22. Asher

An hour later,I stared at myself in the mirror and wondered how the hell my life had come to this. The wall was lined with suits that cost more than I made in a year of part-time jobs.

Winter's mother had only just left, pressing one outfit after another on me.

I was done.

If it hadn't been for the begging look in the Ice Queen's eyes as she stood there in a completely indecent tennis outfit, I'd have cleared out long before.

This final suit was the last straw. It was black, sharp as glass, and the most expensive thing I'd ever wear. It had some kind of wide complicated tie I had no idea how to do. I left it lying around my neck and stepped out.

Winter's mother seemed to have taken the assistants with her, because it was quiet in the changing area now. Winter was waiting, leaning against one of the full-length mirrors, obviously bored. I watched her before she saw me. She bent down to adjust her sock. Treating to me the knowledge that when she bent over, her ass was perfectly reflected in the mirror. A scrap of lace sat between her ass cheeks, and that was all. Was it one of the thongs I'd cut up? Or had she replenished her stock of intact panties? I had the sudden and urgent need to know. Instead of calming my obsession, last night had only increased it infinitely. I'd never struggled to get out of bed for practice in the morning, not even once, until today. But then I'd never had a towheaded she-devil in bed with me before.

"This is the last one. I'm out of here," I told her, sauntering forward.

She straightened up and saw me, rolling her eyes. "Stop acting like I'm putting the thumbscrews on you. It's not torture, it's just shopping."

"And it won't be murder but self-defense if it lasts much longer."

She smiled and wriggled her fingers. "Come here and see in the mirror."

"Now that your mom's gone, let's drop this."

"We might as well get you a suit for dinner now. You didn't try them all on for nothing," she muttered, eyeing me up and down.

I moved closer.

She put a hand to her chin and considered me. "I like this one. I think it's my favorite."

"How can you tell them apart?"

"Easily. This one really suits you…you look almost distinguished," she muttered, stepping close enough to reach for the untied tie around my neck. "Until we get here…May I?"

She didn't wait for my answer. She simply used the tie to tug me down to her level and started doing it up.

"I can leave this partially tied so you can just slip it over your head," she murmured, her blue-eyed gaze fastened on her task.

"Why? Don't they sell the ones on an elastic strap here?" I deadpanned.

Her eyes flickered to mine to check if I was joking.

"I know how to tie a tie, Ice Queen."

"I know, but this is a cravat. This suit works with a regular tie, as well."

She was so absorbed in getting the knot just right, I couldn't stop myself from resting my hands on her hips. She didn't notice. She was getting used to my touch, and that suited me just fine. I needed her to crave it, like I craved hers.

I let my hands slide down, wandering over her tight, round ass in the tennis skirt. I'd never had a moment's interest in the sport, but right now, I could see its advantages.

My hands slipped up under the skirt. I had the perfect view in the mirror behind her of the lightly tanned, lower curve of her ass cheek. I squeezed tight, enjoying the way my darker, tattooed hand looked gripping her.

"What are you doing?"

"Deciding on my payment for this ordeal. You can't expect a man to endure this without some kind of compensation. Don't be a brat about it. Be a good girl and pay me for my wasted time."

"I have cash in my purse," she pointed out, arching an eyebrow at me. Her cheeks were heating. I loved the sight of an unsettled Winter. It was my favorite thing.

"Pass. I'm taking my payment of choice now," I murmured, letting my fingers wander between her ass cheeks, running up and down her cleft. Her thong, unfortunately, was intact. This was precisely why crotchless underwear were so superior. I'd be able to sink a finger inside her right now.

She chose to ignore my feeling around, even as her pulse thumped hard in her neck. She patted the knot of the cravat, tugging it into perfection.

"You're taking an awfully long time to tie that thing…unless you're stalling?"

She flushed a deeper pink and stepped back, knocking my hands away. "It's done. What do you think?"

I faced the mirror, giving her a second to catch her composure.

