Page 40 of Hidden
Ellie took a seat and by the time Sabina slid a tumbler in front of her, Asher had taken the seat beside her. He eyed the glass then shrugged.
“Okay, what do you need to know?” Asher asked, kicking the meeting off.
“Not much. Not tonight,” Sabina answered, looking at Ellie. “Just a few questions about who is in your house, who has access to your room. That sort of thing. We’ll dig in more tomorrow once we know what the device is and if there are any more.”
It didn’t take Ellie long to go through the list of people. It was more or less the same one she’d gone through with Sofia the week before when her friend had asked if there was anyone new in her life. The question had been different, but it had prompted Ellie to think about everyone who came and went from her life. Everyone who came and went from her home.
Harry and Ricardo topped the list, followed by the cleaning staff and a few friends. Michael, her gardener, often came to chat with her on the porch or met with Ricardo in his office. But he never came into the house otherwise. Still, she watched as Sabina noted his name, and the name of his company, on her computer.
Just over an hour later, they were back on the road and headed to Asher’s. After a short detour to swing by the Perch, a local restaurant on Main Street, for salad and pizza, they pulled into his garage. As the door came down behind them, tension fell from Ellie’s body. She still had no idea what was going on, and she couldn’t stop her mind from going to the worst possible place. But being with Asher, and having HICC already involved, gave her a sense of strength—a grounding—that she chose to focus on rather than the fear.
After dropping their bags in their rooms, Asher started the fire while she plated their food. By unspoken agreement, they curled up on the couch to eat rather than sit at the dining table. Lunch had lost its appeal after Asher told her about the device, and she devoured her dinner. As did Asher.
When their stomachs were full and their plates empty, she gathered the dishes and took them to the kitchen while Asher brought out his laptop. When she returned to the living room with refilled glasses of wine, he—almost apologetically—told her he had work to catch up on.
“Of course,” she said. “I’m sorry—”
He silenced her apology with a look. She didn’t like that her life was interrupting his. But he wasn’t going to let her apologize. So instead, she grabbed the script for the movie filming in April and curled back up on the couch. After a beat, she tossed a throw blanket over her legs and tucked her toes under Asher’s thigh. He arched his brow at her, no doubt feeling the chill through his jeans. She flashed him one of her award-season smiles. With a small shake of his head, he smiled then went back to work.
The next thing she knew, dim sunlight was eking its way through the frost covering the bedroom window. But not her window, Asher’s. Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall the night before. She vaguely remembered Asher picking her up from the couch and asking her which bed she wanted to sleep in. She’d answered him without hesitation. He’d laid her down, fully clothed, and covered her with the comforter. She’d drifted back to sleep to the sound of him brushing his teeth in his attached bathroom. Sometime in the night, she’d stripped out of her too-hot leggings and somehow managed to get her bra off. Now Asher’s legs were tucked behind hers, his curly hair tickling her skin, and his hand, once again, under her shirt.
And once again, she’d had an amazing night’s sleep.
She probably had dragon breath and raccoon eyes, though. Unusually, she hadn’t washed her face or brushed her teeth before falling asleep. She considered sliding out of bed to rectify the situation, then opted not to. She was far too comfortable to care that much.
“I can feel you thinking,” Asher mumbled, his voice vibrating over her skin. A movement that shot through her body, waking certain parts that hadn’t been tended to in too long.
“Ellie?” Asher’s finger started making small circles on her belly, drifting lower and brushing the top of her underwear.
“Hmm?” she managed to mumble as she tucked her legs and pushed her bottom against his groin.
“I know we sort of agreed to take things slow. But unless you tell me no, I’m going to make you come. Maybe twice,” Asher grumbled.
Yes, they were supposed to be going slow. Yes, they were supposed to be exploring this thing between them carefully. Cautiously. And what Asher wanted, what he offered, was the exact opposite. But as cliché as it was, finding that device in her home reminded her—and likely him—that life was short. And unpredictable. That reality didn’t give them leeway to do dumb things. But being with Asher was probably the leastdumbthing she could do. She wanted him, she trusted him. And judging by his body’s current state, he wanted her, too.
“Why on earth would I say no to that?” she countered in response to his comment.
“Good answer,” he growled, then thrust his pelvis forward, forcing her body to straighten. She anticipated he’d tease her. And she looked forward to him drawing things out and slowly giving her what he promised.
That wasn’t what happened, though. With no hesitation, one of his hands slid down her belly, wrapped around her thigh, and pulled her leg over his. Then his fingers were there—right where she wanted them. Insistent, knowing, and demanding.
It didn’t take long for him to fulfill his promise of at least one orgasm. In fact, she was almost embarrassed how quickly he set her off. But between his fingers, his rough voice telling her exactly what he wanted from her, and the rocking of his hips against hers, she hadn’t been able to hold back.
When the tremors subsided, she shifted to face him, but he held her tight.
“Not done yet,” he said. Then, lifting his leg that lay under hers, he spread her even wider. The sheets fell away and a cool breeze drifted over her exposed body.
“Asher.” She wasn’t sure what she meant in her plea. Stop? More? Not yet? Now? All were possible options. But the main thought that flitted through her mind was that she’d never come twice in the same encounter. And she didn’t want to disappoint him.
He gave her no choice, though. A choice in whether to proceed or not, yes. But as her body, then her voice, told him “yes” he dictated the path they took—with both his words and his body. She’d never been with a lover quite as demanding—and unrelenting—as Asher. And it didn’t take long for her to respond. Soon, her back arched, her breath locked in her chest, and the tremors in her body started, rippling from her core to her toes.
“That’s what I want, Ellie,” Asher growled, pressing his fingers deep inside her as he rocked his body against hers. Between his command and the perfect friction of his fingers, her body bowed, and she came again, riding his hand and chasing every last drop of pleasure.
“Fuck, you’re amazing, Ellie. You’re going to feel so good when I’m inside you,” Asher said.
Before she knew it, he flipped her back and slid her underwear down her legs. After tossing them on the floor, he turned, kneeling between her thighs, and paused. His gaze remained fixed on her nearly naked body. Without taking his eyes off her, he shoved his flannel pajama bottoms down over his hips before kicking them off altogether.
“Take your shirt off,” he said as he wrapped one hand around himself and the other around her thigh. Three orgasms in the same encounter hadn’t even been a pie-in-the-sky dream. But the way her body responded to his movements left no doubt this would be the first time. Of many, she hoped.
