19. Ashlie
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ASHLIE
Present Day
“ S hit…” Hunter tightens his grip on my hips. “Look how well you take me, Ash.” My hands and knees dig into the mattress as I cry out in ecstasy, his balls slapping my ass with each thrust. “Fuck, baby,” he murmurs.
Baby ?
There’s no way he meant to say that out loud, but the word falling from his lips as he pounds me into oblivion undoes me. I dart a desperate hand between my legs to soothe my throbbing clit, but he catches my wrist. “Please…” I whine. “I need…”
“I said no touching …” Chest pressed to my back, he kisses my shoulder and sits me upright in his lap, hard length still inside me. I bite my lip, moaning as pleasure courses through my body from his restrictive grasp. He’s fucked the rebellion right out of me, and I’ve never been this turned on. “Every moan”—thrust—“every shudder”—thrust—“is mine tonight…” My breath hitches when he rolls my nipple with his fingers, teeth grazing my ear as he whispers, “Who makes you come, honey bear?”
My eyes flutter closed as I settle against him. I wasn’t prepared for his mouth, in more ways than one. “You do.”
“You’re my needy little brat tonight, aren’t you?” he rasps. “Gonna leave a mess all over my sheets?” His lips suction to my neck, and I don’t even care if he leaves a mark. “Scream my name while I fuck you senseless?” God, yes . I nod lazily. “Open your eyes.” He loosens his grip on my wrist, his fingers pausing over my slick bud, waiting for me to comply. I flush at the sight of him stroking me slowly, just inches away from where he’s buried inside me. “Watch how I make you come.”
His fingers strum my clit, the sensation pulling his name from my throat in a desperate plea. My cries turn hoarse as he bounces me on his dick, plunging quick and deep, prolonging my orgasm for an eternity. Convulsing, I clutch his forearm, hardly recognizing my name hissing from his lips when he falls apart. One last shiver runs through me while we ride out the lingering waves of euphoria together.
When we collapse on the bed, he tosses the condom and rolls me onto his heaving chest, both of us a sweaty mess. He presses a quick kiss to the same wrist he restrained moments ago. “You okay?”
I’m too blissed out to respond with words, so I nod quickly, dazedly listening to the pounding of his heart.
His fingers trace my spine like he’s inputting a lock code on our newest memory. “Again?” he asks, hands smoothing over my thighs.
“I can’t…” I laugh breathlessly, my smile growing when he chuckles in my ear. He’s turned me seven ways to Sunday, and I’m still quaking from the razing his tongue performed on my clit earlier. I’m boneless. “I can’t do another one.”
We lie in his darkened bedroom for a while, just existing together while light streams in from the hallway. This close, I study the details of his ink. Keeping my head on his chest, I shift my legs from around his hips. “Tell me about this.” I trace over the expansive tattoo that snakes up Hunter’s left side and around his pec. I’ve seen it before, but it always felt too intimate to ask about. Since tonight is our chance to be vulnerable, I don’t hold back.
“It’s Atlas.” His fingers draw small circles over my shoulder.
“Like maps?”
“Yeah, kind of. Same guy.” He chuckles softly. “Atlas was a Greek Titan who waged war on Zeus but failed in the end. All the other Titans were sent to suffer in the underworld, but Zeus saved a special punishment for Atlas.”
“He’s the one that had to carry the world on his back, right?”
“Not the world. He had to uphold the entire celestial sphere, for eternity, to keep it from crushing everything below.”
I pop up on my elbow to see him straight on, and unease hits his eyes before they shift away from mine. “That sounds like a lot to carry,” I say, running my fingers over his chest.
“It was,” he whispers, and I know we’re no longer talking about Greek mythology.
“When did you get it?”
“At seventeen, in the middle of the custody battle for Artie. Everyone was busy with that, so I used my fake ID and dragged Chase to the tattoo shop with me.” He smiles at the memory, and I reach up to stroke his face.
“Did it hurt?”