The sight that met my eyes was unexpected. I nearly didn't recognize myself. I looked like someone Winter might dance with at The Dunes or get dressed up to go on a date with. Someone whose world rotated around business trips and holidays and trust funds.

"What do you think?" Winter asked, leaning a hand on her lithe hip and studying me.

"What's there to think? I guess what they say is true…people aren't ugly, they're just poor."

Winter snorted, suppressing a chuckle. She turned around and headed toward the open changing room, picking up a pair of pants I'd left on the floor. "Like anyone has ever thought you're ugly," she muttered scathingly.

I was behind her, stepping into the changing room and pulling the curtain shut before she could glance up.

"Are you hitting on me again? Trying to get me into bed?"

She spun around, alarmed by my sudden proximity. She backed up against the wall. "Are you going to pretend not to know how hot you are?" She folded her arms over her chest. "Don't tell me the pretty, popular heartthrob of the Hellions has a confidence problem?"

Her bratty smile only made me laugh. I pressed her harder into the wall. I was hard as fuck, and the damn suit pants weren't doing my blood flow any favors. I undid the top button and slid down the zipper.

"Maybe I do, and I need my girlfriend to inflate my ego."

Winter's gaze was glued to my hand unfastening my pants. "What are you doing?"

"Changing?"

"Right. Well, just let me get out of here, and you can do that."

I tutted. "I told you I needed some kind of payment for this nightmare, and you're going to give it to me."

She swallowed hard. "I told you I have cash in my purse."

Reaching into my jeans pocket for my knife, I took it out. Winter's eyes widened and her lips popped open, her breath coming faster and faster.

"Lift up your skirt. I want to see you," I instructed in a tight voice.

"That's your payment?" she asked.

"For now."

Her hands went to the hem of her little pleated skirt and slowly inched it up.

"All the way. Don't stop."

She wet her lips. "No."

"No?" I raised an eyebrow, enjoying the flash of fire in her sapphire eyes. "I told you to lift it up, baby."

"And I said…make me," she murmured, a smirk lingering at the corners of her pouty pink lips.

"Should I?" I opened the knife, knowing exactly what she was looking for, as clearly as if she had whispered it in my ear.

I brought it to her cheek and slid it carefully down, reaching her neck. As soon as I reached her jugular, she tilted her head, giving me better access. My Ice Queen liked to up the stakes, and she had no goddamn fear. It was a huge fucking turn-on.

"Lift up your skirt," I said thickly. "Don't make me ask you again."

She shivered and drew the material up the rest of the way, exposing ice-blue lace, thin enough I could nearly make out the skin of her shaved pussy beneath.

"Happy?" she murmured, her eyes dancing with excitement.

This was Winter without her mask. No longer jaded or bored. No longer reserved or locked behind glass, a perfect portrait of a woman, preserved behind velvet ropes, to be stared at but never touched.

I brought my other hand to her panties and caressed the front. She was soaking through the material. She was dripping. Desperate. Needing to be filled.

"Take this off," I grunted, pulling the waistband out and letting it snap back against her soft skin. "Now."

I didn't move the knife an inch. Instead, I let her wriggle and pant, trying to work her thong down her legs. When it was at knee level, I couldn't stop myself from staring at her glorious pussy. I stroked a finger through the slit between her lips, brushing her hooded clit on the way. She jerked.

"Someone might hear," she whispered.

"Better keep it down, then," I advised and stepped back. "Kneel."

She blinked up at me. So fucking innocent and bratty at the same time. She wet her lips, her eyes falling to my cock.

"I'm taking my payment from your smart little mouth." I tapped the point of the knife carefully against her lips and her eyes darkened. "If you can handle it, baby."

She narrowed her eyes, my gentle taunt working its magic. Slowly, with the grace of a ballerina, she sank to her knees.

