Page 45 of Southpaw Slots
“I can convince him,” I say, knowing I can. Ace willdo it if I ask. “We could have a ceremony for you and me. Like a wedding, but not legally, you know?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want. If I can’t have the paper, it’s fine. I just want you.” With a passionate kiss, he devours me, grasping at my ass with his palms and rubbing his firm erection into my belly.
Breaking away from him, I breathe heavily. “I’ll be right back.”
“Ugh…don’t be gone too long.”
“Well, we can’t do anything without Asa. You know this. It’s part of the rules now.”
He gives me a slight nod before walking toward the stairs while I go to find my husband.
Voices filter through the hall near his office, and I recognize Kline, who seems agitated about something.
“No, it’s just a waste of money and that’s a no. Final.” Kline stands with his hands on his little hips as I enter the study, pacing in front of a wide glass desk that Asa sits at, glaring at him. A wall lined with books sits behind my husband’s hunched figure, looking like he’s ready to snap.
He doesn’t seem to see me. “I wanted it for my wife. Not forme. I think she’ll— Oh, hey, sugar.” His entire demeanor changes when his blue eyes light up at the sight of me. Something about it makes me want to cry all over again. Asa genuinely seems to like me when no one does.
And I really like him. His boldness and hiskindness. It makes me want to pair with him and take on the world. With his bark and my bite, we could.
Holding a cut arm out toward me, he pulls me into his lap, forcing me to lean against his bare chest. He hates clothes, except for when he’s going somewhere. Otherwise, it’s shorts only. Sometimes flip-flops.
“What are you doing for me?” I ask, and he plants a small peck on my cheek.
“Well, uh, nothing now.” His eyes narrow at Kline as the muscles in his cheeks tighten.
“Whatwereyou doing?”
Kline at least has the decency to seem slightly ashamed, digging the toe of his loafer into the pink and green rug, then cleaning his glasses. “Um, Ace wanted?—”
His lack of respect for my husband hits my last nerve. It’s like when I won top scholar for math in eleventh grade and Prissy Jones refused to acknowledge it, telling everyone I’d cheated or slept with Mr. Sparks. The girls would call me a whore, but I corrected them every time.It’s top scholar to you, I’d say.
So hearing the little weasel man speak to my Asa like this, I want to shove his words back in his mouth. “You mean, Mr. Donovan? The King of the South? Yes, what did Senator Donovan want?” I correct him, and Kline’s little eyes dart to mine, then Asa’s, then back to thefloor.
“Mr. Donovan wanted funds to remodel the other wing. Hesaysit was for you.”
Asa swallows, brushing a kiss on my shoulder, causing goosebumps to erupt on my skin. I think I’m becoming addicted to his touch. Lowering his voice, he says, “I was going to make it all pink…for you.”
I want to smile broadly, but refrain. Pride in my husband, and longing for him, cushions my heart with overwhelming emotion until I almost can’t stand it, but instead of letting the grin fly, I flutter my lashes at the lawyer. Show no weakness to your enemy. “So, what’s the problem, Kline? This ishishouse. Shouldn’t the man of the house decide what to do withhisfunds?”
“Uh…yes. Yes, Mrs. Donovan.”
“And! Seeing as how I just procured us more money from the Freidenbergs for casino reparations, we should have enough for renovations here, too. I’m so happy my husband cares so much to give me such an amazing gift.” Turning on his lap, I kiss him deeply, that ethereal feeling invading my mind. Being with Asa is like being on vacation, and I never want to return to the real world. “Thank you,” I whisper with the genuineness I’ve reserved for him.
Of course, I understand he must want to do this for himself. That he has issues going to that part of the house because of painful memories, so maybe this will help him, too. Either way,Klineshouldn’t be the one to bully him about it.
“You can see yourself out, can’t you, Kline?”Without another look at him, I tell him to get lost while staring into my husband’s entrancing blue eyes. Asa’s gaze captures me with some crinkle in the corners of his lids. Like a smile waiting to burst through the skin. The door shuts with resolution as the lawyer leaves.
“I’ve never been able to get rid of him like that,” Asa says, his face holding something like awe.
My natural bear instincts surge within me. “How long has it been this way?”
His sculpted chest rises, every tattoo spreading a bit as he does. “Pfft, probably ten years? Yeah. I’d say. Definitely over the last four when I got even worse with, uh, with the games.”
“Well, now you have me.”
A little bit of shine sparkles in the whites of his eyes and his voice comes out choked. “Yeah. Yes, I do. I’m pretty glad about that, actually.”
“Even though you didn’t pick me?”