What If You Page 7

  “Hi.” A smile graced his face when he opened the door.

  “Hi.” I swallowed hard for he looked so damn sexy.

  “Come on in.” He gestured with his hand.

  When I walked inside the suite, I heard that song playing. The same one I heard in Starbucks.

  “Very funny!” I pointed at him.

  “What?” His brow arched.

  “This song.”

  “What song?” His eye steadily narrowed at me.

  “The one you have playing. At Last by Etta James.” I set my purse down.

  “Everly, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not playing any music at all. What is going on?” he asked as he poured me a glass of champagne.

  “I don’t know. I heard the same song twice when I was in Starbucks earlier and now when I walked into your suite. It means something. Trust me.” I rolled my eyes.

  Suddenly, the music stopped.

  “It stopped now.”

  He stood there and stared at me with furrowed brows as he held his drink in his hand.

  “Just forget I mentioned it,” I said as I sipped on my champagne.

  Thank God for the knock on the door at that very moment. Once the food was brought in and set on the table, Asher and I took our seats.

  “So, Diana tells me she really likes her new boss, Richard.”

  “Good. I’m happy to hear that. He seems to be a really nice guy and he’s a marketing genius. We’ve had our eye on him for the past couple of years.”

  I gave him a small smile as I cut into my chicken.

  “What was it like growing up with the thing you can do?” he asked.

  “It wasn’t easy. I never had many friends. Eventually, I’d freak them out by saying something I shouldn’t have. But I was a kid. I did have one best friend in High School. Her name was Gemma, and she knew about me and the things I saw.” I suddenly became quiet as I looked down at my plate.

  “And?”

  “She was killed in a car accident our senior year. I woke up one night to her standing by my bed, telling me she was sorry. When I looked at the clock it was 2:45 am. The accident happened at 2:40 am.”

  “I’m sorry. That must have been hard on you.”

  “It was. Her and her boyfriend were at a party and they were drinking. He got behind the wheel anyway.”

  “Was he killed?”

  “No. He is currently serving a prison term. They charged him with first degree murder because he knew he was too intoxicated to drive. She was the only one besides Daniel who got me.”

  “I take it you and Daniel are close.”

  “We are.” I smiled. “He’s more like a brother to me instead of my cousin. When he was twelve, his parents were killed in a car crash and he came and lived with us.”

  “What about boyfriends?” A smirk crossed his face.

  “Well.” I picked up my glass of champagne. “Relationships were always disastrous and never lasted very long. Guys would freak out when they found out. I’d try to hide it from them the best I could, but sometimes, it was too hard. Things come to me out of the blue. I never know when or where it’s going to happen. For instance, when I walked in here and heard the music you weren’t playing.”

  “I won’t lie and say I wasn’t a little freaked out.”

  “Comes with the territory. So, I just use guys for sex. It’s easier that way.”

  17

  Asher

  Did I just hear her right? That she uses guys for sex? I stared at her in disbelief from across the table. I’d never heard those words come out of a woman’s mouth before.

  “You use men for sex?”

  “I have needs, Asher. Just like you and every other human being on the face of this Earth. The truth is a relationship with a man isn’t in the cards for me.”

  “I thought you couldn’t see your future,” I spoke as I stared at her.

  “I can’t. You don’t need to be able to see the future when you know there are some things that will never work out.”

  The more I stared at her, the more I wanted her. I got up from my seat, walked over to where she sat and extended my hand. A fragile smile crossed her lips as she placed her hand in mine and I helped her from her chair. Leading her to the bedroom, I slowly took her out of her dress while her fingers unbuckled my belt and took down my pants. Our eyes stared into each other’s as her hand wrapped around my hard cock and my fingers took her hardened peaks between them. The subtle moans we let out were in sync as the pleasure we gave each other was undeniable. As she stroked my cock with a grip I’d never forget, my hand moved down her torso as my fingers did a little dance over her sensitive area before making their way inside her. Our lips met with force as we gasped for air. I was about to come, and I wasn’t having it. Grabbing her hand that was firmly wrapped around my cock, I stopped her.

  “Not this way,” I spoke as I brought my hand up to her face.

  I hooked my arm around her waist and laid her down on the bed. My mouth explored her breasts before making my way down her body. She was soaked as I took in every sweet tasting moment. The moans that escaped her heightened as her body trembled with pleasure. When I was done, I stood up and went to get a condom from the nightstand.

  “You don’t have to,” she softly spoke as she stared at me. “I’m on birth control and I know you’re clean. We both are.”

  “Are you sure, Everly?”

  She climbed under the covers and held them up with one hand as she held her other hand out to me. The corners of my mouth slowly curved upward as I climbed in and hovered over her.

  When we were finished, I rolled off her and placed my hand on my rapidly beating heart. She did the same and then brought her hand up to my cheek and softly stroked it.

  “You were amazing.” She smiled.

  “So were you.” I brought my thumb up to her chin and lightly stroked it. “I want to talk to you about something.”

  “Sure.” She rolled on her side and propped herself up.

