Take Me Again (The Knight Brothers 1)

She glanced up at him with wide eyes and a big smile. “You know what? I’m going to let myself enjoy it,” she said, surprising him by not arguing with him over money. He was glad. He wanted to treat her and let her have some fun.

The car pulled to a stop in front of what looked like a boutique, with short women’s dresses in the window, sequins shimmering as the sun hit the glass.

The driver opened the door and let them out, and Sebastian escorted her up a few brick steps and into the store.

A saleswoman caught sight of them as they entered and rushed over to greet them. “Good afternoon! Can I help you with anything?” she asked, her gaze going from Sebastian to Ashley.

“She needs a dress,” he said.

“For going to a nightclub,” Ashley explained.

The woman nodded. “Which one? That way I can guide you to something appropriate.”

“It’s called Marquee. A friend of mine recommended I check it out while I’m in town,” Ashley said smoothly.

The saleswoman smiled. “Then you want something chic and fun.” She tipped her head to the right. “Come. I know just what I want to show you.”

A few minutes later, Sebastian was waiting outside the fitting room while Ashley changed inside. The saleswoman went to answer the phone. Sebastian glanced at the time on his phone. He knew women took a while to change, but he couldn’t help but think this was excessive.

He walked over to the open doorway leading to the dressing room. “Ashley?” He called.

“Yes?”

“Are you coming out any time soon?” he asked.

“No,” came her reply.

They’d been in the store long enough for him to know nobody else was back there with her, so he strode through the doorway and toward the one room with the closed curtain.

“Ash? Let me see.”

She peeked her head out. “I’m naked.”

He chuckled. “I’ve seen you naked, so that’s not an issue. Come out and show me.”

“You’ve seen me naked. The rest of San Francisco hasn’t.”

He laughed harder but now he was really curious. “Let’s see.”

“Fine.”

She stepped out from behind the curtain in a beaded silver dress that barely covered her private parts. Her cleavage exploded from the center of her chest, deep cutouts ran along the sides, revealing her flat stomach, and the hem was extremely high on her thigh.

His body tightened at the sight of her curves in that sexy dress, but that wasn’t the reaction she was looking for at the moment.

He cleared his throat, and before he could speak, she turned around, revealing the line between her thighs and buttocks and a definite hint of cheek. No way was he giving any other men that glimpse of her ass.

“I am not going to a club like this,” she muttered, at the same time he said, “You are not going out in that excuse for a dress.”

She spun around, a pleased grin on her face. “Well, since we agree…”

“We’ll find another store.” He wasn’t exposing her body for the sake of finding out anything about Mandy and who she was or wasn’t sleeping with or buying shitty electronic parts from.

The saleswoman was disappointed and wanted to show them another dress, and Ashley gave in, letting her bring in a different type of garment. Half an hour later, they left the store with a short, flirty, according to Ashley, dress that covered her breasts and ass.

Later that night, every man in the nightclub still turned and looked at Ashley as she entered. In high silver heels with red-soled bottoms and a matching silver dress that dipped low in the front but left enough to the imagination and a hem that ended high on her thigh, her hair in spiral curls down her shoulders and back, her lips a teasing red pout, she was a guy’s wet dream.

But she was his dream and he wasn’t leaving her side in that sleazy club. Because the saleswoman had been on target with her initial dress choice and even at his most inebriated, Sebastian wouldn’t have touched any woman here.

What the fuck had been going on with Mandy?

Drugs, he thought sadly. She’d been addicted. Had Jasper Nichols helped supply her?

He held on to Ashley’s hand as they wound their way to the bar area, all the while scanning the place for the man they were looking for.

“White wine?” he asked her.

She nodded.

He ordered himself a scotch on the rocks and her Sauvignon Blanc, wanting to hold a glass in his hand. He’d been going light on alcohol since his self-revelations and didn’t intend to change that now.

Sebastian tipped the bartender, then leaned in and asked if the man knew Jasper Nichols.

He pointed toward the back corner of the bar, a dark area that Sebastian hadn’t focused on before. “He’s back there with his crew.”

He glanced at Ashley, suddenly wondering if he should have left her home.