Into The Fire (29 page)

She cupped my face and kissed me slowly,
using her tongue in a tantalizing way.

“I missed you so damn much.” I blurted that
out without thinking. Every feeling in my heart came to the surface
and it couldn’t be controlled. My heart bled for her, and I
couldn’t hide the gaping wound.

“I missed you too, Ash.” She kissed the
corner of my mouth gently. The touch was so slight it was barely
noticeable. But it was so sexy at the same time. She was the only
girl I’d ever been with that had the touch of a prostitute without
the experience.

And I loved that.

***

I woke early the next morning and swung by
our favorite place to pick up breakfast. Since she went to my
apartment with the same intention a month ago, I thought it would
be meaningful if I did it now. I wanted to erase that moment she
had when she saw Lacy at my door and replace it with a much better
memory.

When I walked into the bedroom, she stirred.
“There you are. The sheets are cold.”

“Sorry, cream queen.” I set the Styrofoam
boxes on the bedspread. “I was running an errand.”

She sniffed the air. “Mmm…something smells
good.”

I opened one lid and displayed the French
toast, bacon, and eggs. “I didn’t make it, but believe me when I
say this is much better.” I handed her a fork before I took off my
clothes and got into bed beside her. “This is how that day should
have ended.”

“I wish it had.” She grabbed her food and
began to eat. “Thank you, Ash. That was sweet of you.”

“I’m always sweet to you—and no one
else.”

She devoured her French toast then demolished
everything else.

“Hungry?” I asked with amusement.

“After last night, I’m starving. I probably
burned two thousand calories just from rolling around with
you.”

“Now you know why I’m in such great shape.” I
winked at her.

She rolled her eyes then sipped her
coffee.

“Everything okay down there?” I asked. “I
didn’t break anything?”

“I may be small but I’m sturdy.”

“Yeah?” I moved my hand between her legs and
massaged her gently.

“That’s not doing anything other than turning
me on.”

“Then I’ll keep doing it.”

She chuckled then pushed my hand away.

I finished my breakfast then left the trash
on the nightstand. She did the same then I snuggled into her side.
“This is so much better than waking up alone and wondering if you
woke up alone too.” I asked her the question without actually
asking it. I didn’t want her to be with anyone but me. It would
hurt me.

She read my mind. “I never slept with
Brad.”

I tried to hide the relief on my face but it
was pointless.

“Did you sleep with anyone?”

I shook my head. “No. I was too depressed to
catch some tail.”

Approval shined in her eyes.

“But I jerked off a lot.”

Both of her eyebrows went up. “Oh?”

“But don’t worry.” I kissed her shoulder. “I
only thought about your tight pussy.”

“Good.”

I left my face in her neck and smelled her
scent. Then I moved away so I could get a good look at her face.
“Why didn’t you just confront me about Lacy?”

“Why would I?” she asked. “It was none of my
business.”

“But you could have mentioned it during our
last fight. I told you I wanted to be with you.”

“I thought you meant in a physical context,
nothing more.”

“Well, I didn’t.”

“I realize that now.”

“This entire month of torture wouldn’t have
happened if you just asked me about it.”

She looked away. “I have a lot more class
than that.”

I kissed her neck. “You don’t have any class
and we both know it, sweetheart.” I kissed the shell of her ear
then her cheek.

“I beg to differ.”

“It didn’t seem like it last night,” I
jabbed.

“I only sleep with you so I’m not a
slut.”

I liked that response
. “You got that
right.”

She turned on her side and faced me. “So…what
are we doing today?”

“I assumed we would do the same thing we did
last night.”

“Well…what about in between?”

This was when I was supposed to act like a
boyfriend. But I was drawing a blank on how to accomplish that. Was
I supposed to write her a poem or something? Maybe I could find
some articles online. “Well…I got the building for my shop. The
floors and walls are done. Want to see it?”

Her eyes lit up in excitement. “I would love
to.”

Seeing that unconditional support just made
me fall for her more. I knew she wasn’t the type of girl that was
into ink or piercings. She was much more aristocratic than that.
But she was excited because she knew I was. This was important to
me, so it was important to her. I could never explain to her how
happy that made me. “Want to go now?”

