Chapter 34 Ella #2
Two security officers meet her outside the car. They’re flying with her and won’t leave her side until she’s delivered to her front door where her new security officers will take over.
What the hell is my and my family’s life now?
Later that night, I freeze just outside Asher’s office.
He doesn’t know I’m here yet; doesn’t know that I’m watching him through the glass door.
He’s bent over his desk, running his hands through his hair, and knocking back whiskey like it’s a sport.
His tie is loose, with a few buttons of his shirt undone.
But I’m not ogling him. I’m pulled up short because of the strain I can see on his face, in the posture of his body.
We’re meant to be headed to a charity event right now, but Asher was caught late at work, so I’m meeting him at the office on the way there.
But it looks like the event is a million miles from his mind.
He picks up a remote on his desk and points it at the TV. I discreetly crack the door open and crane my neck, curious as to what Asher is watching while he’s clearly stressed. At this angle I can see about half the screen.
“TDC Oil stocks have plummeted in the last four weeks,” the reporter announces as stock prices flash along the bottom of the broadcast screen.
“Insiders aren’t sure what’s caused such a ripple in the company, but some assert that it may be connected to Sergei Antonov, TDC’s CEO, being taken into custody for questioning in connection to the death of Alan Hoffman, a former executive of Langford Holdings.
Mr. Antonov vehemently denies the accusations and has made assurances TDC Oil is under control and that the company will recover and return to its normal stock prices soon. ”
Asher gives a small, wry smile of satisfaction before turning the TV off and slumping back in his chair, whiskey in hand.
He closes his eyes and loosens his tie further.
Dark circles rim beneath his eyes, and his jaw is clenched so tightly that I’m worried he’ll crack his teeth.
I’ve known Asher’s been stressed this last month.
He hasn’t been the same since the poisoning incident, but now that I see him raw and unguarded, thinking he’s alone, I realize how much he’s been keeping from me.
My heart tightens at the thought of him carrying so much alone.
Jenkins walks up behind me, and the movement catches Asher’s attention. He looks at me and immediately tries to straighten up and wash the stress and fatigue from his face.
“Can you wait for us for a bit?” I ask Jenkins. “It looks like Asher still needs to change into his tux.”
“Of course.”
I enter the office and hit the switch that turns the glass of his door and wall of windows opaque.
“How are you?” I ask, standing above Asher, who’s still seated at his desk.
“I’m fine. The time got away from me, sorry,” he says, eyeing my silver floor-length gown. “I’ll hurry and change so we aren’t late.”
“Don’t apologize. Who cares if we’re late?”
“Emily and Matthew would very much care. Entrances must be grand and all.”
“We’re not playing that game anymore. Who gives a shit about our entrance? We’re going to this event because we were already committed, but the motives behind that have changed. This isn’t a PR stunt; this is just a charity event.”
He blows out a breath, and my heart breaks as I watch him try to collect himself. He squares his shoulders, sets down his whiskey, and fights the look of exasperation on his face. But he’s not fooling me.
“What’s wrong, Asher?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Shut me out.”
“I have to right now.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t trust that you won’t do something rash, like organize a news interview and a tour of one of my companies behind my back.”
I sigh. “I’m sorry I went behind your back, but we got what we wanted out of it. Greenspan’s stocks are up, and you said you had a lot of new investors interested. That must go a long way in convincing the board that Greenspan is worth keeping, right?”
Asher pinches his nose. “It does. But you’ve now connected yourself personally with Greenspan, and that is something my enemies will have taken notice of. You put yourself at risk, Ella. And I can’t have that.”
He takes a long draw of his whiskey.
“What else is going on? I can tell you’re upset by something. I know you’ve been stressed since . . . the incident. I can see it, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. This is my responsibility to take care of.”
I lean down and run my hand along his jaw, brushing my thumb over his stubbled cheek. “Asher, you don’t have to carry the world by yourself. We’re in this together. If you just let go of your worries for one minute, you’ll see that I can help you. Let me shoulder some of this burden.”
“No.”
His eyes meet mine, and though he’s still fighting like hell, I can see the fear and resignation in them.
“I know something else is going on and you need to tell me. Keeping me in the dark doesn’t help. If anything, it puts me at more risk.”
Those words seem to do the trick. His jaw ticks, and he lets out a long sigh.
“Yegor has disappeared.”
My brows rise. “I thought he was in Moscow.”
His jaw ticks again. “He was. And now it’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the planet.
Sterling can’t find him anywhere. Which means we can’t keep any tabs on his movements, and whatever he has planned, we are blind to it.
Sergei is licking his wounds very publicly with the chaos Sterling is causing in his company and with the murder suspicion, so we’re able to keep an eye on him. But Yegor is now a mystery.”
“Let’s not go to the event,” I say, pulling his head toward me.
He leans forward and rests his head on my stomach, and his hands come to rest on either side of my hips, holding onto me like a lifeline.
I skim my nails through his hair, trying to give him any comfort I can.
“Let’s just head home and call it a night. You’re not in any state to go.”
“I’m fine.”
