26. Asher

Lani tried to bail on our date twice, but I wouldn’t let her.

She wants a fancy dinner with me. I don’t care that she has an assignment due and she wants to get in some extra studying for an upcoming test. Tough shit. She said she was giving me a date night, and so she shall.

I’ll definitely make it worth her while. I am delivering so fucking hard, she’ll be speechless.

It took me a week to get everything booked, to pull the right strings and make sure this date is nothing but perfect.

By the time I walk up to her dorm room in my black tux with a bouquet of tropical flowers, I feel in charge and on my game.

Until she opens the door and gapes at me with the hungriest look I’ve ever seen. Obviously, me in a suit does it for her, because I can practically see the drool pooling on the edge of her lips.

I would respond with something cocky to ruffle her feathers if I wasn’t struck dumb by the sight of her as well.

She’s wearing this glittery bronze dress that hugs her hips and accentuates her boobs. The plunging neckline goes right down between them, and it’s hard to swallow as I drink her in, from those spaghetti straps to the tips of her painted toenails. The heels she’s wearing match the dress perfectly, winding up around her ankles and lower calves. I swear shoes have never been so sexy. Ever. They also make her about three inches taller, and holy shit, she’s so fucking gorgeous, I can barely breathe.

“Are you two just gonna stand there gaping at each other all night?” Caroline’s red curls appear and then her blue gaze drinks me in, and I’ve gotta say… she looks impressed too. “Wowzers. You scrub up good, Ash-Man.”

I smirk at her.

“And Lani here is looking hot enough to fry a steak on.”

“She most definitely is,” I finally manage.

Lani rolls her eyes but is fighting a grin.

“You look like some kind of celebrity couple. Seriously.” Caroline shakes her head, grinning between us as she whips out her phone and forces us to pose for various photographs.

Lani finally takes the flowers from me, smelling them with an appreciative smile before passing them off to Caroline.

“I’ll put these in water for you, sweets.” Caroline grins. “Now you two kids go have fun.”

Her playful wink makes Lani laugh, and she kisses her friend before finally stepping out into the hallway.

I give her my elbow and she takes it, brushing her hand down my arm and finally speaking to me. “Okay, so you’re gorgeous in a suit.”

“Why thank you, milady.” I wink and she smiles, and I’m pretty sure I just started floating.

Leading her out to my uncle’s Porsche, which he kindly let me borrow, I enjoy her impressed smile as I open the door for her. By some miracle, she lets me treat her like a princess, and we drive to a hotel in downtown Denver, listening to classical music and talking like a night in the big city is nothing new for us.

The two-hour trip flies by in a heartbeat, and we’re soon riding the elevator to the top floor of The Grand Palais.

“This place is nice,” she murmurs, nestling into me when I rest my hand on her lower back.

“Yeah, my parents bought it nearly three years ago. When I started at Nolan.”

“Your parents own this hotel?” She blinks at me.

“They own a lot of places,” I murmur, wishing I hadn’t mentioned it. I’d rather choke on a turkey leg than spend this date night talking about my parents.

“What do they do?”

Clenching my jaw, I mutter my usual spiel. “They own an acquisitions and merger company. They look for dying businesses and buy them for a steal, then either pour money into reviving them or make the decision to dissolve them.”

“So, this fancy-pants hotel was on the out-and-out?”

Lani looks like she doesn’t believe me when I nod, and her skepticism only grows when I walk her through to the five-star French restaurant just below the penthouse suite.

Her lips part as she drinks in the view. The hostess seats us by the window, just as I requested.

“How are you tonight, Mr. Bensen?” She smiles at me, and I enter into some polite conversation while Lani continues to stare out the floor-to-ceiling window. The lights of Denver sparkle below us—magical glitter that obviously has her mesmerized.

As much as I want to order champagne, Caroline gave me a heads-up that Lani’s not drinking thanks to what happened, so I settle for sparkling water, then acknowledge one of the regular waiters who seems to be here every time I come.

If my parents ever want a catch-up, they’ll fly into Denver and meet me here. I’m, of course, expected to drive down from Nolan, because why would they drag their pristine butts to my backwater college? Forget that it’s an elite university with a first-class hockey program. It’s certainly no Harvard, so I guess it doesn’t count.

“Wow.” Lani finally turns to look at me, shaking her head in obvious awe. “This is classy.”

She looks impressed, and I’m quietly relieved. I was half expecting her to be one of those people who’s snobby against the rich. I knew I was taking a risk going all out to impress her, but she did ask for it. I’m sure she was half joking, though, so I’m relieved she isn’t judging me for having easy access to this kind of lifestyle.

“I’m glad your parents wanted to save this one.”

I nod, drinking in the candlelit tables around us and the soft clink of silver on china, the quiet conversations, and the piano music wafting above it all.

