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  She blinked, confused, and shook her head. “A week ago? I don’t know. Days have blurred a bit for me since he died.”

  I kissed her lips and stood from the bed abruptly. “Get dressed, quickly. We have to go.”

  “Wait, where are we going?” She asked, startled, while I walked to the bathroom.

  I turned by the door, looking into her eyes. “To get your comic book collection back.”

  * * *

  “Okay this is the place. What are we going to do now?” Gaby asked, as we stood in front of a small brownstone building. She kept looking at the main entrance nervously.

  I gazed around the building and saw the metal railings at the side. I grinned. “Does your apartment have access to the fire escape?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Which one is it?” I inquired, walking towards the alley. She followed.

  “Second floor, third window on the right.”

  I stood under the metal structure and silently cursed. The ladder was stuck at the top of the first floor, making it unreachable. If I were my normal size, this would be a walk in the park. No matter, I had this.

  “Ash…” Her warning voice returned, but it was tinged by fear. “What are you going to do?” Her uncle’s leather bag hung from her back, and the two suitcases she had were set on the ground next to her.

  I ignored her, walking back a few steps and ran. I jumped, stepping on the trashcan to my right, and flipped in the air, gaining altitude. Gaby gasped as my feet landed on the bottom of the ladder and I grasped it, my weight made it slide all the way down to the street.

  “How the hell did you do that? Are you a ninja or something?”

  I smirked, still holding the side rail as I extended my hand to her.

  “Let’s go get them.”

  “What??” She whisper-screamed. “I thought you were going to talk to the landlord and pay him off or something. This is your plan? We are going to steal them?”

  I stepped down and took her hand in mine. “You can’t steal something that is already yours.” Kissing her cheek, I lifted the suitcases, nudging her towards the ladder.

  We got to her floor and stood in front of the vast, arched top window of her apartment. It was in deed an architecturally beautiful building. Gaby stepped past me, and her palms went to the base of the window frame, she hit it twice. The window opened, sliding up about two inches. She looked at me and a gleam of excitement mixed with nostalgia entered her eyes.

  “Don’t ask.” She pushed the window all the way up and I pulled her aside, sticking my head inside.

  The apartment was fully furnished but uninhabited. There was a thin layer of dust on it. There was no doubt these were her things. “Okay, I’ll go in with the bag and the suitcases, you stay here while I get them, and then we go down together.”

  “Like hell I will!” She pushed me aside, and gripped the top of the window frame, jumping and sliding effortlessly into the apartment.

  Yep, Gaby was a pro.

  She grinned, walking further in and I followed. She stopped in front of a dark wooden door and her eyes watered again. Taking a settling breath, she turned the knob and we stepped into a small office. A mahogany leather, wingback chair sat in the corner with a side table and a small lamp. Gaby reached for my hand and held it tightly, as though she needed to borrow my strength. I gazed around and my eyes widened, she wasn’t kidding about his collection. The room looked like a museum for comic books. I walked with her to the desk, where she took a keychain from one of the drawers and handed it to me.

  “Will you help me?”

  I cradled her cheek and kissed her. “It will be my pleasure.”

  Turning, I walked to the cases, beginning to open them and carefully handed all the books to her. We began setting them in the suitcases, then proceeded to take the ones in what looked like specially made rack displays, until the luggage was full. Gaby suddenly drifted away from me, walking to a second room and opened the door. It was his room. She took a long cardigan that hung from a hook on the wall and slipped it on. It was big on her body, and when she lifted the sleeves to her nose and inhaled, I knew it was her uncle’s.

  “I know we only came for the comic books, but would it be okay if we take a few of his things with us? I had packed his clothes to donate it to the shelter near by, he always contributed to it and I know he would want his things to help the people there.”

  I nodded, feeling her hurt as though it was in my heart. “Anything you want.” I gave her a small kiss and caressed her hand. “I’m going to start taking these things down to the car, we need to be quick, okay?”

