"s.h.i.t," I growl. " I'm not going to last long."

"Me either," she murmurs as her girly, adorable, and s.e.xy moans quicken.

Jerking her harder against my thrusts, my breaths grow ragged, harsh, and more erratic.

Her hands tangle in my hair as her shrill pitch finds its way to her lips, and her body goes stiff before limp, making my exploding climax all the better as I fill her up.

My lips claim hers as we both gasp for air. I don't want to pull out of her. I want to stay there, live there, spend forever in her warmth.

The door to the bathroom opens, and I scramble to pull my pants up as Ash jumps off the counter and rushes into a stall.

I laugh a little, and then a fair-haired elderly lady walks in until she startles to a stop just as I finish zipping up my pants.

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry. I thought this was the ladies' room."

"It is," I snicker, not really embarra.s.sed the way I should be. I've done worse in more public places.

Her cheeks flood red, and I walk over to knock on the stall door that hides Ash.

"I'll wait for you outside," I murmur teasingly.

"Okay," she says, nervous embarra.s.sment in her tone.

The old lady's eyes grow all the wider, and she shakes her head disapprovingly as I walk by her to head outside. If she thinks that was awkward, she would have died if she had walked in five minutes sooner.

I think that's the quickest I've ever gotten off.

Ashiara Oh s.h.i.t. Oh s.h.i.t. Oh s.h.i.t.

I can't believe I just f.u.c.ked him again - in a bathroom!

I groan inwardly, wishing I could just slap myself. He definitely made me stop crying - if that was what he was trying to do.

After the awkward encounter with the old lady in the bathroom, my cheeks are glowing red. Now what?

Do I tell him I can't do this project because he's confusing to be around? Do I tell him he's f.u.c.king with my head? Or do I just grow a set and pretend like I can be an occasional fling while making a bunch of money?

I've never been touched by anyone the way he touches me. It's surreal, and I'm addicted to him.

He's holding the door open for me when I reach the outside, and he ushers me into the pa.s.senger seat of his car. He doesn't look directly at me. Instead, he kisses my forehead a little icier than the blistering encounter we just had.

I can't do this project.

Chapter Seven.

A Crazy World Ashiara "So he f.u.c.ked you in the bathroom, brought you home, and hired you some bodyguards, but you haven't talked to him in a couple of days? What's the deal?" Shannon asks while helping me bring in the last box of my stuff to lock up in the storage room.

"I don't know, but I'm sick of moving. I'm just going to stay in the hotel until this psycho thing is resolved. For now, Tag isn't my focus - Mr. Crazy is."

"You mean, Mr. s.a.d.i.s.tic b.a.s.t.a.r.d a.s.shole?"

"Yeah," I huff out while pulling down the door and locking it shut with the thickest padlock I could find.

"So the bodyguards... how are they doing?"

I look toward Leo and Gary, both men waiting and watching as Shannon loops her arm through mine.

"They're doing okay. It's not like they have had to intercept anyone rushing me, but they've dealt with the flowers and notes. I haven't even seen what they've said these past several times, and that's fine by me."

Gary holds the door open to the Uhaul rental as I climb in the front. Leo holds Shannon's as she hops in beside me, and they both nod toward us before shutting the doors.

"Well, I might get me a piece of Leo," she whispers. "d.a.m.n, that man is built."

I laugh a little, and then I shrug before pulling out into traffic.

"Sounds good. Go crazy, lady."

I get a little sick, dizzy even, and I pull over quickly to open my door and expel the contents of this morning's meager breakfast. That's the fifth time this week.

"d.a.m.n, girl. What's wrong?" Shannon panics as I continue to heave.

"f.u.c.k if I know," I grumble while wiping my mouth. Then a terrifying thought hits me, and I remember something that I've forgotten - or something that seems to have forgotten me. "I think I need to go to the drug store."

Ashiara "No. It's not f.u.c.king possible. It was one once - well, twice, but the last time was just a couple of days ago. There's no way this happened after one time."

My hands tremble as I stare at the line of taunting devices, all of them saying the same d.a.m.n thing.

"Honey, I think you need to call him. Ten tests said yes. None of them said no. I'm pretty sure they can't all be faulty," Shannon murmurs shakily, her hand sliding up and down my back.

"They have to be. We used condom almost every time that weekend. Most people have to try for years before they get pregnant. There's no way I accidentally got knocked up the one day I had unprotected s.e.x in my life. It's impossible."

My whole body feels like it's on fire as I continue staring at the mult.i.tudes of ways someone's life can be p.r.o.nounced over - two lines, pink dots, pink crosses, and a big fat pregnant on a couple.

There's no way this is right. It has to be wrong. Tag isn't ready to be a father. He's told me that himself. I'm sure as h.e.l.l not ready to be a mother.

