Chapter 17 Ella
ELLA
Beneath the warm water, we touch and kiss and fuck all over again, and after having him inside me again, I finally feel calm.
We dry and dress in silence as if we’re afraid to burst the bubble, and this turns out to be a dream.
I touch Asher often, to be sure he’s here, that he’s real, and he seems to be of the same mindset.
And when we climb into bed, he pulls me close and I lay my head on his chest and wrap my legs around his, tangling us together.
“After you called me, I couldn’t stop thinking about something,” I say, drawing idle circles across his chest, which is mercifully bare.
“What’s that?” His chest vibrates and rumbles against mine with his words.
“About how fleeting life can be. One day my dad was healthy, and the next he was diagnosed with cancer. Everything can change at the drop of a hat. Before my dad died, he made me promise that I wouldn’t spend my time on things that don’t matter.
He wanted me to live. He told me that work and bills and the monotony of life will always be there, and he wanted me to remember that if you let them, those things will overtake your life.
They’ll take too much time away from the things that truly matter.
Family. Love. Friends. Time spent on things you enjoy and value.
I don’t want to do that anymore. I know our situation is crazy, but I don’t want to live in fear.
And I don’t want to be away from you. What we have matters—even if it started as nothing more than a contract. ”
“It’s a hell of a lot more than a contract now,” Asher says, his breath brushing across my forehead.
“Exactly. I know there are no guarantees, and that the future is murky. But I want to help you get past all this so that we can be together for real, without anything hanging over our heads. No outside pressure. No PR stunts. No threats from Sergei or Yegor. Just you and me and a real relationship.”
“I want that too, but I need you to know that in the meantime, we have to be very fucking careful. I can’t risk you.
I won’t. So please be patient with me. The thought of anything happening to you scares me in a way I didn’t know was possible.
I need you by my side, but more than that, I need you safe. ”
I continue to trace circles over his chest. “I know. But now that we’ve been together so publicly, I don’t know if there’s any going back. Sergei and Yegor obviously know who I am at this point, and there’s no undoing that.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I was speaking to Declan about this.”
He grumbles. “Again, with my brother’s name while you’re in my bed.”
I swat lightly at his chest. “Don’t be weird, there’s nothing but platonic feelings between Declan and me.”
“I know that. I’d hang him by his balls if I thought otherwise. I put him on Ella watching duties while I was gone because he’s the person I trust the most. I guess I’ve just never had a situation like this where the person I was seeing was close to my family. It’s still a bit strange to me.”
“Would you rather I wasn’t close to them?”
“No. God no. I’m glad you are. But I’ve spent most my life keeping different aspects of it in very separate categories.
Work and family have always been a mixed bag with being a Langford, but everything outside of that was mine and mine alone.
I’ve never even introduced a girl to my family, so it’s still new for me to have someone fit into my family dynamic.
I like it. But I’m still just getting used to it. ”
“Well, keep working on it, because Declan and I are buddies.”
“Buddies?”
“Yep. Buddies. And we also have some plans in the works.”
“And just what are these plans?”
“For one, I think you need to show Greenspan to the world. Keeping Greenspan quiet is only giving Sergei more power, and Declan agrees. I think if Greenspan had more visibility, it would be harder for Sergei to keep targeting it. Sergei has been operating in the shadows because Greenspan has lived in the shadows. But if we shine a bright light on it, we chase away those shadows, and then Sergei will have to work a lot harder to keep his actions quiet.”
“The world can’t know about how he’s hit our family.”
“I agree. But that doesn’t mean you have to hide the amazing things you’re doing with Greenspan. You said they’re close to a breakthrough in green energy, so tell the world that. You don’t have to disclose the technology, just acknowledge that you’re working on it.”
“But that could put an even bigger target on our backs with more oil companies.”
“That will happen when the technology hits the market, anyway. Big oil will push back no matter what. But if you have public support and support from government agencies, it could help provide a lot more protection. Use transparency to your advantage.”
“You know, Ms. Hale, you still surprise me with your mind, even though by this point I shouldn’t be. I think I’ll forever be thanking Emily for insisting she put you on our little team.”
I shift my head and smile up at him. “Me too.”
“So, what’s your other plan with my brother?”
“Basically the same thing, but with us. The board seems to think they need some big production to override the rumors about you and Katrina.”
Asher groans. “Definitely don’t speak her name while we’re in bed. My dick might shrivel up and die.”
I chuckle. “Okay, I won’t speak about the she-devil. But just so you’re aware, I’m planning a spectacle. You don’t have to do anything but show up and smile for the cameras.”
“I think I can do that.”
“Good.”
He shoots me his mischievous smile I love so much. “I may or may not have my own spectacle in the works.”
My stomach flutters. “Is that so?”
“I can’t say for sure. But all you have to do is show up and smile for the cameras.”
I chuckle again. “I also think I can do that.”
“Then it’s settled. By the time we’re done, the board will have everything they could ever want from us.”
“Good. Then those snakes will leave you alone.”
“They’ll never leave me alone. They just won’t have any leverage over me. But I have to keep my nose clean for three more years to get to that point.”
“Why three years?”
“That’s when the stipulations on my shares expire. After that, I can do whatever I want without consequences.”
“Sounds like you’re looking forward to it. Are you dying to go back to your sordid bachelor days?” I tease.
“Fuck no. You’ve ruined me. Now that I know what it’s like to have you, I never want to go back to that.”
“So, I guess I’m secure for the next three years.”
Asher pinches my side, and I yelp. “At this point, I don’t know that I can ever let you go. I think I’m going to have to make you mine in every way possible.”
I lift my head and raise my brow at his meaning. “In what kind of ways, Mr. Langford?”
He smirks. “Legally.” He lifts my hand to his mouth and nibbles on my finger. That finger.
I shake my head in disbelief, butterflies leaping inside me.
“I think I can get behind that.”
“But only once we’re through this mess. I won’t risk it until then.”
“Then we’ll just have to get through it as quickly as possible.”
Asher smirks again. “Are you in a hurry, Ms. Hale?”
“To be yours, and for you to be mine in every way? You bet I am, Mr. Langford.”
I gasp in surprise as Asher yanks his T-shirt that I’m wearing off my head.
“I think I need you at least one more time tonight, just to make sure this isn’t a dream,” he growls, taking my breast in his mouth.
He’ll get no arguments from me.