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When Ash kisses me, I feel like I’m the only girl in the whole world he’s ever kissed. He’s shown me a tender side, and he’s also shown me desire. But right here, right now, he’s on fire. There’s a hunger to this kiss that leaves no question for how he feels about me.
His arm has completely banded around my waist, keeping us so close. His heart is pounding through his chest and into mine, and his other hand has wrapped around my head and into my hair, giving him the ability to position me any way he wants to . . . and he is. He’s taking what he wants, and what he wants is me.
Moving my head back, he exposes my throat, and drags his mouth across my skin, tasting me as he goes. Both of us are breathing hard, and both of us are completely caught up in the moment.
“God, I could do that all night with you, but pizza’s here,” he gasps into my skin.
“What?” I freeze. “When did you order that?” And how does he know?
“I didn’t. I texted John downstairs when we came in, and he ordered it for us. Makes getting food deliveries easier.” He steps back from me, leaving his hands on my hips.
No! Stay close.
The doorbell rings; I must have missed it the first time.
“Help yourself to the closet. You should be able to find some clothes in there.” His eyes drop and run over the length of me. “Or don’t,” he says grinning at me.
Leaning forward he kisses me on the forehead and then turns for the front door.
My eyes trail him as he goes, and my heart trips in my chest. The muscles in his back move gracefully as his arms swing by his side, and the dips that fall below his waist peek out as his pants have dropped to sit low on his hips. He’s not just hot, or handsome, or gorgeous, he’s something all on his own. To me . . . he’s beyond words.
I DIDN’T MEAN to get so carried away with her tonight in my room, but having her nearly naked and being allowed to freely run my hands all over her gorgeous body, there was no stopping it. And had the doorbell not rung, I’m certain that tonight would have ended very differently. In hindsight though, I’m glad we were interrupted.
After we ate the pizza, we curled up on the couch and turned the TV on. The emotions of the evening finally caught up to her, all the adrenaline wore off—from the incident and me—and she crashed. Within minutes, her head was on my lap and she was asleep with me running my fingers through her hair.
The straight hair throws me off, but just a little bit. Now the eyes, that’s different, and relief settled in when she came out of my room and I saw they were blue again. She’d chucked the contacts, thank God.
At midnight, I scoop her up into my arms and move her to my bed. Needing a little more time to unwind, I wander back to the living room. At twelve fifteen, there’s a knock on the door. Only two people come to my door, John from downstairs and Clay.
Sure enough, as I open the door, there’s Clay, together with Emma, both still dressed in evening attire.
“Hey, guys. Come in.” I push the door wider and Clay leads her in by the hand. They walk into the living room and sit on the couch in the exact spot Avery and I had just occupied. Whiskey climbs up next to Clay, and he chuckles as he pushes him back down to the floor. “Want anything to drink?” I ask.
“Nah, we’re good,” Clay says, wrapping his arm around Emma’s shoulders. Emma’s looking around, just like Avery did. I suppose it can be a little overwhelming to someone who hasn’t been here. With the addition, the space is right around five thousand square feet.
I move to sit across from them in a big chair, and Emma looks at me.
“How is she?” she picks up a piece of her skirt and starts worrying it between her fingers.
“I think she’s okay. She ate pizza, laughed a few times, and then went to bed.” My bed, where I plan on going very shortly.
She lets out a deep sigh and relaxes into Clay’s side. “Oh, thank God. I was so upset, and I’ve been on pins and needles to get out of that place and over here.”
“What took so long?” I look back and forth between the two of them.
“Cora and I still had to take the pictures with the patrons who paid, we were stopped by a few journalist, you know . . . it’s never as easy as you want it to be.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” Being delayed at functions is pretty much guaranteed.
“Will, I want you to know she’s been different over the last month, and I know it’s because of you. She hasn’t talked about you, but it’s you. It’s like she’s happier, looser, and maybe even brighter. People like her have a tendency to have this sort of black cloud that follows them around. I don’t know, but I think the cloud is shrinking. So, thank you.” She blinks at me a few times and then smiles.
Silence fills the room as I let her words sink in. I know I should take the compliment, but instead I feel slightly agitated. The two of them watch me as I bend over and pet Whiskey’s head.
“What do you mean, ‘people like her’?” I pin Emma with a slightly hostile look. Clay uncrosses his legs and then crosses them on the other side. He sees my mood shift.
Emma’s eyes widen a little. “Just people who’ve experienced what she has. Has she told you about it?”
“No, but I’ve never asked.” Never really felt like I could. Maybe it’s time.
