Page 37 of Ashley
Chapter 9
Ashley squirmed in her seat and did her best not to let on that she was sneaking sidelong looks at James as he drove. Though, to be fair, if he wasn't aware of the fact that she'd been nervously watching him from the second she'd left the warehouse in Queens with him, then she was quite certain Hell must have frozen over. She huffed out a sigh, eyes dropping to her hands for a second before she attempted another look at James, only to see him shake his head at her.
"I see you," James rumbled, destroying any thoughts on Hell and its current temperature.
She sighed, opting not to say anything, and looked out the passenger window. The ride back to his apartment in Brooklyn had been tense, and she'd almost convinced herself that she'd gotten away with observing James in a somewhat covert manner, but she should have known better. He was far too aware of himself—and her—to not know where her eyes were. Ashley said nothing, her blood humming with the alcohol she'd consumed with Natasha, and she briefly wondered how her friend was faring. The last Ashley had seen of her, Silas had been hustling the still laughing redhead in the opposite direction with a dark look on his face that matched the one James was currently sporting as he pulled into the parking garage and parked.
"Come on, honey." His words were gentle, but there was no mistaking the steel in his voice. He was gone before Ashley could respond, and she swallowed hard before she followed. When she was out of the car and rounding it toward him, she was caught by surprise when he took her hand and tugged her close.
"James, I—" she began, but he shook his head.
"Let's get upstairs first."
She ducked her head. "Okay."
They walked toward the elevator, pressed close, bodies warm and perfectly curved to the other's in a way that spoke of forever so much to Ashley that she felt dizzy by the time they were finally in the elevator and moving. She moved away from him, like she'd touched a hot stove, and leaned heavily against the cool metal of the elevator wall.
"Are you okay?" James was suddenly there in front of her, his hands gentle on her shoulders.
"Yeah, I'm okay, I'm just," she shook her head and let out a shaky laugh, "I don't know."
He tilted her head back with a finger on her chin and frowned. "What don't you know?"
"Everything feels different."
"It's not," he assured her. "At least not yet."
Her eyes widened and she looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean, not yet?"
A hand smoothed over her hair gently. "I mean, that things haven't changed, but they will after tonight."
"Why?"
He dipped his head to look at her. "You know why."
"Because I was bad?"
"Not bad," he told her and squeezed her shoulder gently. "You wereverybad."
"I didn't—"
"Don't think I didn't see Natasha and you." He clucked his tongue at her. "I can spot a pair of brats a mile away, and you two were in rare form."
She blushed hot at his tone. "I'm not a brat."
He smirked at her and tweaked her nose. "That's exactly what a brat would say."
"I'm not a—" she began to protest, but the dinging of the elevator made her freeze, the words catching in her throat when she saw the doors slide open. The right combination she'd been searching for to make James see things her way evaporated on her tongue when his gray eyes landed on her with all the force of a Mack truck.
"Move it," he said, nodding at the now open elevator door. When she didn't move forward, he grasped her elbow gently and moved her forward. "Honey, I'm not kidding. Use your feet."
As if on command, Ashley's feet moved and she followed along with James as meek as a lamb until he was letting them into the apartment. The alcohol wasn't quite as strong now, no longer making her blood feel like molten lava. Instead, it was sitting heavy on her like a lead vest that fed her in all the ways she liked least—most of all, her insecurities, and she shifted from foot to foot, shooting a quick look at James before she ducked into the apartment.
Swallowing hard, she moved toward the couch and sat quickly before her legs gave out from under her.
"Calm down, honey," James murmured, crouching in front of her and taking her hands in his. "This isn't going to be bad."
"What is it going to be, then?" she asked, voice cracking. "Natasha said that you were going to spank me."
