“Asher!” Now I recognize Ella’s voice, pulling me up, up, up, and out.
I sit up, gasping for breath. Ella’s hands are on my shoulders. Her face appears before mine.
“It’s okay, baby. It was just a dream.” I can hear her words, but they’re distant, an echo. I vaguely feel her hands skate up to my jaw, and she holds my face in them. She kisses my lips.
“We can make this easy, or we can make this hurt.”
Why is that phrase so familiar?
“Asher, look at me.”
Ella climbs onto my lap. She wraps her arms around me.
“We can make this easy, or we can make this hurt.”
My mind drifts back to earlier this year. A rainy day in late winter. Charlotte in my apartment, taking it in.
“Your penthouse is so impressive,Asher. I’d love to live in a place like this,” she says as I hand her a glass of wine.
I’m annoyed with her, but I like the fling we have going on, so I bite my tongue. I don’t want her here. I don’t bring women back to my penthouse, and this is exactly why. Women know I’m wealthy, but when they are in my home surrounded by the grandeur of it, that point seems to hit on a more profound level. I always insist on meeting women at hotels. Hotels keep the lines clear, and it keeps women out of my personal space. Charlotte showed up unexpectedly, and I was busy finishing up work, so I let her up.
I’m regretting it now.
“Let’s go,” I say.
“Go where?”
“To the Plaza, as planned.”
“Why would we go to the Plaza? I’m already here.”
“I don’t fuck women in my home,” I snap, my patience waning.
She gives me an incredulous look. “Why not?”
“I just prefer hotels.”
“Your home is nicer than a hotel.” She sets her glass of wine down and runs her hand over my cock and pants. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
I groan as she starts to unbuckle my belt. I step back, and her face is incredulous.
“You’d really hold off on sex just to go to a hotel?”
“I told you; I don’t mix these things with my home life.”
She smirks at me, unbuttoning her blouse. She tosses it aside. Then her bra follows. “We can make it quick today, if you prefer.”
And when she’s successful at getting my fly open and her hand down my briefs, my resolve starts to crumble. But I still pull away. She grips me tighter, and my traitorous cock hardens. Another groan slips past my lips. Fuck. She knows she has the upper hand.
She suddenly removes her hand.“We can make this easy, or we can make this hurt, Asher.”
Her skirt hits the floor, and she stands before me in nothing but her panties.
“Fine,” I growl. “But upstairs in one of the guest rooms. Final offer.”
“Fuck,”I hiss to myself.
“What is it?” Ella asks. “Asher, talk to me.”
