Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Chapter 40

ALICIA

"My goodness, Lis, your wardrobe is bursting full."

Clarissa fingers a dress in leaf green. I know what she feels. Its soft delicate silk and wraps around my body when I wear it, making me feel and look like a sex bomb. She touches another dress and yet another, and then she turns around to look at me.

"How did you get so many clothes in just two months?"

I shrug, as I try to hide a smile because what can I say? Ash hasn't stopped with the gifts. The man spoils me silly by buying clothes, shoes, and jewelry for me, and even though I always protest, it falls on deaf ears.

He said, and I quote - I want everyone to know you're a queen. My Queen.

Even though he hasn't told me he loves me after that first love declaration, I know he does. It's in the way his eyes soften as he looks at me, and the way he holds me after he ravages my body. Speaking of which, I can never get enough of his hands on me.

I close my eyes and recall the day he had taken me from behind, bent over the desk in his office.

His words flit into my mind, just as if were whispering them into my ear now.

You fucking love this, don't you? You don't need me to treat you like royalty to know what you mean to me. I can fuck you like this, fuck you like you're nothing, and you still know you're everything to me.

I mentally shake my head and focus on Clarissa. She's sniffing one of my dresses. Odd. I watch as she fingers a tag dangling from one of them, squinting at it so hard, I think she might become cross-eyed if she keeps up with it. Most of the dresses still have tags on them, mainly because I've not gone out enough to wear all of them, unless when I go out to dinner with Ash. She stops what she's doing and turns to look at me suspiciously.

"What did you do?" She shakes her head. "No, scratch that. Who did you do?"

"It's nothing," I say, the words a bitter lie on my tongue. "He's just some guy."

"Just some guy?" She looks at me like I've gone insane. "Some guy you didn't tell me about. Some guy that bought you a truckload of clothes." She shakes her head and I know she's disappointed in me. "I'm your best friend, and yet you feel the need to lie to me - to keep all this from me?"

She gestures to the clothes almost bursting from my wardrobe. She's right. I feel terrible for hiding all this from her. I really am a bad friend. I sink my face into my palms and let out a long drawn-out sigh. When next I brave a look at her, her eyes are heavy with sorrow which increases my guilt.

"I'm sorry, Clar, it's just that a lot has been going on, but I'm going to tell you who it is. Who he is. You'll probably not believe me, but, brace yourself for it."

I take my hand and she allows me walk her to the sitting room where we settle into the settee. Here, I begin the story of how I met Ash the day he came to Harry's cargo and how Mr. Harry told Ash to follow me to my office.

"Get out of here! The same Ash Thunder? That hot stud of a man, that stallion, that-" She catches sight of my face and gives me a guilty smile. "Alright, please go on."

When I get to the part where he propositioned me, her eyes shine with an emotion I can't quite put my finger on as she leans close to me. "You're kidding me. What did you do?"

A smile curls around my lips. "What do you think?"

"You fucking whore!" She screeches, but the smile on her face shows she said it good-naturedly.

"At first, I found it insane," I remember how his words had repulsed as well as excited me.

"But when Mr. Harry kept asking me about when Ash would bring his goods, I knew there was no other way out." I lick my lips as I look down at the floor. "So I went to his place."/

"What!" Clarissa's screech is even higher than before. Her mouth hangs open as she gapes at me.

"I didn't know it was his house, alright. Who puts their house address on their business card? Ash, obviously."

I continue telling her what happened, but omit details of our sexcapades. I fast forward to the part where he invited me to his restaurant and had to use his knife on one of the Asian guys he was talking to, all because of me.

"You should have seen him in action that night, he was like Superman as he brought out a knife from his shoe and threw it straight into the guy's heart."

Clarissa's eyes are practically twinkling as she hangs on to my every word. "And. . . is he like Superman in bed as well."

I can't help it. My face heats up and my gaze falls to the floor.

"Come, now, don't tell me you two haven't slapped skins yet. I don't believe that hunk of a man won't want to tear into that hot bod of yours."

"Clar!" My eyes flash with indignation.

"Don't Clar me, Alicia. We're besties, so we should tell each other the truth. I'm always upfront about my sexual life and preferences with you. I don't see why you shouldn't as well."

I groan into my hands once more. Clarissa is a wildcard in bed. She likes to try different options and positions. Anything that would give her optimum pleasure. You name it, she's tried it. It's my turn to crowd her personal space as I lean close to her. "Have you tried anal sex?"

Her eyes glimmer as she looks at me with a keenness that makes me feel she's looking into my very soul. "That's an acquired taste." She shrugs. "It's not everyone who likes it." She leans even closer, such that we're breathing in each other's air. "Did you try it with him?"

I nod, but my gaze drops to the floor. I'm not able to meet her penetrating stare. She cups my chin and gently turns my head towards her. "You're a big girl, Lis, you're an adult, you don't need my permission or any other person's either to act out your fantasy. That being said - you'd better fess up and tell me what happened. Every tiny detail."

So I do. I tell her how Ash went down on me first, making me feel comfortable until I had cum before he slid on a condom and slipped inside. "I didn't like it, Clar, it was so damn uncomfortable, not to talk of painful, so he stopped."

She smiles softly. "It definitely is uncomfortable, and that's why God made it such that shit comes out of that hole and nothing else goes in."

I chuckle on hearing her speak about God. Clarissa isn't religious by any means. She's all about living her life to the fullest without any restrictions, religious or otherwise.

"So tell me." The fire is back in her eyes. "On a scale of one to ten, how is he in bed?"

I can't stop myself, I feel my lips splitting in a smile.

"Shit! That good?"

"Better!" I say. "It's indescribable. The minute his hands land on my skin, I practically combust."

"You're so damn lucky, Lis, and I'm genuinely happy for you, but. . . what about his goods?" A smile curls her lips. "Is it big?"

I throw my head back and laugh out loud. "A lady never tells, plus that's for me to know and for you to never find out."

"Uh!" She rolls her eyes. "You're no fun. So where's lover boy now?" Her eyebrows furrow and her eyes dart around the sitting room as if she's going to catch Ash hiding under one of the chairs.

"He traveled for a few days." I'm already having withdrawal symptoms in his absence, and it's only been one day.

"You poor thing. I can see you're lonely, but not to worry, I'm here now, and trust me when I tell you I've got you." She stands, like an avenging angel. "Now, go in there and look pretty. Wear something jazzy, 'cause we're going out."