RUSH (Montgomery Men Book 1) (10 page)

KINSLEY

“LET ME MAKE IT UP
to you,” Lex continued to beg as he followed behind me like a lost, saddened puppy. “Please,” he whined, and I rolled my eyes. “He signs my checks. Without him I would live in the streets, and we both know I love my shit entirely too much to let it all go. I would not survive without my weekly mani and pedi.” Lex was practically pleading as he followed me from Starbucks and continued to tug on the strap of my purse.

“You just don’t say no to Ashton Montgomery,” he said in a final attempt to explain exactly why he played along with Ashton’s plans to trap me in his office.

I turned around to face him and he reared back, I’m assuming in response to my not-so-happy expression. “I told him no,” I said, arching my brow.

“Yeah, and that’s exactly why we’re where we are now.” He cocked his head in a not-so-masculine way, and in that moment I remember just why I loved Lex so much. He was hard to stay mad at.

“I just can’t,” I explained.

“Why?” he asked. “He’s not a bad guy. Yes, he’s arrogant and controlling, but he has to be if he wants to remain on top. He owns more buildings and businesses in this city than any other person I know. So many people want to outdo him and take him down. He can’t come out of the gate weak. He has to keep control.”

I tried to interrupt, but Lex was on a roll.

“No, listen.” He nudged me to the side so people on the sidewalk could pass us. “Ash is kind and generous. He gives back to those in need almost daily. He comes from a good family.” Lex was really laying it on thick. I was a little skeptical about his motives for convincing me to fall for this version of the fire-breathing dragon—like maybe some sort of hefty bonus to his paycheck. “He’s worked hard to get where he is. And yeah, he’s fucked his way through his social circle, but they all knew it was just that—sex with no connection or lifelong commitment. But in no way does that define the man he truly is deep down, and I see something different about how he acts with you. I see the way he’s looked at you, and God knows I’ve been subjected to his continuous ramblings regarding the stubborn brunette who he can’t stop thinking about.”

I ducked my head, my cheeks heating. Did Ashton really think of me like that?

“If you aren’t convinced yet, then go to dinner with me tonight and allow me to tell you more about just who Ashton Montgomery truly is and where he comes from. The man behind the rough exterior.”

Lex would not let up. He was almost as persistent as his boss.

“Fine,” I said in defeat. “But no funny business,” I warned as I pointed at him accusingly, and he only chuckled as he gave me a one-armed hug.

“Six o’clock at Marino’s,” he squealed before he rushed off toward Montgomery Enterprises. It didn’t escape me that he gave no assurances that he and I would be the only ones there.

I suddenly regretted agreeing to meet him.

I had been on pins and needles all day, wondering what tonight was all about and what I would be faced with when I arrived at Marino’s. Lex was a sneaky shit, and so was his boss. To quote Ashton,
I don’t give up until I’ve won.
I had every reason to feel as though tonight would be just another setup.

So when I arrived and was led to a table occupied only by Lex, I was a little surprised and instantly felt guilty for doubting his motives.

“You suspected I was pulling a bait and switch, didn’t you?” Lex said as he stood up and pulled out the chair across from him.

I shrugged and sat in the chair he was offering, then tucked my purse safely away on the floor at my side. “Well you can’t blame me for doubting you.” I arched my brow, almost begging him to argue.

“Oh, sweetness, you are such a treat,” he said, sounding almost too giddy. “I thank the heavens every day that I was at the office when you came in that first time. You are a gift, a gem, I tell ya.” He continued to gush, and something told me he meant to say that he wasn’t the only one who saw me this way.

“Can I get you something to drink, miss?” our waiter said from my left.

“Yes, please,” I replied as I lifted the wine list. I was just about to choose the cheapest glass when a dark, soothing voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Good evening, Fernando.” I looked up to find Ashton standing at the edge of our table, wearing a dark suit that highlighted the bright blue tie that accompanied it. “Why don’t you get Lexington and his guest a bottle of Cheval Blanc 1947.”

Our waiter, who I now knew as Fernando, scurried off, leaving me staring up at Ashton as he eyed Lex, still avoiding turning to face me.

“Good evening, sir,” Lex said, batting his eyes, which only caused Ash to smirk.

I couldn’t look away from that strong jaw and those prominent cheekbones. Ash was a delicious man. I pressed my thighs together just a little tighter as I thought of running my fingers through his hair while he. . . .

A delicate hand with long, pointy, fire-engine-red nails slid around Ashton’s shoulder, interrupting my thoughts. For some reason, I felt the desire to wrench her hand from him and stab her with her own nails.

“I thought I’d lost you,” she cooed in a whiney voice.

I meant to keep my thoughts to myself, but when all three of them turned to face me with questioning looks, I realized that my
humph
of laughter was loud enough for them to hear.

“Did you say something, Ms. Masterson?” Ashton asked.

Oh, so we were back to formalities?

“No, Mr. Montgomery,” I said as I lifted the menu and pretended to be completely unaffected by him and his current fling—or at least I hoped it would look that way. “I was just thinking I would much rather have a bottle of Château d’Yquem.”

I didn’t look at Ashton to see his response, but judging by Lex’s shocked look, I could only assume my knowledge of overpriced wines had surprise Ashton as well.

It was a slipup on my part. I was Kiera, the girl that came from the suburbs of Chicago, not Kinsley, who had been married to one of the richest, most powerful men in Miami.