“Chase puked just watching me get it done, so it probably wasn’t too pleasant.” He snorts, his fingers dancing lazy trails over my skin. I snuggle in closer and peck a kiss on his chest. “Naw, I don’t really remember. Everything was kind of numb back then.”
“We don’t have to talk about this,” I whisper, remembering how hard it was for him to relive it all a few weeks ago.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind telling you.” He shifts underneath me and rubs a hand over his curls. “You know, the worst part about that time wasn’t even the cheating. It was bad, but coming home from school to a note on the fridge was worse. She couldn’t even be bothered to use the grocery list notepad. Just a crumpled receipt on the fucking fridge saying she was taking Artie and moving to be with Nils in Europe. Then they were gone. No warning. No goodbyes or apologies. She took my five-year-old baby sister and left us.”
“That sounds like a nightmare,” I say, brushing my fingers over his jaw.
He nods as he stares up at the ceiling, lost to whichever memories are filtering through his mind. I hate that he’s had to deal with this all alone. Seeing him like this, knowing I can’t do anything to make it better, hits a spot right in my chest that makes me ache for him. I press a kiss to his chin, and he grips me around my waist, keeping me in place while he leans down to reach my lips.
We kiss without reservation, like we’ve been doing it for a lifetime. Touch as if the caresses will last forever. I allow myself to get lost in the fleeting feeling of being his, just for a moment. When we break apart, I’m left wondering if this thing between us could survive daylight. Lying in this temporary bubble of intimacy gives my mind permission to run wild, and I have to remind myself this is temporary.
This was reckless . I take one last draw on his lips, before rolling away. What were you thinking ?
“Where do you think you’re going?” Hunter whispers in my ear as I try to slide out of bed. I squeal as he flips me around and pulls me against him, throwing the comforter over us. “The night isn’t over, and I’m not letting go of you until morning. That was the deal.”
“Is this about your cuddling thing?”
“That’s part of it.”
“And what’s the other part?”
He smirks. “I don’t want you to leave yet…”
“Aww, Hunter, I’m touched,” I say sarcastically, slipping my palm over my chest.
“I mean, yeah. I’d say you’ve been sufficiently touched tonight.” He chuckles as I swat his shoulder.
“You’re so irritating.” I laugh, tipping my head to his chest. He lifts my chin, looking into my eyes with an intensity that makes my insides flutter. The light humor we just shared has burnt to a crisp in the heat of his gaze. I clear my throat, breaking the hold. “I’m just going to the bathroom.”
“And then back here.” He isn’t asking, which puts a little hitch in my attitude at him telling me what to do.
“If you’re lucky.” I slide out of bed and pad across the darkened hallway. When I get to the bathroom, I flip on the light and wrap a towel around myself. Doing all the things we just did in the dark is one thing, but I’m not ready to face my naked self in the mirror tonight. I’ll save all of that, plus a quick panic session, for the morning.
I hesitate before leaving the bathroom. It would be the easiest thing to spring past Hunter’s door, up the stairs, and back to the reality waiting for me in my room. That would be a surefire way to draw a line in the sand with him about tonight. Make it crystal clear that this is one and done. I enjoyed every bit of our time together, but it can’t ever happen again. We want different things; we’re too different. Hopefully, he’ll be out of my system for good after tonight.
Fluffing my curls, I take one last look in the mirror and smile at the hickey he left on me. I brush my fingers across the sensitive spot under my collarbone—placed just low enough that I’ll easily be able to cover it with a shirt in the morning. He’s learned a thing or two . There’s no doubt in my mind he remembered from last time and purposefully left his mark where I could hide it.
I smile at the thought, unable to ignore the curiosity inside that wants to see tonight through. Tonight, and then no more . The towel stays, though. I may not have the sense to draw the line right now, but I’m putting some caution cones around the perimeter of my body, for sure.
When I walk back into Hunter’s room, towel tied tightly under my arms, he’s sitting against the headboard, boxer briefs on, with my bonnet in his hands. All I can do is gape, frozen mid-step. He went upstairs for that ?
