Chapter Eighteen
Steele
My head pounded so hard that I thought my eardrums were going to burst. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to calm the rising tide of anger that threatened to pour from my body. I didn’t know what I was more angry about—the fact that someone touched something that was mine, or the fact that someone touched Ashlynn. When I’d stormed into the study, the sight had terrified me to my core. She was limp, and not fighting. It was like she surrendered herself. The fact that Stanley thought a beautiful woman like that was free for the taking made me clench my fists tighter against the wheel. I shuddered as I envisioned what would have happened if I was there a few seconds later. I pictured him pushing inside of her, claiming the territory I had declared off limits for myself after our tryst. It was ironic—just a few days ago I’d threatened to take her against her will, and now it was so abhorrent to me that I actually felt slightly nauseated thinking about it. The fact that she gave it willingly to me a few nights ago was the greatest high I’d ever experienced. I couldn’t imagine anything better than the willing and drenched body of Ashlynn Phillips.
I glanced over at her, and she was looking out the window, even though there wasn’t much to see in the countryside at night. I had a feeling she wasn’t even really looking, but locked in her own thoughts. She had my tuxedo jacket wrapped around her and her knees pulled up to her chest, as if she was trying to hide every inch of her beautiful body. Bits of her silky hair were pulled out of her elaborate hairstyle, and her dark makeup ran down her cheeks. I looked back in front of me, eyes on the road, but I couldn’t help but watch her out of my peripheral vision. Even broken, she was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen. When Cooper first showed me the picture of her in the coffee shop, I’d thought there was nothing special about her. But her eyes possessed an intelligence and a fire that I’d never seen in a woman before.
She stifled a sob, and for the first time in my life, I felt something stir within me. Something…different. It was like my DNA, my very nature, was fundamentally changing, but I didn’t know what or how or why.
I never wanted this woman to be sad. I wanted to take away her pain, move the earth and the world for her. She deserved to be dripping in diamonds, pampered and cherished. And for some odd reason, I wanted to be the one to do it. Which was even stranger. I didn’t give a damn about anyone but myself. I purposely avoided attachments. I had two friends in life—sex and alcohol. Maybe Cooper, but, even then, I refused to push our relationship into the friendship realm, even though he might consider it as such.
We drove back to the city, the silence resting comfortably between us. I pulled into my garage, killing the engine. Ashlynn didn’t move, still looking out the window. I walked around the car to her side and opened the door. She looked up at me, her tear-streaked face dirty from being on the ground of the study.
Something inside me broke.
I undid her seatbelt and picked her up in my arms again, and she tensed up, but then rested her head against my chest. I hated this; despised how weak she was in the aftermath of her attack. Yet I also relished her helplessness, the softness in which she let me care for her. To have such a strong woman submit to me was a definite turn-on. Such a dichotomy was hard for me to process. I hated gray. Black and white were the only colors I saw.
Ashlynn felt paper-light in my arms, even though she was more womanly than the women I normally messed around with. Her curves were something that set her apart from the stick thin models that usually graced my bed. She wasn’t a girl—she was a woman. I carried her up the stairs to the main level, passing by Quincy, who raised an eyebrow but knew better than to ask questions. I hesitated at the door to the guest room she was staying in, but then quickly moved past it and into my rooms.
Her head jerked up when we entered my private space, and her eyes widened in shock as she looked around the bedroom. It was a nice room, but I knew the surprise factor was that I had let her into my personal quarters.
My room was actually a suite of rooms, with a sitting room first, then the bedroom and bathroom separated off into alcoves. The furniture, from the end table to the large entertainment center, were all dark wood, perfect to match my usual mood. There was a comfortable leather couch right in front of my plasma TV, and a small minibar in the corner. I passed them all, Ashlynn in my arms, and headed into the most private space of all.
My bed was large, with black silk sheets, and I wasn’t ashamed of the fact that I’d shared it with more occupants than I could count—sometimes more than one at a time. But, as I placed Ashlynn on the bed, kneeling to remove her high heels, the contrast of the experiences nearly smacked me alongside the head. We’d hardly spoken since the incident, yet this was the most intimate feeling I”d ever had with a woman—and I’d had many unique sexual experiences over the years.
As though she sensed the stark change in our relationship, she looked down at me, but her expression was hard to read. The innate hatred seemed to disappear, however, and her face was more relaxed than I’d ever seen it, despite what happened tonight.
“Why am I in your room?” she finally croaked, her voice hoarse from the screaming she’d done.
I would normally respond with some sarcastic retort, but tonight I couldn’t.
“I thought you’d be uncomfortable alone. I’ll sleep on the couch in the other room, and you can have the bed.” I stood up, tossing her shoes towards my closet.
Her eyebrows arched towards the sky and her mouth opened in surprise. I’d surprised myself, too. I was originally planning on dumping her on the couch, but seeing the bruise forming on her calf from where she’d been grabbed and the tender flesh on her wrists from the bondage she’d endured in my care, and the harsh treatment of the O’Leary’s, changed my mind.
