Breaking His Rules Read online

  “Why do you only sound British some of the time?”

  “That’s a bit more tricky. First, people from London sound like they’re from London, not the entire country, the accent’s just that different. I think I’ve also mentioned that I haven’t been there since I was just a boy. Finally, I use it more to impress pretty birds. Is it working?”

  With a shrug and a smile playing on her soft lips, she brought the bottle down and turned back to the bar. Thank the heavens she liked my dry humor. Flipping a rocks glass in her hand, she sat it on the counter and freehand poured a perfect shot before sliding it over to me. “Fair enough. On the Dalmore, there are a lot of cigar bars coming into the area. Their customers tend to drink high-end whiskey. The boss is smart enough to study the market, is all. No different from any other business. Even if it is liquor.”

  I picked up the glass and raised it, “Here’s to smart businessmen…or women. And pretty birds.” I took a sip of the liquid velvet and savored the burn as it made its way down. “Will you have one with me?”

  “Not while I’m working. But I can chat with you until you’re done…before I escort you out.”

  “Always trying to get rid of me. Didn’t you hear me when I said it’s an absolute madhouse out there? You can’t turn me out into the blizzard.”

  “Who says?”

  I stood and stripped my sports jacket off before hanging it on the back of the chair with my coat, then loosened my tie before taking my stool once again. Her heated gaze was on me the entire time…just as I’d hoped. “I’m in it for the long haul, Terra. As long as you’ll have me. I probably would have shared that, but you’ve been a bit dodgy.” Dammit. I wanted to snatch the words from the air the moment I said them. There were times in the last seventy-two hours that I didn’t even know who I was anymore. If I was to be honest, it scared the shit out of me. I took another drink of my liquor before I opened my mouth and got into more trouble. If that was even possible…

  “Did you call? I hadn’t seen any…Sorry about that. And just so you know, the long haul will be immediately following that drink of yours, apparently.” Ouch. But then she laughed.

  “You really should consider stand-up comedy. There aren’t many people in the world who can be so quick, yet so undeniably cruel at the same time.”

  “C’mon, Ashton. Surely you can’t be the sensitive type?” Her eyes flashed with mischief as she said the words.

  “Oh, but I am. You see, I was quite sensitive as a lad. My mum used to console me for hours after every Disney movie. I was hysterical following Bambi. That poor, poor doe lost her—”

  “Oh my god, stop it. You probably haven’t even seen it.” She was laughing this time, and I knew I was winning. Finally.

  “Okay, you got me. But I did nearly shed a tear during Cars. Absolutely inconsolable.”

  “Ok, that was Pixar. And I think just about eleven years ago. Were you a late bloomer?”

  A cartoon aficionado, perhaps. “Okay, yes. Yes, I was.”

  “Stop it. I think you may need to see someone for habitual lying. It’s sad, seriously.”

  “Come over here and sit with me. I can’t touch you if you’re all the way over there,” I said. It was worth a shot. I needed to touch her. To feel her.

  She didn’t move, however. “I’m not coming over there, Ashton. I’m at work. Maybe I should put a sign up for you or something, but the big-ass bar in front of me should have been a giant clue.”

  “But it’s technically closed, right? And no one else is here.”

  “Brice is here. He’s the manager, after all. If I come over there and he comes out here to find me being pawed, he could get the wrong idea.”

  “I can behave. Scout’s honor.”

  “I know you weren’t a Boy Scout. Did they even have that in England?”

  “I was already here before then, so I did have access.”

  “So you were…”

  “Okay, no. But I know all about them, and turnabout is fair play.”

  “Finish your drink so you can get out of here.” She was still laughing. All was not lost.

  “All right. I’ll leave if you give me one kiss. Just one.” To accentuate the statement, I swallowed my remaining liquor in one gulp. “See? All done.”

