Page 37 of Exactly What I Needed
“What do you want?” I squeaked out instead.
He chuckled quietly, a devilish smile twitching the corner of his mouth upwards. His eyes darkened, and he suddenly shoved my hand between his legs. His palm swallowed my fingers, pressing them against his hard dick.
I didn’t resist as he slid my hand along his length, feeling it grow. He leaned forward, his mouth resting against my ear, and then spoke. “Can’t you tell?” he whispered, and then his tongue flicked out and danced across the edge of my lobe.
Chills shot through my body, a roaring fire bursting within my core. I could tell; oh, could I tell. He guided my hand back up his length and then slid it all the way back down, moving my fingers to cup as much as I could. Instinctively, I squeezed, not too tightly but enough to make him shudder.
Then he suddenly jerked my hand away from him, stepped back, and a cold chill swept between us. My eyes met his gaze again, as he shoved his hands in the pockets of the black joggers he was wearing. Even that didn’t do much to conceal his excitement, and I sucked in my bottom lip, trying to forget all I’d felt and could see.
He chuckled, knowing. “I have to get back. Stay hidden on that couch, and I’ll come get you when the coast is clear,” Asher said and then turned away, sauntering around the corner, disappearing from sight.
I was left confused and craving more. Part of me wondered if all he wanted me for was more sexual escapades, which at first had been exciting,and sort of still was. But the longer I spent time around him, the more I wanted…more.
Which was even worse of a problem. I was getting attached and unable to stop myself.
Heartbreak for both myself and Sydney was in the future, and I was no longer doing much to refrain from letting it happen. I had consciously chosen to kiss him. I had consciously not tried to remove my hand from his. I had done all of that.
I’d even shown up here all by my choice, fully aware and knowing of what being alone with him meant.
Taking a deep breath, I quietly walked around the corner and waded through bustling workers. A man and woman rushed by me, immersed in a quiet but seemingly frantic conversation. Nobody really seemed to care or notice that I was there as I found myself seated on a navy couch, my back facing the studio doors behind me. Hanging on the wall across from me were several posters of different bands that this studio had contracts with.
My eyes drifted to the one of Void. There he was, ethereal presence and everything. He was wearing that same low-cut, cut-off hoodie he had on today. It showed off things that I’d once felt against my own bare skin. And yes, the other members of his band were there—good looking too, I admitted. But Asher. Asher had a hold on me that I couldn’t quite shake.
Sighing, I reached forward and slid a magazine off the glass coffee table. I didn’t even bother to see what one, I simply opened it up and held it up in front of my face.
“What are we going to do?” a man asked, his panic briefly fraying my solitude.
My mind was miles away, wondering that exact same thing. What was I going to do? Because there was no denying what I wanted, but there was no denying the warning that Tera had explicitly stated. More than once, I might add. And while her threats had only been mere words so far, I’d known Tera to follow Sydney into situations that veered out of simple conversation and into physical enforcements of threats.
“We are running out of time to figure things out,” a lady desperately pleaded behind me as wild footsteps paced on by again.
Same… The longer I waited, the more pain and damage I would cause.
A secret relationship with Asher might work. I mean, everything already up to this point was a secret. From everyone. More secrets. I honestly didn’t know what to do because no matter how strong of feelings I had for Asher, things hadn’t changed regarding Sydney. Even if I agreed to a secret relationship with Asher, Sydney would still get hurt. And when she’d been hurt by others before, she hadn’t been entirely afraid of hurting them back. She wouldn’t do those things to me, would she? Maybe it would hurt her less if I admitted I’d only slept with him and nothing more.
Something like actual committed terms was more serious than a fling. And the commitment meant I put thought into it. Though, fifteen years is a long time for a friendship. Would she want to lose a fifteen-year friendship over this? She might retaliate with the silent treatment for a bit, but nothing close to how she handled the cheerleader in high school who stole her boyfriend. Sydney wasn’t best friends with that girl like she and I were. She might slap me, but I could handle a little slap on my cheek. Dead fish wouldn’t turn up in my vents at the house because Sydney lived there too. I wouldn’t end up with a mysterious food poisoning like thecheerleader—
Shaking my head, I groaned and buried my face in the magazine. Now, I was just trying to justify things. She had every right to cut me off if she wanted to. Every right to retaliate how she had with that cheerleader. I was being a horrible person, and I was fully aware of that. Once had been an honest mistake, but now things were spiraling out of my control, and I wasn’t doing everything I could to get off this ride. No, in fact, I was fueling the fire.
“There are no good options left,” that same male voice I’d heard earlier gasped behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts. Man, if that wasn’t the conundrum I was fighting myself right now…
“The online live audition is in fifteen minutes, and the pianist backed out. If she wants a chance to be in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, then we have to find a way,” the panicked lady responded.
I tipped my head. My interest piqued in their flustered conversation.
“But without a pianist? This is Duvaldi’s Concerto in C Sharp Minor, not exactly the easiest composition for any random pianist that might be available. And emphasis onmight,” the man replied, frenzied.
The footsteps paused behind me, and the woman spoke again. “The hardest part is the solo, which is why it needs to be that piece, so we have to try something. She’s worked her entire life and was offered—”
“Excuse me,” I said, placing the magazine beside me. “I don’t mean to intrude, but I overheard your dilemma.”Where the hell was all this boldness coming from, though? And the secret. If these guys found out about that specific one…
But maybe this was the very distraction I needed from my current secret.
Standing up, I turned around and politely smiled at the wiry man with thin, brown hair and half-moon spectacles resting on his beak-like nose.
The woman was plump and well put together, her blonde hair piled high on her head. She crossed her arms; the pearls strapped around her neck matched the bracelet on her wrist. It all paired nicely with her sea-green dress and white heels. “And?” She lifted a brow.
“I happen to be a pianist and know that piece. I’m waiting on studio three to open up, so some extra playing time would be nice.” I smoothed out a few wrinkles in my blouse. Surprising myself with my confidence. I normally kept that to myself. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d played in front of anyone, but maybe because of Asher, I was feeling more alive. More confident. And that hollowness in my mind wasn’t quite as empty. A distraction from my current conundrum, and focusing on a different secret sounded nice; plus, one good deed balanced out a not-so-good one, right?
