22. Ginger
22
GINGER
W hen I told Ashley to make it soon, his proposal to take me out after lunch caught me off guard. I said yes. So long as nobody minded. Jackson easily agreed to let me have the rest of the day off since I didn’t have anything pressing to do, and my mom never misses an opportunity to spend time with Gracie, agreeing to pick her up from school and go to the spa with her.
So, I’m ready by twelve-thirty when Ashley parks in my driveway.
He told me to dress in casual clothes, so I’m in jeans and a nice top. Not work nice, but nice enough. He’s wearing what I’d call a country upgrade. Boots, jeans, and a patterned button-up. He doesn’t have the hat, though.
The way he grins at me has me smiling in return, having jumped out of the running truck to meet me at the door.
“Hey,” he says with that twinkle back in his eyes.
“Hey,” I say as I lock the door behind me and turn to face him. He’s close, smelling of amber and heat. “Where are we off to?”
He takes my hand to walk me around to the passenger door. “Somewhere I can be myself.”
I like the mystery of this. What version of himself does he mean? Where on earth could it be? I bite my tongue and give him my hand back as we drive into the city. I’m brimming with excitement when we pull into the science museum parking lot.
My mouth drops when I turn to him. I haven’t been here since I was a kid on a field trip. I laugh so hard that he must think I am deranged. Ashley is actually an engineer. Of course, he loves science.
I’m hopping out, ready to get in there and play with all of the exhibits. Even if I won’t understand half of them.
He comes around and traps me against the side of his warm truck. “You okay with this?”
I tug on his collar, drawing him close. “Take me inside and show me a good time. I’m going to need some hands-on experience.”
Ashley’s eyes darken, and I’m sure he’s about to kiss me with the way he’s looking at my mouth, but he backs off and offers me his hand.
I take it. We don’t have a long wait to get inside. Since school’s just restarted after the break, the place isn’t packed.
Ashley fist bumps the guy who gives us our wristbands, and I grin at him.
“Someone you know?” I ask.
“Yeah. I tutored him when I was earning my master’s degree. He’s more chemistry-focused than I am.” His hand wraps around mine again, more confident than he has been with me before. Flirty, sure. But this is more genuine than a simple put-on.
I bump into him as we walk. “Where to first?”
“Well, I usually start with the gadgets and inventions area.” He points to our left. “Then I like to go around to the elevators, go upstairs, circle the physical stations, go around back to the elevators, and finish the first floor.”
“Usually? How often do you come here?” We walk toward a rope and pulley system, and it’s time to play.
“At least once a year since I was twelve.”
I purse my mouth as he turns me to sit behind the rope. “And how long ago was that?”
Ashley leans down, matching my mischievous attitude. “It was before you were born.”
Should I be more upset that he’s closer to my dad’s age than mine?
I smooth his collar out and enjoy the flash of darkness in his eyes. “You say that like you’re in your fifties or something. Are you old enough to be my grandpa?”
The way he watches my mouth when I pop the p has me growing warm. I grin at him.
“You’re trouble.” He says it like it’s a good thing.
“Have been my whole life.”
Ashley shakes his head and straightens, seeming older than I usual. We let the subject drop as we play until we’re alone in the elevator and I’m teasing him by getting too close.
“Are you afraid of me knowing how old you are?” I’m between his feet, breasts pressed into his chest, head back to meet his gaze. “You know how old I am, don’t you?”
Brushing my cheek and cradling the back of my head, he leans in for the whisper of a kiss. Tension blooms in the small space. “I’m old enough to be your father.”
“Dad was twenty when he had me.” I search his eyes to see if this bothers him, but it doesn’t seem to. Not with how close we still are. I say with my lips against his, “I’m twenty-four.”
He sucks in a deep breath. “Forty-six.”
I try not to laugh, but my smile hurts my cheeks. “That’s not bad.”
That earns me another shake of the head, and the elevator doors open behind me.
“It doesn’t bother me. Just so you know.” I step out of his grasp and wait for him to follow.
He stands in the doorway, taking me in for a few seconds before he stalks forward and wraps an arm around my waist. It feels different than the times he’s touched me before, even when we had sex around the side of the hospital.
This is more serious. More like an adult man with strong feelings he’s not sure how to express.
I spread my hands up his arms but try to keep us appropriate in front of the kids all around us. “Are you about to impress me with all of these physical tests?
“You have no idea.” God, the gravel in his voice sends heat straight to my core. I bite my lip and lead him to the gymnastics setup.
We jump and play and perform strength tests. Ashley is fast, agile, strong. Me, not so much. When I try to do a pull-up, his hands have to cup my waist to help me lift my chin over the bar.
I want his hands on me all of the time.
