Filed to story: Swallow Me Whole (Sadie & Ashton) Book Free
“I want you out of Sadie’s life.”
“Well that’s the benefit of being an adult. She can make her own decisions.”
“I thought you might say that, which is why I came prepared, Mr. Levine.”
“Mr. Levine is my father, and I assure you I’m nothing like him. Get to the fucking point, old man.”
My shitty language burrows under his skin like I intended, and his face reddens.
“You,
Ashton, are a distraction my daughter can no longer afford.” He passes the envelope to me, and I take it as if it’ll burn me. “You’ll find my generosity more than agreeable.”
Lifting the flap, I pull out a check with my name on it, and my heart stumbles at the amount of zeroes on the face of it. “What the hell is this?”
“It’s enough to pay off your mother’s debts and your sister’s student loans.”
The man is fucking shrewd as hell and knows how to aim where it’ll hurt the most. Gritting my teeth, I glare at him. “I didn’t ask for your goddamn money.”
He merely shrugs. “Consider it payment for removing yourself from my daughter’s life.”
“You’re a special kind of low.”
He’s unfazed by the insult. “Think about it, Ashton. She’ll come to her senses soon enough, and where will that leave you, hmm?” He nods toward the check. “At least this way you get something out of it.”
The rage boiling inside me is rampant, nearly impossible to contain. I’m seconds away from ripping the check to shreds and throwing the pieces in the bastard’s face, but I have a better idea instead. Taking a deep breath, I slip the check back into the envelope and pocket it. As I reach for the door handle, Joseph grabs my arm.
“Do we have a deal?”
Shrugging his hand off, I turn a dark stare on him. “You’ll know soon enough if we have a deal.”
“I knew you were a smart kid,” he says, and it’s all I can do to leave the vehicle without blowing a gasket, especially upon noting his smug expression as I slam the door.
The bastard thinks I’m taking the money.
I put as much distance as possible between Sadie’s father and myself before I lose my cool and drag him from the backseat of his overpriced SUV.
Focus, asshole. Take a chill pill.
Sadie needs to know what she’s up against, and there’s nothing more effective than seeing proof with your own eyes. It’s going to hurt like fuck, but she needs to know the lengths her father is willing to go to in order to control her life. Taking cover on the porch from the light rain, I wait for the black vehicle to wheel away from the curb before I text Sadie.
Me: Are you home? I need to talk to you ASAP.
She doesn’t answer right away, and I’m growing antsy. Finally, after six long minutes, she replies.
Sadie: You said you’d give me some space.
Me: This can’t wait.
Sadie: I can’t do this with you right now. I need some TIME.
With a low growl, I pocket my phone, fingers brushing the envelope in my pocket, and set off for Sadie’s apartment whether she likes it or not.
Ashton
My sister is working at the club, so I don’t think twice about barging in on Sadie. She’s in the kitchen nuking popcorn when she glances up. “What part of ‘I need some time’ do you not get, Ash?”
I’m distracted by the front door and the fact that it was unlocked while she’s in here by herself, looking too damn sexy in PJ’s. “I should spank your ass for leaving your door unlocked.”
My threat does zero to ruffle her. With grating nonchalance, she pulls the door to the microwave open and removes the bag before carefully dumping the steaming contents into a bowl.
“We already went over this. I’m not 4-years-old.”
My gaze falls to her flannel-clad ass. Jesus, her pajama pants are hugging her body to perfection, and my hands twitch with the need to pull her over my lap. She passes me on the way into the living room, ponytail swinging. Before she gets far, I yank the black elastic band from her hair and pull it onto my wrist.
She rolls her eyes at me, but she doesn’t tell me to get lost, so I consider that a win. Taking one corner of the couch, she tucks her legs under her then reaches for the remote control to the TV. “Hope you’re in the mood for sappy romances because that’s what I’m watching.”
My blood simmers in my veins. Despite the walls she’s trying to put up between us, she still doesn’t have the heart to send me away, and I find that encouraging. “I’m in the mood for anything if it involves you.”
As I settle on the other end of the couch, I spy the corner of her mouth creep up. Her father’s check is burning a hole in my pocket, but I can’t bring myself to tell her about it yet—not when I have her sitting mere feet away in soft flannel, her defenses coming down the way her hair did.
She pulls up the TV menu and begins scrolling through the movies available. “Serendipity or
Ever After
?”
“You choose.”
Without a word, she selects
Ever After and the opening scenes begin. As the older woman starts narrating the tale that every little girl fell in love with at some point during childhood, I watch Sadie. Her eyes are on the TV, but the way she fidgets every so often between bites of popcorn, twirling her hair or smoothing a hand down her thigh, tells me she’s as aware of me as I am of her. I’d bet her father’s check she’s growing hot between the thighs.
It isn’t until the prince and the heroine meet that Sadie breaks the silence. “You said you needed to talk to me.” She’s back to twirling her hair, and now she’s peeking at me from her peripheral. “Sounded important.”
It is important, but I’m not ready to wreck this tenuous peace with her. If she’ll let me sit next to her, watching her watch movies all night long, I’ll be happy. “You were right. It can wait.”
She lets out a frustrated sigh. “I’m not in the mood to play games.”
“Neither am I. We’ll talk about it later, I promise. Just let me enjoy looking at you for a while.”
Her gaze is full of heat and longing, and I can barely keep from launching across the couch and touching her.
“You’re not the type to look and not touch.”
If that’s not an invitation, I don’t know what is. I slide across the sofa, take the bowl of popcorn from her lap and set it on the floor, then palm her cheek. She’s soft and warm to the touch, and I’ve got wood just from the subtle scent of her skin. It’s not overpowering like most perfumes. Instead, it draws me in to inhale her essence. Tempts me to taste her. I pull her onto my lap, gripping her by the waist as she straddles me, and the movie is forgotten as the heat between us ignites.
“I’ve been going crazy wanting you,” I say, nuzzling the sensitive spot underneath her ear. Gently biting her flesh, I groan as the taste of her plays on my tongue. Her head lolls back, and I kiss my way down her throat.
“Ash…making out isn’t going to fix things between us. Corinne will still be pregnant tomorrow.”