“I, uh”—he clears his throat—“didn’t want you to leave again…so I grabbed it for you.” He fidgets with the ruffled edge, but his eyes don’t leave mine.
It takes a second before I snap out of my surprise, eventually grabbing my phone off the floor. “…Thanks….” I saunter around the bed like this is completely normal and reach over him to put it on his charger. He fingers the edge of the towel as I drop next to him, shaking his head and letting out a soft laugh. But he says nothing as his eyes meet mine. Instead, his thumb brushes my cheek, and he presses the sweetest kiss to my lips. Tingles scatter through me, and I melt. Only tonight ?
He lingers on my lips for a lifetime before whispering, “Patti was wrong…”
My brows knit while I wait for him to explain.
“Back then, I didn’t look at you like you hung the moon… I looked at you like you were the sun. You lit up my world in a way I didn’t know was possible.”
My jaw drops, and a timid smile slides across his lips. He pushes a finger under my chin to close my mouth, then slips my bonnet over my hair, taking care to tuck in the stray curls.
“There’s another thing we can forget in the morning, honey bear.” He turns me away from him and nuzzles into my neck. Molding his body to mine, his breath grows deep, leaving me to deal with that bombshell confession on my own.
Morning comes too fast, the sun waking me slowly as it streams through the window. Blinking a few times, the room comes into focus while soft, slow kisses land on my bare shoulder. A quiet moan eases from my lips, a surprising calm washing over me with each tender brush of his. All through the night, I seemed to be aware of his roughened fingers caressing my stomach in his sleep, his musky cologne easing me into a hazy comfort. I could get used to feeling his skin on mine, and I sleepily wonder if we could work in the light of day. Maybe we could .
“Good morning, honey bear,” Hunter’s gruff voice whispers in my ear from behind. His arm is draped lazily over my hip, the same as it was when he fell asleep last night. He kisses my shoulder one last time and tugs me closer with a sigh. The mattress shifts, and then he’s gone, feet padding against the hardwood as he walks out into the hallway.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand. When I tap the screen, I get an eyeful of a scantily clad Ava before I realize it isn’t my phone in my hand. A lump forms in my throat as reality slaps me in the face, waking me up completely. Slipping Hunter’s phone back on the small wooden table, I use the sobering realization crashing down around me to find my resolve. He’s still talking to Ava .
Last night was earthshaking and devastating, all at once. He was true to his word and took his time, thoroughly enjoying every inch of me. By the end of the night, I felt like an untouchable goddess. But seeing that message on his phone is a stark reminder that we’re no different from who we were before. Nothing will come of this—nothing can. We’re still, after the most amazing night together, complete opposites who want different things.
All of that aside; this was the arrangement. We pretend to be who we’re not for one night, and then we forget it. We go back to life as normal. Random women throwing themselves at his feet is a normal occurrence for him. And I don’t want to look like the unhinged codependent who went through his phone after sex. It’s none of my business who he’s talking to, anyway. That text was the splash of cold water I needed to snap out of the passionate haze I succumbed to last night. It ends here .
I jump up, snatch my phone off the nightstand, and retighten the gaping towel I fell asleep in as I search the room for my scattered clothes. Gathering them in one arm, I slide off my bonnet and clutch the towel to my body with the other, scanning the floor for my panties.
“Looking for this?” Hunter asks, dangling my thong from the tip of his finger. He leans against the door frame, all brown taught muscles in their glory, wearing nothing more than his boxer briefs and a smart-ass smirk.
“Give. Them. Back.” I glare at him, punctuating each word. He’s playing games with me—games that I don’t have the patience for this morning.
“Come get them…”
“No. Bring them here. And stop looking at me like that!” I snap back at him.
“Like what?”
“Like you can”—tortured squeaks bubble from my throat as my mouth tries to find the right words, landing on—“see me naked.”
