CHAPTER 1
Lush
Time flew, crashing against the wall with the distinct sound of cracking plastic just as the whine of a hairdryer shut off in the next room.
Whoops. Guess that's one way to kill time. But I bet I can think of one better…
Hand now smarting from his clumsy attempt to silence the bleating alarm, Ashton turned over, blearily searching through the confounding confectionery of fine sheets and down-stuffed duvet for the warm curves of — Pamela? Patricia? — the woman he'd met in the sky bar last night. He hummed curiously when only more fluffy bedding greeted his questing fingers, cracking open his eyes against the still-too-bright dimness of the hotel suite.
Groping for the bedside table and the little remote he vaguely remembered laying atop it, Ashton thumbed its single button before letting it fall to the carpet. Massive motorized shades chugged to life, opening on what was an utterly magnificent view of the city, even if it couldn't compare to last night's. A spill of loose diamonds on sinfully dark velvet; the skyline sparkled with infinite promise outside the floor to ceiling windows behind the headboard. It made an absolutely stunning backdrop as Ashton had gone down on… Pauline, he was pretty sure.
Unless — had it been Philippa?
Whatever her name, she wasn'there. The bed was mussed but empty, the early morning sunlight gilding the crisp, clean sheets and glinting off the chrome accents of the suite's boxy black leather chairs in the corner. There was water running nearby, coming from a door off to the front. The shower? That could open up some interesting possibilities…
Rolling out of bed with a grunt, Ashton padded naked and hopeful toward the half-closed gap where light and steam spilled intriguingly into the room, beckoning him on.
The water shut off just as he reached for the handle, then thewhirrof the toothbrush it'd covered stopped too. The door swung open to reveal a woman who might look even better in the daylight than she had spread out bare and beautiful in the bed last night. And she'd looked pretty damn good then.
She was older than him, of course; Ashton liked his dates older. Sure, the girls in his Econ class were pretty enough. They couldn't afford to invite him up to rooms with skyline views like this, though, could they? Or take Ashton to four-star restaurants and treat him to top-shelf brandy, before inviting him and the rest of the bottle up to her hotel suite for the night.
Co-eds are cute, but cougars are classy.
This one had been some kind of branch manager for a drug company in town for a conference; that mix of polish and promise that always left Ashton feeling like James Bond, especially in a place as nice as this.
Except…
"You're dressed?" Ashton noted, confused, stepping out of her way as she moved into the bedroom to pluck a delicate silver watch off the nightstand.
"It's eight am," she informed him, her tone as crisp as the eyebrow she raised at him. "My panel starts in an hour."
Ashton grinned, leaning against the doorframe so he was fully on display. "Sounds like plenty of time for a proper good morning to me."
She paused, eyeing him up and down as a slight smile curved those crimson-painted lips.
He tipped his chin up slightly, openly basking in the admiration. A five-mile run every morning, then an hour in Minotaur House's gym after classes in the afternoon? Ashton worked hard for his body. This didn't get handed down with the family name or come from some quirk of genetics. He'd forged it through sweat and dedication; he deserved a little appreciation, damn it.
"Wish I had the time," she told him, shaking her head ruefully as she started hunting around the bed. "But my scumbag ex-husband will be there, and it'll be the first time I've seen him since the divorce. I need to make sure he doesn't screw with my microphone again like last time, the bastard."
She paused, toeing gingerly at something on the floor until a flash of white and yellow came into view. "Are these your shoes?"
Oh shit.
"Yeah. The new limited series of Vante Tiller's Judgment 360s," Ashton answered as he hustled over, scooping them up before she could scuff them or something. "Only been out for two weeks. Pretty nice, right?"
"They're… cute," she said doubtfully as she pulled on her heels, red and sinful as an apple; leaving Ashton with all kinds of regret that she was so intent on going. "Maybe my kid might like a pair. Where'd you say you got them?"
Ashton chuckled, a small grin curving his lips as he shook his head. "The drop sold out instantly. This was a rare colorway, too. Resells online for at least five hundred bucks. And I know, I know — I should've kept them safe in the box, let them keep going up in value. But what's the fun in it if you don't treat yourself every now and again, right?"
She pursed her lips, considering it. "Five hundred, you said? Just for that one color?"
Ashton nodded, not a little smugly.
"Then I'd better get two. He can be a bit of a clothes horse; that way he can decide which he likes best and, I don't know — donate the other, or something."
Uh, wait…Ashton frowned.What just happened?
"Here," she said, turning away as she pulled out a couple of bills, setting them down on the side table running along the wall under the TV, right beside their forgotten bottle of brandy. "Grab yourself some breakfast and a cab on me. Maids will be by at ten, make sure you're out of here by then."
