I inhale a deep breath because I know it’s true. My body is alight with a desperate need for him right now. I sit up in a rush and take the laptop he must have left on my bed, opening it. “What do we need to do for Sloane?” I ask quickly.
He sits beside me, so close I can feel the heat radiating off him. He takes the laptop and types in a password. “They have their opening night next week and want some promo stuff made. Something they can send out to their VIP clients to explain how different this new club will be andThe Game.I have all the images saved in here, and it’s pretty self-explanatory even for someone who hasn’t done much with computers. If I can do it, you can.”
“The game?” I ask, having no idea what he’s going on about.
“You haven’t heard gossip about it around the club? Sloane and Romeo have created a love-match game, something to find your ideal match but sexier, and the stakes are higher. With a live audience who will vote and all. The whole thing is going tomake a stupid amount of cash for the club. And hopefully, the couple will end up finding a good match or at least someone to have a bit of fun with. It’s genius if you ask me.”
“So, it’s like multiple men and one girl? And then you get one winner at the end?” I ask, fascinated.
He shrugs. “It can go both ways, depending on who applies for the game. See, this one.” He points to the screen, and I see an image of Myriah from the front bar. “She’s going to be our first girl applicant, and we need to send her application out to our list of VIPs to see who wants to play for a chance to be her ideal match. They’ll bid, and the highest three bidders will be a part of the game. It could also go the other way. If a dude wants to settle down, he might apply as well, and the same thing, we’ll vet the applicants, then there’ll be an auction.”
I don’t know why, but I get a flutter of excitement at the thought. It’s not traditional romantic, but it’s one up on online dating and has a thrill to it that would be enticing for someone hunting for love or even just a fun night. “Sounds like a cool idea, and great for you guys if it’s going to be so lucrative. Can you show me what to do?”
He clicks around in the program on the screen, his fingers moving faster than I can keep up. “This app is simple, select the document you want to work on then pick a template to fill in. Once you get better, you can start from scratch, but for now, we have a heap of templates already, so you can go with them to get you started.”
I take over the mouse pad, clicking on different templates and fiddling around with the layout as I try to get comfortable with the app. He’s right, this is pretty simple, even for me. “So you just want me to make some of these promo things?”
“There’s a list here of what we need. You can work on them while I sort out some staffing issues.” He leans back against the headboard of my bed and types away at his phone. I watch himfor a sec. He’s one sexy bastard. It’s hard to work when he’s so close and all I want to do is crawl up onto his lap...
Concentrate, Daisy.
I pull my eyes off him and get to work playing around with what they gave me. None of the items on the list takes long after I work out how to use the program. What I can’t get over is that it’s Myriah playing the game first. She still has a thing for Ash. I know it from the way she looked at me when we were drinking together that night. She had been so nice to me before that. She’s super pretty, with long chocolate-brown hair and piercing green eyes. She has a fun vibe in her images that I’m sure would be attractive to potential players and to Asher. And I can’t help but wonder what happened with them.
“So, Myriah is looking to settle down?” I watch for his reaction. I know for sure she was one of the girls he was sleeping with.
“Guess so.” He glances up from his phone and shrugs like it’s no big deal. “What?”
“It’s unnerving how you can just look like you don’t care,” I snap, knowing I sound bitchy, but will this be us in a few months’ time?
He tucks his phone away. “I wasn’t sure about this at first for her. But she’s ready to find her person, so I’m happy for her. And she trusts us. She knows Sloane will look after her and find a perfect match.”
My eyes narrow because he’s giving me nothing, and I hate the way they all do this. It’s like they don’t want to lie to me, so they skate around the truth. “She was one of the girls you screwed, wasn’t she?” My heart races like mad the moment I utter the words.
Our eyes meet, and I hold my breath, waiting to see if he’s going to tell me the truth or brush it off like every other girl I’ve asked about. He runs a hand through his hair, mussing itfurther. “For a while, yeah.” He raises his brow, his lips twisting. “Jealous?”
“No,” I mutter quickly, brushing a fake piece of lint off my skirt.
“It was a bit of fun, princess, not what we have.”
I look away. I can’t keep staring into his eyes when he’s being all intense like this. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
With a sudden thud, I’m flat on my back, Ash’s gorgeous body looming over me. He takes a sharp breath, his expression shifting to something raw and untamed. “I’ve tried to give you space to recover. Waited for you to come around on your own. But I’m not waiting anymore. I want you and only you, Daisy.” He kisses me, and it’s not soft and delicate this time. It’s primal and passionate in a way that steals my breath. I kiss him back, needing his lips on mine just as much. When he pulls back, he gazes into my eyes. “I’m in love with you.”
My heart pounds against my rib cage as I stare back up at him, not sure what the hell to say. Asher doesn’t fall in love. It was the one thing I could rely on. He can’t be in love with me as well. “You’re just horny, Ash,” I mutter back, trying to derail this runaway train.
His eyes turn into slits, an iciness washing over him. “That’s the cruelest thing you have ever said to me, Daisy.” He pushes off the bed and strides toward the door. I feel the loss of his weight immediately. I thought he was going to screw me, not tell me he was in love with me.
“Ash,” I call after him, my heart hammering like crazy. The last thing I want to do is hurt him when I know I feel the same. “Come back, I’m sorry.”
But he doesn’t turn back, he slams the door behind him. Fuck, why did I have to say that? What the hell is wrong with me.
Chapter 12
Vogue
Awaveofdizzinesswashes over me in my rush to go after Asher, and I grip the wall to steady myself. I don’t want him to be angry with me over this. It was a stupid thing for me to say. I just couldn’t deal with the LOVE word.
While I try to catch my breath, my bedroom door opens in a rush, and Cruz stands on the other side with a lady who hasher hair in crazy braids all swirling through and a massive silver toolbox in her hands. She grins at me with cheeky dimples on her blushed cheeks. I feel silly instantly for being jealous of her relationship with Asher. She’s older, probably in her late forties I would say, maybe even older, but it’s hard to tell with the way she’s all done up. “So, this is the girl who has Ash storming through this place on a rampage?”
