“I have an unlimited number of ideas.”
“You’re shameless.”
“Always.”
She turns and looks at her reflection, straightening her hair, and wiping the smeared lipstick off her face.
I wrap my arms around her from behind and nuzzle into her neck, still unable to get close enough to her, even after fucking her. That connection was like a salve to the possessive beast inside me, but it wasn’t enough. Fuck, it’s never enough.
“Just so we’re clear, that extra-credit I earned has no expiration date.”
She scoffs. “You just used it.”
“You never said it was a one-time use only.”
She clucks her tongue. “That’s cheating.”
“It’s not cheating. There was no rule specified, so I’m not breaking any rules.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“Again, you never specified a time frame or an amount of uses, so I win by default.”
She rolls her eyes.
“But I do promise to use my extra credit to give you orgasms. How about that for a compromise?”
“What am I going to do with you, Mr. Langford?”
“Again, I have an unlimited number of ideas.”
She simply shakes her head again.
“So just a reminder, we’re back to what we were before. I expect to eat dinner with you tonight. I expect you in my bed,ourbed. And all these delicious parts of you, your mind, your presence, your tits, your pussy, your ass, they all belong to me.”
“And what about my heart?” she says, her voice cracking.
“I think we’re both trying to be very careful about how we handle those, baby. Give me some time, and everything will work out.”Hopefully.“Right now, I’m just counting my lucky fucking stars that I have you here, in my arms again.”
She sinks against me, sighing with the same relief I feel. “Me too.”
7
ELLA/ASHER
ELLA
Afew minutes after I leave Asher’s office, my phone rings. I hesitate to answer it. Asher made sure very few people have my new phone number, and with everything that’s gone on, I don’t know if I can trust it. I answer anyway.
“Hello?” I say hesitantly.
“Ella dear, it’s so good to finally speak to you.” The voice belongs to a woman, an elegant one with a clear, posh London accent. A voice I’ve heard on television and in interviews many times. Catherine Rothschild Langford. Asher’s mother.
One of the most famous and revered women on the planet.
Holy. Shit.
I swallow hard. “It’s . . . uh, nice to speak to you as well.”