“It was the twins, actually. This was the first project my father gave away full control of. My brothers found it, envisioned a plan for it, and then made it happen. My mother was all over it, and I think that’s why Dad relented. On paper, this place probably would have gone on the chopping block, which is no doubt why he gave my brothers such a tight budget. But they made it work, marketed it really well, and now it’s like the ‘go-to’ place in Denver if you’re wanting something high-class.”

“Well, it’s definitely that.”

She smiles when the waiter returns with our sparkling water and a detailed list of the specials. We peruse the menu, and she settles on the duck while I order the lamb.

And then time disappears again.

We talk about everything and nothing.

I tell her more about my family but cut those stories as short as I can so we can focus back on her. By the sounds of it, she grew up in a jungle while I grew up in a reptile enclosure. It’s a miracle we have anything in common, but the more I listen, the more I understand that she never felt like she really fit. She would have been a lot happier in my ordered, scheduled, neat and tidy world.

But it could be so suffocating. Her upbringing sounds loud and fun and spontaneous.

Maybe there’s a happy middle ground between the two. Maybe if Lani became my girl, we’d create something just like that.

My insides aren’t even rattled by the thought. As I watch her spoon crème br?lée into her mouth, then drink in her pretty eyes, I’m actually excited by the idea of what we could become.

I’m jumping the gun here. We barely know each other.

But we do. All this talking… I’ve probably found out more about her over this one meal than I know about half the guys on my team, and we’ve been playing together for three full seasons.

Placing her teaspoon back in the ramekin, Lani licks her lips and murmurs, “Delicious.” Then her eyes land on me, and I feel that heat like a fresh lick of flame. “So delicious.”

Oh, she wants me.

She probably has no idea how much she’s been doing it, but her hungry eyes have been drinking me in all night. Every time I’ve been talking, she’s been eyeing me up like a piece of candy, and I’ve got to say… those stares are good for the ego.

And I’m sure I’m giving them back as good as I’m getting them.

By the time I’ve paid and we’re heading for the elevator again, the heat between us is thermonuclear… which is why I guide her to the private penthouse elevator. My all-access pass can get me in anywhere in this hotel, and I swipe my card and step back when the doors open so she can enter first.

“Where does this elevator go?”

“Down to the parking garage,” I assure her when her face flickers with concern. “It’s just that this one is for penthouse guests only.”

“Are we…?” She frowns again. “Are we penthouse guests?”

“Only if you want to be.” I slide my hands into my pockets, trying to look unaffected as I wait for her answer.

She bites her lip and looks around, then shakes her head. “I need to get back for a study group I have tomorrow morning.”

“No problem.” I smile, ignoring my disappointment and pressing the down button. I figured it’d be a stretch for her, which is why I hadn’t mentioned it.

I’m still hyperaware of what she’s been through, and I don’t want to do anything that will make her feel unsafe or forced.

But those eyes.

She’s still looking at me like she wants to devour me… or wishes she could have said yes to a night of pure luxury. Oh, the things we could do on those silky sheets.

As we descend a little farther, I can feel the tension building around us. It’s not filled with anger but definitely unrest. We need to unleash. To let off some of this steam or we’ll both combust.

Slapping my hand on the emergency stop button, I force the elevator to a halt.

“What are you doing?” Lani whips her head to look at me.

“Do you want me in this elevator?”

A tendon in her neck pings and she blinks, obviously trying to look appalled but finding it hard to pull off. “No. Of course I don’t.”

“You sure?” My lips toy with a smirk as I step into her space. “Your fuck-me eyes are in full bloom, baby.”

She glances to the floor between us, but there’s hardly any space there right now, so her gaze lands on my chest. Her tongue darts out of her mouth, and her swallow is thick and audible before she murmurs, “I’m not doing it with you in this elevator.”

“Okay.” I nod, trying to sound casual as I take a small step back and hover my finger near the control panel. “So, you want me to press this button here and get us moving again? I’ll do it if you want me to. I’ll press this button and we’ll glide down to the parking garage and I’ll drive you home.”

She licks her lips again, her eyes darting from the panel to my face, then back.

“Or… you can tell me what you really want, and I’ll lift you up against this wall and take you the way your eyes are screaming at me to. It’ll be the sexiest, most erotic thing you’ve ever done, and I can practically hear your pussy purring. But I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want to do, so…” I lean a little closer to that red button. Her eyes dart back to mine, and I hold her gaze. “Tell me what you want, Lani.”

She swallows and lightly shakes her head, obviously fighting for control.

I give her ten more seconds to change her mind, but she doesn’t budge. “Okay. Just don’t want you to have any regrets.”

The pad of my finger hits the button, but I haven’t even compressed it when she fists my jacket and pulls me back.

“I want you to take me in this ele—” Her last word gets swallowed by my kiss as I walk her backward until her perfect ass hits the plush wall of the elevator.