Page 2 of The Claiming Series: Collection 1
But I'm fooling myself, thinking someone like me can capture the attention of a man like him. He still thinks of me as a child, not the woman who's been half in love with him since I was sixteen. He's behind every one of my fantasies. It’s his face I picture when I touch myself alone in my bed at night and his name that spills from my lips as I get myself off.
I may wish things were different, but I know I'm off-limits in every conceivable way as far as Ashton Stanbrook is concerned.
Chapter Two
Ashton
"I'd like to thank everyone for coming here tonight. It's a double celebration as not only is it Ivy's twenty-first birthday, but she's also graduated college early," Kathy beams at the guests gathered around in the large drawing room at the three-story townhouse.
She looks happy, maybe the happiest I've seen her since Jack, her husband, and my best friend, died. Pride shines from her face as she mentions her daughter, and a whole shit-storm of emotions hits me.
Ivy.
The daughter of my two best friends.
Tonight is her party to celebrate her twenty-first birthday and graduation, her coming-of-age. And damned if the way she keeps looking at me doesn't prove she's all grown up. No longer off-limits. Everything inside me wants her, wants to own her, possess her.
She's a woman now, and, Jesus, fuck, she's hot. Somehow, cute little Ivy has grown into the most desirable woman I've ever laid eyes on. She's all plush tits and wild curves with an ass I want to palm and squeeze as I fuck her.
She'swomanly andwalks around like she has no fucking clue how tempting she is. She's also clumsy and disorganized, but she has a rare determination and intelligence for her age. There's a freshness, a youthfulness that clings to her, but she's also got a good head on her shoulders. Losing her father probably had something to do with that when she was sixteen. She had to grow up quicker than most girls her age.
A natural caregiver, she's now completed her Associate Nursing Degree, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, she'll be amazing in her chosen career.
How can I interfere with that? With her plans for her future? There are so many reasons I can't, Ishouldn't, claim her as mine, but it's getting harder and harder to remember a single fucking one of them.
Especially tonight, when she looks like a dream in an ocean-blue dress that transforms her into a goddess. It skims all her delicious curves while emphasizing her magnificent tits and rounded ass.
At eighteen years her senior, I'm too goddamn old for her, but there's something about Ivy that has me as hard as fucking steel. Andthatis a real problem.
It didn't happen overnight. My feelings for her slowly started to change right before her eighteenth birthday. I hugged her that night, lifting her off her feet as I held her close, her warm body and soft skin under my hands. Her whole face lit up when she was in my arms, and as I pulled away, something passed between us, primal and needy.
Then, later that evening, I glimpsed her in her underwear as I passed her bedroom on the way to the bathroom. Her door was ajar as she removed her dress. She didn't shy away from my eyes as I paused outside her door, held immobile by the sight of her in a silk bra and panties. No, she turned to me, letting me look my fill, her back arching slightly, her eyesdrowsy with desire.
And what did I do? I walked away. Hardest fucking thing I've ever done.
Maybe I should've claimed her that night, but I had to let her spread her wings and experience a little of life first, even if it was in the sheltered confines of an exclusive college. If she came back to me after that? Well, then, all bets were off.
"To Ivy!"
"To Ivy!" the guests raise their glasses and bottles of beer in unison.
I glance across at Ivy to find her golden-brown eyes fixed on me. My heart skips, and my dick throbs at the look in those tawny eyes. I raise my glass an inch, silently toasting her, giving her what I hope is a cool smile while my insides turn to lava.
My self-control is slipping where she's concerned, and I'm dangerously close to the precipice. One nudge, and I know I'll be tumbling face-first over the edge and straight into Ivy's arms.
Chapter Three
Ivy
Mom swoops in, pulling my attention away from Ashton as she grabs me for a hug. "I'm so proud of you, honey," she says huskily, still dabbing at her tears. She's a tough cookie, and it's rare for anyone other than me to witness her shedding tears.
She's earned a fierce reputation in her field of work and is constantly sought after for high-profile cases. Like tomorrow, for example, when she leaves for New York to defend a well-known celebrity accused of beating up his girlfriend.
Another guest steals Mom away, so I spend the next hour doing the rounds, talking with the family and friends who've come to help me celebrate. Clara, my best friend from college, arrives a little later, saving me from an awkward conversation with somedistant family cousin. I may have recently earned my nursing degree, but it doesn't mean I want to hear all about the skin tags he has growing on his scrotum.
However, Clara isn't alone, and I'm surprised that Brent is with her. She's obviously brought him as her plus one, which seems odd. We only dated a few times, so we were never officially boyfriend and girlfriend. We didn't end on the best of terms, though. He had feelings for me that I couldn’t return because I was pining for someone else.
Clara and I catch up for a little while before she heads for the buffet table, leaving me alone with Brent. I'm expecting things to be awkward, but if anything, he seems overly attentive as we talk. He touches me at every opportunity as he refills my wine glass, asking me about my plans now I've graduated. I try to focus on answering his questions, but my attention is half-hearted at best.
