Iwanthim.
Truly. Wholeheartedly. With every fibre of my being.I want him.
The realisation slams into me.
I want Asher and my father has handed him to me on a silver platter. So why am I still fighting this?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEAsher
I want her.
It’s as simple and as complicated as that.
I kiss her like I’m trying to say everything I’ve never actually managed to put into words. I let my hand slide up her thigh, her breath hitches, and for a second everything falls away: my father, the merger, the unrelenting pressure to be someone my father might one day love.
It’s just me and Imani.
She’s soft against me. I lose myself in the taste of her, in the way she shivers when I run my tongue along her jawline, in the way her fingers curl tight in my hair like if she lets go even for a second, we might both disappear.
I’m not sure how long we stay like this, but it’s long enough for her lips to become swollen and her pupils to go wide and dark.
It’s dangerous, how easy this feels. We’re supposed to beat each other’s throats but the truth is, right now, I’d do anything to keep her here.
And then reality comes crashing down on us in the form of a knock on the door. Both Imani and I freeze.
Another knock, this time harder than the first. And then a voice that’s painfully familiar to us both.
‘Imani, I swear toGod—’
Relief floods Imani’s face before she springs out of my arms and sprints to the door. ‘Sloane!’ She yanks open the door, tugs Sloane over the threshold, and then slams it shut. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’
‘What amIdoing here?’ Sloane drawls, one brow raised. Her gaze sweeps over Imani’s state of dress (or should that be undress?) and then to me on the armchair. ‘I should be asking whatyou’redoing here, though I guess that one’s easy enough to figure out.’
Imani’s expression turns sheepish and she doesn’t make any attempt to deny what Sloane is so obviously alluding to. ‘Long story,’ is all she says.
Sloane rolls her eyes. ‘I don’t doubt it.’ She walks further into my suite’s living room and drops into the nearest chair. Once she’s settled in, she doesn’t waste any time. ‘Alright, so, quick debrief since apparently we’ve forgotten how to use our phones.’ She shoots Imani a pointed look.
Imani deliberately looks away.
‘People noticed when you left last night.’
‘Who?’ I ask.
‘Everyone,’ Sloane says. ‘And that’s not an exaggeration.Literally everyone is talking about it. I spent the rest of last night and most of this morning doing damage control for the two of you. You’re welcome.’ She takes out her phone and spins the screen around so we can both see the @TrustFundTea story currently splayed across it:
Multiple sources tell us it wasnotall love and synergy at last night’s launch event. Asher Vouvalis and Imani Davies were overheard having aheated argumentafter the airline heiress spent most of cocktail hour flirting up a storm withanotherVouvalis…
My sources say Asher Vouvalis was not pleased to see his former flame hitting it off with his brother of all people and the two had strong words for each other as they took it outside and away from prying eyes…
Imani and I exchange a look. While it was just the two of us in here, it was easy to forget that this is our reality: pretending we hate each other and causing scene after scene in public.
‘You owe me big time,’ Sloane sniffs. ‘I am now officially an @TrustFundTea source.’ She shudders dramatically. ‘I’ll never recover.’
‘Thank you,’ Imani says stiffly. ‘We, um—’
‘Don’t want to hear it,’ Sloane cuts her off.
‘Is this why your father was in here this morning?’ Imani asks me.
