marie.
I make it to the elevator, and once the doors slide open, I’m struck by Lilah’s scent. It’s so strong that I must have just missed her. God, it’s perfect. She’s perfect. And in a few moments, she’ll be all mine. I tap my card, hit the button, and begin the ascent to her.
I close my eyes, picturing her in my mind’s eye. I can recall every minute detail from part of her hair down to the small freckle on her left pinky toe. Ever since we’ve met, she’s been the first person I think about when I wake up and the last before I fall asleep.
Every morning I wake, cock aching with need after dreaming of her. Always. I can’t get her out of my head. I don’t want to get her out of my head. She’s all I want. My life changed irrevocably the moment I saw her at the Ridgeway.
I was there to meet Everett but I skipped out on that meeting for fate. Lilah’s my fate. Lilah’s mine.
I remove her panties from my jacket, fisting them hard as I take a deep inhale, my entire body shivering at the scent of her arousal. Another. And then one more before the elevator chimes and the doors open.
I can feel her presence—the indelible mark she leaves everywhere she goes. My body’s electrified as I stride out of the elevator, but it’s nothing compared to what happens when my eyes finally land on my girl.
“Lilah,” I rasp as every muscle in my body feels like it’s contracting and expanding all at once. I can’t breathe. I can hardly think. But when Lilah smiles at me from the couch, everything feels right.
“Right on time, Mr. Blacke.”
I swallow a growl in my throat as I stride over to her. “Call me Asher.”
“Five more minutes,” she says, waving her phone at me, a countdown displayed on the screen. “And then I’ll do whatever you want.”
Lilah kicks off her shoes as she reclines on the couch, uncrossing her legs and giving me a clear view of heaven.
“No, Ms. Foxe,” I rasp, eyes focused on her pussy as I remove my jacket, tossing it onto the other side of the couch. “You’re going to do what I want now.”
Lilah swallows, eyes trained on mine as I sit on the edge of the couch, ensuring that I maintain the no-touching rule until the very end.
“And what do you want me to do?”
I loosen my tie, pull it off, and then drag it slowly along her leg, from foot to thigh, watching goosebumps rise in its wake. There won’t be a single inch of her body that I won’t taste. I’m consuming my girl from head to toe once the countdown ends.
“I want you naked,” I say, still dangling the silk fabric against her. The tightness in my pants increases, throbbing with the need for release. “I need to see the body that’s been tormenting me every single day for over a month. In my dreams. In my office. There isn’t a single moment of the day that you’re not top of mind.”
I swallow, finally meeting Lilah’s gaze, and again, I can’t breathe. Jesus, she’s stunning. And it’s a miracle that no man has ever locked her down. That I’m the first. That I’ll be the last. That she’ll be mine forever so long as she’ll have me.
The thought of her leaving guts me. I’d be nothing without her. I’d never be able to go on knowing she’s out there and not mine.
“Clothes, Ms. Foxe,” I rasp. “I don’t want to repeat myself.”
There’s a hint of a smile flickering on her lips before she moves, beginning with her blouse.
“Good girl,” I say, the words coming from seemingly nowhere.
A few seconds later, I see her lacy bra and pale, flat stomach I’ve been aching to lick. The urge to bunch her skirt around her waist and taste heaven is becoming overwhelming as her arousal floods my senses. It’s unbearable being so close.
“You’ve discovered a workaround,” Lilah says, casting her blouse to the ground. “Boss me around without touching me. It’s too bad you hadn’t thought of it earlier.”
Her bra hits the floor next, and I let out a long, harsh breath as I stare at the swell of her tits, covered by a slender arm.
“You’ll need that arm to remove your skirt.”
“I’m not sure I will.”
I hear the sharp sound of a zipper, and then a few moments and shimmies later, the skirt joins the rest of her clothes on the ground.
“I stand corrected.”
Lilah’s hand slips between her legs.
“Hiding from me?”
She hums. “Two minutes left.”
“I may not be able to touch you now,” I say, dragging my tie across her body again. “But there’s nothing against you touching yourself, angel.”
The ache between my legs is unbearable but it’s my fault. I needed this. I’ve wanted this.
