Seduction (Club Destiny) (5 page)

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Alex was having
a hard time concentrating on the words Ashleigh was stringing together. Between
the intoxicatingly sweet scent of her hair, and those luscious pink lips, his
brain wasn’t functioning because it was suffering from blood loss.

Although his
dick wasn’t having any issues paying attention.

That was the
problem with being around Ashleigh. Or thinking about her. Or dreaming about
her. He was rendered completely useless because his body was on overload. From
the sweet scent of her glossy, brown hair, to the gleam in her whiskey brown
eyes, to those more than perfect lips, Alex couldn’t get enough of her. He
wanted to run his tongue over the seam of her lips just to find out if she
tasted as sweet as she smelled.

He might just
get punched for that one.

“I’ve never been
horseback riding either.” He offered, hoping they were still on the same topic.
“Never has been my thing, I guess.”

“Not a cowboy,
Alex?” She teased.

He liked when
she teased him. A lot.

Since she
usually had her guard up when he was around, being with Ashleigh when she was
relaxed and talkative was a first for him.

He’d come upon
her in the living room, not expecting her to be there, and he’d been like a
moth drawn to a flame.

At the moment in
time when he saw her standing there, looking ridiculously hot in a pair of
tight, faded jeans and cowboy boots – or were they cowgirl boots? Hell, it
didn’t’ matter. She was fucking hot – he hadn’t been able to turn away from
her.

When he had
taken her hand, her long, slender fingers linking with his, he’d made a point
to walk outside, rather than to find the first available room so he could feel
those soft hands on other parts of his body.

Not that she
would have gone for any of that. Not Ashleigh. She wasn’t the playful type. Or
at least not when he was around.

He was suddenly
interested in changing all of that.

“What are you
doing tomorrow?” He asked, standing suddenly from the restless hunger that
surged through him.

“Tomorrow?” She
asked, sounding surprised.

“Yes. Saturday.
What are you doing on Saturday?” He repeated, taking her hand and pulling her
to her feet.

“N-nothing.” She
stammered. “Well, that’s not entirely true. I sort of need to unpack a few
things, and I had planned to go running in the morning.”

“What about
tomorrow afternoon?” Since Ashleigh wasn’t deflecting his question, or flat out
pretending she didn’t hear him which was usual for her, Alex was going to keep
pushing.

“Other than
trying to get in some writing, I don’t have any plans.”

“Go out with
me.” Alex didn’t phrase it as a question because he wasn’t going to offer her
an out.

“Where?”

Alex chuckled –
mainly because he was overjoyed that she didn’t flat out tell him no. “It’ll be
a surprise.”

Ashleigh kept
her eyes locked with his as she seemed to contemplate his invitation. He
silently willed her to say yes while praying she wouldn’t say no. This was the
most conversation they’d shared in all of the time he had known her, and quite
frankly, Alex didn’t want it to end, but he had somewhere he needed to be. He
didn’t want to leave her without at least making plans to see her again.

A few seconds
turned into an interminably long minute before she finally smiled, and the
sweetest word he had ever heard emerged from her lips. “Ok.”

If he wasn’t
damn near forty years old and scared he’d freak her out, Alex would’ve fist
pumped the air in celebration. Instead, he let his eyes graze her lips. The
temptation to kiss her was overwhelming. So much so that Alex couldn’t resist.

With a small
measure of hesitance, he leaned down toward her, waiting to see if she would back
up or worse, push him away. When she didn’t, he leaned a little closer. “Kiss
me, Ashleigh.” He whispered the words and waited patiently to see what her next
move would be.

When Ashleigh
leaned in, meeting him halfway and pressing her warm, soft lips against his,
the world erupted in fireworks and song – although he was pretty sure that was
all in his head. He pulled her closer, pressing his body against hers as their
lips met briefly. Since he’d already acknowledged patience wasn’t his strong
suit, Alex took it one step further.

Using one hand
to hold her close, he used the other to cup her chin, tilting her head slightly
so he could better the angle and slip his tongue into her mouth. She didn’t immediately
react, but once Alex dipped his tongue just a little farther, her lips parted
and he took advantage, kissing her with everything he was.

In turn,
Ashleigh blew his mind as she kissed him back, her hands going around him,
pulling him even closer as she pressed against his erection, making him moan.
Fucking
hell
.

For all the time
Alex had fantasized about this moment, he’d never dreamed it would be like
this. The woman was sweeter than nectar and so damn soft. With her body crushed
up against his, their hips aligned damn near perfectly, as though they had been
made to fit together.

Time needed to
stand still so Alex could get his fill of this woman in his arms, but,
unfortunately, the sound of the door opening behind them had Ashleigh pulling
away abruptly, although she used him as a shield to block her from the view of
whoever had come out.

Leaning down,
knowing he had only seconds before she retreated entirely, Alex whispered in
her ear, “We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow, Ash. We have a date, and
I’m holding you to it.”

Ashleigh nodded
her head but didn’t look at him.

Alex knew he had
made ground that night, so he let it be for now. Tomorrow would be another day.
And after the chemistry they’d just shared, he would need time to prepare himself
for the explosion that would likely rock his world because it was inevitable.

“See you
tomorrow.” He kept his voice low, then leaned in and dropped a kiss on her lips
before turning to go.

***
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Alex woke up the
next morning with a hard on to rival all. Morning wood paled in comparison to
the steely length of his cock after having dreamt about Ashleigh and the kiss
they’d shared.

He contemplated
getting in the shower to take care of business, but after looking at the clock,
he cursed. Jumping out of bed, rearranging himself so he didn’t cause any harm,
he rushed to the closet to change. Within seconds, he was in the kitchen,
grabbing a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator and his car keys and
wallet from the counter.

