Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ASHA
I’m quietly pulling down a coffee cup after getting out of the shower, trying not to wake Trigger or Hollis, when hands glide around my waist, and I instinctively jump.
"I’m sorry," Trigger mumbles against my neck. "I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’m getting tired of my wife sneaking out of our bed every morning.
" His lips connect with my skin, sending delicious shivers down my spine.
"If I knew having Hollis staying with us was going to mean I stopped getting to take care of my wife in the morning, I would have arranged a hotel for him. "
"That has nothing to do with it," I say as his hand slips inside my robe, where he lazily drags his thumb over my nipple.
"No?" he questions before squeezing it between his fingers, simultaneously making my teeth sink into my lip and my thighs clench.
I wrap my hands around my coffee mug to ground myself. "I've just had a lot on my mind since the watch party, the future of the merger, my dad, what Cassidy claimed about the baby." My throat tightens around each word. "It's been a lot to wrap my head around."
The mug clinks as Trigger sets it on the counter and spins me around, his hands firm on my shoulders, giving me no choice but to meet his eyes.
"You're still thinking about her accusation?
" His gaze searches mine with an urgency that makes my stomach knot.
I get sick thinking about that night. "Does that mean you don't believe me? "
"No." I press my palm against his chest. "I believe you. I just..." I swallow hard. "I don't like how it made me feel. I don't like the thoughts I had, and I hate not knowing if my father truly had anything to do with setting this up."
The memory of that trip into town plays on repeat in my mind.
We'd gone to Cassidy’s father's store the day after, demanding answers about why she'd tell such a vicious lie.
But when we'd asked where Cassidy was, her father shrugged and said she'd left for Florida late the night before and didn't know when she'd be back.
The timing wasn't lost on me. Her accusation, followed by a convenient disappearance, reeked of a paid setup of my father's manipulation.
"Talk to me." Trigger's voice pulls me back. He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. "Tell me what's really bothering you."
"I was so upset, the betrayal that seeped into my veins…
" I pinch my lips, hating the memory of how I felt like my whole world was collapsing.
"Trigg, I haven't been with anyone since I came back to Bardstown almost a year ago.
Sure, I flirted, but that was intentional.
I knew doing it would draw a reaction out of you, so I did.
" I twist the belt of my robe between my fingers.
"But I could never have taken it further than that. You were the only person I wanted."
His hands slide around my waist, and he pulls me flush against him. "I've felt that way about you since high school," he says, his voice rough with emotion. "No one was ever going to measure up. There was no point in even trying. They were never going to be you."
His lips cover mine in a kiss so sweet and delicate it steals my breath and makes my knees weak.
Every secret I've just handed him, every truth I've laid bare, and he's answered by confirming that none of what I felt was in my head.
Every charged moment between us was real.
Every look, every touch, every word…all of it real.
His kiss heals wounds I thought were destined to destroy me as he backs me against the island, his tongue demanding more as his hands glide into my hair. But I need to finish this. I need to purge the ugliest parts of myself before we can move forward. I pull back, breathless.
"Sweetheart," he growls against my lips, "I want to do a lot more than kiss my wife right now."
"There's something else." My voice comes out weaker because what I'm about to say is shameful. It makes my heart look ugly and petty, and I absolutely despise this about myself. But I need to get it out. "I didn't want you to have a baby with her."
"I know," he says gently, like he fully understands the depth of my statement, but he doesn't. He couldn't.
"No." I shake my head and step back, running my fingers through my hair and tugging at the roots.
"You don't get it. I was so mad, Trigg. Jealous, possessive, manic, you name it, and in that moment, I felt it.
Pure rage." My hands are shaking now. "This deep-seated hate for a girl I don't even know.
Logically, I know that you having a baby with someone else didn't have to mean we were over, but if I'm honest?
" I force myself to look at him. "I don't know that I could have stood there.
.." My words come out broken because I don’t want a future without him, and yet, these terrible thoughts consume me.
"How could I watch you be a father to a baby that wasn’t—"
"Stop," he cuts me off, pressing his finger over my lips.