"Spread your legs and finger yourself. You come at the same time as me, or neither of us do." She was looking up at me with those huge blue eyes. The lights above my head looked just like the stars that night on the rooftop. A stolen moment and the deepening of an obsession. She parted her lips, surrendering to my touch, as I wrapped my hand around her ponytail and guided her mouth towards my leaking tip.

She was perfect. Perfect.

She leaned forward, wrapped her lips around the head, and sucked. Her pretty pink lips were stretched wide, her cheeks hollowed out. Her eyes were closed in pleasure. I snapped my fingers, her eyes flying back open. "Eyes on me, Your Majesty. Eyes on me."

She mumbled around my cock and then pulled back to speak. "Well…likewise."

My chuckle turned into a groan as she plunged her mouth back around me.

Like I had a choice. I fucking wish I could look away.

She moaned some protest or curse. Knowing her it was probably the latter. Her inexperienced touch was so good, I was going to lose it. She had no technique, no finesse. All she had was the desperate need to be good at everything she did. Even in this, Winter DeLaurie was competitive as hell.

"That's it, sink down as far as you can go, take as much of me as you can…unless it's just too big for you," I goaded, and bit back a grunt when she rose to the challenge and sank down even further. The tip of my cock hit the back of her throat, and I couldn't stop my hand from clamping onto the back of her head and holding her right there.

"That's good, baby, very good…See what a fast learner you are, little brat?" I held her there until she gagged, the sound a sweet symphony.

She moaned a protest around me, and I let go of her head. She eased back and glared at me. The loss of her warmth around my dick was painful.

"Call me brat again, and I'll bite it off," she warned.

I sank my hand back into her hair, stroking it back. "How about beautiful? Smart? Absolutely fucking infuriating?"

She smirked. "Better."

I guided her back to my cock, and she slipped her mouth over the head again. She bobbed on me, her tongue working in circles along the underside, sucking like her life depended on it.

"How about mine? How about I call you mine?"

She moaned around me, an exclamation of surprise. This woman still had no idea of her effect on me. She was so observant, so on the ball with every little thing, except for how I felt about her. I was her blind spot, and she was mine.

I was going to blow, and I wanted to take her with me. I tightened my hand on her head, helping her move up and down my shaft, pushing me closer and closer. I was teetering on the edge when Winter suddenly choked loudly around my cock. Her fingers were working hard between her legs. She was coming. Her whole body tensed and her teeth nipped at me, her moans vibrating my entire cock.

I exploded in her mouth, shooting my load against the back of her throat. She was still coming; her slim body convulsing, her hands tensing on my thighs.

"That's right, Ice Queen, drink all of me down…every single drop," I muttered, my gaze stuck to the sight of my cock pulsing in her mouth. I stayed as far down her throat as I could until my balls were empty. "Open your mouth, let me see."

She obliged, her fight all spent. Her pretty heiress mouth was full of me. The sight of my cum coating her tongue was the most satisfying thing I'd ever seen.

Winter slumped back against the mirror, losing strength in her legs.

I watched her slowly come down, memorizing every sigh and short breath. Every flutter of her caramel eyelashes.

"Excuse me, Miss DeLaurie, is there anything else we can help with? Did you decide on any suits?" The manager's voice came from just outside the curtain.

Less than a meter separated us from him.

"Miss DeLaurie?" the manager called again.

I stepped away and folded my knife back together.

Winter cleared her throat. "We're almost done. We'll be taking the last suit he tried."

"Come on, baby, up you get." I helped her up, steadying her when she swayed. It had only been a blow job, so why did it feel like I'd just bared my goddamn soul to this woman? I stood over her.

She tugged down her skirt and smoothed her hair before ducking out of the changing room. Then came the soft murmur of her talking to the manager outside. The knowledge that she had nothing on under that skirt was going to haunt me all damn day.

"Asher? Are you ready? They need to come in and get the clothes."

I shoved on my jeans, ruthlessly pushing my hard-on into the worn denim and somehow managing to get the fly up.

"Ready."