Chapter 20
“You wouldn’t,” Ashlyn said, but something, mostly that long-suffering that he released, told her that he would.
Not that she believed in ghosts because she didn’t.
Not even a little bit, Ashlyn told herself even as she found herself thinking about that time in her uncle’s basement years ago only to remind herself that it was her head injury that caused her to hallucinate the entire thing.
She fell down the stairs, made her head injury worse and hallucinated the whole thing, but even now, she swore that it really happened.
She could still feel his cold hands wrap around her arm just before he-
Taking a deep breath, Ashlyn closed her eyes and slowly exhaled as she told herself that there was no such thing as ghosts. Shayne was just screwing with her head and as soon as she figured out how he did it, she was going to make him pay.
Until then, she was unfortunately at his mercy.
“I’m afraid that ye won’t leave me with much of a choice, lass,” Shayne said with a heartfelt sigh that had her eyes narrowing dangerously in the dark.
“You do realize that I’ll make you pay for this later, right?”
“That just went without saying, lass,” Shayne said as he shifted his hold around her with a satisfied sigh.
For a moment, Ashlyn debated going back upstairs and putting all the skills that she’d learned over the years to good use and sneaking into his room, grabbing her bag, and making a run for it, but since that would require her to get up and face whatever was in that room, she decided that it would probably be a good idea to stay where she was, cowering until dawn.
“One kiss,” she said after a slight hesitation.
“That’s all I’m asking for, lass,” he said with a long-suffering sigh that had her right eye twitching.
“Two seconds on the lips and then, we’re even,” Ashlyn said, deciding that it would be a good idea to lay some ground rules, mostly for the sake of her sanity.
“Ten,” Shayne countered.
“Two.”
“I’m afraid that’s not gonna work for me, lass.”
“Five,” Ashlyn said, only to follow that up by shoving the blankets off her head so that she could give herself an edge and glare at the bastard.
“Ten,” Shayne said with a heartfelt sigh as he gently tapped her on the nose.
“Five, and if you tap me on the nose again, I’m going for your nipples,” she bit out, intensifying her glare.
“Ten and I’m afraid that I’m not into the rough stuff, lass,” Shayne said, making it really difficult not to smile.
“Five and I’ll resist the urge to shift my knee and turn you into a eunuch,” Ashlyn said, then just for the hell of it, moved her right leg against his.
“Five it is, lass,” Shayne said, nodding solemnly.
“We’re even after this,” Ashlyn said, shoving the blanket back as she shifted over him.
“For now,” he said, making her eyes narrow dangerously on him even as she told herself that she was only doing this to shut him up so that she could go back to cowering seconds before she found herself thinking about that kiss at the faire and just how badly she’d wanted more.
“I owe you one kiss,” Ashlyn reminded him.
“Three, lass,” Shayne said, deciding to piss her off.
“You’re only getting one,” she said evenly.
“I wonder where Tristan keeps his Ouija board,” Shayne murmured as he glanced around the office and-
“Fine. One now and two later at the time of my choosing,” Ashlyn said, hoping beyond hope that he took pity on her and let this go.
“That’s not how bets work, lass,” the bastard said as he went to boop her nose again.
“It’s how this one works.”
“Ye know what I can’t help but notice? That ye haven’t kissed me yet, lass,”
“That’s because I’m hoping for a miracle that will save me from having to lower my standards,” Ashlyn said, watching as his lips pulled up into a smile.
“I can give ye a moment ta get yer hopes up if that’ll help, lass,” Shayne said as he reached up and gently pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I’d rather just get this over with,” Ashlyn said even as her gaze dropped to his lips.
“That’s probably for the best,” Shayne murmured softly as he leaned up and kissed her forehead.
“What are you doing?” Ashlyn asked when he followed that up by kissing her cheek.
“Giving ye time ta mentally prepare yerself for what’s ta come,” Shayne said as he kissed the tip of her nose.
“And if I just want to get it over with?” she asked as she felt his lips pull up into a smile as he kissed her other cheek.
“I suppose we could do that,” Shayne said, making her swallow hard.
“It would probably be for the best,” Ashlyn murmured absently as she watched Shayne pull back and-
Tore a soft moan from her when she felt his lips brush against her neck.
