The Assassin's Allure

Chapter 3: Will they…

Asher

Several years ago, Priest converted a warehouse into a garage s***h loft near the city’s outskirts, and whenever one of us visits from out of town, we stay there.

I recently moved to New York from London when my director, Jaxon Maxwell, asked me to. I don’t mind it, though. I haven’t really had a permanent home since I was a boy. Before London, I lived in Japan, Spain, and France.

It doesn’t take me long to maneuver my motorcycle into the garage. As soon as I enter, I see men working on various exotic vehicles and Priest directing them nearby.

Priest nudges his chin when he sees me and gestures for me to follow him up the stairs.

His eerie silver eyes gleam with questions. “Did you finish the job?” he asks.

I nod. “I did. Mr. Don Walters will never hurt another child again.”

His brow furrows. “Did you keep it clean?”

“Yes, I did as you requested. I broke Walters's neck and threw his body into a rubbish bin.” I reply.

He nods his head and stretches his neck to relieve the tension, “Alright, will you be around later?”

My brow furrows with confusion, “Yes, why?”

“Because my wife and her friends are coming to set up for Declan and Santana’s wedding shower in about an hour.”

My heart stutters when I realize that Ivy might be coming to help set up the party. The women have always attended festivities together. The mere thought of seeing Ivy after months of only catching glimpses of her makes my body vibrate with need.

Ivy Montenegro has been a thorn in my side since I laid eyes on her nearly two years ago. With her exotic features and curvy frame, her image has burrowed into my mind and has refused to dig itself back out.

Even seeing her in a wedding dress after Sophia asked all her bridesmaids to model one could not cool my ardor.

Like any red-blooded male wary of relationships, I should have run when I saw her in a wedding dress. However, my body had other ideas. The first was to slip that dress off her luscious body and kiss every piece of flesh that I would reveal.

I couldn’t stop imagining her lying naked on top of that dress, her long dark hair spread around her golden body as she sighed my name while I pleasured her.

She’s also very strong-willed, which I never thought I’d find attractive in a woman. But on her, it’s addictive. I literally got hard when she reprimanded me for suggesting that she join the other traumatized women and talk to a counselor.

Since then, every encounter I’ve had with her has been rife with s****l tension. There were occasions when we nearly kissed, but other things kept getting in the way.

Either way, I don’t think Ivy wants to see me after the way things ended the last time we saw each other.

One night, I was meeting my aunt and uncle at a popular restaurant to discuss my impending engagement when things quickly became complicated. Regrettably, my uncle decided to invite my “fiance” to our dinner, and while I was trying to extricate myself from the situation, I ran into Ivy. The look on Ivy’s face when my uncle announced my engagement would haunt me forever. Though it pained me, I did not refute my uncle’s claims because I wanted to speak to him before making any decisions about my future. There was a lot more involved in the arrangement. However, I did eventually tell my uncle to give me time to adjust to the idea of marriage.

It was the first time I had ever gone against my uncle’s dictates, and he made it known that he wouldn’t wait for long. Not when the future of my mother’s company is at risk.

Uncle Haruto was also displeased when he realized that I was leaving London to move to New York. He gave me an ultimatum before I left. I have a year to be free in New York, but I have to come back home and get married once my time is up. I don’t know how to tell him that I do not want any part of the arrangement. Not when any decisions I make affect their livelihoods.

My mind snaps back to the present when Priest mutters, “Well, I just wanted to give you a heads up. Right now, I have to run to Jaxon’s house. Sage and the ladies will be setting up in the common area, so you should have some privacy. But I’ll be back by the time the ladies have finished decorating to join the festivities.”

I nod and stride toward the door, “I heard about the party. Sage sent me the invitation last week. I’ll be there tonight. Thank you for letting me stay here until I find a permanent place.”

He smirks, “Yeah, no problem, man. You know you can stay for as long as you want.”

Once Priest has left, I change out of my clothes and head to the gym. I need to meditate and practice my Katana skills. Though I’m an expert at handling my Katana, practicing my techniques relaxes me.

I move my Katana smoothly as I move around the gym. Sweat clings to my chest, and my gym shorts stick to my body like a second skin. Puffing out a breath, I twirl the sword and get into position.