  “You’re only here for three months, right?”

  “More like two and a half now.”

  “You said earlier you have needs. I have needs too and I was thinking that maybe while you’re in New York, we could fulfill each other’s needs from time to time.”

  “How often are you thinking?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. A few times a week. No strings though. Just friendship and sex.”

  “Ah.” She grinned. “Like a friends with benefits thing.”

  “Sure. Something like that.”

  “Just the two of us, right? Nobody else for as long as I’m here?”

  “What do you mean? Do you think I’d want a threesome or something?”

  “No.” She laughed as she lightly slapped my chest. “I mean you don’t sleep with any other women and I don’t sleep with any other men. We’d be exclusive in the sex department.”

  “Ah. Well, as long as I know I’m getting it from you, I won’t have to look elsewhere.”

  “And neither will I. Shall we shake on it to seal the deal?” She held out her hand.

  “I can think of much better ways to seal the deal.” I pulled her on top of me.

  Everly

  I was in the hallway of the hotel when I heard the faint sound of that song playing. I slowly began to walk, following the music to see where it was coming from. The closer I got, the louder the music became. Looking to my right, I saw a door that was partially open. Room number 322. Swallowing hard, I carefully pushed open the door. The gruesome sight was enough to jolt me out of a sound sleep. I quickly sat up and grabbed my throat as I gasped for air.

  “What the hell? Are you okay?” Asher asked as he grabbed hold of my arm.

  I looked over at him in confusion for I didn’t remember falling asleep.

  “Just peachy,” I said as I climbed out of bed and grabbed the robe that was lying across the chair.

  “Where are you going?” Asher asked as I left the room.

  Gr
abbing my phone from my purse, I called Daniel.

  “What’s up, Everly?”

  “I saw something, Daniel. A woman in the hotel I’m at. Room 322. She was murdered.”

  “Yeah. I know. We’re here now. Where are you?”

  “Suite 2210. I’m with Asher.”

  “I’ll be up in a few minutes.” He sighed.

  “What is going on?” Asher asked as he walked into the living room.

  “For one, a woman was just found murdered in your hotel.”

  “What!” he exclaimed.

  “I saw it. Daniel is on his way up.”

  “Now? For what? It’s midnight.”

  “To talk to me.”

  “I think we both better get dressed.” He sighed.

  “How did I fall asleep?” I asked.

  “We were talking and then you were out. You looked peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “Well you should have.” I shook my head as I slipped on my dress and heard a knock on the door.

  I opened the door to the hotel room and Daniel stepped inside.

  “Do you know who she is?” I asked.

  “Her name is Amy Reynolds and she’s the third victim in the last two weeks. The other two women were high end call girls, and I can guarantee Amy Reynolds is one as well. What exactly did you see, Everly?”

  “He plays a song while he’s murdering them.”

  “What song?”

  “At Last by Etta James. I’ve been hearing that damn song all day. He drugs them first by offering a glass of wine.”

  “We never found any wine bottle or glasses in the rooms.”

  “That’s because he brings the bottle of wine and the glass with him. Once they’re out, he puts on that song and then undresses them, but he doesn’t rape them. He just stares at their bodies. Then he goes into his bag and gets out the shaver he uses to shave one side of their head. Then he strangles them.”

  “Each of the victims did have one side of their head shaved. We’re trying to figure out why he does that,” Daniel spoke.

  “I don’t know why.”

  “Did you see the man who’s doing this?”

  “No. Not yet anyway.”

  “Who rented the room?” Asher asked.

  “The rooms are always in the victim’s names because they work for themselves. Obviously, this guy searches for them on the internet,” Daniel said.

  “I’m sorry. That’s all I saw.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll let you two get back to what you were doing.” A cocky smirk crossed his face. “By the way, Diana told me tonight.”

  “And?” I grinned.

  “I’m in shock, but I’m really happy. I’ll see you at home.”

  As soon as the door shut, I turned and looked at Asher who stood there cocking his head at me.

  18

  Asher

  I couldn’t believe when I looked over and Everly had fallen asleep. I knew I had worn her out, so I was going to let her sleep for a while before waking her up to take her home. While she slept, I browsed on my phone. She wasn’t out thirty minutes before she scared the living shit out of me. She later told me that was the reason she didn’t stay with anyone after sex. Now it made sense to me why she was in such a hurry to leave the first night we’d slept together.

  It made me very uneasy knowing a murder took place in my hotel. That wasn’t going to be good for business unless the police hurry and find the murderer. I’d have to do damage control in the morning because I knew the press was going to be outside my building.

  I climbed into bed and decided to do some research on Miss Everly King. When I googled her name, the first thing that popped up was her life coaching business. I couldn’t help but smile at her business picture. To look at her, you’d never know she possessed something so unnatural. I wasn’t surprised when she agreed to my proposal regarding the two of us while she was in New York. I only offered because fucking her was amazing and she’d be easily available. I could have her anytime the need arose, and the best part was, she’d be heading back to Rhode Island in a couple of months and she’d be nothing but a distant memory. The only thing I was unsure of was if I could handle this thing of hers if it happened again while we were together.

