Page 11 of Ashley
He shot her a smile that was tinged in something like regret. "How could I forget?"
She nodded, making sure to keep her eyes averted from the man now standing beside her.
"This okay?" Natasha asked softly from where she still stood by the foyer entrance. "You don't have to talk to him if you don't want."
Ashley hesitated. The temptation of throwing James out and not having to face him or have this less than comfortable conversation was overwhelming, but she shook her head and shot Natasha a reassuring smile. "It's all right. We won't be long." She was a big girl. She could do tough things, and right now, that meant talking to a man capable of making her feel very small, but that, Ashley reminded herself, had been an entirely different situation and she was no longer as naive as she had once been. It was hard to believe everything that had happened in the span of a week, but she was grateful for the growth and discovery. So much made sense in her life now, and for better or worse, she owed it to this man. To James.
She turned, looking over her shoulder at him, and felt like she'd been sucker punched by the image the man cut. He was still ruggedly handsome, still the type of man who was enough to make her forget herself, but she saw something new. In those gray eyes that had looked at her with lust, there was gentleness; a softness she hadn't anticipated seeing, and it shocked her to her core. She cleared her throat and forced herself not to be affected when all she wanted to do was lean into him and claim a measure of that gentleness for herself.
Ashley wrapped her arms around herself and tucked her chin into her chest as they walked down the hallway toward her room. She was proud of herself for not faltering, not even when he pressed in close to her when she stopped to open the door. The warmth of him at her back made her knees weak, but thankfully, she was able to stay focused and entered the room without incident.
She crossed the room and claimed the space in front of the big windows. The city was lit up like a picture perfect postcard, and she fixed her eyes on the people and cars rushing past on the street below. It was easier to let herself get lost in the cars and random people than to process the fact that she was alone in her bedroom with James. The door clicked shut behind her, and her face heated up at thoughts of the last time they had been in the space. Ashley's eyes closed briefly and she willed herself the strength to turn and face him, but the sound of James' voice shocked her into stillness.
"I'm sorry."
Ashley's eyes popped open and she stared at her reflection in the window pane. Behind her, she could see the outline of him, hands tucked into his pockets and head down as he stared at his feet. It was so unlike the confident man she'd met at the party only a week ago. When she didn't say anything or move, he said, "I'm sorry, Ashley. You deserved better."
She turned then to look at him. "Did you know what I was?"
He sighed and looked at her. "No," he admitted in a voice that was thick with an emotion Ashley didn't quite understand.
"How didn't you?" she pressed, hands going to her hips.
'I'm not proud of it but," he paused and licked his lips, "I haven't been taking the lifestyle very seriously lately."
"What's that mean?"
"It means that I've been playing far too much with women I shouldn't be with. I've been," he waved his arms, letting out an exasperated breath, "going after women who look good but don't understand me or what I want."
Instantly, the image of him with the leggy blonde was in front of her, and Ashley felt her chest tighten.Women who looked good.
"And what is it that you want?"
"I want substance. I want something that grounds me and gives me peace. What I've been doing is not who I am, what I did, with not seeing who you were, is not who I am as a person, and it's sure as hell not who I am as a Daddy Dom."
Ashley worried her bottom lip, eyes darting to meet his when he said that last part. Daddy. The word pulled at her, made her want far too much from a man she didn't even know, but it was hard to deny that she was pulled to him. Even after her tumble through sub drop, there was a need to be close to him, to give him what he wanted, but this time, she would only do it if he gave her what she needed. That much, she was sure of. She'd learned her lesson.
"And who are you as a," she faltered then, voice wavering and making him take a step closer to her, "Daddy Dom?" Ashley managed to choke it out under James' watchful gaze. He was poised for movement, hands at his sides slightly raised. and fingers reaching so that if she moved toward him, she knew he'd be there.
"I'm patient. I'm kind. I give guidance and care, and I know how to treat a little girl, especially a sweet one like you."
"I'm sweet?" she asked, unable to stop the question.
He nodded, hair falling into his eyes and making her heart skip a beat. "Little one, you're the sweetest I've ever tasted. Like honey and peaches."
A shiver ran up her spine, and she licked her lips. "What are you doing here, James?"
"I came to apologize, honey. To fix what I did."
She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at him. "And how do you propose to do that?"
"Will you let me take care of you?"
Her lips pursed. The worst of her predicament had passed and all under the attentive care of Natasha and Silas. What did he think he could do for her that they hadn't? "I'm through the woods now, I think," she clipped out.
"But not entirely," he replied in a voice that made her go still. It was soft, like gossamer and silk, and it had her full attention.
"No, not entirely," she admitted, rocking back on her heels. Tonight had been a blow to her fragile peace, but she didn't want to tell him that, not when they were still in the early stages ofwhatever this was.
