Chapter 24
Ash sank back against Willow’s warm embrace, steam rising from the bubbles as water sloshed over the side of the tub.
“Careful there, cowboy. You can’t hop into a bathtub like you’re hopping on the back of a horse.”
He leaned his head on her shoulder and looked up at her, a grin spreading across his face. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “But if patience and grace is what you’re looking for, then you should think twice before you get naked, cover yourself in bubbles, and ask me to lay between your legs.”
She laughed and grabbed the soft bath sponge from the side of the tub, soaked it in the water, and then gently scrubbed it up and down his chest.
Ash sighed and sank even further against her, his shoulders relaxing. “When you said you were going to do all sorts of things to me when we got home, I don’t think I realized what you meant.”
“You worked hard carrying me all the way home. Maybe I wanted to pamper you a bit before getting you all worked up again.” Willow kissed his neck. “Are you disappointed?”
“God, no…” he replied. “This is…” His eyes fell closed. “Why have we never done this before?”
She continued dragging the sponge up his torso, down his arms. She filled it with water and held it above him, letting a steady stream of water trickle over his skin, and Ash thought he might just want to call the whole career thing quits and live here, in Willow’s arms, letting her pamper the hell out of him.
“Because you had a closet for a shower on the tour bus, we didn’t see each other for four years, and then I backpedaled when things were getting too serious too quickly after the camping trip. Which was amazing, by the way.”
“But you got spooked,” he replied.
“I got spooked,” Willow admitted.
He wrapped his arms around her thighs, and his hands on her skin must have made her lose concentration because she dropped the sponge right on his face.
Ash laughed and then shook his head like a golden retriever. “Did I spook you again?” He grabbed the sponge and tossed it gently over his head in mock retaliation, but Willow caught it.
“You did,” she confessed. “I mean, not by touching me because I really do like that, but with Annabeth this morning.”
Ash sat up straight and clumsily spun himself in the tub. A pile of bubbles joined the small puddle on the tile, but he was facing her now in all of her naked, bubble-spotted glory.
“So why are we here now, Wills?” He scrubbed a palm over his face, trying to hide the worry in his expression. They didn’t have to talk this out. He knew she was ready and willing to just let whatever was happening between them happen. But he needed to know if tonight was any different from the night in the tent. He needed to know how to keep her from getting spooked again.
Willow bit back a laugh. “Sorry… Let me just…” She wiped the bubbles from his chin and jaw. Then she draped her legs over his, slid closer, and cupped his face in her palms. “Bubble stubble,” she told him.
He rested his hands firmly on her hips. “Are you sidestepping my question?” he asked, brows raised.
She made a move to scooch forward, but he held her in place, waiting for an answer.
“Oh…you want me to answer you now?” she asked, feigning innocence. “Because I thought it was time for me to do all of those fun things to you.”
Ash growled softly. “You are not playing fair. But yes…answer now. Please. Complete and total honesty, no matter what. You can do anything you want to me after.”
Willow grabbed his hands and slid them considerably lower so that he was now gripping one very naked cheek in each palm. She laughed as he gritted his teeth, jaw pulsing as he held on to every last shred of his resolve.
“Okay,” she relented. “You win, but if you ever try to tell me I’m irresistible, I’m going to remind you of this very moment when you resisted .”
He exhaled a shaky breath through his nose but said nothing, so she had no choice but to fill the silence.
“We’re here now, cowboy, because performing with you tonight was the most fun I’ve had onstage in years, even if that stage means the soles of my sneakers will be sticky for weeks to come.”
This made him smile. “Me too,” he told her.
“We’re here now,” Willow continued, “because it turns out that you were just as young and na?ve as I was four years ago. You made a mistake, one that hurt me more than I knew I could hurt…” He flinched, and she cupped the side of his face in her palm. “Complete and total honesty, right?” Ash nodded slowly, and she sucked in a steadying breath. “We’re here now because after what you did for me tonight—what you’ve been doing for me since the moment you came to after I knocked you out cold—I trust that you would never hurt me like that again.”
