Stroke of Midnight Read online

  “I won’t make it worse,” he vows. “I’m going to deal with it in a way that keeps you where I want you. Here. With me. Do you trust me?”

  No.

  Not at all.

  It’s asking one monster to fight another one.

  “You will,” he says when I don’t answer. “In time, you will.”

  I honestly hope I can.

  13

  Winston

  Tuesday goes smoother than Monday, but that’s because I put off some serious ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibes. Nate’s been out all day at a meeting, and Perry has taken to following around one of our other associates, Max.

  My mind is not anywhere close to my current projects.

  It’s on her.

  That motherfucker bit Ash. I suspect he did more, and she’s divulged that he’s threatened her. I’m going to kick his scrawny teenage ass.

  Or better yet . . .

  I’ll tell his mommy.

  Ash said Dr. Mannford was approving of her association with me. Of course she would be. The Constantines own this city, even if her piss-ant son doesn’t realize that.

  He will soon.

  I shoot an email to Deborah, who’s been walking on eggshells today, and immediately receive my answer. Dr. Mannford’s phone number. I dial the number of her office and wait for someone to pick up.

  “Dr. Mannford’s,” a voice greets. “How can I help you?”

  “I need to speak with Dr. Mannford, please.”

  “Sorry, sir, but she’s in surgeries all day. Can I take a number and have her call you back?”

  “No, it’s an emergency.”

  “I apologize, but I can’t interrupt her.”

  “Tell her Winston Constantine is calling, and it’s urgent regarding her children.”

  “Oh . . . okay. Hold please.”

  I listen to the elevator music for a bit, and then someone answers, breathless.

  “Mr. Constantine? Dr. Mannford speaking.”

  “Ahh, Dr. Mannford,” I say, my voice cordial. “Did I interrupt your work?”

  “I’m between surgeries,” she assures me. “I have time to spare for you. Cindy said there was a matter involving my children? Did . . . Did Ash do something?”

  Leaning back in my chair, I swivel around to stare out the window. “No, Dr. Mannford—”

  “Please, call me Manda,” she interrupts.

  I pause, allowing her to feel my irritation at having been interrupted. “This is in regard to your son, Manda.”

  “Which one?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I don’t understand . . .”

  “But you will.” I let out an annoyed sigh. “One of your sons doesn’t like that your stepdaughter is working for me. He’s let it be known.”

  She gasps. “Oh, Mr. Constantine, I assure you there’s a misunderstand—”

  “Winston,” I interrupt, giving her a taste of her own medicine. “And I am positive there is no misunderstanding.”

  “Okay,” she says slowly. “I apologize for my son’s behavior.”

  “It can be rectified.”

  “Then let’s do what needs to be done.”

  “Have a talk with your boy. Make him understand that Ash is a valuable employee to me. I’ll require her by my side at many functions. She’s to take care of my home during the day in my absence. I may even need her to handle some projects here at the office. I’m paying her well, because she deserves compensation for her efforts.” I pause for a long moment. “Let it be clear that I’ve never employed someone to assist me in various areas of my life. It means Ash is an asset to my company and to me.”

  “And we’re so proud of her,” she assures me. “The girl is bright and clever and quite beautiful, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Quite.”

  “Her father is an economic analyst. She always gushes about one day being just like him. You snagged a good one,” she rushes out. “I know she won’t let you down.” She chuckles. “But I must warn you, Winston, she’s quite a charmer. You might fall in love with a sweetheart like her.”

  I roll my eyes at this woman trying to sell off her stepdaughter like a head of cattle. “Thanks for the warning.”

  “I’ll have a talk with all three of my sons,” she assures me. “They’re very protective over our girl. Ash is the daughter I never knew I wanted.”

  “I can see why. And I hope you can see how embarrassing it would be for me to show up at a function with the beautiful girl at my side only to have her marred by bruises,” I growl, letting her feel the sting of my words. “Bruises given by teeth are quite nasty. Imagine how the tabloids would react.”

