Fatal Temptation (7 page)

“Wait for me,” he mouths
over top of the crowd. “Please.”

Sadie
smiles at him and nods. She would wait for him for as long as it takes, but has a hard time admitting that to herself. She stands by the edge of the stage as the house lights come back on again. Asher and his band leave the stage for a moment in order to put their gear away and to grab a drink.

Upon returning to the crowd, a sea of wo
men greet Asher, all eager to talk to him and hopefully do more by the end of the night. As this group of women stops him, Sadie can feel her heart sink. She knows that she can’t offer him what these younger women can and she feels out of place once again. It was stupid of her to ever consider going tonight. She has responsibilities as a mother and more importantly, as a wife. She realizes her defeat and goes to leave the bar, trying her damndest to keep her escalating emotions at bay.

“You’re such a fool!” she says to herself as she walks closer to the exit. “You’re married. What
the hell are you doing here?”

Just as she is near the exit, she can feel soft hands on her skin. She turns around immediately and there he is,
standing inches away from her, a look of concern stamped across his perfectly constructed and symmetrical face.

“Where are you going?”
Asher asks with a sense of disappointment in his voice. “I told you to wait for me.”

“Home,”
Sadie says. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“But
I wanted you here,” Asher replies promptly. “That’s why I invited you and you came.” He flashes those pearly whites to her again and Sadie can’t help but feel weak in the knees. “You don’t have to go home and we don’t have to stay here. Let’s go elsewhere. Do you want to go grab some coffee?”

“It’s 10:00pm,”
Sadie replies. “It’s late.”

“Do you have to go back to your husband?” he taunts to her, hoping to get a reaction.

Sadie swallows hard and is unsure what to say, all she can do is stare into his chartreuse eyes and melt away. “I’m a big girl. I can make decisions for myself.”

He smiles seductively. “Then join me for coffee,
Sadie. I’d love to talk more.”

The way he s
ays her name makes her feel more pleasure than Chris has been able to do in years. He pronounces it so differently with his accent and she can’t help but wonder how it would sound during lovemaking.

“I don
’t know if that is a good idea,” she is barely able to form words due to the overwhelming sense of nerves that are overtaking her.

“Why not?”
Asher asks. “My intentions are pure.” He smiles wide at her, his expression riddled with mischief.

“I don’t believe you,” she is quick to counter him, feeling her walls go up with each flash of his perfect teeth and captivating dimples.

“I wouldn’t either,” he winks at her and moistens his lips with his wet tongue, lapping them like a dog drooling over his next meal. The sight causes Sadie to step back slightly, like a wall of tension has just hit her like a ton of bricks.

The two share a moment filled with unadulterated passion.
Sadie can feel the sexual tension between the two of them becoming unbearable.

“Okay,” she replies. “We can go for coffee.”

The smile on Asher’s face goes from coy to genuine delight. It stretches from ear to ear and it warms Sadie’s heart.

“Great!” he says. “Just let me finish up and then we can get out of here.”

“What about your band and the fans?”

“You mean the girls?”

Sadie nods and Asher smiles back. “I found the girl whose company I want to be in tonight. What more could I want? As for the band, they’ll manage. They’re big boys. They can make their own decisions.” He winks at her, using her own words against her.

Sadie
can feel the breath being sucked out of her. Never before has a man’s charm swept her off of her feet like this.

“You just wait here for me. Don’t go running off,” he says.
“Promise?”

“It’s a date,”
Sadie replies, unable to stop the words from coming out. The vodka is beginning to act like truth serum and she can’t help it from coming through. Asher smiles, bites his lip and turns around to head to the back of the stage again, ignoring the endless amounts of women that follow him. Sadie can feel her heart flutter more now and a strip of sweat forming on her brow. She is nervous. She is excited. She is anxious to be around him.

She can’t help but want to learn and experience more of this bad boy Brit.

Sadie sits in a corner area of a local late night café that is heavily dimmed. It is quite the romantic setting, as she sits on a couch surrounded by candles waiting for Asher to come back with their hot drinks in hand. She looks around at the walls and sees plenty of pictures of half naked men and women. It is quite the showcase of erotic photography that adorns this café, only making her feel even more nervous than she already is.

She sits, with her feet up
on the couch as a way to guard herself, especially her heart. Her phone rests on the nearby table, keeping a close eye on it, just in case Chris sends her a text or calls her. She is always on the lookout for any familiar face but being concealed in the corner of the café puts her at ease a bit. Soft jazz music is heard throughout and it only adds to the romantic ambience. This is the type of place where lovers go for a nightcap; not where a thirty-something married mother goes to meet with a twenty-something man she just met.

