It felt like an eternity before Asher finally added a third finger, easing into Zach and pushing deep. “How’s that? Ready for more?”
Zach ached, trembling with need. “Please! I’m ready, I want it… I wantyou.”
The wicked smirk was back as Asher sat back and reached for a tissue to wipe off his hands. Then he grabbed a condom and tore open the packet. For all his teasing, however, he prepared himself swiftly, and he positioned himself between Zach’s legs.
“I want you too,” he said as he eased into Zach at last.
The sensation of being stretched and filled by Asher’s cock was incredible, and Zach moaned, fisting his hands in the sheets. This was so much better than anything he had dreamed of, and he wanted it to go on forever. Asher snugged his hips against Zach’s ass and held there, gazing down at Zach with unexpected warmth.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he said as he braced himself. “I want to feel them.”
Zach obeyed, and then he rested his hands on Asher’s shoulders, holding back nothing of his need or his desire as Asher set a slow rocking rhythm. “Do what you promised,” he begged. “Pound me through the mattress.”
Asher swooped down to claim a hard, swift kiss, and then he quickened the tempo of his hips, taking Zach with hard, deep thrusts. Zach held on tightly, tilting his hips and crying out as Asher’s cock brushed against his prostate, making pleasure course through him in tingling waves. He stared up into Asher’s face, lost in sensation, feeling as though he was in danger of flying apart. Asher curled his fingers around Zach’s cock and stroked it, and he fixed his gaze on Zach’s face.
“Come for me. I want to see you.”
Zach couldn’t help but obey, and he cried out Asher’s name as he came, clinging to Asher like he was the only solid thing left in the world. Wave after wave of ecstasy rolled over Zach, more powerful than anything he’d ever experienced in his life, and it seemed to go on forever before it ebbed away, leaving him breathless and sated. He opened his eyes and stared up at Asher, dazed and completely undone.
“My God,” he whispered. “That was…. Wow.”
A look of fierce pleasure crossed Asher’s face before he bent to kiss Zach again, although gentler this time, flicking his tongue in and out of Zach’s mouth to match the rhythm of his thrusts, which were slower now.
Zach hummed in pleasure as he slid his hands down Asher’s damp back, moving with him sinuously. He wanted to give back some of the incredible pleasure Asher had given him, hoping he could make it as good for Asher as it had been for him. Drawing back from the kiss, Asher began to move faster again, and soon he was thrusting hard, giving Zach the rough pounding he wanted.
“Yes!” Even though his body was sated, Zach relished the sensation of Asher claiming him. “Take me, Asher. Fuck me!”
With a ragged cry, Asher thrust deep one last time and came, shuddering in Zach’s arms. He pulled out and slumped on top of Zach, his breathing shallow and his body limp and heavy. Zach continued to caress Asher’s back, relaxed and drowsy and more content than he could remember feeling in a long time. Being with Asher was even better than he had imagined, and he wanted more. Much, much more.
After a while, Asher rolled away long enough to dispose of the condom and snag some tissues for himself and Zach. After they’d cleaned themselves up, he paused, giving Zach a searching look, and then he leaned over and brushed a kiss to Zach’s cheek.
“I enjoyed this a lot.”
“I did, too,” Zach replied, a bit puzzled over the chaste kiss after everything they’d done. He ducked his head, then looked at Asher through his lashes, his cheeks growing warm. “That’s an understatement, actually. If you’re interested in doing it again….”
Asher hesitated, then inclined his head in agreement. “I don’t usually go for repeat performances, but in this case, I’d consider it.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m going to take a shower. There’s a guest bathroom down the hall if you’d like to take one before you leave.”
Zach froze as he remembered the gossip he’d heard about Asher having commitment issues. The words were an obvious dismissal. Was it possible the rumors were true? That Asher slept with someone once, and that was it?
A stab of pain lanced through him at the thought of never having a repeat of the most incredible sexual experience his life. But apparently, it meant much more to him than it did to Asher; he’d been a besotted fool, and he had only himself to blame. He realized Asher was still waiting for an answer, and he summoned up a smile despite the hollow ache he felt inside.
“Sure. Thanks,” he replied quietly. Part of him cried out at the thought of leaving Asher’s bed, but another part wanted to get away as quickly as he could.
The tension in Asher’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and he smiled. “I’ll be sure to put in a good word with your boss,” he said as he rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. “The envelope is on the credenza in the foyer. You can pick it up on your way out.”
Zach watched as Asher walked out of the room and probably out of his life as well, at least in the ways that mattered. Unable to bear it any longer, Zach scrambled out of the bed and snatched up his clothes, then threw them on haphazardly. It wouldn’t do for Asher to see him break down. Especially after the crack about putting in a good word for him. He thought Asher understood this wasn’t something Zach was doing in order to get ahead at the office, but because he wanted it more than he’d ever wanted anything.
He fled the bedroom as though pursued by demons, stopping for only a moment in the sitting room when he noticed the papers for the plea bargain were still sitting on the coffee table. He ought to bring them to Asher’s attention, but he wasn’t going back into the bedroom. Maybe the housekeeper would give them to Asher, and someone else could deal with whatever Asher’s response would be. Zach wasn’t going to do it; for once, embarrassment trumped his sense of duty.
There was no sign of the housekeeper, and Zach stepped into the foyer, glad to have escaped without having to answer any questions. As he approached the front door, his eyes fell on the credenza next to it, and he noticed a white, legal-sized envelope propped up against an elegant crystal bowl. Asher had mentioned an envelope, and Zach paused, wondering if he ought to take it. He couldn’t imagine what would be in it. A reference? A letter telling him to find a new job? A waiver to be signed? A nondisclosure agreement?
With a sense of foreboding, he picked the envelope up, frowning at the thickness. He peered inside, and as he realized what it held, his eyes widened.
It was cash. Hundred dollar bills. Several of them, though he didn’t bother to count how many. Asher was paying him off? For his silence? For the sex?
Then it struck him, and Zach dropped the envelope to the floor and yanked open the door. He couldn’t get away from Asher quickly enough. Asher Caldwell had such bad commitment issues that hepaid for sex, and he thought Zach was his paid escort for the evening.
Zach bit back a moan of pain as he rode the elevator down, not acknowledging the security guard as he left the building and hailed a taxi. It was only when he was safely on his way back to his cold, empty apartment that he buried his head in his hands and admitted the bitter truth to himself.
The time in Asher’s bed, which had meant so much to him, had been a lie. Zach was nothing but an anonymous body who had served a purpose and then been easily discarded. It wasn’t that Zach didn’t mean enough to Asher to merit something as simple as a date or a repeat of their night together. What hurt the most was that Zach Richardson meant nothing to Asher Caldwell at all.
