“The door?” he asked, patient and kind. I reached out and fumbled with it, barely managing to open it. Asher kicked it the rest of the way open, then kicked it shut with the heel of his foot after he scooped me inside. Setting me on the floor, he began pacing back and forth.
“You’re so reckless!” he yelled. “Why would you do that? What were you thinking? With Solomon Royce, no less? I don’t even understand!”
“I didn’t flirt with him,” I said, shoving aside my tears with the sleeves of my blouse. “I swear, I didn’t! I didn’t want to do that, Asher. I promise. He… he was forcing me. He was trying to blackmail me. I…”
“Shh,” Asher said. He pulled me into his arms. “Shh, I know. Jeremy told me. I came to get you. The door was locked. You shouldn’t do that. I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.”
I dove into him, pressing my face into his chest. I twisted my head around and listened to his heartbeat; a minor comfort while I drenched his shirt with my tears. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
“I love you,” he said without warning. “Jessika, I love you. I know I shouldn’t. This is so strange. But, I do. I don’t want anything to happen to you. You can’t do something like that again. I don’t care what the reason is. Please, promise me.”
“I promise,” I said. “I’m sorry. I… I love you, Asher.”
When I said this, something changed. I don’t know if it was mental, physical, or another feeling entirely, but I felt better, like I’d suddenly become a better person. I was still worried, nervous, and scared after what had happened in Solomon Royce’s office, but I wasn’t sure if any of that mattered. I didn’t think it did as long as I was here with Asher.
He held me in his arms, squeezed me tight and embraced everything I was. I needed more, though.
My hands reached for the buttons of his shirt and I undid them one by one. Asher watched me while I worked fastidiously, quiet and contemplative. Once I finished undoing all of his buttons, I pressed my cheek against the warmth of his chest and leaned against him. Just like that. Forever.
Asher urged my chin up with the barest touch from his fingertips. I looked at him, relished his touch and his gaze, wanting all of it. I needed it to forget, to become who I was and who I should be. I wasn’t a whore, or some meek secretary, or a plaything for the likes of Solomon Royce.
I was Jessika. Strong, determined, maybe a little unsure with some confidence issues, but I was me and Asher understood and accepted that.
Gently, like a true lover, he pressed his lips to mine. I opened my mouth slightly, feeling the light warmth of his breath passing over my lips and tickling my tongue. I couldn’t stand it for long, though. I wanted him—desperately needed him—so badly, and I think he needed me, too.
We kissed, a frantic, awkward affair. I struggled to pull his shirt off, slipping it over his arms, while he refused to let go of the buttons of my shirt until he’d undone every single one. In a pause, some transcendent moment of love, we watched each other as we pulled off our shirts. The hesitation only lasted for a moment more after that.
Asher grabbed me, pulled me towards him. I went willingly, holding onto him. My fingernails pressed into his back and I rubbed my chest against his abs, feeling my nipples harden and tingle beneath the fabric of my bra. Not for long, though, as Asher, like some wild beast, nearly ripped my bra in two before figuring out the latch in the back and removing it. Bared for him to see, and him alone, I languished in his desire.
He coaxed me away, pushing gently so he could admire me. Shy and reserved, I stood there, letting him openly ogle my breasts. Should I remove my skirt? I didn’t know, wasn’t sure, but I decided to go for it. I unzipped the back, blushing, coy, and shimmied out of it.
“You’re so beautiful,” Asher said.
He stepped towards me, looming above me, like I was a passerby on the street and he was the embodiment of Landseer Tower itself. Then he knelt down in front of me and I was the tall one now.
“Asher?” I was about to ask, but he stopped me before I finished. Not with a word or a shush, but with his lips on my sensitive nipple. He took my pleasure nub in his mouth and circled around it with his tongue, teasing and tempting me. I gasped at the wet heat of his lips on my bare flesh and my arms circled behind his head instinctively.
Somehow I managed to stand for longer than two seconds, which seemed impossible considering how shaky my legs felt. After, though, I crumpled, toppled, nearly fell to the floor except Asher caught me. Mouth never leaving my nipple, he cupped my panty-clad behind in one hand while he held my back with the other, easing me onto the floor.