“Hey, baby,” I croon. “It’s me. It’s just me. I’m here. That asshole is leaving.”
It takes her a second to understand that I’m really here and no one is going to hurt her. She flings herself into my arms, a sad fucking sob escaping her.
“He f-followed me and pushed me d-down. I hit m-my head.” She hiccups, her entire body trembling. “When I woke up, m-my dress…and he was t-taking p-pictures…”
“Man, it wasn’t like that,” the motherfucker says from behind me.
I release Ash and pounce on him, gripping his now bruised face in my punishing hold. “You touched my fucking girlfriend?”
The man whimpers. “I…n-no…I…”
“Give me your phone,” I growl. “Now.”
He hands it to me. I find several pictures of her unconscious with her pink panties showing and a few voice recordings. After I delete all evidence of his encounter with her, I pocket the phone. Mine now.
“Listen here, asshole,” I snarl, shoving him against the wall. “You’ll walk the fuck out of here. And when my attorney calls you, you better be ready to sing like a fucking canary about how you found out she was going to be here and who the hell tipped you off. Your career and reputation rely on it. Go before I change my mind and kick your ass all the way down twelve flights of stairs.”
I release him and glower after him as he runs for the elevator. As soon as he’s gone, I use my key to unlock Ash’s door. Then, I toss her phone that’s on the ground beside her into her purse, scoop it and her bag up, and set them just inside. She remains on the floor, visibly shaken. I pull her into my arms and carry her over the threshold like she’s my bride. I’m not sure what it is about this woman, but she brings out a feral, protective side of me I never knew existed.
No matter how much she pisses me off or I think I want to move on from her, I can’t even delude myself. She feels good in my arms, filling my nose with her sweet scent, and her very presence invading other parts of me that didn’t function before I met her. My heart beats wildly for her, and I don’t know that I’ll be able to stop it now that she’s shocked it to life like a goddamn defibrillator.
I set her down on her bed and then lock up the apartment. Shrimp is going crazy with excitement at seeing me, but I’m too focused on Ash to give him my attention yet.
Kneeling down in front of Ash, I place my palms on her hips and try to read her expression. “Are you okay?”
“I missed you.”
Of course this damn girl would care more about our relationship than the fact some asshole was terrorizing her in the hallway.
“I missed you too,” I admit. “I can give you flowery words later. I’m more concerned about your head and if that motherfucker touched you.”
“You came. I called and you came.”
“How hard did you hit your head?”
“Hard enough there’re two of you and I’m not complaining. It’s almost like having a threesome—”
I cut her off with a brutal kiss to her pouty lips. Tasting her again sends floods of relief washing through me. It feels good to have her in my grasp once more. Hooking an arm around her back, I pull her up the bed as I climb on. She lets out a breathy sigh when I settle my body over hers. My lips find hers again, taking my time kissing her, relearning her tongue and lips as though I didn’t just kiss her three days ago.
I’m hard as fuck but I could be content kissing her all night.
Does that make me a pussy?
Probably. Right now, I don’t care. I might regret it later, but not now. She doesn’t taste like regret—she tastes like happiness and I can’t devour her fast enough, starved to fill up on such a blissful emotion I’ve been denied for far too long.
I break from our kiss to look at her. Seeing her at the office but not touching her has been torture of my own doing. I’ve been busy putting out fires and trying to make sense of what it is about Ash that drives me so insane. I’m no closer to figuring it out. Instead, I only managed to make myself miss her.
“Did you have fun shopping with my mother?”
While she was off with my mother, I was knee-deep in all the shit Ulrich has been uncovering for me. My day has been productive to say the least.
A smile tugs at her swollen pink lips. “Fun is a stretch. I survived.”
“Seems you always do where she’s concerned.”
“I didn’t end up in the Hudson, so there’s that.” Her hazel eyes twinkle. “I bought you a present.”