to fuck her. To slide into her as far as he could go, to hold her close and hear those sexy little noises she made as he pumped inside her.
To kiss her good morning, to make her laugh, to hold her when she cried—
Whoa, where the fuck had that come from?
Didn’t matter. He was on the edge. His muscles bunched, his balls tightened, and as he pictured Jasmine plumping her breasts together for him to spray his load on, he came.
A shudder racked his body, weakening his knees, and he pressed his forehead to the tile. Hot water washed over him, rinsing soap and his fluids down the drain.
This wasn’t like him. He’d had more than his fair share of flings before Yadiel had been born. Since then, he’d focused only on career and family, and as he’d grown more cautious—or as his father said, paranoid—the less he’d let women get too close. A few dates here and there, including a couple of fake relationships for publicity purposes, some fooling around with non-coworkers, but nothing serious. He hadn’t wanted anything serious. Until now.
Now, he wished they could be two different people, free to pursue what was clearly a mutual attraction and interest. What was between him and Jasmine was more than just a hookup between costars. He liked her. A lot.
And that made the whole thing all the more dangerous and complicated. Not only was he mixing business and pleasure, but he was doing it with the one person on the cast who could demolish his carefully constructed house of cards. The media paid far too much attention to her, and his family’s safety relied on him flying under the radar, as far as his personal life was concerned. A relationship with Jasmine would be disastrous.
His familia was small, and they were all he had. Part of him envied Jasmine’s big, sprawling family and the close relationship she had with her cousins. After Yadiel had been born, Ashton had pulled away from other people in an effort to keep his son a secret, but it wore on him. He could have confided in his father—of anyone, Ignacio would understand the most—but he felt too guilty to burden his father with these feelings, especially when Ignacio was handling all of the day-to-day tasks of raising the boy.
Ashton knew he should be grateful. His family had always supported his dreams and his acting career. When he was young, they’d scrimped and saved to send him to a private school with a good drama program, and attended every one of his performances. All he’d ever wanted was to work his way up as an actor, to achieve fame and recognition for his work, and to be able to support his family the way they’d done for him. But now it felt like he was half-assing both. He had absolutely no business starting something with Jasmine he couldn’t finish.
But there was something about her that kept drawing him in. Her skill and instinct as a scene partner, her leadership among the cast, her innate sense for when they needed a fun break and bonding opportunity, even the way she laughed at his dad jokes.
Okay, especially the way she laughed at his dad jokes. He knew he was awkward with her sometimes, and she never made him feel bad about it.
All that, yet it was her vulnerability that seduced him the most. Like when she’d asked him to stay, or when she’d come to his dressing room worried that he was mad at her, or even when she talked about her past relationships and her family. She was beautiful, funny, and smart, but in her, he recognized a loneliness that resonated with his own. How could he resist her?
He finished showering and shut off the water. He didn’t have answers. But he’d have to find them. He didn’t want to be another man who left her hurting.
Although he feared he would be.
SHE’D ASKED HIM to stay. And he had.
As much as Jasmine wanted to bask in the afterglow of the night she’d shared with Ashton, family obligation won out. Still, she held that single, affirming thought—he’d stayed—close to her as she suffered through brunch with her immediate family at a crowded West Village bistro.
Saturday at noon was prime brunch time in New York City, when everyone recovered from Friday night partying with carbs, bottomless mimosas, and the knowledge that Monday morning was still a full day away.