The Dare Collection September 2019. Stefanie London

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ stared right into his eyes. ‘You’re protective and possessive, Ash Evans. Are you seriously telling me that’s what you’d do to anyone you care about?’

      That muscle jumped in his jaw again, the fierce blue glow in his eyes getting fiercer. ‘I did to Mum. And I did to Seb. He kept trying to pay that money back to me and I refused to take it. Hell, I refused to see him at all. And as for Mum...’ He paused. ‘We never spoke of it again.’

      It didn’t surprise me in the slightest. And I thought I knew why.

      ‘You pushed them away, didn’t you?’ I brushed my fingertips over his cheekbone. ‘So they wouldn’t reject you like your dad did.’

      He shifted beneath me, clearly uncomfortable. ‘I appreciate the psychology, Miss Little. But I assure you, it’s not necessary.’

      So, he was back to being a grumpy bear again, was he?

      I stilled my fingers on his face, pressing lightly. ‘The islands sound to me like an olive branch, Ash. And as for your mother, you should talk to her.’ I held his gaze. ‘It’s not too late. None of it is. If I still had my mother, that’s what I’d be doing.’

      He blinked then turned his head so his mouth brushed over my fingertips instead. ‘That’s a low blow, pretty thing.’

      It was, but too bad.

      ‘If you can’t handle it, don’t deal.’ I traced the line of his lower lip, revelling in the softness of it, then grazed over the stark line of his scar.

      He stilled as I did so, watching me. ‘I was hard on you,’ he murmured after a moment. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek gently, his big palm warm against my skin. ‘I shouldn’t have been so rough.’

      I couldn’t help myself, leaning into that hand, loving the warmth of it. ‘No, I’m glad you were. I’m not made of glass, Ash.’ I gave him a level look. ‘I don’t want to be treated like a victim just because some dumb bastard thought he could put his hands on me. I mean, I might be a woman who cries after sex, but I’m tough.’

      His thumb stroked the side of my cheek, his gaze unreadable. ‘Why do you trust me? I don’t understand it. Not when I haven’t done one fucking thing to deserve it.’

      The question took me by surprise and for a second I didn’t quite know how to answer. ‘I trust you because...well, I just do. Maybe it’s an instinctive thing.’ I flushed, remembering. ‘That first night in the limo, well, I kind of thought you were like a car and as long as I was driving nothing bad would happen. And then I wasn’t driving any more and you were in charge and I just felt...’ I struggled to find the right word. ‘I suppose I felt free. There’s something quite liberating about giving yourself up to the speed, you know?’

      An intense expression flickered across his face. ‘Ellie, you should know right now that I would never do anything to make you regret that trust, understand me? Not a single thing.’ He was absolutely serious, I could see it in his eyes. He meant this.

      I put my hand over his where it rested against my cheek and gave him back a smile. ‘I know you won’t.’

      He didn’t smile back. If anything, the look in his eyes intensified. ‘I don’t know what you want after tonight is over, but I think we should stay on in Dubai for a couple of days.’

      Something bloomed inside me like a flower. ‘You mean, you want me to stay with you? And not to drive you around, I take it?’

      His hard mouth relaxed, curving into one of the sexiest smiles I’d ever seen. ‘No, not to drive me around. I want you to stay with me as my lover.’

      Heat pulsed through me. To stay with him, in that lovely hotel by the sea, as his lover...

      I couldn’t think of a single reason why I shouldn’t. Not one.

       Sure you can...

      But I pushed the thought away before it could form. No, I could do with a couple of days in a nice hotel with a hot AF billionaire. I’d be returning to Australia pretty soon anyway, so why not take the chance while I could?

      And apart from anything else, I hadn’t had a holiday for ages.

       And when it comes to say goodbye?

      Then I’d say goodbye. It wouldn’t be a problem.

      ‘I would love to.’ I ignored the strange ache in my chest. ‘I can call the company and tell them not to schedule any jobs for me for the next week.’

      ‘That means you won’t get paid, though.’

      He was astute, I’d give him that. ‘No, but I’ve put some money aside to cover holidays and sick days.’

      His thumb brushed over my skin again. ‘Just a few days, yes?’

      I put my palm flat on his chest and reached up to kiss him. ‘That is an absolute, yes.’

      We didn’t leave the room immediately after that.

      I pushed him back onto the mattress and straddled him, indulging my need to touch him, and he let me. Then he found another condom from somewhere and made me ride him, and I loved the growls and curses I brought from him. Then, when we were sweaty and sated, I made him turn over so I could examine the beautiful Chinese tattoo that covered his back.

      He’d got it done after his first fight, he told me. Because one of the people who’d bet on him was a tattoo artist who’d won a lot of money and was so pleased he’d offered Ash a free tattoo.

      Luckily the artist was good and the tattoo amazing, and after I’d explored it thoroughly, as a reward for his patience, I made him turn over and lie there while I kissed my way down his body and turned the same attention I’d given his tattoo to his cock, taking it into my mouth and sucking him until he roared my name, his fingers clutching tight in my hair.

      After that, we thought we’d better move, which turned out to be problematic when I remembered that he’d basically ripped my dress from me and now it was nothing but emerald green bits of fabric on the floor.

      We solved the dilemma by Ash ripping down one of the silk curtains from the window and draping it sari-like around my naked body.

      I didn’t care what it looked like. There was something wild running through me, the same kind of recklessness I’d felt when I was driving one of the Pythons, wanting to go faster and uncaring about the consequences.

      The Little madness, my mother had called it once, slightly disapprovingly.

      But she wasn’t wrong. It was a kind of madness. As we left the suites, people stared at us, me in my improvised dress, and Ash in his rumpled tux, and I didn’t care.

      In fact, I enjoyed the attention, relishing it even more as Ash put his arm around my waist and pulled me tight against him, making no bones about the fact that I was his.

      And this time it was almost real. For the next few days at least, I was his.

      Ash took us back to the bar so he could firm up the deal with Delaney, acting as though him leaving abruptly and us both being СКАЧАТЬ