  She nodded, wiping a tear from her face. I hated rushing her, but I had to put the collection in the car, and I didn’t know how much more time we had before someone discovered we were there. I made my way down the fire escape and put the things in the trunk, moving the car closer to the alley. When I returned to the ladder, she was waiting for me on the metal balcony with what looked like full black trash bags. I lifted my arms and she began to throw them my way.

  * * *

  We set the last thing in the back seat of the car and I flung the ladder back up, so it looked like no one had been there.

  “We did it!” Gaby said excited, as I walked back towards her.

  A loud metal bang resounded behind us and we turned to see the fire escape ladder had collapsed to the ground. We looked at it, shocked. Damn it, I had forgotten to measure my strength.

  “What the hell? Who are you and what are you doing here?!” the landlord yelled, coming out of the building.

  My wide eyes settled on Gaby. “Get in the car!” I ran and got in the driver’s seat as the old man hurried towards us.

  “Go, Ash, go. GO!” Gaby screamed, slamming the passenger door closed. She barely fit in the car with everything that we had brought with us. Thank the Lord she was small.

  “Hey, do I know you?!” The old man fixed his glasses, but his words were lost behind us as I hit the gas.

  The screech of the tires burning rubber, and our laughs were the last things he heard.

  * * *

  Gaby held the door of my apartment open for me while I walked in, carrying the leather wingback chair her uncle had used to read to her each night. I turned it around and set it on the floor between the bed and the large window.

  “Well, that is everything. Do you want this somewhere else?” I turned to face her and staggered back as she jumped on me, her lips crashing against mine. I fell backwards on the bed, with her on top of me. I would have chuckled, but her kiss had trapped my lips into the most passionate embrace I had ever been given.

  Her eyes shone as she pulled back and looked at me. “Thank you, Ash. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  I reached for her cheek. The back of my fingers stroked it gently, removing the tear that fell off her lashes. “You don’t have to thank me for anything, Star. Just please don’t cry anymore.”

  I lifted my head, meeting her lips and claimed them. Letting the force inside me— the one she awoke every single time we touched—guide the way. I turned our bodies so I was on top of her, and kissed her until her lips curved into a smile against mine. I grinned responding to the change in her, and kissed her again. This time it became a soft, lingering caress on her mouth, and I savored her as though I was drinking the sweetest nectar from her lips. When I pulled away again she sighed. I looked into her chartreuse green eyes and found them sparkling so brightly…

  “Star,” I whispered against her lips, and she smiled.

  “Why do you keep calling me that?”

  I brushed my lips against hers, enjoying the way she felt in my arms. Our gazes connected. “Because of the way your eyes sparkle when you look at me. It’s the most brilliant light I’ve ever seen. Like dazzling stars illuminating my once darkened sky. You are my Star, Gaby. You always will be.”

  Conflicting emotions battled in her eyes, probably the same ones rushing through me.

  “I’m scared.�
�� She confessed in a whisper.

  “Why?” I questioned, caressing her cheek once again.

  “Because when I look into your eyes I feel safe. When I’m your arms, it feels like home. I’ve only experienced that with one man before, and I just lost him. I can’t go through that again, Ash.”

  My chest constricted. “Star…”

  “Please stay. You asked me to tell you if I wanted you here. So I’m opening up to you and confessing the one thing that terrifies me. I do, Ash. I want you. So please, please… stay.”

  Chapter 8. The World I Knew

  GABRIELLA

  Two months later, in the human realm…

  * * *

  A Harlot. A Floosy. A Comfort Lady. A Lady of the Night.

  Yep, that was exactly what I had become. I was going to add Lady of Pleasure to the list, but seeing as I hadn’t actually had sex with Ash yet, it would be insulting to use the word pleasure. Not that falling asleep in his arms each night wasn’t the closest thing to ecstasy that I had ever experienced.

  A Harlot.