“Sure.”

I jumped out of bed and pulled on my clothes
at lightning speed. “Then let’s roll.”

She laughed as she dressed herself. “You’re
really excited, aren’t you?”

“Let me put it this way,” I said. “My dick is
rock-hard. And it has nothing to do with you.”

***

I unlocked the door and we entered the shop.
It was a little plain without the furniture but the gray
floorboards were done, and the black walls had a slight sheen to
them. The marble counter was in place, and it looked sick under the
dim light. “What do you think?” I walked around and looked at the
place I designed. “On the walls, I’m going to put pictures of sexy
women with ink. I think that will draw more women in.”

“And men,” she said with a chuckle.

I felt the marble countertops. “It’s nice,
huh?”

She felt it under her palm. “It is.”

“I’m getting a Bluetooth sound system
installed. It’ll look so cool.”

“So…where do you get these pictures of sexy
chicks with ink?” She asked it casually but there was a hint of
jealousy.

I smirked. “Jealous, baby?”

“I don’t know…maybe.”

“Well, would you like to be on my wall?” I
grabbed her arm and examined the skin. “I could make you some
beautiful sleeves.” My hand moved to her waist. “Something over the
ribs…among other places. You’d look hot as hell.”

“I’m not really a tattoo kind of girl.”

“Every girl is,” I said. “It just depends on
if you’re brave enough to accept it.”

“Well, in my line of work, I can’t be inked
everywhere.”

“Lame.”

“So, do you know these girls?”

“They’re my regulars.”

Jealousy still shined in her eyes.

“Baby, you’ve got nothing to worry about. My
dick is yours exclusively.”

“Have you slept with any of these girls?”

I gave her a look that said, “What do you
think?”

That put her in a sour mood.

I wasn’t used to the jealousy thing. I’d had
girls be clingy with me but not possessive. And I wasn’t used to
feeling it either. “Come on, you can trust me. I’m only putting
them up for business reasons. It’ll drive people into the shop.
It’s like those pictures salons hang up. They don’t expect you to
want the same haircuts as the models, but you’ll feel good staring
at pretty people.”

Alessandra finally relaxed. “Fine. Just keep
your hands to yourself.”

“Always.” I smacked her ass playfully then
showed her the back rooms where the equipment would go. I didn’t
have anything yet but I imagined exactly how it would look. “It’s
coming together.”

“It is,” she agreed. “I like it. What will
you call it?”

“Crimson Ink.”

“Catchy.”

I headed back to the front. “The couches will
go there along with a table.”

“It’ll look great, Ash. I’m very proud of
you.”

Proud
? “Why, thank you.”

She sauntered to the marble counter then
hopped on the surface. She gave me a playful look, the arousal in
her eyes. “I want to be the only woman you fuck in this shop.” She
patted the marble. “Then you’ll never forget me.”

My cock hardened in my jeans as I approached
her. “Believe me, you’re unforgettable.” I stood between her legs
then grabbed her hips. “If you weren’t, I wouldn’t be giving you a
sneak peek into my shop.” I jerked her hips and forced her to lay
back. Then I undid my jeans and pulled my cock out. “And I wouldn’t
have given you my fidelity.”

***

“What are we going to do about your parents?”
she asked as she lay beside me in bed.

I hadn’t thought about it. “Oh yeah. I forgot
about them.”

“You forget about everyone but yourself.”

“Except you.” Anytime I was buried in her
pussy, I couldn’t think of anything else but that. “My mom came by
a few weeks ago. I fessed up and told her the truth about you and
I.”

“You did?” she asked in surprise. “How did
she take it?”

“Fine,” I said. “Actually, she was pretty
supportive of me and the shop. She was bummed when I told her you
were out of the picture.”

“She doesn’t care that I’m an escort?”

“Nope. I made it clear what kind of escort
you were.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad your
mom came around. She should be proud of you.”

“She said she is.”