I gently lift his head and look down into his eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes that are creased with worry and exhaustion. “You’re not fine, and that’s okay.”
“We’ve committed to the event. If we don’t go, it will spark whispers and rumors.”
“So? Who cares?”
“We have to keep up appearances.”
“Fuck appearances.”
Asher gives a wry chuckle. “Says the woman from my PR team.”
“I’m not on your PR team anymore. Now I’m just on your team. And as your teammate, I can tell when you’re not doing well. And tonight, you’re not doing well.”
“You’d give up a night of glitz and glamor and elite socializing because I’m not doing well?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course. You know I don’t care about the glitz and glamor, and the socializing is practically hive-inducing. It’s something I pluck my way through because it’s necessary, not because it’s something I particularly enjoy. You’re what I care about.”
A ghost of a smile flickers across his face. “Fuck if I wasn’t right.”
I crinkle my brows. “What does that mean?”
“It means that any heiress or socialite would be saying the exact opposite thing to me right now. They’d be pressuring me to get dressed, and they’d be worried over the fact that we’re going to be late and how that will look and what they’d miss out on.
They would not be suggesting skipping the event for a night in.
Especially after they went through all the trouble of getting ready.
Picking you was the best thing I’ve ever done. ”
“Saying yes to you was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
Heat shines in Asher’s eyes, and the air between us shifts.
“Do you still want to go? Or would you be open to . . . other activities?” I ask.
“Fuck,” he hisses, running his hands from his hips to my ass, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Oh, I will shamelessly tempt you.”
He groans. “We really do need to go. I have questions for Senator Sanders, and I want them to be inconspicuous, so they need to be asked on neutral ground. Like a charity event.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. I don’t want to go, but we have to.”
“Fine. But on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You need a little TLC first.”
I drop to my knees and reach for his belt.
“What are you doing?” Asher’s hands grip the arms of his chair.
“I’m helping you relax after a stressful day and before we have to go to a stressful event.” I slowly unbuckle his belt and undo his pants, feeling his cock harden beneath my hands. “And I just realized something now that I no longer work in this building.”
“What’s that?” Asher rasps out.
“We barely took advantage of our close proximity at work.” I free his cock and stroke it, looking up at him. “We worked on the same floor for months and only had two filthy office encounters. It’s a shame, really.”
I wrap my lips around him and take him all the way to the back of my throat.
He’s so big I have to focus to fight my gag reflex as best I can, but I don’t care if my eyes water and my makeup runs.
All I want is to give Asher some relief.
If we have to go to this god-forsaken event, at least we can go on our own terms.
“Oh god, Ella,” Asher says, threading a hand through my hair, guiding my head up and down as I take him in my mouth. I wrap my hand around his base and work my hand and mouth in tandem, taking him harder and faster. Asher lets out a string of hissed curses and his hips buck involuntarily.
A moment later, Asher’s hands are on me, and he yanks me up. His cock leaves my mouth with a pop, and before I know what’s happening, he lifts me up and sets me on his desk.
“I wasn’t finished,” I complain.
Asher’s eyes gleam with lust. “You made a valid point, Ms. Hale. You reminded me that I never did taste you on top of my desk. It’s time I remedy that.”
Asher lowers me onto my back as he sits in his chair, then he hikes my dress up to my hips.
He slips my panties down, yanking on them in annoyance when they get caught on the stiletto heels of my shoes.
Once they’re off, he tosses them aside and pulls my hips toward his mouth, then lifts my legs over his shoulders.
“Do you know how many times I wanted to pull you out of your office and spread you wide on my desk?” he says, and his breath blows across my pussy as he speaks.
He runs his tongue down my slit. “Do you have any idea what your little business skirts did to me? How I couldn’t keep my eyes off you?
Do you know how many times I found myself trying to look down your shirt while we were in this building?
I miss having you around, but I’ll admit, I’m a lot more productive when I’m not fighting the temptation to fuck you the entire day. ”
He sucks on my clit and slips two fingers inside me.
“Were you always this soaking for me at work?” he growls as his fingers sliding in and out of my pussy make a filthy, wet sound.
“Yes,” I admit breathlessly. “I’m always wet for you, Asher.”
“Good girl.”
He slips his tongue inside me and feasts on me, gripping my hips with his forearms. I thread my fingers through his hair and shamelessly ride his face.
Just as I’m about to come, he pulls away, and I whimper.
He stands up and lines his cock up, then slides inside of me.
I wrap my legs around his waist, and my eyes practically roll into the back of my head as soon as he’s inside me.
Asher ruthlessly fucks me. Hard and fast. Tension coils in my core with every thrust as he hits that perfect spot over and over again.
“Come for me, Ella,” Asher growls as I’m close. And I do. I shatter around him just as he cries out, and we come together. He lowers his head to mine, our ragged breaths mingling as he stills inside me. He kisses me like a starved man, tasting like whiskey . . . and home.
“Let me get changed,” he says, regret in his tone. “Before I change my mind and take you home to fuck you into oblivion.”
“I like that option a lot better than a charity event.”
Asher chuckles. “And that’s one reason I love you so much.”