  Yep, the name fit me just right. Uncle Rob would be appalled. I wondered at what point I had actually turned into one, maybe it had been the second after Ash smirked at me, back at the piano bar while I sang. I couldn’t remember much of that night—which still made me blush like a tomato—yet I was glad he had come into my life. Actually, it was more like I had drunkenly stumbled into his, but I still wasn’t complaining.

  I supposed I couldn’t exactly blame myself for it. That perhaps in the life of every woman, there was one man that made her forgo all modesty, and sociably acceptable behavior. Let go of all predisposed notions of what a lady should be, and simply give into the feelings only he could offer. Maybe each of us had one man that made us swoon so fiercely, that we turned into a floosy just for him. If there was such a thing, then for me, it was definitely Ash.

  I had never been too fond of relationships. I had only had two boyfriends so far, one very briefly during high school, but Uncle Rob couldn’t stand him, and since he was my sun, moon and stars, the poor guy never had a chance. And one while working at the comic book store, it had barely lasted three months before I grew tired of the poor guy. He was just too bland for me. Then, there was Ash. It took one look into his ice blue eyes for me to melt like heated caramel. I had no idea what it was about him, but every time he smirked, I wanted to rip my clothes off and jump into his arms.

  True story.

  Which brought us back to this moment. Resisting Ash’s charm seemed harder than running a triathlon—considering I had never stepped foot in a gym, that was the same as climbing Mount Everest—but I had managed. Thankfully, my stress fueled “nightly strip teases” had stopped a day after I asked him to stay. I should be mortified I even uttered the words, but nothing had felt as natural in my life before, or as right. Cut to me sprawled over Ash’s back in bed—in my tank top, cotton shorts, fuzzy socks and thin off-the-shoulder sweater—my cheek gloriously resting over his toned yet tender muscles, and wrapped in the warmth only his body could provide.

  Soft yellow, purple and red light rays filtered through the sliver of space between the curtain panels behind us. It made mystical shapes on the wall as the sun settled over the sky. It was still too early to get up, but my new favorite thing was waking up and seeing Ash next to me. I lazily stretched and turned on the bed, laying on my side to face the window. The mattress slightly moved as Ash immediately shifted his weight and turned towards me, following my form. The smile on my lips grew as he wrapped his arm around my waist, still half asleep, and mumbled something unintelligible, quickly resuming his light snoring.

  It was as though he needed to be touching me, make sure I was still next to him—he did it unconsciously, I had realized—and I loved it. It made me feel secure. I turned to face him, unable to resist it, and pressed closer to him, hiding my face in the curve of his neck. I was so small compared to him that I fit perfectly against him. Ash hummed, pleased by the development, and pulled my waist closer, slipping his thigh in between mine until our bodies flushed. He still slept naked, and I had embarrassingly discovered that he awoke “ready for action” each morning, so that had been both awkward and fun. Not. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to sleep on the sofa. I needed to feel his arms around me.

  “Aahh!” I suddenly squealed as he bit my neck with a roaring sound, as though he were a lion ready to devour me. “Stop!” I whined—although I secretly loved it when he did that.

  He chuckled, eyes still closed. “Hungry. Must. Eat.” He croaked in a throaty voice that made me melt like butter, and launched for me again.

  Ash bit my neck and turned me, pinning me to the bed as his teeth grazed my skin, taking “chunks” out of his meal of choice. I laughed and squirmed in his arms, while each bite tickled the hell out of me, and fought futilely to push him off me. My heart flipped when he lifted my tank top and his ferocious bites turned into sensual nibbles over the sides of my sensitive stomach. My eyes closed as each swipe of his lips sent delicious chills all over my body. My breathing spiked and delicious desire wound through me, unraveling all kinds of need.

  I panted, holding Ash’s shoulders fiercely, silently praying that he would pull my sweater and tank top off, and continue his devouring. He lifted the center of my top so that it was barely covering my nipples, and the second his lips reached the middle of my breasts, I half gasped, half moaned. His lips grazed my skin, causing a shutter to run down my spine, but the deliciousness was short lived. Ash placed a soft kiss between my breasts, took a forced breath, and pulled away.