He only hoped he
wasn’t too late. With a lead foot, he floored it out of his driveway, doing his
best to keep to the speed limit until he hit the open road.

This is what he
got for not setting his alarm. Had it not been for the dreams, Alex would’ve
been up before dawn as was normal for him. Instead, he’d overslept because he’d
been thinking about Ashleigh when he finally crawled into bed the night before.
Apparently he drifted off somewhere in between remembering the kiss they shared
and fantasizing about all of the things he intended to do to that woman.

Damn.

If he kept
thinking about her, he’d never find any relief from the ache between his legs.
Adding some speed, he entered the highway ramp and headed south. Ten minutes
tops. That’s all he needed.

Since the sun
was just coming up, he figured he had a few minutes to spare, but he wasn’t
willing to risk it. Turning up the volume on the radio, he tried to distract
himself with the morning news. It didn’t help much.

Thankfully the
cops hadn’t been out, or they had turned a blind eye because Alex was pretty
sure he wouldn’t have been able to drive away with just one ticket after that.
He pulled into the driveway of Ashleigh’s house at the same time she was
walking out onto her front porch.

He made it.

Figuring she was
confused enough at it was, Alex remained in the truck, lowering the window and
waiting for her to come closer. The look on her face was one of shock and awe.
The same way he must have looked last night when she had kissed him back.

“Hey,” he smiled
when she approached. “Hop in.”

“Umm.” Ashleigh
hesitated, glancing up and down her street as though she were expecting
someone. “I was about to go for a run.”

“I know. You
still are. Get in.” Alex didn’t stop smiling as Ashleigh finally moved in the
direction of the passenger door. He leaned over, flipped open the door and
pushed. He didn’t get it fully opened, but he was able to at least get it
started.

“Where are we
going?” She asked, taking in his appearance as she climbed in.

Yes, he was in
his running gear. Little did Ashleigh know, but Alex ran as well. Maybe not as
much as her, he didn’t know her routine, but he did manage to get in two runs a
week, at least.

“White Rock
Lake.” He told her as he put the truck in Reverse and backed out of her
driveway.

When he got home
the night before, he’d researched some of the trails close to her house, and
then he picked one he was familiar with. He didn’t frequent this particular
trail, but he knew it was an easy one, and being a pleasant morning, they’d get
the opportunity to enjoy the view. Not that he would find a view nicer than the
one sitting beside him.

“I’ve read about
that one.” Ashleigh contributed, buckling her seatbelt and seeming to relax
somewhat.

“It’s usually busy,
a lot of runners. This early we’ll have some space to ourselves though. Have
you found another that you like yet?”

“Not yet. I’ve
run the neighborhood a couple of times and one trail close by, but I haven’t
had much time to go exploring.”

Alex didn’t know
how this would work out, but after last night, he’d thought of nothing but her
and seeing her first thing in the morning was worth the physical exertion. If
he was lucky, she might just want a running companion on a more frequent basis.
He could get accustomed to having more motivation when it came to his weekly
exercise regimen.

“I didn’t know
you were a runner.” Ashleigh broke the silence a few minutes later as Alex
steered the truck onto the highway.

There are a lot
of things you don’t know about me
, Alex thought to himself, but he said,
“I try to get out a couple of times a week. Sometimes I’m not as successful as
I’d like.”

“I religiously
go five times a week, but that’s because I don’t go to a gym.” Ashleigh
admitted, still looking out the window, rather than at him.

“How far do you
run?” Sneaking glances at her as he drove, Alex let his eyes skim over all of
that sleek, smooth skin revealed by her running shorts.

“I’m up to nine.
My goal is to get to ten. Since I don’t care about the amount of time it takes,
I often don’t push myself as hard as I should.”

Nine miles?
Alex suddenly
wondered if he’d be able to keep up with her.

He wouldn’t let
her know that he only ran five miles at the most, but he did it in under an
hour, so he was pretty impressed with his accomplishments. He wasn’t looking to
be the fastest, and quite frankly, he was generally impressed that he ran at
all. With so many things going on in his life, he found working out one of
those things he had to focus on just to keep it at the top of his priority
list.

“Well, I’m
impressed,” Alex admitted. “I’ll do my best to keep up.”

Ashleigh
laughed.

Alex liked the
husky sound she made and the smile that tipped her lips was an added bonus. He was
well aware that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but when God created
Ashleigh, it was obvious He had a bigger audience in mind.

The woman was
classically beautiful, with her high cheekbones, strong jaw, pert little nose
and perfect lips, all coming together on a flawless face. Her long dark hair,
with its sun kissed highlights, normally hung down past her shoulders but was
now pulled up in a ponytail. She was long and lean, with golden skin that
tempted him to touch her.

Over the years,
Alex had watched her grow from a stunning teenager into a gorgeous woman, and
he’d battled his own hormones for every one of those years. When he first met
her, she was far too young for him. He’d been twenty nine, she only seventeen
and although she’d physically caught his eye, he knew better.

Then she turned
eighteen and without the law and his own moral compass interfering, Alex had
given it more thought. He’d played it out in his head and realized that at
thirty years old, he had nothing in common with an eighteen year old. If he’d
only wanted sex from her, that would’ve been one thing.

It wasn’t until
about the time that she turned twenty five that Alex seriously considered his
infatuation with the woman. She’d grown up significantly, and surprisingly, so
had he. That’s about the time that his friends started giving him a hard time
about it. Now, all these years later, he was glad he had waited, but feared
they’d built a friendship that wouldn’t translate into much more.