As she is getting lost in her thoughts,
Asher comes around the corner with two mugs in hand. “Two soy chai lattes,” he says through a giggle and he hands one of the mugs to Sadie. “Careful love, it’s hot.”

“I can handle it,”
Sadie says, not meaning to come on so strong but she can’t help the use of double entendres around him, wanting to convey more emotion to him, but too afraid to be blunt. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he replies as he takes a seat on the couch next to her. As he sits, the air around him stirs up his cologne and
Sadie is able to get a nice whiff of it. His fragrance mixed with his natural pheromones is simply intoxicating and only adds to the attraction she feels for him.

“So, what did you think of the show?”

“I wasn’t expecting that kind of soul or talent from someone so young,” she replies, bringing the cup of hot comfort up to her lips.

“Thanks,”
Asher says as he runs his hand over his stubble and speaks with a sarcastic tone. “I appreciate that.”

“No, no,”
Sadie begins, trying to redeem herself. “I just meant you have an old soul quality about you. You surpass your age by far.”

“Well that is a compliment one can appreciate. Thank you and thank you for coming out. Where is the husband tonight?”

Sadie takes a sip of her drink and clears her throat. “He was out with his friends watching boxing and now they are probably at the strippers.”

“Ah, I see. Never was much of a fan of those kinds of places. I prefer a woman all to my own viewing pleasure.”

Sadie nods and sips more of her latte. She feels uncomfortable about the subject matter and finds it very difficult to talk about her husband to this young man she has a sudden interest for.

“So
Sadie, tell me what you do and what you love to do?” Asher breaks the lingering silence hovering over them and continues to smile warmly at her, doing his best to ensure that she is at ease.

“Well, I
am an Internet entrepreneur and I also am a graphic designer. I have a beautiful daughter named Ling and I love to paint.”

“Well that doesn’t sound rehearsed at all,” he teases. “Tell me what you really love to do or what you have been meaning to do but you haven’t.
I want to know the real you.”

“Why?” she asks, staring him deep in the eyes and trying to figure out the real reason why he is spending this time with her.

“Because you fascinate me.”

“Well, t
here’s nothing,” she says as she can feel her cheeks redden and her heart palpitate in her chest. She is helpless beneath his charm and trying to do everything in her power to deflect him. “What do you do?”

Asher relaxes slightly, backing off from putting the pressure on her, if only momentarily. “Music is my soul. It’s my reason for breathing.”

“And you’re from England?”

Asher nods and Sadie can feel a sense of relief mixed in with disappointment. “So you don’t live here?”

“I do, for now. Well, at least until my Visa expires. I have a few shows in the state and neighboring areas. I should be locked down here for at least the next few months.”

“So, where do you live?” Sadie is doing her best to try to keep conversation flowing that doesn’t put her life at the center of it all, while still trying to dig deep and get more information on his
enigmatic bad boy.

“Just upstairs, actually. Care to see it?” he teases at her, once again leaning into her and putting the pressure on.

Sadie can feel her body swell the moment he nears and the more the tension between the two of them becomes palpable. She swallows hard and continues tending to her drink, hoping he will back off but this time, he refuses.

Asher
takes a big gulp of his latte and smiles as he sets it down on the table. He moves in slightly closer to her, just with the upper half of his body as he leans in to tell her a secret. “You know what I would love to do but haven’t yet?”

“What might that be?”
Sadie shrugs her shoulders nervously. Having him lean in like that makes her feel uneasy. She can feel his warm breath upon her naked flesh and the sensation is utter insanity to her.

“I would love to see you with your head thrown back in the
moonlight and your body on fire,” he whispers with his super sexy accent as he licks his lips and bites on the bottom one. He starts to place his hand on her lower leg, and caresses it over her jeans.

At first,
Sadie lets his touch linger but then she stops him. “That was inappropriate,” she says as she can feel herself becoming torn with emotion. Even though she longed to hear him say something along those lines, she knows it’s wrong.

“I better go.”

“Wait, don’t leave. I’m sorry I said it,” Asher apologizes as he stands to meet her and to try to block her from leaving. “Don’t go.”

“I shouldn’t be here,”
Sadie says as she walks up to him to leave, panicked and on the verge of a total meltdown. “Now if you will excuse me.”

“Please,”
Asher tries to reason with her. He places his hands on her bare shoulders, tenderly, but this only makes Sadie that much more distressed.

“Don’t,” she says
as she pushes her way past him and she heads out the door. “Don’t!

Asher
follows suit. He can’t let her go. Not like this.

Out in the darkened night of the street, it is pouring rain once again and
Sadie has no protection from it. Unsure of where she is exactly or where she parked her car, she starts to feel overwhelmed. She should have never come here in the first place. It was easily the most inappropriate decision she has ever made. She is a married woman and a mother; this is not something that committed women are supposed to do.

