Page 23 of Homewrecker

Ashley let herself relax. Theo and his dark-haired friend, Roger, came back to their table with them. Only a few of their co-workers were left. One of them, Paul, who definitely had a crush on Elizabeth, didn’t seem too happy to have newcomers joining them. Elizabeth, who was blissfully unaware of Paul’s crush, was in full flirt mode.

Poor Paul.

She tried to divert the conversation to make things a little easier for him, but he left after a few minutes.

“Wanna dance?” Theo asked.

“Sure.” She liked to dance. The floor didn’t look too crowded, and it would take away some of the guilt she felt about not being able to make Paul’s life a little easier. There was nothing she could do about Elizabeth being oblivious, though. It wasn’t like Paul had made a move or anything.

The dance floor might not be too crowded, but Theo was a very close dancer. Ashley swayed, rolling her hips and trying not to feel too uncomfortable with how his body lined up with hers. He was trying a little too hard. When she stepped away or turned to get some space between them, he followed right along with her, unable to take the hint.

“Phew!” She accidentally elbowed him when he came a little too close, making him wince. “Oops, sorry.”

Maybe that was the answer. Let her arms flail a bit more.

Except that backfired when he caught her wrist and pulled her in, wrapping one arm around her back.

“Here, this way,” he said, pressing his lower body up against hers. She could feel that he was hard, and every part of her wanted to rebel. Stiffening, she tried to step back, putting her hands on his chest and pushing gently.

“Actually, I think I need to stop and get some air.”

“Aw, come on, Ashley, just relax. We’re going to have fun.” He rolled his hips against her, rubbing his erection against her, and she pushed him a little harder.

“I need some air, Theo.”

“I believe the lady said she needs some air.”

Even though she couldn’t see him, Ashley immediately recognized the dark growl of the man standing behind her. Theo’s eyes widened.

Strong hands gripped her arms, pulling her back against a muscled chest, and she nearly sagged in relief.

Mr. Black to the rescue.

What was he doing here? It had been long enough since her last drink, so she wasn’t really drunk anymore, just tipsy, and her brain was quick on the uptake with that question. This didn’t really seem like his scene.

“Are you her dad or something?”

“Or something.”

Swinging her around, Mr. Black put his arm around her and tucked her into his side, hand splayed possessively over her hip. Ashley stumbled, not because she was drunk but because she was in shock from his sudden appearance. He easily kept her moving.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Keeping you from making more mistakes, apparently.”

His dry tone rubbed her the wrong way, and she glared up at him just in time to see him giving someone a nod. She tried to spot who he’d just nodded to, but the place was too crowded.

“Come on. You’re going home.”

“But Elizabeth?—”

“We’ll let her know you’re leaving on our way out.”

True to his word, they found Elizabeth, and Ashley told her that she had to go. Elizabeth looked at Mr. Black with wide-eyed curiosity but didn’t ask any questions. Just gave Ashley a hug and told her to ‘have fun.’

Yeah, probably not.

But she was kind of curious as to why Mr. Black had suddenly appeared in her life again.

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