  She was coming around the bar, and she had not said no. I watched her, her sinuous body, her delicate movement, her mouth worrying her bottom lip as if she wasn’t sure about what she was walking into. But she came anyway. I drank her in, soaking her up with my eyes. I reminded myself to wait, to let her come to me, but damned if my body would cooperate. Maybe it was the mix of those boots and the liquor, but when she was about halfway to me, I rose from the stool and met her. No way was I letting her get out of it, my desperation to feel her once more overriding sound common sense. I wasn’t a barbarian. I had respect for women. I allowed them, always had, to make their own decisions about what to do with their bodies. But Terra was someone who made me lose my shit altogether. She was intoxicating. Her eyes, her body, her mind…It all came together to make me absolutely Cro-Magnon. I didn’t give two shits about the classification, either.

  When I reached her, I pulled her close and all she had was the three seconds of clarity I had remaining to tell me no. She didn’t want that. She didn’t want me.

  Her body sidled up to mine and my arms were around her waist. I stared down into her eyes, waiting for the no. When I didn’t come, I claimed her in the only way I could. I crushed her mouth to mine, the sweet taste of her tinged with spearmint and cinnamon. I sucked at her mouth with mine before sliding my tongue inside and exploring. The gentle moan coming from her was enough encouragement for me to slide my hands down to her round ass and grip. Then her hands were in my hair, pressing my head closer. I immediately responded, turning her and pressing her into the bar for leverage. I lifted her, feeling her thighs wrap around my waist, and not for one second breaking the connection between us, I moved my hands lower, holding her cheeks while my fingers pressed into the material of her jeans where the stitching met.

  She pulled away, but I kept the momentum going, stroked at her core through the pants I wished weren’t there anymore. “You said a kiss.”

  “I know what I said, Terra, but I think you want more than that. If you tell me I’m wrong, I’ll let you go,” I said.

  We stood there, her body wrapped around mine, while I felt the heat of her on my fingers as I continued stroking against her sex. My cock was straining through the material of my slacks and I prayed she didn’t turn me away. I would probably end up hospitalized from blue balls.

  When she kissed me again, her body wrapping around me tighter, I knew. She wouldn’t refuse me. Before I could, she pulled way. I just wanted to ask where we could go, what we could do with all the sexual energy pent up inside us. “Upstairs,” she whispered.

  I didn’t waste a second. I put her down and grabbed her hand, pulling her to and up the metal stairs that led to the office. I didn’t know whether it was unlocked or even if there was a place to have her, but it didn’t matter. All I knew was I wanted her. Again and again.

  We made it to the top and I glanced at her, but there was something there. Something I couldn’t ignore in her eyes. “You sure you’re okay with this, Terra? I mean, you’re at work and I don’t want you in any trouble,” I said, though my cock was raging in my pants. Fine time for me to ask, but I desperately wanted to cling to what little of a gentleman was left in me.

  “I am. It’s fine,” she said, then pushed past me to get to the door. Using her key, she opened it and we entered. I guess it was wrong of me to barge in on her, but nothing inside me let me regret the decision. Nothing inside me wanted to retreat. Even if the man I was before never would have seen a woman twice within a week.

  “I have a birthday present for you, Terra,” I said into her hair while holding her body to m
ine as we walked inside the office. She smelled like lilacs and sunshine. She was incredibly sensual without even knowing. I searched for the place I wanted her and found a couch across the room.

  “Really,” she said, and laughed.

  Moving in front of her, I guided her to the sofa and kissed her, moving her body down until she was sitting. “Yes. I do. I promise, you’ll love it. You won’t even want the gift receipt.”

  “Is that right?” I stared at her while the smile twisted into a smirk.

  Getting on my knees before her, I pushed up her shirt and opened the button of her jeans. She obliged, lifting her bum as I moved the denim and boots down below her knees. She raised her ankles, and I didn’t even bother to get everything off. I looped the pants, panties and all, over my head and pulled her lower until her core was in my face. With a deep inhale, I took in her sweet lilac scent and licked up her sex, focusing on the tight nub on just the other side of the wet slit. “Happy birthday,” I whispered into her delicate folds.