"It was so selfish—"
"Shhh," he silences me again. "I would have done the right thing.
If that boy had been mine, then he was mine.
Period." He lowers his hand but steps closer, eliminating the space I'd created.
"But if you think the thought of having a child with anyone but you doesn't make me physically ill, you're wrong.
" His voice drops, becoming almost reverent.
"It's why I chased you for so long. Why I carried my grandmother's ring in my pocket for a year, just waiting for the right moment.
" He cups my face in both hands. "I couldn't stand the thought of you having a life with someone else that should have been mine all along.
Don't beat yourself up for wanting all my firsts, for wanting my forever, because it's been here all along, patiently waiting for you to take it. "
"Trigger, I love you." The words are barely out of my mouth before he silences them with a kiss that tastes like forgiveness and promises and home.
His hands slide down to my hips, then lower, pulling me harder against his hardening length. I gasp into his mouth, wanting everything I feel, but I swat at his chest. "Trigg, stop. Hollis is right around the corner in his room."
"Don't care," he murmurs against my lips, walking me backward toward the small island.
"I'm serious!" I laugh breathlessly, trying to push him away even as my fingers curl into his shirt. "If my cousin walks in here and sees us—"
"Then he'll turn around." Trigger grins wickedly, capturing my mouth again.
Somehow, I find the strength to pull my lips away from his, even though I want everything he's offering, and I turn, giving him my back so he stops this maddening pursuit. "We have to get ready. We have a long day ahead, and the crew will be here soon to shoot."
"It can wait. My wife is stressed, and it's my job to take care of her," he says, his lips finding purchase on the back of my neck as he pushes my hair aside.
"We can't," I try again, even as I tilt my head, granting him more access.
His fingers gently drag over the backs of my thighs, leaving a decadent trail of goosebumps before both hands squeeze my ass hard.
"You're not going to win this one, sweetheart.
" He nips my earlobe before adding, "I'm in my kitchen, with my wife, and I'm hungry.
" The words vibrate through me as his fingers slip beneath the hem of my robe, finding me bare.
"No panties." The smack that lands against my bare cheek echoes through the downstairs, and I gasp before biting my lip to stay quiet.
"I was coming right back upstairs to get dressed," I feebly attempt to argue.
"You should never come down here dressed like this with guests in the house.
" His middle finger glides through my folds with agonizing slowness, and every muscle in my body clenches.
He teases me, the tip of his finger dipping inside, though not nearly enough, before withdrawing completely. "Now I have to teach you a lesson."
The loss of contact makes me whimper, but the sound dies in my throat when both palms come down hard on my cheeks with a crack that reverberates through the quiet room.
I brace myself against the island, the unexpected sting catching me off guard.
Then he's pulling me open, and I can't hold back my groan when his tongue traces between my cheeks.
His mouth is everywhere, claiming, tasting, owning.
Sure, we've done this before, but his mouth has never been there.
The intimacy, coupled with the fact that we could get caught any second, has me feeling utterly exposed.
For long seconds, I can't do anything but feel him take what he wants.
It's filthy, intoxicating, and empowering all at once.
I just brought a man to his knees because he can't get enough of me.
He loves me so much that there's not a crevice on my body he doesn't want to claim, and to be loved like that is hypnotizing.
His tongue spears me deep, and I drop my head into my hands, stars already dancing behind my eyelids when—
"Good morning."
My head flies up, and there, standing between the living room and kitchen, is Hollis. Behind the island, Trigger goes completely still, his breath hot between my thighs.
"Are you okay?" Hollis asks, concern creasing his brow.
I know my face must be crimson. I can feel the heat in my cheeks.
"Yeah, why?" My voice comes out strained.
"Your face is red. You look flushed."
"Oh." I clear my throat, gripping the counter edge. "The shower was a little too hot, is all. I should have eaten fir—"
My words cut off in a strangled sound as Trigger resumes his task, his tongue running slow and deliberate through my folds like he's not hidden between my thighs behind our ridiculously small island while my cousin makes small talk.
Hollis's eyebrows raise. "Should we get you a snack?"