Page 36 of Ashley
"Hi, I'm Sam."
Ashley smiled at him, slipping her hand into his. "Ashley. Pleased to meet you, sir."
His eyes widened slightly and he rocked back on his heels, his hand gentle on hers. "Mannersandbeauty. Where do the guys keep finding girls like you, hmm? And where can I sign up?" He was, she decided then, like Silas and James; there was no other way to explain it.
She blushed and looked down to where he was lightly holding her hand. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me just yet, sweetie. I'm here to babysit. The two of you stepped in it big time tonight, which means no trying to run out on your punishments." He held an arm out, stopping Natasha from where she had made to dart around him, and pulled her close while drawing Ashley forward so that he had an arm around each of the women's shoulders.
Natasha made a face. "Crap."
"You got that right, sis." Sam laughed, nodding at the two men who were now making their way through the crowd toward them. The crush of people parted like the red sea for them, and Ashley watched them approach with both excitement and nervousness. Punishment. Sam had said that word, and so had Natasha. What did it mean for her, and just because her friend enjoyed it, did that mean that she would, too? She licked her lips nervously and shrank into Sam's side when James was standing in front of her.
"Ash," James held a hand out to her, his mouth pressed into a thin line, "Let's go."
She turned her face away, a hand going to catch at Sam's shirt, and she shook her head.
"I don't think she wants to," Sam said, his voice holding a sing-song tone that made her blush, but then James' hands were on her, one at the small of her back and the other on the hand that was clutching at Sam's shirt.
"Honey, look at me," James said, and she looked because there was nothing else she could do when he asked her to do something. Not if she was honest with herself. She would give him the world. And when her eyes hit his, she knew he would do the same for her.
"It's time to go home." He held his hand out to her, and after another beat, she stepped away from Sam and slipped her hand into his.
"Okay," she told him with a nervous look over her shoulder at her friend who was leaning into Silas with a relaxed look on her face despite the glower on her fiancée's face. "See you later, Natasha."
The redhead waved at her and then gave her a wink. "Don't worry; it won't be scary once you're doing it. And just remember, it doesn't hurt as much if you relax!"
The last word was sent as a shout over the crowd and Ashley wished she'd drunk as much as Natasha when she saw Tony look their way, along with a few of the production crew. There would be questions no doubt, but that was blessedly not tonight, so Ashley pushed past her friends with a little wave and tried to hold onto what was currently her present situation, and that was getting the nerve to go over James' knee.
She sucked in a deep breath and kept her eyes focused ahead of her. James' hand was on her lower back, the weight both comforting and bringing to mind what he would be doing to her later. The warmth from his touch seemed to burn a hole through the sweater she was wearing, but she leaned into it anyhow, because, anyway you sliced it, Ashley craved James' touch in whatever way he gave it to her. She only hoped tonight didn't change that.