  She gasps. “Oh, Winston, I am so sorry.”

  “Make sure it doesn’t happen again,” I grind out. “I’ve destroyed careers, ended dynasties, and drowned companies for far, far less. Ash is an asset, and when my assets are threatened, I eliminate threats.”

  “Listen,” she placates. “They’re mischievous boys who are used to playing lacrosse and behaving roughly. None of them are used to having a girl around. I’ll discuss with them how they need to be gentle with her. I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

  “Good, because if it does, I won’t react well. It will really, really piss me off, Manda.”

  “It won’t.”

  “Now that we’ve gotten business off the table,” I say, changing my tone to a more cordial one, “let’s get to the pleasurable part of the conversation. It would please me and my mother if you and your family would attend my birthday party in two weeks. Official invitations will come by mail, of course, but I wanted you to save the date.”

  “Absolutely,” she agrees, excitement in her voice. “Is this a black-tie affair?”

  “Indeed it is. See to it that your boys behave. It’s an event that requires gentlemanly decorum.”

  “They’ll be angels.”

  Right.

  “Excellent,” I rumble. “It’ll be held at the Constantine Compound. Mother gets work done often, though her surgeon is nearing retirement age. Perhaps you could chat with her about changing doctors.”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Mannford.”

  After we hang up, I smirk, knowing one of the Mannford shitheads is about to get an ass chewing from his mommy. Serves him right. I went easy on him. Next time, I will be brutal.

  I enter my apartment at lunchtime, deciding to check in on Ash rather than eating out like usual. As soon as I walk through the door, I hear laughing. Hers is musical and goes straight to my dick. The other is . . . masculine.

  Her bird chirps from my Stefano Papi custom chandelier piece that set me back fifty-seven grand. I don’t even care, because there’s a fucking man in my house. Stalking down the hallway, I prowl toward the sound. When I round the corner into one of the guest rooms, I freeze, fury turning all my nerves to ice.

  A goddamn man has his face near my girl’s ass. She’s in nothing but her black bra and panties. I’m going to kill him.

  “Oh, hey, Win,” Ash greets like she’s not fucking naked with some guy.

  I storm over to the guy and yank him away from her. She screams as I shove the guy against the wall. My fist curls around his throat, squeezing hard.

  “Winston! Let Carly go!” she screeches, tugging at my suit jacket.

  “What part of no fucking people in my apartment did you not understand?” I seethe, reveling in the way the guy’s eyes bulge.

  “You sent him here, freak!”

  I scowl, snapping my head to the side. “I most certainly did not.”

  “You’re fucking crazy, asshole. He’s taking my measurements.”

  He. He. He.

  A fucking him.

  I told Deborah to hire a her.

  “Win,” Ash says, bringing her face close to mine. “Calm down. Let him go. You’re hurting him.” She grips my arm and tugs me away. “There. Thank you.”

  I glower at Carly as he rubs at his throat. He�
��s small. Prissy. Crying. No threat. Fuck.

  “Can you give us a minute, Carly?” Ash asks. “Maybe grab some water?”

  “Yes,” he croaks out. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

  He scampers out of the room like his ass is on fire. Ash approaches me like I’m an injured animal who might bite her. Gently, she runs her palms up the lapels of my suit and threads her fingers behind my neck.

  “Are you done being a caveman?” she asks, her head cocking to the side.

  I grip her ass, lifting her up. Her legs wrap around me like the good girl she is. “I think I hurt him.”

  “He’ll be okay,” she assures me. “Will you?”

  I walk over to the window in her room and sit down in the armchair. With her in my lap with nothing but her bra and panties on, I’m no longer a bomb ready to explode. “I’m good now.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  I grab hold of her messy hair, twisting my fist so I can control her head movement. She gasps when I pull her to my mouth. Her lips part and I dominate her mouth with my own. Our tongues lash together for a fiery kiss.

  “Win,” she breathes against my lips, pulling away. “We need to talk about what just happened.”