I exhale, dangling my tie across her stomach as she shivers. “Touch yourself, Lilah. Make yourself come for me.”
Lilah pauses as though mulling it over, and for a moment, I second-guess myself until she begins rubbing her clit.
“Like this?” she moans, spreading her legs a little wider until dropping her left leg off the couch.
“Yes.” My voice is low and harsh, and my throat feels jagged as I watch her fingers move. Moans and gasps. Her teeth scrape against her bottom lip as she stares into my soul. The countdown can’t end soon enough. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
I slide my palm over my cock, unable to quell the urges any longer. I refused to touch myself the past thirty days, promising that the next time I came it would be inside Lilah, and I’m not reneging on it.
“You,” she moans. “The power in your hands.” Her eyes dip to my hand stroking my cock as I let out a raspy breath. “The way they feel on my body.” Her eyes wrench close as she starts grinding. “In my body. No one’s made me come with their fingers before.”
“No one?”
She shakes her head before shuddering, eyes sealed shut as she moans. I watch as she slides a finger inside.
“It’s not the same. I need your fingers. I need your lips. I need you. ”
I clear my throat as I continue kneading my cock in my palm with one hand and gripping tightly to the back of the couch with the other.
“You’ve been aching for me this past month, haven’t you?”
She nods quickly. “Every night.” She pulls her finger out, moaning as she spreads her slickness across her folds and clit, rubbing herself first in soft circles before increasing the pace.”Every day. I’ve never felt so… empty. So hollow.”
Lilah slides her hands all over her body, from her legs to her tits. Stomach and thighs. She’s writhing next to me. Begging for me. Needing me.
“One more minute,” I rasp, dangling the tie against her body, drawing it across her thigh and then along her stomach as she exhales a harsh breath. “One more minute and I’ll make you whole again.”
I circle her breasts with the silky fabric, dragging it flatly against her stiff nipples before dragging it down her sternum and belly until finally draping it at the juncture between her legs.
“Asher,” she moans.
“It’s Mr. Blacke for thirty more seconds.”
She created the rules and I’m merely following them until the end.
I tease her clit with the tie, and Lilah angles her hips upward wanting more. “Please. End it now. I need…”
“Tell me what you want me to do to you when it’s all over.”
“Anything,” she moans, hips bucking uselessly against my tie. “Everything. All of the above.”
“What if I don’t?”
She stops mid-thrust and stares at me. I’ve never been afraid of anyone before but the ferocity in her expression makes me think she might be the first.
“You wouldn’t.”
I pull the tie away and she snatches it from me.
“I wouldn’t,” I say and she finally relaxes. “Now blindfold yourself, Lilah. I’m going to make you regret not ending this sooner.”
Lilah stares at the tie in her fist and then back at me, pausing before finally covering her eyes and cinching it tightly.
The timer goes off. I tap the button on the screen and the chime ends. Tension fills the silence like a fog, and I’m sure Lilah can hear my heart beating out of my chest.
“Touch me, Asher,” Lilah begs, allowing me to hear something other than pounding in my head.
“Patience,” I respond, unbuttoning my shirt. “We’ve waited a month. What’s a few more minutes?”
“Minutes?” Lilah huffs.
I laugh softly as she reaches out for me, but can’t find me with the blindfold.
“It will be worth the wait.” I toss my shirt onto the couch before moving onto my belt.
Lilah smiles and stops reaching for me as my pants hit the floor.
“Now lay back down, Lilah. I’m going to make you come.”
Lilah lets out a soft moan and then smiles widely in my general direction.
“You’ve got a gorgeous smile. I wish it saw it more often.”
“Maybe if you didn’t work me so hard.”
I swallow a growl as I move back onto the couch, the cushions sinking as I kneel on it.
“I think you like it more than you’re letting on.”
Lilah’s legs part and I can’t stop staring at her glistening folds, begging for my mouth.
“You might be right.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to be working you hard tonight,” I say absently, entranced by her pussy. I’m mesmerized by it as I lower myself closer, still not touching Lilah. “And you’ll be too busy screaming my name to smile.”
“Prove it,” Lilah says, forcing me to pause a few inches away.
I can’t help but smile. She has no idea what’s in store for her tonight. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for weeks, my need to consume her building and building and building. And now I can finally release the pressure.
