Thrust Read online

  THRUST

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books by Victoria Ashley

  THRUST

  Copyright © 2014 Victoria Ashley

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means such as electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Cover by

  CT Cover Creations.

  Stock photo © Shutterstock.com

  Edited by

  Charisse Spiers

  Interior Design and Formatting by

  Christine Borgford

  www.perfectlypublishable.com

  LETTING OUT A SATISFIED BREATH, my eyes explore the apartment, taking in the vast living space that is soon to be decorated with mine and Tori’s things. 6th floor—room 629.

  We’ve been saving up to get into this building for over a year now, and being here in this beautiful room—with this gorgeous view—is the most amazing feeling of accomplishment that I’ve ever felt. I’m seriously so happy that I could scream my ass off . . . but it’s late and I don’t want to wake any of our new neighbors. I hate bad first impressions. They’re so hard to fix and get past. They’re ugly.

  Standing here in this living room clearly confirms that mine and Tori’s photography careers are going in the right direction. We’re on the fast road to kicking ass. When you work your ass off and put thought and passion into the things you want, they’ll eventually come to you, at least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself since graduation. So far I haven’t proven my words to be wrong.

  “Holy shit!” Tori’s voice echoes throughout the space as she pokes her head out of her new bedroom, catching my attention. “I still can’t get over how ginormous these rooms are. These two bedrooms put together are like the whole size of our last apartment. This is insane and I love it. I’m in love, and right now I feel like we are two badass chicks. We kick ass. Damn, this feeling is so good. I need to celebrate.” She reaches out her hand and waves her fingers. “Give me that bag of chips over there on the counter. There’s no celebration like a celebration with Funyuns and wine. Give me. Give me. Hurry.”

  I look behind me, over my shoulder, and reach for the family size bag of Funyuns—Tori’s addiction. I shake it in front of me, teasing her. “When the hell did you have the time to unpack these?” Raising a curious brow, I toss her the bag. “There’s not one other thing in this whole apartment that is unpacked, not even the wine. You’re insane. That’s the only logical answer to that question, you damn Funyun junky.”

  “Are you kidding? I didn’t unpack these, I rode in the U-Haul with these in my lap. I need some kind of motivation to deal with all this.” She motions around at the pile of boxes. “So . . . you’re welcome.”

  I watch in amusement as she pops a Funyun into her mouth and closes her eyes, moaning as she chews it. She leans her head back, shaking her brown hair behind her. She almost looks like she’s having a mini orgasm.

  “Alright,” I say, with a disgusted shake of my head. “If you’re done making love to that chip, it would be nice to focus on unpacking the things we might need for the night. I don’t think watching you make love to your bag of chips is going to keep me entertained enough. Not after all the crap I’ve been through today.”

  She shrugs her shoulders, shaking my words off while grabbing another handful. “Give me ten. I’ll be back.” She disappears into her room, shutting the door behind her.

  “Great, you sneaky asshole.” Exhaling, I plop down onto the couch and reach for my cell phone to check the time. It’s already ten past ten. I doubt Tori will be leaving that room anytime tonight. She’s been doing nothing, but complaining about being tired, and this and that hurting since we started moving our things early this morning. She’s got her bed and her chips. Apparently that’s all she needs.

  I lay here for a few minutes allowing myself to smile as I look around me. I feel like a kid that just wants to run around the whole apartment and touch everything. I don’t, because it might look a little silly for a twenty- four year old; especially one that is so tired that I can’t even manage to walk straight right now.

  “I need some wine,” I mumble to myself. I look over the couch at the kitchen. There’s boxes piled so high that I can’t even see the fridge. “That’s no damn good.”

  It’s a good thing this building has a bar and restaurant downstairs on the main floor. I love that about this place. Just imagine: work hard, come home, relax, and throw back a few drinks at the bar. Then, all you have to do is crawl your way back to your apartment and smile up at the normal people that are walking by and pretend that you’re A-Okay.

  Sitting up, I reach for my purse and pull out my wallet. “Hey, I’m going downstairs to grab a drink. You want anything?”

  “Nope! Brad is on his way,” Tori screams from her room. “We have better things planned, so you might want to stay gone for a while.”

  “Alright then,” I say loudly. “I might or might not be back, so if I run away just remember that it’s your fault completely.”

  Once I get down to the bar, my mouth is practically watering by the time I sit down and wave the attractive bartender over.

  Out of breath, the bartender smiles while leaning over the bar. “What can I get you . . . ?”

  I smile and give him what he’s looking for. “Calla.”

  He pulls his hand through his messy, blonde hair and grabs for an empty glass. “What can I get you, Calla?”

  Pulling out my wallet, I open it to my ID and set it down in front of me while thinking. “I was in the wine kind of mood, but . . . maybe I’ve changed my mind.” I glance down at the drink menu in front of me and point at something blue. “I’m going to be adventurous tonight. Give me that.” I pause to look up at his nametag. “Dane.”

