Share

My Hero

Author: Ali Parker
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

BLAKE

The first rays of sunshine crept over the horizon when I opened my eyes. I blinked, catching sight of a sea of auburn spread out on the white pillow beside me. Aston.

My lips curled into a smile. She was still here. I half expected to wake up to find her gone. In the heat of the moment, I worried she would regret what happened as soon as it was over.

But she looked serene in her sleep. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, causing the slits on her eyes to curve up.

Christ, she was fucking gorgeous. I made it a rule not to be with virgins, but I couldn’t resist her. I nearly started crying when she told me, sure she was going to put a stop to things. I really hadn’t expected her to ask me to be the one to do it, but I felt strangely honored that she placed that amount of trust in me.

Today, it was time to return the favor. I was going to do everything in my power to help her raise the branch’s numbers. I wanted California to do well. To be on top. For her. Because I kn
Locked Chapter
Continue to read this book on the APP

Related chapters

  • Stay the Night   Just Trust Me

    Blake“I’m ready when you are. Should we go to my office?” Without waiting for me to reply, she started turning and curled a finger for me to follow her into the back.We rounded the front desk, drawing a curious glance from Tiffany. Aston waved her off and pushed through the doors that lead to the staff area.We walked down a narrow passage with grey carpeted walls. There was nothing opulent about this part of the building. It had grey walls and rectangular lights that hummed with electricity overhead.Aston stopped at the door about halfway down and produced a single key on a keyring with a small teddy bear on it. “This is it. Be prepared. It’s not exactly big.”I already knew that. We tried to ensure that the staff was comfortable, but hotels were hotels and the majority of the space belonged to the guests.“Don’t worry about me. At least you have an office. I have a laptop bag on the plane.”She cocked head. “You have your own plane?”“You know what I mean.” Well, the company had

  • Stay the Night   Why Does He Care?

    ASTONBlake and I walked around the lobby. Every so often, he would point out something we needed to do or change. Being the dutiful manager I was, I noted down all of his suggestions in the spiral notebook I used to manage and document staff meetings.He was pointing at a flower arrangement, telling me we should look into cutting costs by ditching the fresh flowers we had delivered weekly. But I’d already made a note of it. I would bring it up at the meeting later.I couldn’t really concentrate on what he was saying anymore. Not because he didn’t have good ideas or because I didn’t appreciate his help, but because I was too wrapped up with second guessing myself and the choices I’d made.While I didn’t regret sleeping with him, I was really starting to question what exactly it was he did at this point. Whenever we talked about it, he was intentionally vague. A finance guy who did quality assurance when he had to, that was how he explained it to me on our first date.Back then, he exp

  • Stay the Night   Hiding Something

    Aston“He cares about me,” I said quietly. “That’s what he told me the other night.”For the first time since her tirade started, Tiffany paused. “Now that makes more sense. A lot more.”Her girly side reared its head when she leaned in closer to me. “Those are the kind of details I want more of. I can’t believe you won’t just tell me all about it.”“I told you this morning, we’re at work. For whatever reason, Blake chose to share those numbers with me and I think we’re in real trouble. The kind of trouble that could cost us our jobs if we don’t figure it out.”She sighed. “True. Fine, I’ll wait for the juicy details. For the record, you’re going to pay for making me wait—with very specific details. Nothing is off limits, got it?”“Got it.” I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I also needed her to drop the subject. Right now, since Blake had turned around and looked like he was getting ready to end his call. “For now, can we please focus on using the help he’s offering to try and save

  • Stay the Night   All Coming Together

    BLAKEThree straight days of working nonstop with Aston and her team was paying off. Breakfast on Saturday morning was packed and people were still streaming into the lobby. I sat on one of the new couches, waiting for Aston to finish up with a meeting.We still had a lot of work ahead of us, but I was satisfied so far. California had a lot of potential. I didn’t know why we hadn’t paid this kind of attention to it before. Three days of focused, driven promotion of the branch and there was already an increase in traffic.And the company hadn’t even really thrown its weight behind the branch. Not yet, anyway. In my next report to my father, I was definitely telling him that this could, and should, be one of our biggest branches. With Aston at the helm, this branch could make a turnaround for sure. Fuck making cuts here, we should be looking at increasing their capacity instead of decreasing it.The increased traffic made Aston a lot busier, but I enjoyed seeing her on top of her game.