“Great.” Alessandra smiled, and it was full
of sincerity.

“I guess you’ll have to meet my parents
again—officially.”

“You want me to?” she asked.

“Of course I do.”

Color moved into her cheeks.

“They love you more than me anyway.”

“You know that isn’t true,” she said with a
chuckle.

“You don’t have any tattoos, you’ve never
been in jail, and you didn’t join the military just to spite your
parents. You’re golden to them.”

She rubbed my arm then kissed my bicep.
“You’re so much more than all of those things, Ash. You’re the most
amazing man I’ve ever known.”

“In bed?”

“No.” She gave me a fond look. “In
general.”

“Yeah?” I kissed her neck and inhaled her
scent. “I like where this is going.”

“Well, you were fishing for compliments,” she
teased.

“Was not. I was just explaining that my
parents love you. Mom wants us to get married and have a bunch of
brats.”

She smiled. “That would be nice.”

The idea of marriage and kids still terrified
me but I didn’t say it out loud. “So…can I take you to dinner
tonight?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?” I demanded. “Because
you need to eat and I’m supposed to take you out.”

“Supposed to take me out?” she asked. “I
don’t like sitting in a room full of strangers anyway. I’d much
rather eat on the couch wearing one of your t-shirts, especially if
I can get fucked at the same time.”

My eyes darkened in excitement. “You’re my
kind of woman.”

“I know,” she said with a chuckle. “You
already told me.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Alessandra

Overnight, my life became whole
.

Ash was the guy I wanted. He’d been the one
since we met. His arrogance and cockiness got old quickly, but his
thoughtfulness and generosity made up for it instantly. He was
sweet to me without even trying, and his eyes glowed every time he
looked at me. I wasn’t sure where this relationship would go or
what we would do next, but he said he would try to take it wherever
I wanted to go. I didn’t want to waste any time on something that
was likely to fail but…I couldn’t turn away from him. He was the
only guy who made my heart race. That never happened before.

Even if I regretted it, I couldn’t stop.

I just couldn’t.

I was sitting in the living room when Ash
barged in. “Honey, I’m home.” I purposely left the door unlocked in
the hope he would walk in unannounced. Now I waited for this time
every day when he got off work.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

He leaned over the back of the couch and
looked down at me. “Why aren’t you wearing slutty lingerie?”

“Did I tell you I would be?”

“No…but it’s implied.”

“I never implied that.” Sometimes Ash heard
things that were never said. Or he chose a complicated way of
manipulating me.

“Well, I’m implying it now. Get some black
teddies with some matching heels.” His eyes turned greedy as he
spoke of it. “And lay on the bed when I get home with rose petals
everywhere. And then tell me you’ll die unless you have me right
then and there.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. “You’ve been
thinking about this extensively, haven’t you?”

“What gave me away?” He wrapped one arm
around my waist then kissed my neck.

“And what do I get out of that?”

“Uh, me. Duh.”

I could slap him sometimes. “No, I meant what
are you going to do for me.”

“Make you come—like always.”

I smacked his arm. “I want a dirty fantasy
too.”

“Oh…” He finally caught on. “What would you
like, cream queen? Name it and it’s yours.”

I was a little embarrassed to say it out
loud. I’d never done anything like it before. “I want to handcuff
you to my bed frame…and blindfold you.”

His eyes had a wicked gleam in them.
“Bondage? Didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I’ve never wanted to do it with anyone
before.”

“Even better,” he said with a smile. “I’m
more than happy to oblige.” He extended his hand to shake mine. “We
have ourselves a deal.”

I shook it. “Good.”

“Now go out and get that slutty lingerie.” He
snapped his fingers. “Pronto. Maybe I’ll tie you up and have my way
with you.”

“Well, I can’t do it tonight,” I said. “Maybe
tomorrow.”

“Why not?” He moved to the spot beside me on
the couch. His hand immediately moved for my thigh and he squeezed
it. “You on your period or something? Because I couldn’t care less
about that.”

“No.” I tried not to cringe at his words. “I
have to work tonight.”

“But it’s a Wednesday.”