As I’m placing my Katana back on its stand, I hear the sounds of female voices nearby.

Curious, I walk toward the sound until I reach the dining room. I stop when I see Ivy and Sophia standing near the kitchen counter and laying decorations across the dining table. Thankfully, there’s a wall blocking the chambers from the rest of the house, so I can use the shadows to obscure my presence. However, I can clearly see Ivy’s beguiling features and luscious form. Ivy looks stunning with her long, thick, black curls falling down her shoulders. She’s wearing a floral crop-top, black high-waisted jeans and heels that make her look delectable. The way the jeans mold her firm arse and bare waist makes me instantly harden with desire.

A bevy of emotions tears through me when I hear the topic of their conversation.

“San and Declan will be so surprised,” Ivy grins excitedly.

Sophia smiles, “Yeah, it took a lot of sneaking around to keep her from discovering our secret. She’ll definitely be over the moon.”

Ivy pulls items out of a bag and mutters, “I’m so thrilled about their upcoming wedding. I love weddings.”

Sophia arches a brow, “How about you, girl? Are you still seeing that cute guy you met on that dating site?”

My brow furrows at the news. Ivy is dating someone. I don’t know why I’m surprised, considering I messed up everything. However, it doesn’t stop me from being bothered by the idea.

“His name is Diego, and yeah, I am still seeing him. He’s taking me to an art show at the Manhattan Institute of Art this weekend,” her lip quirks, “He’s really sweet.”

“But?” Sophia asks.

Ivy’s brow furrows, “But what?”

Sophia puffs out a breath and calmly looks at her friend, “You just said that Diego is sweet, but what else? I mean, is he a good kisser? Is he amazing in bed? Are you going steady?” Sophia wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.

Ivy thoughtfully looks down at something she’s holding in her hands, “He is a good kisser, but we’ve only been on a couple of dates, so we haven’t had s*x,” she shrugs, “But I am having fun, and it’s nice that he makes time for me and is honest and open when we speak. He asked me to spend the night with him after our date, and I’m giving it some serious thought. He’ll be coming to the party tonight.”

My hands tighten at her words. I can’t believe she’s going to sleep with some arsehole. The idea of another man touching her enrages me beyond words.

When I hear my name, I’m snapped out of my thoughts, “You know, Asher has permanently moved to New York.”

Ivy rolls her eyes and sputters, “Oh, no, not you too. Please don’t tell me that you and Mal have been talking? A couple of days ago, I had this same conversation with her.”

Sophia shrugs, “Okay, so we might have talked. It’s just… we could see the sparks coming off both of you every time we were around. The attraction was so obvious, and then…” she stops and raises her hands with bafflement, “…nothing ever happened, which was seriously disappointing. We had really hoped that you two would get together, you know?”

Ivy shakes her head and places her hand on her waist. “Well, you can forget about that. Nothing ever happened between Asher and me because we were always too busy, and other things got in the way,” Her expression is even when she mutters, “Trust me, I’ve seen his type, and it ain’t me.”

My jaw ticks with regret at her resolute words. Ivy thinks our attraction was one-sided.

“Hey, don’t bring yourself down,” Sophia scolds her friend, “You’re freaking gorgeous.”

Ivy snickers, “Yeah, you should have seen the woman Asher was with. She was slim and tiny,” she runs her hands across her rounded arse and points to her plump breasts, “I’m definitely not slim, and I can’t remember the last time anyone called my ass tiny.”

Sophia sputters, “You’re crazy. You’re curvy, and your waist is tiny. You know what? Maybe you need a therapist instead. Cause you’re out of your damn mind. If I was into girls, I’d hit that.”

Ivy shakes her head, rolls her eyes and tosses a roll of streamers at her friend. “You know what? How about you just stop talking and get to work, missy. You’re slacking off, and it’s quite unbecoming.”

Sophia tosses back the roll and retorts, “b***h, I never slack off. Let’s do this before Mal gives us s**t for doing this wrong.”

Both women chuckle and commence their decorating.

Seeing that there’s nothing more to hear, I go back to the gym and put in another round of sparring. I know I should go and change, but after seeing and hearing Ivy, I need to let loose some of my aggression and think about what I will do about this attraction.