  After checking out her business page, I scrolled further down and ran across an article with her picture as a child and the headline: Local Six-Year-Old Psychic Girl Finds Missing Sixteen-Year-Old Girl.

  Clicking on the article, I began to read it. The one thing I noticed was it took place in Connecticut, not Rhode Island.

  “Mr. Remington, any comment on the woman who was murdered in your hotel last night?” a reporter asked as I tried to get into the building.

  “It was a tragedy, and our thoughts go out to the woman’s family. The NYPD have assured me that they are doing everything in their power to track down the murderer. Now if you’ll excuse me,” I said as I made my way inside the building.

  The rest of the day was a shit show at best. Everything that could go wrong, did, and I was highly frustrated.

  Everly

  “So how did the two of you leave it last night?” Diana asked me.

  “He really didn’t say much. In fact, after Daniel left the hotel room, Asher became freakishly quiet. We climbed in his car and he drove me home. There’s something else I need to tell you.” I bit down on my bottom lip as I stared at her.

  “Oh God. What?”

  “We’re kind of using each other for sex.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He asked me last night since I’m in town for a couple of months if I would be interested in —okay, I’m not going to beat around the bush about it. Since I’m in town, we are going to be having a friends with benefits relationship. Just sex, only the two of us, for as long I’m here.”

  Immediately, she covered her ears. It was just the reaction I expected.

  “Everly, do you understand what you’re doing?”

  “Of course.” I gave her the ‘duh’ look. “I get to have sex whenever I want with an incredibly sexy man. You should be happy it’s with him and not some random guy I pick up in a bar. Aren’t you happy knowing that I’ll be safe with him?”

  She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “Yes and no. He’s Asher Remington. He has a bad reputation with women.”

  “So. It’s not like I’m marrying the guy. We’re only satisfying each other’s needs. Nothing else.”

  “Who are you trying to convince, Everly? Me or you? I love you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “I appreciate that, Diana, and I love you too. I won’t let myself get hurt. Besides, I’m leaving in a couple of months. I can’t stay here.” I gave her a small smile as I patted her arm and went to my bedroom. My phone that was sitting on the bed rang and when I grabbed it, I saw Asher was calling.

  “Hello.”

  “Everly, it’s Asher. Listen, are you busy right now?”

  “No. Why?”

  “I thought maybe we could grab some dinner and hang out for a while.”

  A smile crossed my lips.

  “I’d love too, but a bad storm is on the way.”

  “What are you talking about? The sun is shining brighter than it ever does. Hold on a second. I just checked my weather app and there is not a rain drop or storm in sight. I just got home, and I need to change so I’ll have Damien pick you up, swing back by and get me, and then we’ll head to my suite. Sound good?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll be ready.”

  “Were you talking to someone?” Diana asked as she stepped into my room.

  “Yeah. Asher just called.”

  “Phew.” She placed her hand on her chest. “I thought maybe you were talking to—you know.”

  “No. We’re having dinner. He’s sending his driver over right now to get me.”

  “Again?”

  “I’m a little surprised myself. But who am I to say no to a tantalizing night?” I grinned as I grabbed my purse.

  I sli
pped on my sandals and headed for the door.

  “By the way, a bad storm is coming so make sure you have the candles ready in case you lose power.”

  “Really? I haven’t heard anything about a storm,” she spoke.

  I cocked my head at her.

  “Right. I’ll go get them now. Have fun.”

  “I intend to.” A sly smile crossed my lips as I walked out the door and headed to the lobby.

  19

  Everly

  As we were on our way to pick up Asher, the clouds rolled in and it became very dark and gray. The winds picked up and suddenly buckets of water fell from the sky.

  “What the heck is going on? I didn’t hear anything about a storm,” Damien said as he pulled into the parking garage of the building. Suddenly his phone rang, and he put it on speaker.

  “Hello, Asher.”

  “Are you here yet? I’m looking out the window and it’s a monsoon out there.”

  “I just pulled into the parking garage.”

  I heard Asher let out a long sigh.

  “Just send Everly up. We won’t be going to the hotel.”

  “I’ll send her up now.”

  I climbed out of the car and stepped into the elevator with Damien. He pushed the button to the fourth floor and inserted the key to the top floor where Asher’s penthouse was. I glanced over at him in confusion.

  “I live on the fourth floor,” he spoke.

  “Oh. I didn’t realize you lived in the same building.”

  “You’re all set. The elevator will open directly to his penthouse.” He smiled.

  “Thanks, Damien. Stay safe.”

  “You too, Everly,” he said as he stepped off the elevator.

  When the elevator reached Asher’s penthouse, the doors opened, and I stepped out onto the beautiful oak flooring.

  “Hi there,” Asher spoke as he stepped from around the corner. “Looks like you were right.”

  “Sorry. I wish I wasn’t.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to make the best of it here. I don’t really cook so I’m not sure what to do about dinner.”