He let her move closer, so close that he was right there, between her legs. But he needed to not be holding her ass when he said what he was going to say next. So he wrapped his arms around her back, holding her as tight and as close as he could while still being able to look her in the eye.
“I will never hurt you like that again, Willow.” He kissed her, slowly and sweetly, letting his lips linger on hers before he spoke again. “Do you really trust me?” he asked, his voice rough.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“And if people post about us on social media after tonight?”
She shrugged. “Let them post.” Then she hooked her legs over his hips and whispered, “I loved you once too.”
Ash’s breath caught in his throat. He’s spent four years dwelling on how he’d loved her and lost her, and he hadn’t realized until that moment that Willow had never uttered those words. Even if they were past tense, they were an admission…a redemption…and maybe, if he was lucky, a promise.
“Willow,” he whispered, but that was the only word he could manage. So he lifted her slightly and placed her exactly where he needed her to be.
“Wait…” She lowered her knees to the base of the tub and braced herself. “I was supposed to do all the things,” she reminded him.
He gazed up at her, knowing that even if she couldn’t say the words now, there was love in her dark eyes, a love for him that he would do his damnedest to earn every day from here on out.
“There’s only one thing I need,” he whispered.
In answer, she sank down, burying him inside her, her lips parting as they brushed against his.
***
Later, after they’d cleaned up and dried off, Willow padded into the kitchen combing her fingers through her damp hair, wearing nothing but a pair of white cotton underwear that looked like a tiny pair of shorts.
“Okay, that’s my favorite outfit you’ve ever worn,” he teased.
She looked him up and down, raising a brow at his similar attire, a pair of black boxer briefs.
“Likewise, my friend,” she replied.
He handed her one of the two glasses of water he’d poured and held his up for a toast.
“Should we drink to never wearing clothes in the house again?” she asked.
“Hmmm…” Ash mused. “Might get awkward if one of our brothers pops by unannounced, especially if they bring their children.”
Willow nodded sagely. “True. True. Okay. I’d like to amend my proposal to no clothes after dark, once we assure any surprise family visits are off the table.”
“Like…after a toddler or baby’s bedtime?”
“Exactly!” she agreed. “Like, right now, all babies and toddlers are totally asleep, right? So we can continue this mostly naked thing we have going until we wake up tomorrow!”
They clinked their glasses together just as someone pounded on the front door.
Willow yelped, keeping hold of her glass but managing to toss its contents in Ash’s face. Then she dropped her glass on the counter and covered her breasts with her hands.
“Ash?” Eli called from outside the door. “It’s supposed to rain early in the morning, and your guitars are in the bed of my truck.”
Ash shook his head and huffed out a laugh.
“And Colt wants to make sure Willow got home okay since you two kind of disappeared without saying goodbye.”
“Shit!” Willow hissed glancing down at her handmade bikini top. She made a beeline back for the bedroom but stopped short when she heard her name.
“Wills?” It was Colt’s voice this time. “I left you two voicemails. Is everything okay in there?”
“Oh my god!” she whisper-shouted. “He’s here ?”
Ash was full on laughing now as he strode toward the door.
“You’re answering like that ?” she cried. “You know my brother doesn’t exactly like you yet, right?”
Oh, Ash knew. “Do you want to hide this from him?” he asked, his resolve faltering.
Willow bit her lip and shook her head.
He blew out a breath and clapped his hands together. “Then I guess there’s no time like the present.” So he strode toward the door while Willow scurried into the bedroom to grab something other than her own palms to wear as a top.
Ash threw the door open and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Evening, gentleman. What can I do for you?”
“Jesus, Ash!” Eli exclaimed. “You could have just told me through the door that you’d grab the guitars later.”
“Where is my sister, Murphy?” Colt asked. “And why the hell is your face wet?”
“Right here!” Willow called.
Ash heard the pitter-patter of her bare feet behind him until she was standing at his side wearing the white T-shirt he’d been wearing at the tavern for their performance.
Colt’s eyes darkened as he glanced from Ash to his sister and then back at Ash.
“Come on, Colt,” Willow said playfully. “You saw me kiss him. What did you think we were sneaking out to do?”