  I knew what he was doing. He had done it many times during the last two months. He was holding back, pulling himself together and repressing the raw desire he felt. Ash was keeping his word. I blinked, coming out of the sensual bubble he had created around me and focused on his yearning filled eyes. His lips stretched ever so slightly into his trademark smirk, a moment before he claimed mine in a passionate kiss, and I lost myself in him once again.

  “Good morning, Star.” His lips grazed mine as he spoke and I smiled.

  “Morning,” I was barely able to respond.

  He chuckled and kissed me briefly, then rested his forehead to mine. I knew he was still trying to calm himself, I could feel every inch of him against me and I knew exactly how much he wanted me. “I know what you are thinking, big boy.” I narrowed my eyes and was rewarded with a full-blown smile.

  “Oh, Star, you have no idea.” He let out a heavy sigh and cradled my cheek, his thumb lazily caressed my cheekbone. “If you only knew how much I need you.”

  Did he just say, need?

  My breathing quickened once again, while his intense gaze roamed my face, as though memorizing every detail. He took another settling breath and kissed me. “I want to hear your moans,” Ash whispered, against my lips. “I want to hear you gasp as my mouth roams your body, and I want to give you pleasure, feeling you tense against me until you reach the glorious peak of your desire, and fall apart in my arms. I want to revel in the sweet sounds you make as the waves of orgasm travel through you. I need to feel you wrap around me more than I have ever needed anything in my life, Star. That is what I’m thinking right now.”

  Well, that was one way to put it.

  My gaze was still glued to his, I was sure I hadn’t even blinked. His ice blue eyes seemed to glow with raw need, while my chest rose and fell with each panting breath.

  “Do you trust me, Star?” He asked, and a different kind of desire filled his eyes.

  “Yes.” The word left my lips before my mind even had a chance to process it.

  The truth was, I did trust Ash… with my life.

  A slow grin stretched his lips and he leaned in, brushing them against mine. “Then let me please you.” His lips began a trail down my jaw and my eyes closed. “I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do. I won’t be inside you until you ask me to make love to you, I promise. But please, let me satisfy you.”

  His
warm breath fanned the sensitive skin of my neck, sending small tremors through me while his body pressed closer. Pure heat pooled in my belly and I almost whimpered.

  “I need you to moan for me, I can’t take it anymore. I want to feel you trembling against me from the raw pleasure you are experiencing. It will all be for you, I swear, I just want you to experience ecstasy at my hands. I need you to feel me. I want you to come for me.” Ash’s whispered words seared my body. He raised his head, and I was once again looking into his eyes. “Please say yes,” he begged. “Let me taste you.”

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  “Yes,” I half whimpered and his lips once again stretched into a full grin.

  Anticipation rushed through me, waiting for his hands to undress me, and make me realize how stupid I truly was for putting off sex with this man for as long as I had. Ash’s lips closed over mine and I melted in his arms, clinging to him as desire flooded my being. Oh, there was no doubt I was ready for him. I had never been so glad to have a day off in my life.

  “Thank you. Tonight is going to be amazing,” he whispered, brushing my lips with his, and then he was off the bed.

  What the hell?! Tonight? “Wait, where are you going?” I asked, still panting on the mattress and unable to move from everything he had awoken in me.

  He shrugged nonchalantly. “To the bathroom.”

  “What do you mean tonight? I thought—” my words faltered when he crossed his arms and smirked, leaning against the door frame.

  “Oh, you thought I would do it now? A little overeager, aren’t we?”

  The pillow connected with his head the next second, and his throaty laugh danced around the room. Ash’s eyes twinkled with mischief. I was going to deck him. He caught the next pillow and came to the bed, cradling my cheeks.

  “My Star, as badly as I want to taste you right now it will have to wait until tonight. You have the day off, and I have a lot of things planned for us, so we need to get going, but I promise, tonight will be incredible. I’ll make sure of it.”