  Dane lets out a small laugh while making a face. “Alright, Ms. Adventurous. One of those coming right up.”

  I’m caught up in running my fingers through my thick, blonde hair, to get some kind of fuzz out, when I hear the stool next to me scrape against the floor as it’s pulled out from the bar.

  Ignoring it, I continue to pick at my hair, fighting it. “What the hell are you? Get out,” I grunt.

  A deep chuckle causes me to pause. “Am I getting kicked out already? I haven’t even done anything yet. Oh, and I’m a man by the way. I thought that part was pretty clear.”

&
nbsp; I push out a small laugh and shake my head. “Are you sure about that?” I tease. Gripping onto the bar, I start to spin my stool around to get a look at this man. “Anyone can have a . . .”

  My words catch in my throat and I almost fall back when my eyes set on the man beside me. He’s definitely all man; the sexiest kind that there is. Holy shit. I must have done something good today. Talk about being rendered speechless.

  I quickly compose myself and clear my throat before continuing. “A deep voice.” I swallow and look up to meet his face. “And a perfect, masculine jawline with just the right amount of stubble.” My eyes trail lower to see his broad chest being hugged by a white shirt. “A firm chest and . . .” My eyes are going lower. Why are they going lower? “Um . . . a nice package.” I nod my head, turning red as I realize that I just admitted that all aloud. “Definitely all man. Well this is awkward.”

  Giving me a sexy smirk, he nods at Dane as he sets my drink down in front of me.

  “Here you are, Ms. Adventurous. Enjoy.” Dane winks before looking beside me at the sexy man that is now placing a gym bag down by his feet. “A draft tonight, Kyan?”

  “Absofuckinglutely.” He smiles at me, keeping his eyes on mine as he continues to speak to Dane. He has such a powerful gaze that I find my eyes locked tight with his amber ones. “Make it two.”

  “Sure thing, man.” He slaps the bar and walks away to fetch two beers.

  Pulling my eyes away, I reach out faster than I’ve ever moved in my life and reach for the blue drink. Kyan—I guess his name is—carefully watches me as I down half of it without stopping for a breath. When you feel like a fool . . . you drink. Fast. Very fast.

  “You’re new here, Ms. Adventurous.” He raises an eyebrow, watching me as I finally pull away from my drink that tastes just like juice. So much for being adventurous. “Is that your real name or just due to that really strong drink you’ve got there?”

  Focusing on his gorgeous, carefree smile, I start to relax and feel more at ease. “It’s due to my drink, though sadly it doesn’t live up to it.” I feel my eyes wandering over his body again, taking in his tattooed, muscular arm. His right arm is covered in a sleeve of tattoos, while the other one looks to be clean and firm. He must workout really hard at that gym. “My name is Calla.”

  He digs his teeth into his bottom lip and blindly scoots one of the beers in front of me and one in front of him as Dane drops them off. “Calla,” he says smoothly. “That’s a sexy name. I could definitely get used to moaning that out.”

  Oh my . . . what! My heart begins to beat rapidly while trying to pry my eyes away from his sexy as sin mouth. How are his lips so full and smooth? Would I get in trouble for licking them? Yes, Calla! Really? “Is that some kind of pick up line?” I ask, somewhat hoping that it is.

  He takes a swig of his beer, looking at me over the rim. When he pulls his beer away, a sexy grin is taking over his mouth. “Nah, I’ve never said that before. Just stating the truth.”

  Now I’m the one pulling my bottom lip into my mouth. Turning away, I reach for the beer in front of me. “Is this supposed to be my adventure?”

  He stands up. “Sure. If you can keep up with me.”

  I sit here for a second, smiling like an idiot as he walks over to one of the empty pool tables and starts setting it up.

  Looks like I’ll be playing pool. It’s been a little while, but I have faith that I’m still pretty decent. My dad took me to bars a lot on the weekends while he watched football with his buddies. It was a fun childhood. Oh the memories!

  I take out some cash and call Dane over so I can pay for my drink. Dane takes one look at me and shakes his head before nodding over in Kyan’s direction. “Keep it. Kyan will be pissed if he knows you paid.”

  I glance over my shoulder to see Kyan looking over at us. He’s watching to see if Dane is going to take my money. “Alright. Well let me at least give you a tip. I won’t take no for an answer.” Dropping a ten dollar bill on the bar, I quickly turn and walk away before Dane can try to give it back. Kyan may not let me pay for drinks, but tipping is something that I always do.

  Setting my glass down on the nearby table, I pull my small leather jacket off and drape it over a chair. “Does this mean I get to outdrink you and outplay you in pool tonight? It’s a good thing I don’t work tomorrow.”

  That earns a small snicker from Kyan as he rubs the blue chalk on the end of a cue stick before holding it out for me. “Are you trying to challenge me, Ms. . . . ?” He raises an eyebrow in question.

