Chapter 24: Asking for Leah Sinclair by Name
Leah Sinclair knew they were having a wild time, but with Asher Keating right there, she figured Ethan Shaw and the others wouldn’t dare make fun of him. To her surprise, not only did they make fun of him, they did so gleefully.
"You choose. Which is it going to be?"
Leah Sinclair glanced back at Asher Keating. He had just been about to light a cigarette, but hearing the question, he now watched her with a leisurely air, curious to see whether she would go over and kiss him or answer the question.
In the past, Ethan Shaw and the others would never have pulled a stunt like this. But things were different now. Asher Keating had made it clear that Leah Sinclair was his, and he’d even thrown a birthday party for her. Of course they had to give the two of them a hard time.
"Can I just take a drink instead?" Leah Sinclair’s face was already flushed.
"Hey, Third Master Keating hasn’t even said anything. You don’t have to be scared," Ethan Shaw said, pressing down on her glass to stop her from drinking.
Leah Sinclair hesitantly got to her feet and walked over to Asher Keating’s side. She would have preferred to choose "truth," but her mind had gone blank. Ethan Shaw and the others started cheering wildly.
Her face completely red, Leah Sinclair murmured, "Third Master Keating."
Asher Keating didn’t say a word. He simply pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. The uproar in the private room was so loud it nearly blew the roof off.
What a rare and glorious sight! Asher Keating, kissing a woman in front of them? And it was a French kiss!
Other than the time Leah Sinclair had been drugged—an incident Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling had witnessed—this was the first time anyone else had seen something like this. The entire room erupted in screams and cheers, so loud that people walking past in the hallway were drawn to peek inside.
When the kiss ended, Leah Sinclair was blushing furiously. Asher Keating stroked her cheek and chuckled. "Go wash your face. It’s hot enough to steam an egg on."
The private room’s restroom was occupied, so Leah Sinclair ran outside. Asher Keating’s lips curved into a smile as he gestured toward Ethan Shaw and the others. "That’s enough out of you. She’s shy."
"Tsk, tsk. It’s not every day we get a chance to mess with you, Third Master Keating. You’re not going to let us have our fun?"
Ethan Shaw shot him a look, but they knew this was about as far as they could push it. They wouldn’t dare go any further.
That was Asher Keating for you. Before he claimed someone, they meant nothing to him. But after he did, he became fiercely protective.
Back when Asher Keating and Morgan Sterling were still friends, Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling used to hang out with both of them.
They weren’t sure exactly when or why Asher Keating and Morgan Sterling had their falling out, but both of them had chosen to stick with Asher.
Morgan Sterling had tried to make a move against them several times since then, but Asher Keating had always stepped in to protect them. That was why, after all these years, their loyalty was to Asher and Asher alone.
As Leah Sinclair finished up in the restroom and was about to come out, she heard two women who had just entered start chatting. "Damn it. What kind of bullshit luck did that Leah Sinclair stumble into to get noticed by Young Master Keating?"
"Hmph, it’s only because she looks like Madeline Sterling, isn’t it? You didn’t know? Back at Azure Bay, they used to call her ’Little Madeline.’ So shameless."
"Ugh! I’m so jealous! I want a piece of Young Master Keating, too. He’s so handsome and generous! Look at the party he threw tonight. Half an hour! It was all set up in a fucking half an hour! I don’t know what game they were playing just now, but it was so loud I heard everything from the hallway."
"What’s there to be jealous about? Are your skills in bed as good as hers?"
"What skills? I heard Young Master Keating bought her first time."
"Who knows if it was really her first time? It’s not like Azure Bay hasn’t pulled that kind of gimmick before. There was another girl last time who also claimed to be a virgin, but the guy she was with did some digging and found out she wasn’t. He got so mad he almost trashed Azure Bay."
"Tsk, tsk... sigh. But I just heard from Ben Coleman in the other room that Madeline Sterling is coming back. What do you think Young Master Keating will do with this one then?"
"What do you think he’ll do? He’ll toss her aside, obviously. His one true love is coming back, so what’s the use of a replacement?"
"Sigh... well, it has nothing to do with us anyway. Even without Madeline Sterling, Third Young Master Keating wouldn’t give us the time of day."
Leah Sinclair didn’t come out until a little while after the two women had left. She washed her hands, looked at her reflection in the mirror, and let out a soft sigh.
’Who was it that said wishes don’t come true if you say them out loud? I didn’t say my wish, so why is it already falling apart? I just wanted Third Master Keating to be good to me for a little longer, but it looks like that’s not going to happen now.’
’I don’t know the full story between Asher Keating and Madeline Sterling, and I’ve never wanted to ask. But for Ethan Shaw to spend a hundred thousand, without a moment’s hesitation, just to keep me for two weeks all for Asher’s sake—and purely based on a marketing gimmick from Azure Bay—there had to be a reason.’
It was nearly dawn by the time they returned home. Asher Keating didn’t let Leah Sinclair off the hook, kissing her the moment they stepped through the door and refusing to let go.
Leah Sinclair had now learned to kiss back a little, much to Asher Keating’s satisfaction. He picked her up and carried her straight into the bathroom. They had been in the private room all night and reeked of smoke and alcohol, which was far from pleasant. He hated getting into bed smelling like that.
In the process, Asher Keating noticed that Leah Sinclair was being rather proactive tonight. He was surprised. This was different from the last time she’d taken the initiative; tonight, she was completely clear-headed.
Usually, by the second or third round, Leah Sinclair would be begging for mercy. Tonight, however, no matter how he wore her out, she didn’t protest. In fact, she was more cooperative than ever.
By the time they finished for the last time, dawn was about to break. Leah Sinclair couldn’t stop herself from biting down hard on Asher Keating’s shoulder, making him let out a muffled grunt.
Once they had caught their breath, he kissed Leah Sinclair. Her lips were red and swollen. She looked at him, dazed, her voice almost completely hoarse. "Third Master Keating... All night... I didn’t run away."
Asher Keating chuckled. ’So that’s what this was about.’ By the time he finished cleaning her up, Leah Sinclair had already passed out. He carried her back to the bed.
Asher Keating pinched her cheek lightly with a helpless fondness. "You silly girl."
In her sleep, Leah Sinclair’s brow furrowed from the pinch. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, and her expression immediately relaxed.
Amused, Asher Keating got up to have a cigarette before turning in. The moment he got back into bed, Leah Sinclair, as if drawn by his scent, snuggled up against him. The corners of his lips curved up as he wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep as well.
The two of them slept straight through until the afternoon, finally woken by Asher Keating’s phone. He had set it to Do Not Disturb before going to bed, allowing only calls from specific contacts to come through. He picked up the phone and saw it was Ethan Shaw.
"This had better be important."
"Ouch, Third Master Keating. Things got that intense, huh? It’s already the afternoon," Ethan Shaw teased, able to tell from Asher’s voice that he’d just woken up.
"Spit it out."
Asher Keating was always grumpy when he first woke up, and his deep, hoarse voice was laced with impatience.
Leah Sinclair stirred awake in his arms as well, still too groggy to process what was happening.
"It really is important," Ethan Shaw said quickly, sensing his impatience. "Morgan Sterling is putting together a gathering tonight. He wants us all to be there and specifically said you have to bring Leah Sinclair."
The room was quiet enough for Leah Sinclair to hear Ethan Shaw mention her name. She lifted her head, and Asher Keating patted it reassuringly. She snuggled back down against him and let out a soft yawn.
"Did he say what it’s about?"
Asher Keating frowned, his hand stroking Leah Sinclair’s back absently. It tickled, and she tried to squirm away, but he held her firmly in place.