  The shudder that coursed through her body let me know she enjoyed it as much as I did. She cried out my name through gritted teeth, and I vowed right then and there she’d never walk into that office and not think of me. Not ever again. I had to wonder, though…What the hell was I doing?

  Chapter 10

  Terra

  What the hell was I doing? Twice in under a full week I was allowing this man into my life, into my bed—well, onto my sofa—and inside my soul. My hands found his hair between my legs and I didn’t know whether to push him away or pull him closer into me. It ended up being a combination of the two as his mouth worked me. I watched him, something that was bold considering my usual only-at-night-and-in-complete-darkness sex life. My mouth was stuck in a perpetual O shape as he brought me to the edge, his mouth working me masterfully. I knew I was in trouble when my legs turned to rubber.

  A crescendo was building deep inside me. I rocked against him, the silky strands of his hair slipping through my fingers as I desperately gripped them, an attempt to anchor my body to the planet. The sensations running through me were wild and frantic, something I hadn’t felt ever, not from anyone else.

  I rode the waves as tears of pleasure burned their way down my cheeks. Deep inside, I sensed my soul taking flight. I’d never been more intensely satisfied than when Ashton was on me or inside me, his hands digging into my flesh as passion awakened, burning away all the cold corners with its warm, bright glow.

  “Ash…”

  I heard him say something, but damned if I could make it out. I didn’t even care what it was. My body quaked, the pressure and concentrated effort on the most sensitive part of me chipped away at my hard edges, leaving behind something much softer. Much nicer.

  I rocked against him, my thighs trembled on top of his shoulders. As he released me, I was instantly cold. “That was—”

  “Magnificent. You’re clearly a soprano. Pure music. I swear it.” With a laugh, he began undoing his already loosened tie.

  When I bent to take my boots off, he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t take all the fun out of my job. I need to help you out of those boots of yours. Plus, you aren’t exactly in any condition to move around that way. Probably light-headed and all.”

  I laughed despite myself, most likely loopy from all the haze that always seemed to follow orgasms. “I’m sure I can manage, but who am I to deprive a man who’s just been so good to me?”

  “That’s right. Next time you’re ready to bash me for one thing or another, you’d best remember that. It’s not many men who can strip the words from you, I’m sure. I think all you could manage was my name. Oh, and Jesus. Can’t forget him. He probably thought you were at mass.”

  “Ha-ha. I doubt it, since I’m not Catholic.”

  “What? That’s it, I’m done. Where’s my jacket and coat?”

  “Shut up.” I laughed right along with him. “I highly doubt either of us are on the good list given how we’ve behaved the last couple times we’ve seen each other.”

  “Yes, but I’m able to go to confession to beg for forgiveness. What can you do with your wayward soul?” His smile was bright as he continued to disrobe, his hard chest and strong biceps rippling as he removed his shirt, then his shoes and pants.

  “If you hurry, I’ll show you.” I raised my boot to chest level and waved it around. He grabbed my ankle, gave it a little tug before starting in on the laces behind my legs. He had my bottom half free from every shred of clothing in seconds and then leaned in, grabbed the bottom of my shirt, and pulled it over my head. I sat there with no clothes on and was suddenly self-conscious as he looked at me in my nakedness.

  “Lie back and open your legs.” Ashton looked at me with lust in his eyes, ignoring all the things I looked at in the mirror and hated about myself.

  I did as he asked, sliding to the armrest and lifting one of my legs onto the back, spreading myself while defiantly ignoring the annoying voice in the back of my head that reminded me of my imperfections.

  “Give me a little show, Terra. I want to see what you’ve got,” he growled.