  • Stay the Night   Tragic News

    BlakeOnly if she called my father an angel. He was a cool guy, sure, but he was far from being an angel. And my brother sure as shit wasn’t. As the other main reason I was here, he was the furthest thing from an angel I could think of.“Let’s just call it luck, shall we?”She pouted playfully. “Call it whatever you want, but it’s just flat amazing.”“It sure is.” I wished more than anything I could ask her to lunch and tell her she got the promotion. To finally come completely clean and tell her who I was.But none of those things could happen. I knew she was too busy for lunch, I had to discuss the promotion with Dad before I could say anything, and telling her who I was now would derail our speed on the work front.I considered throwing Dad’s rule about not making any promises about the promotion out the window. She had it in the bag as far as I was concerned and I was sure I could make Dad see things my way.The results from Dustin’s investigation would be coming in any day now. W

  • Stay the Night   Sleuthing

    ASTONThe hotel was insanely busy and I loved every second of it. I finally felt like I was doing my job and not simply being a placeholder management used to keep everyone happy.I was making a difference, and trying to save people’s jobs. It was an amazing feeling.As curious as I was about how Blake knew everything he knew, I couldn’t deny that I would never have pulled this off without him. He was not only the one who brought the need for these changes to my attention, but he was also the one who was instrumental in making everything happen. With everything going on, we hadn’t had a chance to talk yet.Since he’d asked me to lunch, I was hoping we could take the little bit of time we would have to finally get to that talk. There were a couple of things I had to check on in my office before I could give him an answer about lunch though.Pulling up my emails, I checked on the arrival time of the new coffee we’d ordered to stock the rooms with. Blake somehow made a deal where we got

  • Stay the Night   He's Been Lying to You

    AstonTiffany pouted her lips, disappointed in my lack of indulgence of her theatrics. The fact she had even asked set me on edge. “Seriously? I do some major super sleuthing and you don’t even care about the process.”“I don’t, just tell me. Please. He just burst in here, told me he had to go back to the office and then practically ran out the door. I’ve had enough drama for one day. What is it?”Tiffany frowned at the wall in the direction of the outside exit door. “I hope he’s okay. For more reasons than just because you’re into him. We could all be in trouble if he’s not.”“Business has been doing amazing the last few days, so don’t worry about whatever trouble we might be in and just tell me already.” Maybe I wouldn’t miss her that much. I hoped I wouldn’t, but if she didn’t tell me soon, I was going to explode.There was a severe shortage of creative murder weapons in my minimalistic office, so my bare hands would have to do. “I swear Tiff, if you drag this out any longer I’m no

  • Stay the Night   A Stroke of Bad Luck

    BLAKEIt was late by the time I landed in Florida. My mind was in a daze. It felt like I was stuck in a bad dream. I replayed the morning over and over again in my mind, trying to change the way it ended. But it never changed.All I could hear was Danny’s voice telling me our father was in the hospital. That he’d had a stroke and I had to come home. To my dad’s home, anyway. I didn’t really have a home anymore. I guess I thought of Florida as home because that was where my father was.If anything were to happen to him—my throat threatened to close up. Breathing was hard enough as it was without those kinds of thoughts.It felt like it took ages to get to the hospital, but in reality it was only a matter of hours. Unless my watch was broken and it had, in fact, taken as long as it seemed.The roads were quiet this time of night around here. Dad’s neighborhood was one of the quieter ones and the hospital Danny told me they were at was right on the outskirts.It was dark except for the p

