Ashton Scott

“I might.”

He shakes his head. “No, baby, you need to be firm. Hard. You have to stick it to me to win here. Remember rule number two—don’t ever lose.”

God, negotiating with Ashton is hot. I need to do more of this. Straightening my shoulders, I say, “Okay, yes, I won’t agree to see you for the rest of this week if you don’t agree to this.”

His brows lift. “You won’t win if you try to bargain with something unbelievable.”

“I’m not!”

He chuckles. “Yeah. You are. We both know there’s no way you’ll go without seeing me for that long.”

His smugness makes me want to fight harder for this. Summoning the firmest voice I’ve ever used, I say, “I’m telling you right here and now, that if you don’t agree to take me to a chick flick tonight, you won’t be getting any pussy for the rest of the week.”

Heat flares in his eyes. “One night.”

I frown. “Huh?”

“If I don’t take you to the chick flick, there’ll be no pussy for one night.”

“Uh, uh. No. One week.”

His eyes drop to my lips. “Three nights.”

I realise he has no intention of backing down. I should have known he wouldn’t go easy on me. Hell, it’s one of the reasons why I love spending time with him. He treats me like an equal. But damn if I’m not winning this today.

I run my finger lightly over his lips. “Let’s see about that.” I drop to my knees and take his cock into my mouth. Slowly. All the way in. And then I take hold of it as I slide it out. After I lick it from one end to the other, I look up and say, “You agree to take me to dinner and the chick flick tonight, and I’ll suck your cock right now and make you come.”

He grins. “That’s how you do it. Deal.”

I stand. Keeping hold of his cock, I say, “On top of that, I’ll blow you on the way home from the movie if you agree to do whatever I want tomorrow night, too.”

His arms snake around me and he pulls me against his body. Our faces are so close and my heart is beating so fast at the raw need and respect radiating from him. Having Ashton watch me like this awakens something deep inside me. Something so erotic and pleasurable that I never want him to stop looking at me like that.

“That’s right, beautiful, get everything out of the deal that you can,” he says, his voice deep and sexy.

“So that’s a yes?”

He kisses me slowly and so very thoroughly. By the time he ends the kiss, my knees are weak, and I’m not sure I would still be standing if he wasn’t holding me up. His eyes find mine as he says, “I’ll agree to all of that with one stipulation—after we get home, you fuck me all night long again.”

I hold his gaze for a long few moments before finally nodding. “Deal.” I press my lips to his and kiss him before saying, “And that last bit I agreed to… that’s called a compromise. Because sometimes when you negotiate with people, you have to do a little give-and-take. Just so you know.”

His arms tighten around me. Not that they weren’t already around me firmly, but it’s like he’s trying to clear every last obstacle between us. Like he’s trying to get as close as he possibly can to me. “Fuck, you’re something else.”

I’m about to kiss him again when my doorbell sounds. “They’ll go away,” I say, bringing my mouth to his.

“Who would it be so early in the morning?” he asks as I try to kiss him. “I imagine it wouldn’t be just anyone.”

Shit, he’s right. It might be my neighbour looking for help. Letting him go, I say, “Okay, wait here. I’ll go see what they want, and then I’m coming back to make good on our deal.”

I pull on some clothes and make my way out to the door. I expect to see my neighbour when I open it, but am surprised when I discover it’s Alessandra. My surprise turns to concern when I see she’s been crying. Her face is puffy and her eyes are bloodshot.

Reaching for her, I say, “What’s wrong?”

She allows me to pull her into a hug, but it’s like she doesn’t even realise what I’m doing. “I’ve been trying to call you and Ashton, but neither of you answered your phones.” She’s so disoriented that alarm slithers through me.

“Aly?” Ashton joins us. “What’s going on?”

She lets me go and moves to him. Tears stream down her face as she says, “Mum has had a heart attack. She’s in the hospital.”