When Mask Fall
1052 Words
Asher's penthouse had never felt so empty.
He paced from the living room to the kitchen and back, checking his phone every thirty seconds like a teenager. This was ridiculous. He was a grown man, a doctor, and heir to a medical empire. He didn't get nervous about hookups.
Except his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
New message from J
J: On my way. 15 minutes
Ash: 32nd floor. Unit 3205
J: Fancy
Ash: Door will be unlocked. Let yourself in
J: Mysterious. I like it
Ash: I'll be in the shower. Make yourself comfortable
J: Planning to make an entrance?
Ash: Something like that
Asher stripped off his work clothes, leaving a trail to the bathroom. The hot water did nothing to calm his nerves. He washed quickly and efficiently, then stood under the spray trying to quiet the turmoil in his head.
This was reckless and dangerous. It was everything he had avoided for years.
But God, he was tired of being careful.
He turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around his waist. Water still clung to his chest and shoulders as he walked to the kitchen and poured two glasses of wine. His hands felt steadier now. Good.
The apartment door clicked open.
Asher turned, wine glasses in hand, expecting to greet his guest—
And froze.
Jack Harper stood in his doorway.
Jack Harper. The bratty intern who had smiled at him like he knew a secret. The one who challenged him in front of seventeen other interns without a hint of fear.
That Jack Harper.
Their eyes met across the room.
Jack's mouth dropped open. His gaze moved from Asher's bare chest to the towel, to the wine glasses, then back to Asher's face. His hand fumbled for his phone.
No. No, no, no—
"What the hell are you doing here?" Asher's voice came out harsher than he intended, edged with panic.
Jack stared at his phone screen, then at the apartment number on the door, then back at Asher. A slow, wicked smile spread across his face.
"Ash," he said, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him.
"I'm not—" Asher set down the wine glasses to avoid dropping them. "You need to leave. Now."
"Ash," Jack said again, taking a step closer. "Dr. Asher Wiseman. I should've guessed. The control, the perfectionism, the body that looks like it was carved by a sculptor—"
"This is a mistake. You're confused. I'm not who you think—"
Jack pulled out his phone and typed something.
Asher's phone buzzed on the counter.
New message from J
J: No way to hide now, Dr. Wiseman
They both looked at it, then at each other.
Jack's smile turned predatory. "Busted."
"Get out." But Asher's voice lost its authority. He sounded desperate, and they both knew it.
"That's not what you said ten minutes ago." Jack moved closer, close enough that Asher could see the water still beading on his own chest reflected in Jack's dark eyes. "You said to make myself comfortable."
"I didn't know it was you."
"Would it have mattered?" Jack reached out, one finger tracing the line of water running down Asher's sternum. "You wanted me then. You want me now. I can tell."
Asher caught his wrist. "Don't."
"Don't what?" Jack's voice dropped lower. "Don't touch you? Don't notice that you're hard under that towel? Don't mention that you've been flirting with me for weeks, sharing all the dirty things you wanted to do?"
"That was different. I didn't—"
"You didn't know I was your intern." Jack's free hand came up to rest on Asher's chest, right over his racing heart. "But I'm still the same person. Still J. Still the one who made you feel something other than that cold control you wear like armor."
"This can't happen." But Asher didn't let go of his wrist. He didn't step back.
"Why?" Jack's thumb brushed over Asher's n****e, and Asher's breath hitched. "Because I'm an intern? Because people might talk? Because perfect Dr. Wiseman can't be seen wanting someone like me?"
"All of that. Yes."
"Bullshit." Jack leaned in, his lips a breath away from Asher's jaw. "You don't care about any of that right now. You just care that I see you. The real you. And it scares you."
"You don't know anything about me."
"I know you've been alone for a long time." Jack's mouth brushed along Asher's neck. "I know you're tired of pretending. I know that when you talk to me, when you think I'm just J, you're more yourself than you are anywhere else."
Asher's grip on Jack's wrist tightened. "This is a bad idea."
"The best ones usually are."
"If anyone finds out—"
"No one will know. Your secret's safe with me, Dr. Wiseman." Jack pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. "But I'm not leaving. Not unless you really want me to. So what's it going to be, Ash? Are you going to throw me out? Or are you finally going to stop thinking and just feel something?"
Asher should say no. He should shove Jack toward the door. He should protect everything he had built, everything he had sacrificed for.
Instead, he yanked Jack forward and crushed their mouths together.
Jack made a sound between a gasp and a moan, his hands tangling in Asher's damp hair. The kiss was nothing like the careful encounters Asher usually allowed himself. It was messy and desperate and real.
Asher walked Jack backward until he hit the wall, pinning him there with his body. Jack pressed into him, shameless and wanting.
"This doesn't mean anything," Asher growled against his mouth.
"Sure it doesn't." Jack's laugh was breathless. "Keep telling yourself that."
"I'm serious. Tomorrow, nothing changes. We go back to doctor and intern. This stays between us."
"Whatever you need to believe." Jack's hands slid down Asher's back to the towel. "Now shut up and f**k me like you promised."
Asher captured both of Jack's wrists with one hand, pinning them above his head. Jack's eyes darkened with desire.
"You don't give the orders here," Asher said softly. "I do. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." This time there was no mockery in it. Just heat.
"Good boy."
- Writer