“I thought you wanted a goodnight kiss,” Ashlyn said as her hands fisted in the sheet covering the couch.
“I want ye,” Shayne said, making it really difficult to focus.
He took his time kissing her neck as he slid his hands beneath the blankets and ran them over her back and down over her bottom, driving her crazy as he kissed his way up to her chin, and then, felt his breath tease her lips.
“Start counting, lass,” Shayne whispered before she felt his lips brush against hers.
He had five seconds, Ashlyn reminded herself as she began to count...
One Mississippi, she thought as his lips brushed against hers.
Two Mississippi, she thought as she brushed her lips against his.
Three Mississippi, she thought as he released a groan when she parted her lips.
Four Mississippi, she thought when his tongue found hers and-
“That’s five seconds, lass,” Shayne said, breaking off the kiss as he dropped his head back against the pillow only to groan when she leaned back down and picked up where they left off.
“We agreed to ten,” Ashlyn lied against his lips.
“Did we?” Shayne asked as she shifted to get more comfortable.
“We did,” Ashlyn murmured when the move brought her against the large appendage between his legs, straining against his sweatpants to get to her.
“I think we’re going ta have ta start over then, lass. I lost count after five,” Shayne said, not sounding sorry at all.
“Me, too,” Ashlyn whispered only to moan when he deepened the kiss as he ran his hands over her, taking his time tracing her curves.
His touch felt so familiar, but then again, everything about this did.
It felt like they did this before. It had to be the dreams, Ashlyn thought as she found herself moving, unable to help herself.
He felt so good, she thought, rubbing against him.
“That’s it, lass,” Shayne said encouragingly as his hands slid beneath her panties and gave her bottom a gentle squeeze, encouraging her to keep moving. She took her time, rolling her hips as she teased them both, somehow knowing exactly what he liked.
She never did anything like this before, never wanted to, and the one time that she was with Nathan, she’d barely moved, struggling not to panic when he touched her only to end up losing it the moment that he settled between her legs.
He’d barely managed to groan as he moved to press against her when she shoved him away.
Every kiss, touch, and caress felt wrong.
She’d never been able to explain it before, but now...
God, this felt right.
She moaned against his lips as she continued moving, barely aware that he’d wrapped his arms around her and sat up, careful not to interfere with what she was doing.
He helped her shift on his lap, the move bringing her tightly against him and hitting her clit at just the right angle the next time she rolled her hips.
He broke off the kiss and sat back, keeping his gaze locked with hers as he reached for her shirt. While she moved, Shayne took his time unbuttoning her shirt and-
“Beautiful,” he whispered reverently as he ran his fingertips between her breasts, his hungry gaze following the move.
She watched as he licked his lips when he came to the soft cotton panties covering her before his gaze found hers.
He kept his eyes locked with hers as he covered her breasts with his hands.
“Do ye want more, lass?” Shayne asked as he ran his thumbs over her nipples, teasing them and making them feel so damn good that she couldn’t help but moan.
“Yes,” Ashlyn said, leaning back in to kiss him.
“Hold on, lass,” Shayne said against her lips as he wrapped his arms around her and stood up before turning around and carefully set her back down on the couch.
Before she could move, he was kneeling between her legs, his gaze never leaving hers as he reached over and hooked his fingers in her panties and slowly pulled them down.
Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, Ashlyn found herself raising her hips to make it easier for him to pull her panties off.
She watched as he shifted to the side as he slowly pulled her panties down her legs, his fingertips caressing her skin as he moved, leaving behind goosebumps in their wake.
As soon as he dropped her panties on the floor, Shayne settled back between her legs as he grabbed her hips and pulled her to the edge of the couch.
Once he had her where he wanted her, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers before he kissed his way back down to her neck, taking his time kissing a trail down between her breasts only to pause long enough to take one of her nipples between his lips and gently suckled.
Ashlyn ran her fingers through his hair as he shifted lower so that he could kiss his way down her stomach as he pushed her legs apart and-
“Oh, God...”
-pressed a kiss against her lips.
So soft...
Christ, he’d never felt anything this good before, Shayne thought as he traced her slit with his tongue. He took his time, licking her as she ran her fingers through his hair, moaning softly when he slid the tip of his tongue between her lips and teased her swollen little clit.