Latest chapter

  • Stay the Night   Epilogue Part 2

    AstonEverything further away than what could be reached in two or three hours by plane, he let Danny handle. Blake had been my rock, my constant. With him as the dad, I could see myself having a lot more children. He certainly seemed to be on board.A nurse came in to check on us, as they did every so often. This was one who must have just started her shift, since I hadn’t seen her around earlier. She was an older woman with bright red hair and a kind smile. “Is everything okay in here? I need to take the baby for observation, it won’t be more than a few minutes before she’s back.”Blake’s eyes widened comically. “You’re taking her away?”“Just for a few minutes, sir.” The nurse smiled sympathetically. “I won’t take my eyes off of her for a second, you have my word. I know it’s hard for you to let go of her right now.”“She has to go?” Blake asked, not looking like he was inclined to hand her over at all.The nurse nodded. “A few minutes, sir. She’ll be back before you know it.”Relu

  • Stay the Night   Epilogue Part 1

    ASTONOn a rainy Saturday morning, Blake and I welcomed baby Emma Rose McAllen into the world. She was a pink, healthy little angel that had both of us wrapped around her little finger the very first second we laid eyes on her.The hospital was busy. I could hear people milling around outside, some running to take care of patients and others here to visit friends and family, and to meet the new arrivals. Emma was only three hours old, but I was sure Blake’s family and Tiffany would get here soon.Both Tiffany and Blake’s mom had wanted to be in the waiting room when she was born, but I went into labor in the early hours of Saturday morning and in our rush to get to the hospital, we hadn’t wanted to disturb them in the middle of the night.For now it was just us and our little cherub in our bubble of the most perfect, serene happiness I’d ever known. With Emma’s tummy full for the first time, she was dozing in her daddy’s arms and the scene in front of me was as precious as I’d known i

  • Stay the Night   Catching Up

    BlakeTiffany led us into the smaller of the conference rooms at ground level, one where Aston and I had shared dinner not so long ago, yet it seemed like a different lifetime now. Aston walked over to the window, releasing a happy sigh to be looking out over the ocean. “It feels like I haven’t been here in forever.”“For you and me both, girl.” Tiffany sighed. “Welcome back.”“Thanks,” Aston replied softly. “You should come visit us in Florida sometime. We’ll be happy to have you.”“Once the baby is born, try keeping me away,” she said, reaching out to pat Aston’s belly again.The two friends shared a moment. I hung back, getting settled at the table. When they sat down, Aston joked, “Oh, you’ll only visit once the baby is born? That’s still months away.”“Good point,” Tiffany said. “Maybe I’ll come out there sooner. Is your nursery set up yet? I can come help with that.”“We’ve been settling into the house,” Aston told her. “We haven’t gotten to the nursery quite yet. It would be gr

  • Stay the Night   Not A Vacation

    BLAKEThree months after the last time Aston and I walked out of the hotel in California, we were back for a visit. It had been a long three months. We had meant to pop in for a visit weeks ago, but we never got around to it.As it was, we’d almost had to cancel again. Aston managed to dodge the bullets flying her way, with Danny’s help, and we’d hopped on the jet as soon as our meetings let out. We were like kids fleeing from school on the last day, excited to be getting away from the head office that took so much of our time.Our visit to California wasn’t a vacation though. Soon, I would whisk Aston away for a break before the baby was born, but for now, we were working.It didn’t make Aston any less excited to be headed back to her hometown. She missed her friends and had been looking forward to spending time with them, even if we would have to get some work done at the same time.Dressed in a soft, flowing red dress that clung to her newly rounded stomach, she looked more beautif

  • Stay the Night   Stroking Her

    ASTONBefore I knew what was happening, Blake flipped us over and was rolling my pants down my legs. My panties followed quickly.He yanked both items over my bare feet and dropped them to the floor. Heat spread through me as his bright blue eyes drank in every inch of me.He sat between my legs, spread open so there would be space for him. Completely on display for him, I was surprised by how much it turned me on. The raw lust in his eyes told me he felt the same. “I was an ass. I’m sorry I didn’t see how much I was upsetting you, can I make it up to you?”“Please,” I breathed, reaching for his shirt.Catching my hands in one of his, he used the other to reach behind him in a fist and pulled it off in a smooth slide. As his body came into view, I wished he wasn’t sitting between them so I could clench my thighs together to ease the need building there. Seeing me squirm, his hands went for my bare legs, running up and down my thighs.“You’re gorgeous, Aston. And the best thing that ha