Colt covered his ears and shook his head. “Baby sister. Baby sister. Baby sister,” he chanted.
Willow snorted, then grabbed her brother’s hands and yanked them away. “Your baby sister is almost thirty years old. She’s a grown-up who does grown-up things like have sex .”
Colt winced. “With the asshole who broke your heart?”
“Hey,” Eli interrupted. “He might be an asshole, but he’s still my brother.”
“Sorry,” Colt mumbled.
“Um…thanks?” Ash replied to both of them.
Willow threw up her hands. “It’s not like this is the first time we’ve slept together since I’ve been here. What did you think we were doing when we disappeared overnight to the campgrounds? What do you think we were doing on the tour bus four summers ago?”
“All right! All right!” Colt relented. “I know you’re an adult, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop wanting to protect you, okay?”
Willow grabbed Ash’s hand and threaded her fingers through his. “Your protection sounds an awful lot like judgment right now,” she said coolly.
Colt’s mouth fell open, but no words came out.
“You don’t have to defend me,” Ash told her. “He has a point.”
She looked at him and shook her head. “I’m not. I’m defending me .” Then she turned her attention back to her brother. “Whether you agree or disagree with my choices, you need to respect them because they are my choices. And that means no more of your big-brother chats with Ash when you think I’m not looking.”
Colt raised his brows. “You told her about that?” he asked Ash accusingly.
Willow laughed. “No! You did. Just now.”
Colt’s mouth fell open, and Ash bit back a grin.
“And no more looking at me like I kicked your puppy if the subject of me having sex ever comes up again.”
“You know what?” Eli said. “I think I’m just going to go and grab those guitars.” He spun back toward his truck without another word.
“He looks like he might need help,” Ash suggested, attempting a getaway even if it meant heading outside barefoot in his underwear. But Willow only squeezed his hand tighter.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she told him. “We’re settling this right here, right now.” She let go of Ash’s hand only to grab his wrist. She did the same with Colt, grabbing his right wrist. “Now shake hands and be friends.”
Ash had a sudden sense of déjà vu. Hadn’t she done the exact same thing with him and Boone? Willow had been instrumental in getting him to reestablish a relationship with his brothers, and now she was trying to smooth things over with him and Colt.
Ash grabbed Colt’s hand first, and Colt responded with his own firm grip, which he guessed was more competition than it was acquiescence.
“I care about her, Colt,” Ash told him. “I’m not going to hurt her.”
“I care about her more,” Colt replied.
Willow sighed, then placed her hand over theirs. “Then I’m one hell of a lucky girl to have you both in my corner. Time to shake on it, boys.”
And because underneath it all, Ash knew Colt Morgan would do anything for his sister, the other man nodded, and they both shook.
The two men dropped their hands as Eli approached, a guitar case in each hand.
“Thank you, Eli,” Willow said, grabbing her case as Ash grabbed his.
Eli laughed. “Always happy to escape an awkward situation.” He turned to Colt. “Can I take you home to your wife now?”
Colt nodded.
“I’ll call Jenna, and we’ll have you all over for dinner sometime in the next week. You and Beth and Boone and Casey, too,” Willow added, turning her attention to Eli.
“Sounds great,” Eli replied.
Colt forced a smile. “Yeah, Wills. Sounds great.” He kissed her on the forehead and then said goodbye, following Eli back to his truck.
Willow grabbed Ash’s hand and led him back to the bedroom where they both plopped down on the side of the bed.
“Well, your brother definitely still hates me, and I think it’s safe to say that our after-dark naked pact is a thing of the past.”
Willow stood and lifted his T-shirt over her head so she was very much naked again.
“Are you kidding? Those two are never knocking on that door again without calling first, and I’m sure they’ll spread the word to Boone. We can be naked all the time now if we want.” She pushed him down on his back and climbed over him. “And while you might be right about my brother, I think I know how to take your mind off of your troubles.”
She shimmied out of her sexy little shorts and yanked his boxer briefs down to his knees.
“What troubles?” he asked.
And…naked time was officially reinstated.