ole. An arrogant asshole who pushed people around until you got what you wanted.”
My lips quirk. Her honesty is refreshing. Most women just talk dirty to me. I’m all for dirty but this is far more interesting. “And now?”
She cocks her head as she considers that. “Now I think you’re just a man who knows what he wants, and your laser focus on it means you don’t always realise the things you say or do brand you as an asshole.” She steps closer, which means our bodies are almost touching because we were already damn close. Her hand lands on my chest a second later, and I take a deep breath to steady myself. “I think that although the world thinks you’re this put-together man with more money than he’ll ever need, you’re actually a man with issues just like the rest of us who can’t actually use that money to buy the things he needs in his life.”
Our eyes lock. Those beautiful green eyes of hers see so much. I feel more exposed than I usually allow myself to be. “Do you want to know what I thought of you the first time I met you?”
That damn uncertainty flares in her eyes again. “Sure, knock yourself out.”
I shake my head. “Don’t do that, Lorelei.”
She frowns. “Do what?”
“Don’t doubt yourself.”
Her chest rises as she takes a breath. “I don’t doubt myself.”
“Yes, you do. But you have no reason to.”
“Ashton, the day we met was not a good morning for me, so I can only imagine what you first thought.”
“I’d love to see what you consider a good morning because what I saw that day was a sexy woman who stands up for what she believes in and who doesn’t waver from her convictions.”
She grips my shirt. I doubt she realises she’s doing it. “And now? What do you think now?”
I lean my face a little closer. “Now I want to get to know you a hell of a lot better.”
I dip my face so I can experience those lips of hers that have been driving me crazy in one way or another since I first saw them. I expect her to resist, but she doesn’t. Instead, she opens herself up to me.
I sweep my tongue across hers and she moans as her body angles towards mine. I slide my hand around her waist and pull her hard against me while deepening the kiss. When her hands move to my neck and then up into my hair, I groan into her mouth.
Lorelei’s lips are demanding. She can protest as much as she wants, but she’s in this as much as I am. She ends the kiss, breathless, and I know she’s full of shit when she says, “I don’t think we should get to know each other better.”
I hold her close when she attempts to step out of my embrace. “Bullshit. You want this just as much as I do.”
Her hands push against my chest. “I won’t deny I’m attracted to you, Ashton, and that kiss was something else, but I told you where I stand on casual sex.”
“You think that’s all I want from you?”
She pauses, confused. “Isn’t it?”
I tighten my grip on her waist and slide a hand down over her ass. “Lorelei, the last thing I want from you is casual sex. I can get that anywhere. I can’t get you anywhere. I want you in my bed just as much as I want you in my life.” I claim her lips again before adding, “I’m not taking no for an answer. You will learn that while I’ll allow you to fight me, I’ll never allow you to deny me when I truly want something.”
11
Lorelei
I am never drinking again.
Sliding my sunglasses on, I enter the markets and scan the crowd for Sienna. The sun is shining too brightly for me. I don’t have a hangover, but I don’t feel my best, and the sun is not helping.
“Lorelei!”
I turn at the sound of my name and find Sienna walking my way. “Morning,” I greet her. “Don’t even go there,” I mutter when she scrunches her face at my appearance.
Frowning, she says, “What happened to your face?”
“A face mask.”