Eve Of A Thousand Wakes

007 Romance

"What's wrong?" Jake asked, all charm and concern. "I'm just tasting my future Queen."

Ashley bit her lip, caught between two versions of herself. The Ashley who'd lived through his betrayal wanted nothing to do with him.

But her body—God help her, her body didn't know that yet. It had always been like this. Jake was a master of seduction, and he knew exactly where every one of her weaknesses lived.

But that man—the one who would spend a year breaking her down to nothing—had treated her like something diseased, flinching from her own body like it disgusted him, until the wanting in her had simply died of neglect.

But that man didn't exist yet. Not really. Not here. And Ashley couldn't remember the last time she'd been touched like this—oh, right. She hadn't been touched at all. Not before today.

Right now, something in her was wild and starving, a hunger she hadn't let herself feel in what felt like a lifetime. His touch was thawing something she'd thought was frozen for good.

"Carry on… Don't mind me…" she murmured, surrendering herself.

Jake smiled naughtily and caressed her thighs. He slid a sneaky hand between them. 

Ashley pressed her knees together on instinct. She didn't want him to know how hot the fire was between her legs, how wet she was already.

Jake raised a questioning eyebrow. Why was Ashley resisting his advances today?

The beauty suddenly realized he would get suspicious. They were in a sexually active relationship, after all. With her eyes, she permitted him to go on again.

Jake turned her around and kissed her neck and her collarbone. His hand went over to the elastic waistband of her trousers and slid them down halfway.

Ashley responded by parting her legs slightly. Her fiancé's fingers found the destination. The beauty's designer panties were so flimsy that they offered no resistance.

Jake rubbed two fingers against her clit, which was already wet in anticipation. "Ash… You're gushing," he murmured with a chuckle.

Ashley blushed red in embarrassment. As the man's fingers explored deeper, she moaned and turned her head towards the driver's seat with concern.

The partition that separated the chauffeur from them could open at any time. Here she was, with her legs open and her panties pulled down, being fingered by her boyfriend. 

The risk made it so much hotter!

"What if he sees us?" Ashley breathed into his ear, gesturing at the driver's compartment.

"You know, the Romans made love before their slaves," he replied without missing a beat.

Ashley giggled, letting him explore her longer. "You're the worst… What if—"

"Shhhh," Jake murmured. "Bob knows when he needs to be invisible. This is not the first time we've gotten handsy, remember? But let us not make his job difficult and keep our voices down."

Ashley nodded obediently. The man's fingers carved deeper, and she gasped, parting her legs more.

It was so magical, she couldn't wait any longer! She was a virgin waiting to be deflowered by her man!

"Jake… I…"

Jake's left hand went around her back and unlaced her halter top. It fell open, exposing her full, exquisite breasts. He grabbed a side and pressed affectionately.

Jake's thumb played with her nipple, sending waves of arousal up her spine. His other hand kept mining between her legs.

The foreplay was overwhelming for Ashley. She climbed to arousal so fast that she realized she was groaning loudly.

The beauty wanted to stay forever on that high note, never losing that feeling of weightlessness, freedom, and adventure.

Then, without warning, everything went wrong.

The car's interior simply dissolved. One second Ashley was in the Mercedes; the next, she was standing in an unfamiliar room—a hotel suite, expensive, anonymous.

A young woman lay across the queen-size bed, a dagger buried in her chest, her eyes frozen wide with pain and horror.

Panic seized Ashley by the throat. She forced herself to look closer—and her whole world dropped out from under her. It was Tessa. Tessa Grayson. Jake's sister. Her best friend. Her only friend.

Just as suddenly, the vision tore away, and she was back—gasping, shaking, in the Mercedes, Jake's hand still on her, his eyebrow raised in concern.

"I know I'm good at foreplay, but for a moment your eyeballs rolled back and your pupils disappeared," he said, sounding worried. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine…" Ashley murmured, too fast, too defensive. Her body was still humming, but underneath it, dread was spreading like ink in water.

Ashley had been trying to figure out how she'd traveled back in time. Was it some kind of supernatural power? But this vision felt like something else entirely.

This was likely a premonition of Tessa's death—a glimpse into a dark future, another supernatural ability. Had coming back in time changed the past? A butterfly effect?

It clicked into place with terrifying clarity. This new power—whatever it was—pulsed alive inside her now, undeniable, real.

Her own death had triggered the rebirth. And apparently, getting close to climax triggered a vision of someone else's. Bizarre. Inconvenient. Undeniably true.

Her mind raced past the absurdity of it straight to the only thing that mattered: Tessa was going to die. Soon. And this time, Ashley intended to stop it.

Ashley pulled back, gently moving his hand away. Jake frowned, caught off guard. "Did I do something wrong? Talk to me, Ash…"

His fiancée took a moment to consider her response and then smiled devilishly. She leaned over him and unzipped his denim jeans. "No, nothing's wrong, I already came. It's my turn."