Ashton Scott

Thankfully, he lets all talk of women drop, and we discuss what we need to. When our conversation ends about fifteen minutes later, I’m more than ready to get out of here, but Lorelei is nowhere in sight. I begin searching for her, but am frustrated to run into Cassia before I find her.

“Ashton,” she murmurs, her eyes meeting mine after they run all over my body first.

“Cassia.” I make sure to maintain eye contact. Cassia does not need any encouragement to think I’m interested in picking back up from where we left off.

“How are you?”

I ignore the step she takes to move closer to me, hoping that will be as close as she comes. If the past is any indication, it won’t be, but a man can hope.

“I’m well. You?” Fuck,

I hate small talk.

Her heart-shaped face lights up with pleasure at my question, and I realise too late it was the wrong course of action to take. “I’m good. Busy, though. You know what it’s like. A party nearly every night to show your face at. I’ve been disappointed not to see you at too many lately, but I know you’ve been busy travelling. I’m happy to see you back in town now.”

I need to end this encounter now. Before I manage to fuck it up any further than I already have. “I’m on my way out, Cassia, so I’ll have to cut this short. But it’s great to hear you’re good.”

I step away from her, but she reaches out and stops me, her hand gripping my arm. “We should have dinner one night.”

Fuck no.

Turning, I face her again. “No, Cassia. I’m seeing someone.” My voice is firm in an effort to convince her she needs to move on.

She blinks a few times, clearly surprised. I haven’t dated since we broke up, and she knows I don’t easily make relationships official. “Oh,” she says, her voice cracking a little.

I remove her hand from my arm. “Goodbye.” With that, I walk away, not waiting to see how she processes what I’ve told her. Cassia didn’t handle our break up well, and I still feel some guilt over how it all went down. We were together for four years, but in the end, I realised I didn’t stay because I loved her, but rather because I wasn’t bored with her like I was with most other women. It was an asshole move to make with a woman who planned her life around me, so as soon as I became aware of the reason I stayed, I left. Cassia deserved more from a man than I could ever give her.

She doesn’t follow me, and I manage to exit the room without further delay. Fifteen minutes later, I finally find Lorelei. She’s deep in conversation with a guy I know only by reputation, and by the looks of it, whatever they’re talking about has her excited.

“Ashton!” she exclaims when she sees me. “Come and say hi to Ryan Shandwick. Do you two know each other?” Definitely excited about something. Every inch of her is alive with it.

My arm circles her waist as I shake Ryan’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about your developments.” He’s only been in Sydney for about a year. Prior to that, he was working out of Melbourne. His business has grown fast, and he’s been plagued by rumours of shady operations.

Shandwick grins. “Lorelei sings your praises, Ashton, but she doesn’t have to—I’ve been following you and your business for years. Great to meet you, man.”

“Ryan’s been telling me about the project he’s currently working on—an apartment complex in Bondi,” Lorelei says, the excitement still clear in her tone, and I wonder at that. What shit has he been spinning her?

Shandwick’s still grinning at me. “We’re in the early phase of it, but it’s shaping up to be something—” His phone rings, cutting him off, and he says, “Sorry, guys, I need to take this. I’ll be in touch, Lorelei.”

I watch him for a moment as he walks away. Even if I hadn’t heard the rumours about him, I wouldn’t trust him. He gives off a vibe, and my gut instinct is to avoid him. I always make it a point to go by that instinct—it’s never let me down yet. The fact he told Lorelei he’d be in touch concerns me, but I decide to leave that for a conversation with her later. I’ve got much more important things on my mind right now.

Shifting my gaze to her, I say, “I’m ready to dedicate some serious time to getting this dress off you.”

Her eyes sparkle and she laughs. “Here? Now?”

“I’m easy.”

“Okay then,” she plays along, still laughing. Reaching her arms around to the back of her dress, she says, “You want me to undo the zip and get you started?”

I tighten my hold on her. “Don’t you dare,” I growl. “There’s no fucking way any man in here is getting his eyes on you.”

Her eyes smoulder with desire. “You should take me home, but I need you to know I wasn’t joking when I said you wore me out last night. This isn’t going to be another long night.”

“Don’t count on that, beautiful. You’ll be begging me for more within the hour,” I promise.

“Oh, God,” she groans as I lead her outside. “I’m pretty sure you’re going to kill me with sex, Ashton.”

I watch the slow blink of her eyes as she says this and take in the way her breathing picks up. I see the rise and fall of her chest, the flush that covers her skin, and the way she bites her bottom lip. Everything about this woman intoxicates me. I wasn’t exaggerating when I told her last night how much power she holds over me. What she doesn’t know, though, is that I’ve never given this kind of power to any woman in my life.