She refuses to be Nicole and let her marriage shatter.

She can’t.

Sadie
can feel the emotion building inside until tears start to stream down her face, turning to seek shelter in a nearby alley until she can compose herself.

“I’m so stupid!” she shouts towards the thunderous sky. “I’m so sorry.”

Sadie brings her hands up to her face to cradle herself, allowing her palms to catch all of the tears that violently flow.

She takes a few breaths and lets the chilled rain cool both her skin and her soul. It helps to bring her some clarity and lasts long enough to give her a
hiatus from crying.

Just as she is about to turn the corner, someone grabs her by the wrist
s and startles her. It is so dark out and the only source of light is the intervals of lightning, as the sole source of light in the alley is shattered from vandalism. Sadie grabs her purse and uses it as a weapon against the person.

“Get away from me!” she shouts, protecting
herself and trying to free herself from the grasp on her wrists. She assumes it is Asher but is instantly reminded of the man who was eyeing her earlier and how the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end.

Someone was following her and now, she might be face-to-face with
them.

She tries harder to loosen the grasp, which works, thanks to the sopping rain. She breaks free with one wrist and is about to wind up when she is pinned to the brick wall behind her.

“Just let me go!” she threatens at the top of her lungs, in a hysterical fashion.

“Hey, hey, calm down,” the voice says and it is revealed that it is
Asher. “Just relax.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”
Sadie shouts at him through the rain and her tears. Part of her is relieved that it is him but the other half is just as overwhelmed. “Leave me alone. Please.”

“No,”
Asher says as he moves in on her but Sadie starts using her legs against him, kneeing him in the thigh and forcing him off of her.

“Leave me alone!”
she begs one last time but Asher refuses to budge.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Sadie questions him, completely defeated in his grasp, but still willing to fight if she must.

Asher locks her into a stare through the glimpses of the bright luminescence, with what appears to be tears welling in his eye as well. His chest swells and deflates heavily, as he tries to resume heavy breathing. Sadie can swear she can see his heart pound through his chest and she starts to ease into his grasp.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?” Sadie is softer with her questions, feeling his emotions radiating and becoming more palpable. “Why?”

Through
tear-riddled eyes, Asher speaks, softly and nearly whispers the words, “Because now that I’ve found you, I can’t ever lose you again.”

Without hesitation, he goes in for a kiss.
The moment that their lips touch is one that Sadie will never forget. All at once, the anger, frustration and hesitation seem to disappear. The way his lips feel on hers is something that takes her breath away. She can feel her body weaken and despite the cold rain on her skin, her temperature is rising. At first, she was reluctant and wanted to push him away but as soon as Asher put some pressure on her and dug his body deep into hers against the brick wall, there was no way on this Earth she could resist him.

She let
s go of the tension in her arms against the wall and Asher simultaneously loosens his grasp. Then, he moves his hands down to her hips, where he digs his fingers in deep, trying to get her rain soaked body closer to his. Sadie can feel so much passion and desire from his single kiss and touch, that she can feel herself weaken beneath his force. Never before, has she been kissed like this. Never before has she been touched like this.

It’s all too much.

Once again, emotions course through her veins and Sadie breaks away from the kiss, allowing her head to collide with his chest, where she nearly collapses. Asher catches her and cradles her petite face in his grasp, lowering himself to her to catch her gaze again.

“What is it
, my love?”

“I’m afraid,” Sadie confesses, through small sobs and skipped heartbeats. “I’m so afraid.”

“Afraid of what? Finally finding happiness? Finally feeling free from your husband? Finally feeling like you belong?”

Sadie stops dead and stares at Asher, analyzing him through the droplets blurring her vision. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“I know you felt it too, the moment we touched. Don’t lie to me. I know you did.”

Sadie fights admitting the truth to herself and shakes it off, refusing to confess to Asher that he is right. “I can’t.”

“Just promise me one thing,” Asher begins, speaking with the last glimmer of hope he has in his body. “Just make it out to my set tomorrow night at The Buckingham. Please.”

Sadie shakes her head, uncertain she can fulfill that promise. “I don’t know.”

Asher softly rests his forehead on hers, trying to bring her closer into him one last time, to shield her from the rain; to shield her from the pain. “I’ll explain everything to you. I promise. It will bring you comfort. It will bring you joy. You’ll feel at home, Sadie. I want to make you feel at home.”

Sadie can’t handle it any longer and runs from his embrace. “I’m sorry! I need to go!”
She runs as hard as she can, leaving Asher to kick at the brick wall in frustration, his heart feeling like it is fleeing his chest and running in the hands of the woman who has changed his life, all with one chance encounter.

It was fate that brought them together and now, it is Sadie’s fear that is tearing them apart.