“Do you want to shower?” I asked.
She looked over my shoulder, towards the massive bathroom with a huge walk-in shower and an even bigger bathtub. I’d originally had it installed so that I could entertain female guests in it, but I found that it was too romantic for the quick lays I had. Most women were out of bed the second I filled the condom, unless I planned on fucking them again in the morning, but even that was rare. Usually once I’d had a woman, the conquest was over and I was bored with her as soon as my dick softened.
“Yes,” was her only reply, and she stood up, much shorter than me now that her heels were off. I walked over to the bathroom, untying my bow tie and unbuttoning my shirt. I hated wearing a tuxedo. I didn’t mind a nice designer suit, but as soon as I was in my house, I wanted to be shirtless and in my boxers or sweats. Ashlynn eyed me nervously as I removed my shirt, so I left my dress pants on. I didn’t care if she saw me naked, but given her assault, I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
Which was absolutely insane, given the fact that a week ago I had her tied to a bed in the basement and threatened to rape her. And a few nights ago, I’d kissed every single inch of her body. But now, the fear in her eyes sickened me.
I turned the water on for her, and placed a towel on the heated towel rack.
“I had Quincy pick up some things for you to wear. I’ll go grab something.”
She nodded, and I shut the door behind me, heading back down to the guest room.
The carpet in her room was completely dry, thanks to the industrial fans Quincy had brought in. I moved towards the closet and grabbed a few bags that he’d placed in there while we were at Stanley’s party.
I left the room and then paused, deciding to grab something for her to eat, and a bottle of scotch for me. It had been a long night, and I wanted a good, stiff drink before I tried to crash on the couch. I rounded up some cheese and bread in the kitchen and cut up some fresh fruit as well. I could have had Quincy do it, but I wasn’t in a mood to explain myself or my actions. I myself could hardly understand why I was pampering the daughter of my enemy.
By the time I got back up to my suite, the water was turned off. I opened the door to the bathroom just far enough to place the bag of clothes on the floor where she could find them, and then closed it again. Walking to my closet, I finally stripped off my slacks, throwing them in the hamper for Quincy to have dry cleaned in the morning, and I pulled on a pair of sweatpants. I debated putting on a shirt, but I knew it would be hard enough for me to sleep with the pants on, given I usually slept in my boxers or completely bare.
I set up the snacks on the coffee table in front of the couch and poured two glasses of scotch. Just as I’d capped the scotch, Ashlynn came out of the bathroom, her hair dried, wearing a deep-blue silk nightgown.
I wanted to give Quincy a raise the moment I saw her in the nightgown he’d purchased, the silky fabric hugging her curves and showing off her gorgeous neck. Her cleavage line was also visible, and I felt my cock harden in my sweatpants. Damn. I’d never cared for lingerie or anything of the sort—I normally just wanted a woman naked so I could stare at her bouncing tits while she rode my dick—but seeing Ashlynn in the little nightgown made me realize what I was missing out on.
“Are you comfortable enough? I could get you a robe.” I mumbled a bit, trying not to lose my cool. I still wanted power over her, even though I felt myself softening towards this creature.
“I’m okay,” she said, looking down at the snacks. I sat on the couch and patted the opposite side. She sat on the far edge, and I passed the glass of scotch towards her, along with the tray.
She ate greedily, and I felt guilty for the way I’d starved her. Her waistline was smaller since she’d come to me, and I realized I wanted to see her plumper, healthy and robust. I made a mental note to have Quincy start serving her breakfast in bed every morning.
She took a bite of a piece of an apple, and I watched her throat shift as she swallowed. I imagined her swallowing my seed as I pumped it into her lovely mouth, but I stopped myself before I did something I couldn’t take back.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered. Her hair hung in front of her face, and she looked down at her bare toes.
I didn’t have an answer for her. At least one that I was willing to admit to. I let the silence hang in the air for a second, before grabbing the TV remote on the coffee table and switching on the television. I found a rerun of a popular American sitcom, and I let it play while I answered a few emails from Cooper on my phone. Another request had come in for a piece of art that was currently being housed in the basement of the Louvre, and he wanted to know if I’d be able to access it. I fired off the answers, watching Ashlynn out of the corner of my eye. Her eyes were on the TV, but I could tell she was still tense and thinking about what had happened to her. I sighed and set my phone on the table.
“Do you want me to call the doctor?” I offered, watching her expression carefully. “He can examine you and prescribe something to help you sleep.”
“No,” she answered adamantly. “I don’t want to be drugged.”
Again, remorse hit my belly like a flame of fire. I’d drugged her that first night in the basement, and I vowed at that moment not to do it again.
“I’m gonna try to go to sleep,” she said, lifting herself off the couch.
“If you need anything, I’ll be out here,” I reminded her. She just looked at me, obviously puzzled by my kindness, and walked back towards the bed.
I turned off the TV and the lights, and stretched out on the couch for what would undoubtedly be a shitty night of sleep.