In fact, the longer we spend at the museum, the more that’s true, and by the time we make it to the gardens, I’m ready for him to take me home, so I can get my fill of him.
Still, I force myself to stop and examine the exhibits before me. We don’t stop to play with any of the construction equipment because we don’t need to. We already see that stuff every day.
By the time Ashley walks me back to his truck, I’ve imagined what’s coming next for a while already. He boosts me into my seat, hands lingering around my waist.
“Are you going to kiss me, Ashley?” I tip forward enough to tease him without taking action for myself.
His muscles flex under my arms, his fingers knead my back, and he dips closer. “Yes.”
Capturing my lips with his, his kiss is firm, hungry, but I can feel him holding himself back. Now is not the time and place for much more than this.
Yet the tension between us makes it hard to pull apart.
My stomach growls loudly, and we both laugh. “Don’t worry, that’s not my vagina growling at you.”
The way his head falls back with his delight spikes more joy in me. “I guess it’s time to feed you.”
“Yes, please.”
It doesn’t take us long to get back to our neighborhood, the five-mile stretch with the ranch, but he pulls onto one of the access roads and parks us in the middle of the field. Evening is beginning to arrive as he helps me out of the truck again and around the back.
Ashley unfurls sleeping bags and blankets and produces a cooler that I hadn’t seen before
“How did you come up with this all on such short notice?” I wiggle myself under a blanket as he hands me a bottle of sweet tea.
“I do better with this kind of thing if I don’t have too much time to overthink it.” His cheeks get flushed, like being this kind of romantic is embarrassing.
I touch his wrist. “I like this side of you.”
His grin turns him boyish again as he pulls out finger foods—charcuterie packs, seedless grapes, strawberries and blueberries, kettle barbeque chips, and two giant cherry cheese Danishes. He must see how I light up because he relaxes.
“Thought we might stargaze. Supposed to be a clear night, and I have a little telescope that will help us see Jupiter and Saturn.” He sets up his telescope and then helps me to look through it. “They’re on either side. About your thumb’s first knuckle above the horizon.”
Ashley scoots his way behind me, helping me aim at the things he wants me to see. I can see the lines of Jupiter, then the rings of Saturn. It’s so cool. I’ve never gotten to see more than pictures of them before.
I lean back into him. “Very cool.”
His arms tighten around me as we settle in to watch the stars twinkle. The magic of it sprinkles around us. Soon but not too soon, Ashley drops his mouth to my neck, and it grows too hot under the blankets.
When I tip my head back, he takes my invitation, spreading more kisses along that sensitive slope of my skin. He applies a little suction and has me wriggling against him. He rips a moan from me when he sinks his teeth into my skin.
He breathes heavily in my ear. “I’ve missed that sound.”
Fuck, I’m molten in his grip. I want to make him come first this time.
Turning in his grip, I kiss him. Hard. With the kind of impact that leaves no room for doubts. And it works wonders.
He grabs me with that newfound confidence, helping me into his lap as I sink my hand in his hair. Ashley kisses me like a man dying. Our hips grind together, and I can feel the swell of his cock through our jeans.
I want to get my hands on him. Now.
Reaching between us, I make quick work of his fly. Taking hold of him has us drawing in our breath together. I enjoy causing pleasure. It’s a basic component of my personality—feeding people, throwing parties, helping them find what they need…and sex. All the parts of sex. I haven’t found much I don’t enjoy doing.
I stroke him, slow and firm, exploring the veins and ridges of his shaft, the little bundle of nerves under the head, the smooth mushroom shape that catches against my fist.
Ashley’s hand surrounds mine, giving me a new rhythm—slow down, fast up, and squeeze. Repeat. Once I’ve got it, he sinks his hand into my hair instead, kissing me as I work him the way he likes.
When his hips start to move with me, I can’t resist the urge to taste him. His brows furrow as I retreat.
But as I sink down between his knees, his eyes fall to half-mast, following my movements as I lower myself to take him in my mouth.
“Oh, fuck ,” he whispers as I suck hard around his head, stroking his length. I’m not a deepthroat queen, but I know a few tricks that will make him come.
Ashley’s fingers tighten in my hair as his muscles strain under me. “Ginger. I…”
“Let me,” I say before I suck him back into my mouth, laving him with my tongue.
“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck …” His soft chanting urges me on, makes me feel powerful.
It hardly takes another minute before his hips lift, seeking his end. I create as much pressure as I can with my mouth until I feel the first spurt of his cum. The strangled sound he makes has me humming, and when his hand slackens in my hair, I release him, still stroking him gently.
He doesn’t shy away from kissing me, tipping me against his chest and delving into my mouth.
Ashley rolls me into the pile of blankets, rearing above me, his eyes threatening to scorch me. “Your turn.”