Shannon seems distracted as she dials a number, and I panic a little when I worry she's calling Tag.

"What are you doing?"

She looks at me like a nurturing momma hen.

"Calling a doctor. You're going to need to start seeing one. I'll handle this," she says encouragingly before disappearing from the small bathroom.

I slump down, unsure of whether or not I should tell him.

No. Definitely not.

He'd think I was trying to trap him, and he has a good life. We shouldn't both have to change everything for one stupid weekend's mistake. If this is real - if I'm actually pregnant - then I'll deal with it on my own.

Tag "So you f.u.c.ked her, and then you just left? What the h.e.l.l? You've been obsessing over this girl for six d.a.m.n weeks, and then you bail the second you see her?" Dane Sterling scolds as he paces around in my office.

"I panicked. I didn't know what to say or do. It's like my d.a.m.n brain doesn't work around her, and honestly, I just want to forget about her."

Dane gives me an incredulous look, his eyes scolding me before his tongue sets back in.

"Forget about her? Dude, you can't even stop thinking about her. She's all you've talked about since Wren's wedding. You need to call her. Isn't she working on your newest business launch?"

She should be. I don't know how anyone can turn down that much money.

"She backed out. She said she had too many other projects right now, and she said this one would be too in-depth for her to devote the attention it needs. She called me this morning."

"You talked to her?" he asks curiously.

"No, Shane, my new a.s.sistant, talked to her."

"Shane, yeah... I meant to ask about that. What happened to the blond bombsh.e.l.l?"

My mind flashes back to the other day when my former a.s.sistant walked in with her high heels and lingerie to seduce me. I tried so hard to f.u.c.k her, but the only way my c.o.c.k would get hard was when Ash's face flashed through my mind.

I couldn't do it. I wanted to, just so I could move past the girl who haunts my every f.u.c.king dream, but I couldn't.

"Long story short, I decided it would be best if I hired a guy for a while."

I almost scowl, furious with my own self. This is screwed up.

"O...kay..."

"Anyway, I need to call Gary and see if they've made any progress on the stalker s.h.i.t."

"Go ahead. I'll wait."

It's obvious Dane is going to continue to grill me. I haven't seen Ash for a few days, and I'm no closer to being over her now than I was then.

"Mr. Masters," Gary's gruff voice murmurs into the phone.

"How's it going?"

"Well, he's sent more flowers, more threats, and today I've intercepted at least three phone calls. She's changed her both of numbers a dozen times, but he seems to keep finding out what they are."

"I'm going down to the phone company today to see if they can help me out since the d.a.m.n police are worthless. I've also hired a private investigator. I'll send you a picture in case you see him scoping the place out. What's she doing now?"

"Um... she... um-"

"Spit it out," I prompt impatiently.

"She's seeing the doctor right now," he murmurs uneasily.

My heart slaps my throat.

"What? What the h.e.l.l? What happened? Why the f.u.c.k didn't you call me?"

"It's not like that, sir. She um... it's a female appointment. We're at the um... gynecologist's office."

I almost want to laugh now. Poor Gary. I'm sure he feels sick to his stomach sitting in a waiting room full of women while he's forced to stared at diagrams of the female's internal workings.

"Sorry, Gary. I'm just a little on edge right now. How's she handling things?"

"She's fine for now, sir. Her friend, Shannon, has been staying with her a great bit."

"Shannon?" I ask curiously.

That's a name I haven't heard before. Who the h.e.l.l is he?

"Yes, sir. Shannon Pierce. They're very close. Billy Prize has been around, too. He's supposed to be at the hotel later today. Should we be expecting a visit from you any time soon?"

I guess Billy got his foot back in the door.

"No. I'll check in with you in a couple of days, via phone. Call me if anything happens."

"Of course."

As I hang up, my gaze turns to Dane briefly before dialing another number. Wren answers on the third ring, and I opt to bypa.s.s the h.e.l.los.

"Call your brother. I want to know who Shannon Pierce is."

Dane smirks, seeming pleased with my sudden strike of jealously. I need a drink.

Ashiara I walk out of the doctor's office with tears in my eyes. This is ridiculous. I don't know what to say or do right now. A gray and black blob of distorted imagery promises that my worst fears are true. A tiny but fast heartbeat brought me to tears and caused an internal war between my emotions. I'm still in shock. It's real now.

Shannon is the only one who knows I'm pregnant, and now I'm once again staring at a black and gray, almost unreadable picture that proves my life is about to change forever.

My heart thuds up to my throat, and Gary smiles as he walks over to hold the door open for me. I quickly push the picture into my purse, while slipping into the backseat. Gary takes the driver's seat and cranks the car, pulling away like he's my chauffeur.