“Fine choice,” Ashton finally said, and I looked up to find the bottle blonde with tits the size of Mt. Everest staring at me through narrowed eyes. Apparently she didn’t like that I was taking attention away from her.

I didn’t like it much either. In fact, I wanted both Ashton and his whore to go far, far away.

“If I found you sharing dinner with someone other than Lex, I may have been a little jealous,” Ashton said, shocking both me and the woman at his side.

He was on a date, for Christ’s sake. How rude.

“Enjoy your evening,” he said before offering a gentle nod in Lex’s direction and moving toward a table in perfect view of ours.

“Why is it that every time I allow you to convince me to do something, I end up regretting it later?” I hissed as I focused yet again on the menu.

“Hey,” Lex said, “this time I had nothing to do with it.”

“You expect me to believe that?” I asked, looking up at him as I narrowed my eyes.

“Is it my fault he checked my calendar?” Lex challenged. “It probably didn’t help that I wrote
Dinner with Kiera
in bold letters and highlighted it in bright yellow, but still he shouldn’t snoop.”

“Don’t the two of you sync your schedules daily?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Lex had complained on more than one occasion during our many phone conversations that Ashton would change his calendar without warning or making sure it was okay with him. I regretted giving him my phone number after the first call, where he spent almost an hour complaining about how Ashton just assumed Lex had no life outside of his job and never asked him if he had plans before scheduling something.

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” he said with a shrug, and I bit my lip to keep from yelling at him. He was lucky there were witnesses, because I really wanted to beat him with the menu I was clutching so tightly that my fingers hurt.

I took a chance and looked up at the table Ash and his
friend
now occupied, and I regretted it instantly. He was looking right at me, and as our eyes locked, a cocky smirk covered his lips. I wanted to look away, I needed to look away, but damn it, I couldn’t. His gaze held mine, even when the woman ran her finger along his jawline and leaned in to kiss his neck.

A streak of jealousy I had no right to feel shot through me.

I could be the one kissing and touching him. I could have all of him, only I resisted it.

Why?

Would it really be that awful if I gave in to the desire I felt for Ash? Would it be wrong to allow him to distract me from the fear and anxiety I felt daily?

Would it be wrong to finally allow myself to live?

ASHTON

I TRIED TO APPEAR CALM
as Nina continued to touch me, even though I honestly didn’t want her hands on me. Sitting this close to her was taxing enough. Yes, she kept her touches subtle, but she’d made her point—she hoped the evening would end with us in bed, sweating and sated. But I was only here tonight because I was grabbing at straws.

I had to make Kiera want me the way I wanted her, and my assistant had suggested I try to make her jealous.

The asshole sat at a table with the woman who had me fucking tied in knots and enjoyed the food and drink I paid for while I sat here, fighting the urge to toss Nina to the side and insist that Kiera leave with me.

I knew that shit would get me nowhere though, because Kiera didn’t give in to my demands. That was a huge adjustment I was still trying to deal with. I had never felt so dismissed in my life as Kiera made me feel. She was the biggest fucking challenge I’d faced in years. But something about her made it all worth it. She was definitely testing my theories about what women want.

When I looked up to see Kiera stand from the table and move toward the restrooms, my stomach tightened in anticipation. Here was another chance to get her alone.

“Excuse me,” I said as I removed Nina’s hand from my thigh and stood.

“Do you want me to give you a hand?” she asked before biting her lower lip suggestively.

A month ago I may have given in to that offer, but today it just sounded foolish.

“No,” I simply replied before following Kiera without a glance back.

When I rounded the corner, the long, narrow hallway was empty. At the end, it turned to the left and led to the women’s restroom. The men’s was in the opposite direction.

I leaned back against the wall just outside of the door to the ladies’ bathroom and crossed my arms over my chest as I bounced my foot to relieve some of the tension building inside me. I had never in my life had to fight so hard to remain calm. I was usually laid-back and unaffected by anything. But since the moment Kiera had first given me that attitude of hers, I’d been a fucking mess.

The roar of a hand dryer just beyond the door pulled me from my thoughts. Growing even more anxious, I watched the door, waiting for the gorgeous woman to exit. And when she did, I no longer hesitated.

Her eyes locked on mine with a look of shock as I hooked her waist and spun her around so her back was pressed to the wall. Caging her in, I lowered my face, bringing us even closer together as I pressed my body close to hers.

“Why do you keep fighting this?” I asked. “I know you feel it too. I can see it in the way you look at me. The way your eyes haze over and that sweet mouth of yours opens just slightly, as if you’re lost in some erotic fantasy.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted, but the vibration of insecurity in her voice told me I was right.

“I told you I don’t give up,” I stated. “I don’t let go of something I want.”

“Is that why you’re on a date?” she challenged, her feisty attitude fighting to overpower the desire in her eyes.

“It was only to make you jealous. And from the way you’ve been unable to take your eyes off us, I can see it worked.” I chuckled when she narrowed her eyes and glared back at me without denying my accusation. “I didn’t plan for Nina and me to do anything but go to dinner together. I’ll be leaving here alone—unless you decide to go with me, that is.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” she shot back.

I chuckled at her quick response.

“What would it take for you to give in to those thoughts that I know have been running through your mind? What do I need to do?” I asked as I focused on her lips and the way her tongue licked and moistened them. I grew even more aroused just thinking of what it would feel like licking along my stomach, moving even lower.