“He sounds like a nice family man,” I said as I dabbed some blush on my cheeks.
“He is and he’s really cool. Seems like a fun and open guy. He’s pretty cute for his age.”
I glanced over at her with an arch in my brow.
“Knock it off. And stay away from him. You’re already sleeping with one of my bosses and that’s bad enough.”
My jaw dropped when she said that as she laughed and walked out of the bathroom.
As I knocked on the door of Asher’s suite, the butterflies in my belly were at their peak.
“Hi.” A smile graced his face when he opened the door.
“Hi.” I swallowed hard for he looked so damn sexy.
“Come on in.” He gestured with his hand.
When I walked inside the suite, I heard that song playing. The same one I heard in Starbucks.
“Very funny!” I pointed at him.
“What?” His brow arched.
“This song.”
“What song?” His eye steadily narrowed at me.
“The one you have playing. At Last by Etta James.” I set my purse down.
“Everly, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not playing any music at all. What is going on?” he asked as he poured me a glass of champagne.
“I don’t know. I heard the same song twice when I was in Starbucks earlier and now when I walked into your suite. It means something. Trust me.” I rolled my eyes.
Suddenly, the music stopped.
“It stopped now.”
He stood there and stared at me with furrowed brows as he held his drink in his hand.
“Just forget I mentioned it,” I said as I sipped on my champagne.
Thank God for the knock on the door at that very moment. Once the food was brought in and set on the table, Asher and I took our seats.
“So, Diana tells me she really likes her new boss, Richard.”
“Good. I’m happy to hear that. He seems to be a really nice guy and he’s a marketing genius. We’ve had our eye on him for the past couple of years.”
I gave him a small smile as I cut into my chicken.
“What was it like growing up with the thing you can do?” he asked.
“It wasn’t easy. I never had many friends. Eventually, I’d freak them out by saying something I shouldn’t have. But I was a kid. I did have one best friend in High School. Her name was Gemma, and she knew about me and the things I saw.” I suddenly became quiet as I looked down at my plate.
“And?”
“She was killed in a car accident our senior year. I woke up one night to her standing by my bed, telling me she was sorry. When I looked at the clock it was 2:45 am. The accident happened at 2:40 am.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been hard on you.”
“It was. Her and her boyfriend were at a party and they were drinking. He got behind the wheel anyway.”
“Was he killed?”
“No. He is currently serving a prison term. They charged him with first degree murder because he knew he was too intoxicated to drive. She was the only one besides Daniel who got me.”
“I take it you and Daniel are close.”
“We are.” I smiled. “He’s more like a brother to me instead of my cousin. When he was twelve, his parents were killed in a car crash and he came and lived with us.”
“What about boyfriends?” A smirk crossed his face.
“Well.” I picked up my glass of champagne. “Relationships were always disastrous and never lasted very long. Guys would freak out when they found out. I’d try to hide it from them the best I could, but sometimes, it was too hard. Things come to me out of the blue. I never know when or where it’s going to happen. For instance, when I walked in here and heard the music you weren’t playing.”
“I won’t lie and say I wasn’t a little freaked out.”
“Comes with the territory. So, I just use guys for sex. It’s easier that way.”
17
Asher
Did I just hear her right? That she uses guys for sex? I stared at her in disbelief from across the table. I’d never heard those words come out of a woman’s mouth before.
“You use men for sex?”
“I have needs, Asher. Just like you and every other human being on the face of this Earth. The truth is a relationship with a man isn’t in the cards for me.”
“I thought you couldn’t see your future,” I spoke as I stared at her.
“I can’t. You don’t need to be able to see the future when you know there are some things that will never work out.”
The more I stared at her, the more I wanted her. I got up from my seat, walked over to where she sat and extended my hand. A fragile smile crossed her lips as she placed her hand in mine and I helped her from her chair. Leading her to the bedroom, I slowly took her out of her dress while her fingers unbuckled my belt and took down my pants. Our eyes stared into each other’s as her hand wrapped around my hard cock and my fingers took her hardened peaks between them. The subtle moans we let out were in sync as the pleasure we gave each other was undeniable. As she stroked my cock with a grip I’d never forget, my hand moved down her torso as my fingers did a little dance over her sensitive area before making their way inside her. Our lips met with force as we gasped for air. I was about to come, and I wasn’t having it. Grabbing her hand that was firmly wrapped around my cock, I stopped her.
“Not this way,” I spoke as I brought my hand up to her face.
I hooked my arm around her waist and laid her down on the bed. My mouth explored her breasts before making my way down her body. She was soaked as I took in every sweet tasting moment. The moans that escaped her heightened as her body trembled with pleasure. When I was done, I stood up and went to get a condom from the nightstand.
“You don’t have to,” she softly spoke as she stared at me. “I’m on birth control and I know you’re clean. We both are.”
“Are you sure, Everly?”
She climbed under the covers and held them up with one hand as she held her other hand out to me. The corners of my mouth slowly curved upward as I climbed in and hovered over her.
When we were finished, I rolled off her and placed my hand on my rapidly beating heart. She did the same and then brought her hand up to my cheek and softly stroked it.
“You were amazing.” She smiled.
“So were you.” I brought my thumb up to her chin and lightly stroked it. “I want to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.” She rolled on her side and propped herself up.
“You’re only here for three months, right?”
“More like two and a half now.”
“You said earlier you have needs. I have needs too and I was thinking that maybe while you’re in New York, we could fulfill each other’s needs from time to time.”
“How often are you thinking?” she asked.
“I don’t know. A few times a week. No strings though. Just friendship and sex.”
“Ah.” She grinned. “Like a friends with benefits thing.”
“Sure. Something like that.”