“I’ve missed this pussy,” I rasp, finally touching Lilah’s body for the first time in what feels like years. She moans as I run my hands along her legs and inner thighs. “Missed the feel of your body. Missed…” I lean forward, nose nearly nudging her clit as I breathe her in. “Your fucking scent.”
I press my lips into the crook of her leg—soft and warm and delicate. She quivers as I press my palm against her stomach, spreading my fingers wide as I kiss a line up her leg, gripping it tightly with my other hand as I begin to feel my restraint slip.
“I’ve held back for so long. There have been too many moments when I almost broke our agreement.”
“Tell me,” she pants, her breathing accelerating.
“The nights in Cherry Ridge.” I drag my tongue across the length of her inner thigh. “Watching as you slipped into those flimsy fucking shorts and that loose shirt. Jesus,” I rasp, my fingers digging into her skin as I picture her silhouette in my mind’s eye. Tits bouncing every step she took. Ass begging to be grabbed, smacked, and worshipped. And when she’d slide into bed, filling the air with her scent. Her body heat. Her presence next to me. It was a miracle I was able to sleep with my cock so painfully hard as she slept like an angel next to me.
“What did you want to do to me?”
“I think you already know,” I rasp, my eyes fixated on her glistening slit. So damn close. Inviting me.
“I want you to tell me.”
“I’d rather show you,” I growl, caving to the primal instincts I’d fought tooth and nail against over the last month.
Lilah lets out a guttural moan, fingers digging into my scalp as my mouth connects with her pussy, urging me on as I taste heaven. I lick the length of her, tongue rolling over her folds as her scent and taste drive me wild. I’m humping the damn couch as I suck her hard little nub and she screams my name.
“Ohhhhh—mygod!” she screams, bucking against my mouth as I devour her pussy.
“Missed this little pussy,” I growl before diving right in. I miss the feel of her. The taste of her. The sounds she makes as I hit the right spot. Everything about this.
“Keep making those noises, and I’ll be the one coming first, angel.”
She makes a soft squeaking noise, and I slide a finger inside of her as I tongue her clit, increasing the pace as her heels dig into my back and her thighs clamp hard around my neck.
She could suffocate me now and I’d die a happy man in between her legs. Lilah’s pussy as my last meal? Can’t think of anything better.
“Like that,” she cries as my finger strokes her spot. “Just like… ughhhnn ? —”
My lips and finger silence her as I bring her closer to the edge. Faster and faster. Her moans and spasms and nails digging into me urge me on.
“Asher!”
That’s it.
A few moments later I feel her orgasm crash over her and I don’t stop. I can’t stop myself. She’s going to need a crowbar, the jaws of life, and a damn jackhammer to remove me from her pussy.
“Asher!” she screams curling into me, her nails now digging into my back. “Asher what the?—”
I silence her with my mouth, crashing against her lips as I kiss her. I tear off her blindfold, chucking it across the room before tunneling my fingers through her hair and deepening the kiss.
More.
More.
Fucking MORE.
I need more of her. I need all of her. I need to be fused with her so she never fucking leaves me again.
I tug a fistful of her hair and she gasps as I pull back from her lips. Are hers as numb as mine? As tingly as mine?
“Don’t do that to me again,” I rasp, kissing her chin, her jaw, and then a line down her neck until I reach the hollow of her throat. “Don’t make me stay away from your lips. Your body. You,” I bellow, pulling her back onto the couch as I take her breast into my mouth, sucking and stroking her nipple with my tongue.
“Mmhmm,” she gusts, strained and tight as her muscles against my body.
“I need you.” I kiss her sternum, pausing to feel her heartbeat against my lips. “More than air. More than anything.”
Lilah snorts softly. “I’d like you to keep breathing, so I’m all yours.”
It feels like my heart’s about to explode. Like every single cell in my body is expanding upon hearing those words.
“Say that again,” I rasp, drawing my eyes to hers.
“I’d like you to keep breathing.”
I shake my head. “Not that.” I exhale, long and slow. “Tell me…”
“I’m yours, Asher,” Lilah says, threading her fingers through my hair.
And now I’m going to make it official.