  I had no idea what to do anymore. No man had ever asked me to do anything like that. I’d seen some pornography, but it always seemed so seedy. For all my years of having sex, I’ve never actually loved it. Yet with Ashton, I did. The just-do-it blared into my consciousness and I ran my fingers down my body, dipping into the wetness and moving them around. A flash of heat rushed me, starting from my core and radiating outward. My chest and face bore the brunt of its force. The dim lamplight in the room gave off enough light for him to fully see what I was doing, so I moved both hands down and manipulated my body just as if he weren’t there. His eyes lingered on the spot, every now and then looking up to mine and holding my gaze. It was enough encouragement to keep me going.

  He pulled a condom from his wallet, apparently having resupplied from before, and slid it onto his thick, rigid shaft.

  “Hurry, Ash,” I called out, speeding up the motion, pleasure rippling over my body once again in white-hot waves taking away vision and sanity

  It was all he needed, because he climbed onto me lightning fast, inserting himself deep inside me. My body stretched to accommodate his girth and then shattered. Convulsions rippled through my sex as he pressed into me to the hilt. His mouth latched on to one of my breasts for a moment before he placed his hand behind my neck and pulled my mouth to his. The orgasm tore free, crippling me, causing my legs to wrap around his waist as I bucked against him. He swallowed my moans as the groaning in his chest rippled, vibrating against me. He drove into me, deeper and deeper, our bodies a symphony, playing off one another as if I were the treble to his bass.

  The animalistic grinding against him was so unlike me, but I stroked beneath him, desperate to reach another peak before he came. His moans and my cries blended together, our bodies fused and squeezing all the pleasure we could from each other.

  I raised my legs and placed them on his shoulders in a position change so seamless it was as if we had been together for years and knew each other’s favorite moves as well as we knew our own.

  “Come for me, Terra,” he demanded.

  I tightened my legs on his neck and gripped his arms before thrashing against him, our bodies colliding like waves against the shore. My cry tore from my body as the quaking began, a vicious wave of sensuality tearing through my body, followed by the coolness of release.

  “You are so unbelievably sexy.” Ashton shuddered, calling my name, as he ground into me with one, two, three resounding pumps. I felt him swell inside me as he came, his body rippling and straining against his own release.

  I lowered my legs, reaching for him and pulling him on top of me. Our bodies flexed and released to our own rhythm as we lay there.

  “You’re going to kill me, Terra. I swear,” he whispered into my neck between pants.
/>   “That’s the last thing I want.” Running my fingers through his hair, I just held him, something I hadn’t had the courage to do before. Something I shouldn’t have been doing then. It was enough that we weren’t going to be a couple. I didn’t need to delude myself about our relationship, too.

  His body slowly cooled in my arms but he didn’t move. We lay there wrapped in each other and feeling the moment. I should have known better, but I wanted it. The moments when two people could just be together and let the time pass. No words. No pretense. Just the comfort that came with all the defensive guards crumbled into ash around our naked bodies.

  The knock on my office door was sudden and loud. Ashton raised his head to look at me. Probably thought we were busted. It didn’t matter whether he knew it was my bar or not, though, since we weren’t going to see each other again. At least, I didn’t think we were. It was too easy for Ashton to change my mind, to take me to places that were in the opposite direction of where I was headed. That was not a comfortable position to be in for someone who had been so cruelly manipulated in the past.

  “Yes,” I called out, hoping Brice knew I still had a guest.

  “Popular girl today. You have another visitor,” he said.

  By the way he lingered on the word visitor, I knew exactly who it was. Marcus was back. Probably demanding money. Probably there to complain that the increase hadn’t gone through for him. I was his first stop when he ran out of cash. Probably one of his only stops.

  Ashton got up, as if he was nervous for me.

  “It’s okay, Ash,” I said.

  “I do like the new nickname,” he said with a smile. “But I shouldn’t have talked you into this. You’re at work and your manager—”

  “You let me worry about that,” I said before sitting up on the couch.

  He was shaking his head and disposing of the condom before I could catch him. “I can be a bit selfish, Terra. That’s what I was today.”