ASTONLying in my bed last night, I decided to put Blake behind me. The chances were overwhelming that I would never see him again, despite him saying he would be back soon. In the months since I started at the McAllen Group, this was the first time he’d been in California. It could be months before his business brought him back.As hard as it was, I was going to have to relegate him to the far recesses of my mind, and pull him out as a fond memory from time to time. No doubt I would be seeing him in my fantasies on the occasions I brought my vibrator out to play.But I couldn’t spend my days thinking, wondering or wishing things were different. I had work to do. The furniture I had procured last week was arriving today and there were lots of special guests checking in, not the least of which was the elderly couple standing in front of me in the lobby.The man was slightly hunched over, but he beamed at his wife like it was their wedding day. “It’s our sixtieth wedding anniversary thi

BLAKEAston wasn’t in the lobby when I got there. Fuck.I scanned the room again. There was an elderly couple holding hands on a bench near the front doors. The man kept glancing at the doors like he was waiting for something, then looked back at his wife. Well, presumably she was his wife. Both of them wore plain gold wedding bands and the way they looked at each other was sickeningly sweet. She had to be the wife.There were a few other people milling around, but none of them was Aston. She said she forgave me for leaving so suddenly, but maybe she hadn’t. Damn.I really needed to talk to her. We were already a day into the two weeks we had, there wasn’t any time to waste. I was also anxious to see her. Being away from her these past two days had me on edge, for some fucking reason.So, I had to see her, then somehow find a way to talk to her about what needed to be done. Preferably without telling her who I was, because I couldn’t afford to have her losing trust in me or needing a

ASTONBlake blinked up at me. “What?”“I’m a virgin.” Electricity crackled through my entire body as soon as his lips hit mine. I’d almost decided not to tell him, but he had to know before things went any further. Desire flowed like a living thing between us, taking hold of every rational thought. But then Blake pulled away abruptly, sliding out from underneath me. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Good night, Aston. I’ll see you tomorrow.I grabbed his wrist when he started to get up from the carpet and his eyes snapped to mine. No more than a second passed before he was on me again, kissing me like he couldn’t stay away. When we broke apart, I cupped his chin in my hand. “No, please don’t be sorry. I want to—do this. With you. I just thought you should know.”He drank in my expression and then Blake tugged me towards his strong chest and kissed me like I’d never been kissed before. Without breaking the kiss, he picked me up off the floor and carried me over to the bed. It was only once my back

BLAKEThe first rays of sunshine crept over the horizon when I opened my eyes. I blinked, catching sight of a sea of auburn spread out on the white pillow beside me. Aston.My lips curled into a smile. She was still here. I half expected to wake up to find her gone. In the heat of the moment, I worried she would regret what happened as soon as it was over.But she looked serene in her sleep. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, causing the slits on her eyes to curve up.Christ, she was fucking gorgeous. I made it a rule not to be with virgins, but I couldn’t resist her. I nearly started crying when she told me, sure she was going to put a stop to things. I really hadn’t expected her to ask me to be the one to do it, but I felt strangely honored that she placed that amount of trust in me.Today, it was time to return the favor. I was going to do everything in my power to help her raise the branch’s numbers. I wanted California to do well. To be on top. For her. Because I kn

ASTONBlake and I walked around the lobby. Every so often, he would point out something we needed to do or change. Being the dutiful manager I was, I noted down all of his suggestions in the spiral notebook I used to manage and document staff meetings.He was pointing at a flower arrangement, telling me we should look into cutting costs by ditching the fresh flowers we had delivered weekly. But I’d already made a note of it. I would bring it up at the meeting later.I couldn’t really concentrate on what he was saying anymore. Not because he didn’t have good ideas or because I didn’t appreciate his help, but because I was too wrapped up with second guessing myself and the choices I’d made.While I didn’t regret sleeping with him, I was really starting to question what exactly it was he did at this point. Whenever we talked about it, he was intentionally vague. A finance guy who did quality assurance when he had to, that was how he explained it to me on our first date.Back then, he exp