  “Reynolds,” I say with confidence. “And yes. I’ve just spent my whole day moving into this amazing building with my lazy best friend that barely lifted a finger the entire time. I’m feeling pretty damn powerful right now.”

  Taking a drink of his beer, he grabs for his own cue stick now and rubs some chalk on the tip. Getting prepared, he sets his stick down and runs his hands through the thickness of his brown hair, before picking up his stick again. “Good thing neither one of us will have far to go after this.” He pulls the triangle off the balls before motioning for me to break. “I’ve had a long night at the gym so I’ll be drinking quite a few of these.”

  I let out an amused laugh while walking around the table. “You don’t scare me, big guy.” I pat his chest as I walk by. “Oh wow.”

  “Wow what?”

  I look up from leaning over the table. “I’ve just never felt such a firm chest before. That’s all. You must work really hard in the gym. I’m wanting to look into a gym myself.”

  “I do.” He flashes a confident smile. “And that’s perfect, because there’s a gym down the road. Wilder Fitness. They have the best personal trainers.” His voice and body language oozes straight up sexiness and confidence whenever he speaks. I really don’t blame him. He has the right to be.

  “Alright. I’ll look into that in the morning. As long as I don’t decide to sleep all day.” I take my shot and smile as two solids sink into a pocket. “Sweet. I’m solids.” I smile up at him, proudly.

  One hour later and we’re both onto our seventh beer. He actually thought I was kidding when I said I was going to keep up with him, but I definitely wasn’t. He’s already asked me about five times to take a break and have some water, afraid that I’ll get sick.

  I was raised by a man. A single man. I was raised tough and I don’t back down. That’s why I can be so damn stubborn.

  “Nope.” I lean over the table, but can’t get close enough to the cue ball. “I’m good,” I laugh, feeling a bit silly from my buzz. “I got this.” I struggle on my tippy toes.

  Out of nowhere, I feel his hands grip my hips and push me up onto the pool table. “Here,” he says in my ear, causing my breath to quicken from his closeness. “Let me help you beat me.” His arm wraps around my waist to keep me steady as I aim my stick and shoot. Too bad his closeness was more of a distraction than help.

  “Now that’s not even right.” I end up hitting the side of the ball and screwing up my shot completely. “How is that even possible? I’m so good at pool. I swear.” I sit up straight on my knees and end up grabbing onto his arm as my head spins.

  “Whoa.” He grips me tightly, moves the balls, and helps me lay down on the top of the pool table. “I think you’ve proved your point, Calla.”

  Placing both of his arms on either sides of my waist, he leans close and smiles down at me as I begin to laugh.

  “Alright . . . so I admit it, I’m not much of a drinker.” I hiccup, causing Kyan to smile and brush my hair out of my face. “I live the boring life of a wedding photographer. I don’t get out much. Don’t mind me.” I laugh again, unable to stop myself.

  “Alright. Let’s get your beautiful ass to your apartment so you can sleep it off.” He leans in closer until our lips are almost brushing. “And by the way . . . you won.” He smirks. “I only had six beers. I was going to cut you off at this one.” Pulling me up, he picks me up and places me over his shoulder, wrapping his arm tightly beneath
my ass. “Let’s go.”

  My head spins when he stands up straight, causing me to reach out for something to hold onto. My breath hitches in my throat when I realize that it’s his muscular ass. It feels delicious through his workout pants and I feel myself grabbing on tighter.

  I hear him let out a small growl as I squeeze it at the exact moment he starts walking me out of the bar and toward the front desk. Once we stop at the desk, he asks the young girl which room I live in.

  I’m surprised that without hesitation she tells him. Shouldn’t she be asking some sort of questions or something? Good thing he’s not some maniac serial killer.

  Wait . . .

  I place my hands on his back and push up once we step into the elevator. “Are you a serial killer?”

  He lets out an amused laugh before setting me down to my feet and pinning me against the wall to help me keep steady. He tilts his head. “No. Are you?”

  “If I were?”

  His eyes look down, stopping on my lips. “Then I’d be happy to die from the hands of the sexiest serial killer to walk this earth.”

  The elevator dings, causing us both to look over.

  He bites his bottom lip again before wrapping his arm around my waist and walking me to my door.

  “Your key?”

  I start to panic. “Oh crap! It’s in my wallet. I left it . . .”

  He digs into his back pocket and pulls out my wallet. “I got you, babe.”

  Looking at me, he reaches in my wallet for my key. Then he closes my wallet and unlocks the door.

  Before I can think, he has me in his arms again as he pushes the door open and starts walking inside. Next thing I know, I’m lying on my bed.

  I sit up and watch as he sets my wallet on my dresser. “How do you know this is my room?”

  He flashes a dimpled smile. “Because the door was opened. You said you had a roommate so I assumed the closed one was hers.” He runs his hand through his hair. “Goodnight, Calla.”

  Then, just like that, he turns and walks away, leaving me grinning like a maniac. My head spins again and that’s when I take it as my cue to shut up and sleep.