  Ignoring her, I trail kisses along her cheek to her jaw and to her neck. She gasps when I suckle on her flesh near her ear. “I expected a woman to measure you. That’s what I requested. Seeing a guy touching you made me lose my mind.”

  She groans when I pull down one cup of her bra, exposing her tit. I pinch the peaked nipple, twisting it hard enough to make her whimper.

  “I want to fuck you,” I growl as I unhook her bra and yank it away. “Right now. A freebie.”

  “No,” she murmurs.

  “Fine, I’ll pay you. Name your price.” I grip her hips and drag her over my hard dick. “Feel what you do to me?”

  “We’re not fucking for money.” She whimpers when I knead her ass, spreading her ass cheeks. “Winston. I’m serious.”

  Fuck, she’s hot.

  Her tits can’t be more than a full B cup or a small C, but they make me fucking crazy with need. She’s got a perfect body that I’m ravenous for. I want her to ride my dick while I suck on her pretty titties.

  “Winston.” Her voice is more forceful this time. “Not now. Not when you’re like this.”

  Like what? I arch a brow at her, silently asking that question.

  “I don’t want our first time to be when you’re angry and I’m upset.” She frowns, her fingers running along my scruffy cheeks.

  “You’re upset?”

  “Last night was hard on me,” she admits, her features falling. “I can’t do this today.”

  “Fuck,” I grumble. “I want you so fucking badly.”

  She gives me a soft smile. “Your freebie will happen. Soon. Just not today.” Her brow hikes up in a playful way. “I’m willing to negotiate add-ons though.”

  “Oh yeah? What kind of add-ons? Ones I’ll like?”

  “Sure,” she sasses. “Location. Position. Duration.”

  “I want it rough,” I murmur, squeezing her ass hard. “I want you to cry and beg.”

  “Name your price.”

  “I’m not done.” I smirk at her. “I want you somewhere close to people. So they hear who you belong to. Those screams better be all for me but loud enough for them to hear.”

  She chews on her bottom lip. “A tall order. Probably going to be super expensive.”

  “Good thing I’m rich,” I say with a wolfish grin. “And I want you bare so my come runs down your thighs and makes a big fucking mess.”

  “How do I know you’re clean?” she demands, frowning.

  “I am, but I’ll provide proof since you don’t trust me.”

  “I trust you.” Vulnerability shines in her hazel eyes.

  “Good girl,” I croon, running my palms up her naked back. “You’ll see trusting me comes with great rewards.” I kiss her neck. “Am I going to knock you up if I come inside you?”

  “Yes.”

  My dick twitches. “Oh yeah?”

  “I need to get on the pill again. I stopped taking it after I broke it off with Tate.”

  “So if I pinned you down on the bed, ripped your wet panties off, and shoved my dick inside you, I might fuck a baby into you?”

  “Exactly that,” she grumbles. “Which is why I need to get to the doctor first. Don’t be reckless. It’s not you.”

  My palms roam to her front, cupping both breasts before sliding down her flat stomach. I rub my finger across her clit over her silky panties. She whimpers and grips my wrist.

  “Maybe I want to be reckless with you,” I rumble, rubbing softly.

  “You’re crazy,” she breathes. “You barely know me.”

  “I know enough.”

  My phone buzzes from my shirt pocket. I ignore it, but Ash pulls it out, holding it in front of me. Deborah. She only calls when it’s important. With an aggravated sigh, I take it from her and answer.

  “What?” I bark out.

  Ash scowls at me in disproval.

  “Leo Morelli will be here in an hour for your meeting, but I don’t have one on the books for you.”

  “I’ll see him,” I grit out. “Deborah?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “You sent a fucking man to take her measurements.”

  Silence and then a sharp breath as her nails clack on the keyboard.

  “No, I sent a Carly, not a man,” she whines. “There must have been a mistake.”

  “Carly is a man.”

  “Oh . . . oh no. I’m so sorry.”

