“I just don’t understand why you’re trying so hard. It was a really long time ago.”
“Because, when I was nineteen years old, I fell in love with a girl who changed my life by showing me that even the darkest nights still had stars and it didn’t matter one bit that you had to lie in the weeds to see them. We were kids and I barely knew her, but I loved her. I should have been there while she grew up, but I was a fool. Now, I have the woman back and I have every intention of making her fall in love with me again, and this time . . . I’m never letting go.” I took her mouth again, but it wasn’t gentle.
It was deep and needy.
Strong and firm.
Bold and assuming.
It was the way Ash had always kissed me.
And fortunately for both of us, it had the exact same effect on her that it always had on me.
She straddled my hips and folded her arms around my neck, pressing her chest down against mine. I have no idea how she did it, but I swear, every time Ash kissed me, she managed to squeeze herself flush against me as if she were attempting to meld our bodies into one—an idea I was completely okay with.
Palming her ass, I rubbed her against my hardening cock.
I needed to get inside her. She had marked the outside of her body as mine, and I desperately needed to mark the inside.
“Tell me you’ll try. Give me a chance to show you how right we were—how right we are.”
“I’ll try,” she moaned into my mouth.
“Good girl,” I purred, grabbing the back of her head for another deep kiss.
She sat up enough to grab the hem of her shirt, but I stilled her hands before she had the chance to pull it over her head.
She searched my eyes with a puzzled expression.
“I’m not risking any more interruptions with you. I want you on my bed, where I can take my time and explore every curve of you that I’ve been dreaming of touching since you first dove into my van. My neighbors are nosy as fuck, and I will be damned if I’m willing to share the sound of you crying my name when I make you come with my hands, tongue, and cock.” I pointedly rolled my hips against her core.
“All three?” she smarted back on a moan.
“All three,” I confirmed, catching her mouth again. “Now, get up. We’re going to bed.” I slapped her ass, fully expecting her playful giggle to follow, but like music to my cock, she hissed a, “Yes,” that quickly morphed into a cry of ecstasy.
I mentally noted the fuck out of that cry as visions of turning her creamy-white ass various shades of pink caused my dick to twitch.
“Now,” I ordered.
She quickly popped to her feet. Then she handed me my crutches and stood awkwardly as I pulled myself up.
“What?” I asked when she started knotting her hands.
“So, um, I really want to . . . um . . . be naked in your bed.”
I tilted my head, unsure what to make of this flash of insecurity from such a confident woman.
“But I need to tell you something first, since I think you are assuming something else. Last time you assumed something, it ended with me turning my father in to the police and then running from you for three years. Sooo . . .”
I tried to close the distance between us, but before I got close enough to touch her and soothe whatever worry she had, Ash dropped a bomb.
“I’ve never had sex before.”
My crutches became rooted to the ground, and my entire body went rigid—which included my already impossibly hard cock.
“You’ve never?”
“Well, no. Not exactly.”
“Are you serious?” I asked in disbelief.
“Uhhh . . .” She stalled in embarrassment before blowing out a loud frustrated breath. “Don’t hold it against me. I’m sure I’ll be great. I’m a fast learner.”
“A fast learner,” I repeated incredulously.
“I shouldn’t have even mentioned it, but I was worried it would piss you off when you found out.”
“Damn right it would have pissed me off!” I snapped.
“Great,” she huffed, folding her arms across her chest. “You’re pissed.”
“Oh, I am so far from pissed you can’t even imagine.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Okay, so you’ve never had sex. What exactly have you done before?”
“Well, you were my first kiss.”
“I was your first kiss!” I shouted with an undeniable laugh.
I fucking loved that I had her all sexually frustrated and nervous. I truly wanted to keep up the angry fa?ade, but there was no possible way I could have hidden the huge shit-eating grin that spread across my face.
“See! I told you I was a fast learner. You had no clue.”
I headed toward her. “What else have you done?”
“I’m not sure what you would consider what we did on the floor of the conference room, but that about sums it up. If I haven’t done it with you, it hasn’t happened.”
My mouth fell open in stunned silence. I searched her eyes for lies but only found the truth.
“No one else?” I clarified.
She shook her head.
I dropped my head back to peer up at the stars. “I am so fucking sorry, Ash.”