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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Liam
I let a single finger brush over her arm. Stunning. I couldn’t stop touching her. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Even when it caused me to have a colossal lapse in judgement and barge in on her night with her friend. God, that’d been a low moment for me. Even while I’d stormed in there, I could barely describe why I wanted to do this. Why I had to see her and know that she wasn’t with him in the way my nightmarish daydreams made it seem.
It’d been only a few weeks, but that felt like a lifetime ago. In the same way that having her slender legs a tangle against mine, it was tempting to lean over, kiss her awake, and recreate the evening before. But she was so pretty like this, her face relaxed, lips puckered gently against the promise of my attention
I let my finger continue its trail up and across her collarbone, smiling at the fading brush marks from my teeth last night. There was only one way I could think of how to stop this madness. I wanted to make her mine.
Ashlyn shifted against me, her breathing picking up as she began to wake up. I tightened my arms and held on to her, letting her feel all of me, especially the part of me that was dying to see how she was feeling after last night.
Easy, Liam, I warned myself.
It wasn't that I didn’t want a repeat of last night. I wanted every night to be a repeat. That meant patience and letting her choose. If last night was any kind of a hint, I had a long way to go before I was boyfriend material that Ashlyn would consider. But I wanted to be better for her. I wanted her to know that I could change.
She had only seen the beginning. After my father’s fundraiser, there’d be no chance of hiding what my family really was from her.
I felt her begin to wake, her body curling into mine, as if there was not a bit of skin that didn’t want to be against my own. The effect was heady, powerful. I groaned as her hand stole across my stomach.
Her voice was rough as she spoke against my skin. “Shouldn’t you be off working? Doing future CEO things?”
“Don’t you own your own company? I could say that same thing to you.” I smiled as I pressed a kiss into her hair.
“Details, details.”
I tilted her chin up until those incredibly blue eyes blinked up at me. “It’s still early, but I do probably need to go in. Otherwise Rose will come looking for me, and both of us will catch it.”
She groaned, sinking farther down into the bed and our tangle of limbs.
“I’ll see you tomorrow though.” I slipped from between the sheets and turned to lean over her again, loving the way her eyes widened and then focused on me once again.
“I can’t wait,” she said, rising to her elbow and capturing my lips in a soft, gentle kiss.
Sure, I wanted to be patient. I wanted to give her time to be sure about who I was. But I couldn’t help looking back as she stretched in my bed. The temptation to stride back over and leap over her almost overwhelmed me. All that beautiful, smooth skin that I’d just barely been able to acquaint myself with.
I sighed, forcing myself to continue on to the shower. I had to get to work. And besides, I would have plenty of opportunities to lose myself in Ashlyn Grove. I wanted to enjoy every second, no rushing, no worrying, just the two of us.
***
Ashlyn
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” Liam’s voice was clipped as he growled at his sister.
I flinched. They’d only just picked me up, and already I was over the tension.
Sam barely lifted an eyelid. Crossing one perfect golden tanned leg over the other, she swiped back and forth over her phone screen. The sequined hunter-green dress was knee-length today and emphasized every perfect curve and dip in her body.
I sighed. Some girls had all the luck. Although the way that Liam’s face had changed when I answered the door had been an enormous self-esteem booster. He’d stared, his mouth opening and closing several times before he’d finally just shut it tightly and shook his head.“You look stunning, Ashlyn.”
My heart had felt like it might've burst out of my chest right there. I’d let him hold my hand and my arm walking down the stairs. After all, these heels were about three inches out of my comfort zone and I had absolutely no desire to fall in front of Liam again.
“Calm your tits, big brother. You’re just mad that you know I’m right. Dad is going to eat this all up. Maybe he’ll leave us alone until after Christmas now.” Sam caught my eye and winked one lined lid in my direction.
“Champagne, Ashlyn?” Sam held theMoët & Chandon out to me, but I declined. I had a suspicion that I’d need a clear head for tonight.
Liam pushed on, undeterred as his sister refilled her glass to the very top. “We don’t know that. And don’t you work for the man?”
Sam put down her phone with all the emphasis of a principal about to dish out a month’s worth of detentions. “Worked.Past tense. Don’t forget he fired me. Very publicly.”