  I want to rip her a new asshole for this mistake, but Ash has crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at me. Something tells me she’ll get pissy if I go off on Deborah about this.

  “It’s fine. From here on out, ask their sex. He can shop for her, but I want the garments and items sent up via my doorman. Don’t send another man into my home again with my girl.”

  Ash scoffs and mouths, “Not your girl.”

  I tease her clit, reminding her she so fucking is.

  “Your girl?” Deborah asks. “I’m confused. Pardon me, sir, but you’ve been vague lately and agitated. If I’m to help you, you’ll need to open up the lines of communication. Please. I can’t serve you properly unless you give me all the information.”

  She’s not wrong.

  “Of course,” I agree. “We’ll discuss it later. Send everyone home now, please. I don’t want anyone on the floor when Leo Morelli arrives.”

  “I’m on it.”

  As soon as I hang up, I pull Ash to me for another hot kiss. I have to end it even though I don’t want to.

  “I have to leave. I have a meeting with Morelli in less than an hour.” I sigh, frustrated that I can’t continue playing with Ash.

  She frowns at me. “Be careful.”

  Two words I’ve never heard uttered to me. Ever. I’m used to handling my own. I’m perfectly capable. But something about her concern makes my chest tighten.

  “It’s Morelli who needs to be careful.”

  14

  Ash

  Winston Constantine is a strange man. He wears indifference like one of his expensive suits. It’s a part of who he is. Yet, when it comes to me, the mask comes flying off. Beneath the bored, smug, confident man is a beast.

  Starving.

  Angry.

  Possessive.

  For some reason, he’s got it into his intelligent mind that he wants me. I’m not sure for how long. All I know is he will pay dearly to have me.

  But it’s more than that.

  It’s like he thinks he owns me and not in a “I paid for her” kind of way. More like in a primal, feral caveman way. It makes me wonder how screwed up I am, because I like feeling that sense of ownership over me. In a way, it makes me feel safe and protected.

  “I’ll be sure to send up some lovely options for you to wear,” Carly says to me with a soft smile and then glances at Winston. �
�Goodbye, Mr. Constantine. Thank you again.”

  Carly leaves, and I arch a brow at Winston. “You choke him out and he thanks you?”

  “I just tipped him ten grand.” He smirks. “Who needs to apologize when money speaks for you?”

  I make a pretend gagging motion that has him pouncing on me again. This time, though, I’m dressed so I don’t feel as vulnerable. He grips my jaw, angling my head up and kisses me like he’s shackling me to him. The kiss is too urgent—too violent—to do anything except accept his terms.

  I belong to him.

  It’s unspoken, but the agreement shivers its way down my spine.

  “I have to leave,” he grumbles. “They’ll be there soon.”

  Another bout of nerves consumes me. I hadn’t been joking when I told him I wanted him to be careful. There was something in the air last night between Morelli and Winston that made me sick to my stomach. It’s more than bad blood. Something far more sinister. And somehow, I got caught right up in the middle of it.

  “I’ll be right here,” I say, pulling away from his grip. “Cleaning this already immaculate condo.”

  He smirks. “Be ready. I might request something naughty later. Something humiliating.”

  If anyone else told me they allowed a man to do this to them and accepted money for it, I’d tell them they needed to seek therapy. He’s a villain who looks the part of a golden prince. It’s an addictive combination that has me all sorts of confused.

  “If the price is right,” I sass back, my cheeks flashing hot.

  I peruse his fitted charcoal-gray suit all the way to the bulge in his slacks. His cock is hard and strains against the fabric. My own panties dampen at the sight, and my clit pulses as I remember his touch from earlier.

  “Keep looking at my dick like you want to know it on a first-name basis, Cinderelliott, and I’m going to make you give it a proper greeting. One where you bow on your knees and kiss the crown.”

  My eyes dart back to his. Depravity shines in his dark blue eyes. I should run far, far away from this man, because his depths promise a path I won’t come back from. His proclivities are unique but twisted. Ones I will become irrevocably changed by.