“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you butt-ass naked under that towel? It wasn’t exactly secure when we woke up…” He bites his lip, taking his sweet time looking me up and down. I could punch him.
“Knock. It. Off. This was a onetime, late-night lapse in judgme?—”
“Three.”
“Three what?” Exasperation wheezes out of me as I scan the room for anything else that may have gotten removed. The irritation in my voice only deepens the amusement on his face.
“Three times… It was a three-time lapse in judgment for you, but who’s counting?”
“ Ugh !” I groan into the clothes in my hand. “You’re so damn?—”
“Irresistible?” Smiling widely, he twirls my thong around his finger.
I stomp over to him, the terry cloth chafing my skin with each determined step. “You agreed never to talk about last night,” I say, poking his chest.
“Naw.” He shakes his head. “I didn’t agree to anything. You said we could pretend it didn’t happen, and then you kissed me. So I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you and kiss you.”
He pulls me toward him so quickly, I let out a gasp before his lips smother mine. Why is he so damn good at this ? Kissing is basic—elementary. And yet, when he kisses me, it feels multifaceted. Like the threads of his heart weave intricately with mine, through space and time, organizing in the most perfect way that leaves me lightheaded and flustered. As if past, present, and future are one and the same, and kissing me is the only thing holding the universe together. He kisses me like he wants to keep kissing me, and it’s easy to get lost in it.
“Hello?” a voice calls down the hall.
I pull away, wide-eyed. He tosses my panties in his open bag, then ushers me behind the door.
“Hey.” Hunter holds up a couple of fingers in greeting. I try to slow my panicked breathing as footsteps stop near the door.
“You just wake up?” Chase asks, leaning on the opposite side of the door frame. “It’s almost nine-thirty.”
“Naw, I’ve been up for a while. Just taking my time.”
“Ew, Hunter, put some damn clothes on!” Kayla’s voice sounds from the hallway. I’m no longer breathing. If I die, I die. The only thing keeping them from seeing me wrapped up in a towel in Hunter’s bedroom is the gap where the door meets the frame. I peek around to shoot Hunter a look.
“Yeah, yeah.” Hunter shifts his weight to his other foot, glancing at me quickly before continuing the conversation. “You two make sure to choose a room far away from mine.”
“Hey,” a third voice echoes from the hallway.
Hunter nods, scrunching his forehead with a confused look. “How’s it going, Trevor?”
Trevor ? Great . It’s a goddamn party out there, and Hunter’s entertaining it, while I’m just here, naked, in his room.
“Where’s Ash?” Kayla asks.
“Mmm, I think she said she was taking a walk. Should be back soon.”
“You let her walk out there alone? There are bears out there, Hunter! What’s wrong with you?” Kayla chides.
“Maybe you should go out there and look for her, then.” He tips his head toward the back door. “Give the bears a two-for-one deal.”
“Chase, handle your friend,” she says in a huff, turning back down the hallway. I hear a door shut in the distance.
“Not even five minutes and you’ve already pissed her off. Cool. Thanks, man.” Chase blows out a breath, his steps retreating until another door closes.
As soon as Hunter shuts his door, I throw my sweater over my head, sliding the towel off only after I’m sufficiently covered in my oversized top. Hopping on one leg, I hike up my leggings and catch Hunter watching me with that stupid smirk. I jam my phone in my pocket with a scowl.
Rolling my eyes, I tuck my bonnet under my arm and reach up to twirl my hair into a messy top knot. I stomp over to him and put my finger in his face. “If you say anything?—”
“I won’t.” He wraps his hand around mine, lifts it to his lips, and dusts it with a kiss. “But you need to be quiet before they hear you.”
“Hunter,” I growl, shaking my head at him.
“ Shh ! I won’t. Just…go, before they get suspicious.” He moves me behind him as he opens the door and peeks into the hallway. With the coast clear, he shoves me out and swats me on the ass, making me yelp in surprise. I turn around, my mouth gaping at his audacity. Shrugging, he winks and closes the door. Like hell he’s letting last night go .