Ashton Scott

My gaze sweeps over her body, taking in the black dress painted over her curves and the heels that accentuate her toned legs. Heels I’d like to remove slowly before making my way up those legs.

“You’re early,” she says.

I check my watch. Quarter past seven. “No, I’m late. I said seven.”

“And I said seven thirty.”

I close the distance between us and place my hand on her hip before snaking it around her waist. “We both know you had nothing on between seven and seven thirty.”

She grips the bicep of my arm that I have around her. It’s like she’s trying to push me away while at the same time keep me close. “I might have.”

“Are you ready? Or do you need fifteen minutes?”

“Just let me get my bag,” she says before turning to leave me.

I want to follow her.

I want my lips on hers again.

But I don’t. Instead, I wait with patience I don’t possess for this woman. Patience that I know I am going to have to work on, because Lorelei has made it abundantly clear she doesn’t want just sex—that she wants to spend time getting to know me first. And as much as I want so much more from her than sex, my need for her body is intense.

She doesn’t take long to return and a minute later I’m tracking her steps as we make our way to my car. When we hit the footpath and she sees the car, she turns in surprise. “A double date?”

I eye Jack leaning against my Aston Martin and shake my head. “No, I don’t share, Lorelei.”

Jack pushes off from the car and grins at her. “We definitely don’t share, sweetheart. I’m only along for the ride because my best friend thinks I’ll spend the night drinking or taking drugs if I’m alone.”

Surprise flares in her eyes as she glances at me. “Really….” Her voice drifts off and I wonder what she’s thinking. One of the things I like about her is that I can’t always figure her out. She keeps me guessing.

Jack shrugs. “He’s right. I do have a problem with those things. This is a little extreme, though.”

Before I can respond, Lorelei speaks. “No, I don’t think so. I hope my friend would look out for me like Ashton is for you if I had a problem.”

Jack mutters something under his breath about me taking things to the extreme as we all settle in the car, him in the back, Lorelei next to me. The argument he and I had before leaving tonight is long forgotten, though, which is our way. We’ve always had our say and then moved on without holding onto shit. He didn’t want to come tonight, but I forced him. I refused to take no for an answer.

* * *

I listen as Jack and Lorelei laugh over a story he’s shared about an embarrassing moment he had at the Oscars once. The sound of Lorelei’s laughter hits me in the gut. And not for the first time. It seems every time I hear her laugh I’m affected this way.

“Ashton, just drop me off on the way to Lorelei’s. No fucking way am I getting in the way of you guys tonight,” Jack says from the back seat of the car. We’ve just left the restaurant.

I meet his gaze in the rear-view

mirror. He mouths, “Take me home.”

I decide to do as he’s asked and steer the car in the direction of home.

Lorelei turns to face him. “You won’t be getting in the way of anything, Jack. Ashton knows the score.”

My lips twitch.

I know the damn score off by fucking heart.

“Sweetheart, were we at the same dinner tonight?” Jack asks.

“Yes,” she replies hesitantly.

“You two couldn’t keep your eyes off each other. If I hadn’t been there, you probably would have spent the night sitting on his lap.”