  • Stay the Night   No Buts

    Blake“No buts. If that’s what you want, I’ll go. I understand that you need someone there and that logistically, it can’t be Aston. I can be a team player again and if that’s what this team needs, I’ll take one for the team and go.”Taking a deep breath, his eyes darted up to the ceiling like he was slightly embarrassed by what he had to say. “But if you’d consider keeping me on in Florida though, I could work under Aston.”Shocked, my eyes widened. “You’d be her subordinate?”“Yeah.” His eyes drifted to Dad before he nodded and looked back at me. “It’s not easy for me to face, but I know I brought this on myself. If I stay, I’ll work as her second. Help her, learn from her, whatever.”“You would do that?” To say I was surprised was an understatement. My brother, or at least the brother he’d become, lacked the astonishing maturity it took to come up with a plan like this. “You realize it wouldn’t be temporary.”“I do.” He held onto my gaze, sincere in what he was saying. “I’ve been a

  • Stay the Night   Sobered Up

    BLAKEWalking out of Dad’s study, I bumped into my mom in the hall. For a guy who spent years seeing only one family member, two at most, once every couple of weeks, I was surrounded by them now. I didn’t know how much I liked it yet.“Have you seen Aston? I asked Mom, who smiled as she jerked her head in the direction of the front door.“She left in a cab a few minutes ago,” Mom told me. “I saw her out there from the kitchen window, but it looked like she could use a couple of minutes alone. Next thing I knew, there was a cab and she was getting into it.”My heart sank to my shoes. “What?”I knew Aston was upset by my offering her Danny’s job, but I never thought she would leave. Panic crept in and gripped my heart. She didn’t know anyone in Florida as far as I knew. I didn’t even know where to start looking for her.“Fuck,” I mumbled, ignoring my mom’s chastising look. It was a little fucking late for her to try have any say about my language. I was getting used to having her around

  • Stay the Night   Space

    Aston“I’m against it because I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. “Danny’s position isn’t some random spot. It’s a very important position in the company.”“Exactly,” Blake snapped. “It’s not good enough to put some random person into that position, don’t you think I get that? That’s one of the reasons why I need you, Aston. You’re all I’ve got. I don’t have any other options that are good enough.”“I’m a last resort?” My head reared back like he’d slapped me. I didn’t know what was going on with me, but my emotions were all over the place. Maybe it was the pregnancy after all, but knowing he only wanted me because there was no one else was somehow more hurtful than people thinking he’d only put me into that spot because he was sleeping with me.Staring at me like I’d grown a unicorn horn or turned green, Blake shook his head. “You’re not a last resort. It’s not like that at all. Think about it this way, my dad supports me in this decision. About Danny going

  • Stay the Night   The Offer

    ASTON“Excuse me.” I pushed my chair back from the kitchen counter and glanced at Blake’s family before letting my eyes come to rest on him. “Could I talk to you outside for a minute please?”“Sure.” Exchanging a look with his father who nodded encouragingly, Blake followed me outside. I didn’t stop walking when we hit the deck, heading over it and onto the expansive green lawn.The sparkling swimming pool was blue and inviting. I briefly considered stripping off my clothes and taking refuge in the silence of its depths, but I doubted very much that Blake’s father would appreciate a half-naked pregnant girl sitting at the bottom of his pool.When I hit a patch of trees at the back of the property, I paced in the shade beneath them. Without having to look, I knew Blake was standing there watching me. He let me blow off steam for a few more seconds before planting his hands on his hips. “Before you say anything, hear me out.”“I told you I didn’t want that spot, Blake.”Walking toward m

DMCA.com Protection Status