Chapter 17
Eve distractedly chewed at her thumb nail as she stood in front of the window next to the crackling fireplace in Aspen’s bedroom, watching the snow that had begun during dinner dance through the beam of the patio light below. Two hours had passed since she’d texted her parents, and they had yet to respond. Honestly, she’d expected them to call and demand she get her ass to the venue the moment they got the text, but her phone had been increasingly, uncomfortably silent as it didn’t ring or buzz with an alert of any kind.
It was so wildly out of character for them that she didn’t know if she should be terrified or relieved by their radio silence.
The feeling of Aspen’s arms wrapping around her waist jolted her from her thoughts, and she sighed as she melted back into her, all concerns about the diatribe she’d eventually suffer banished by the comforting strength of Aspen’s embrace.
Aspen squeezed her lightly and dropped a kiss to her cheek. “Still nothing from them?”
Eve shook her head and stroked the backs of Aspen’s forearms. “Not a peep,” she confirmed.
Aspen hummed in a way that somehow conveyed the same annoyance and relief that Eve was feeling. Her voice was carefully neutral when she asked, “Is that a good thing?”
“I don’t know.” Eve slid her hands over Aspen’s, and her rampaging anxiety calmed just enough when Aspen’s arms flexed around her middle to hold her a little bit tighter for her to admit, “Probably not.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
Eve shook her head. What’s done was done. All that was left was to manage the fallout whenever it hit, but for as much as she dreaded the oncoming storm, she didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to waste a single moment of happiness with Aspen by worrying about them . She curled her fingers to stroke the backs of Aspen’s hands and leaned her head back onto Aspen’s shoulder. “What you’re doing now is perfect.”
“It’s pretty perfect for me, too.”
The tenderness in Aspen’s voice wrapped around Eve’s heart like a gentle hug, and she closed her eyes as she let herself fully relax in Aspen’s arms, knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that she would keep her safe. Aspen had seen the messiest parts of her and hadn’t run. In fact, she had done the complete opposite—throwing herself headlong into that mess with her metaphorical fists raised, ready to fight on her behalf.
Eve bit her lip against the tears that stung at the backs of her eyes. She’d always sworn that she didn’t need a champion, that she could handle things on her own because she’d never had anyone she let in enough to help carry the load, but Aspen had assumed the position so naturally that it was only now, in this quiet moment and the safety of her embrace, that she realized just how much she’d come to rely on her strength. Her poise. Her unwavering support and sense of calm.
Eve hadn’t realized the tears she’d been fighting had broken free until Aspen kissed them tenderly away, one after the other without comment, and then there was no holding them back.
“Oh, baby,” Aspen whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “What’s wrong?”
Eve sniffed and shook her head. “Nothing.”
“These don’t seem like nothing,” Aspen countered as she gently kissed away two more tears.
It wasn’t nothing. Not at all. But Eve didn’t know how to explain that she was crying because, for the first time in her life, she felt like she could breathe. So instead of saying anything, she turned in Aspen’s arms and kissed her. She poured all of herself and her too-fragile heart into the kiss, desperate to convey with her lips and her tongue and the gentle pressure of her fingers at the back of Aspen’s neck just how much Aspen meant to her because to do so out loud would be insane. They’d only known each other for fifty-two hours, but in her heart, she felt like she’d known Aspen forever.
“God, Eve,” Aspen sighed between kisses, her voice thick with so much emotion that Eve couldn’t help but let herself believe that Aspen felt it too.
A breathy, broken moan caught in Eve’s throat at the feeling of strong hands curving around her waist to pull her closer, and she pressed up onto the balls of her feet as she angled her head to deepen the kiss. She let herself be carried away by the warm, swirling tide that welled inside her as she pressed closer, her hands roaming idly along the planes of Aspen’s back and the curve of her ribs as they traded one long, deep, languid kiss after another, each soft sigh and gentle brush of their tongues tenderly stoking the fire of their desire into a gentle blaze.
The groan that rumbled in Aspen’s throat when she slipped her hands under her sweatshirt was so decadent that it made Eve’s stomach flip. It was a thrill to know that Aspen wanted her, needed her, just as much as she needed Aspen.
Eve pressed her hips into Aspen’s as she caressed the length of her ribs with even more deliberate languor than their kisses, delighting in the softness of her skin and the way it warmed under her hands. She dragged the tip of her tongue across the top of Aspen’s mouth as she slid her hands higher, and her breath caught when her fingers ghosted along the curves of Aspen’s bare breasts.
“So soft,” she exhaled as she caressed the perimeter of Aspen’s breasts with the backs of her fingers.
“God, Eve,” Aspen whimpered as she arched into her hands. “Please take it off.”
It was a request Eve was only too willing to satisfy. She kissed her slow and deep as she dragged the backs of her fingers along Aspen’s sides in much the same tender way she’d touched her breasts, slowly working the sweatshirt higher and higher until it fell in a ripple to their feet. Her hands dropped to cradle Aspen’s breasts as their mouths came together again, and she sighed as their kisses picked up right where they’d left off.
She honestly wasn’t sure which of them moaned louder when her thumbs brushed over Aspen’s nipples that stiffened beautifully beneath her touch, and she continued to lazily pluck and play with the taut buds even as Aspen began unbuttoning the flannel she’d liberated from her closet when she’d changed earlier. Like Aspen, she’d also chosen to forego a bra, and Aspen hummed appreciatively as she pushed the borrowed shirt off her shoulders.
Aspen’s gaze burned with equal parts hunger and devotion as she took Eve’s breasts into her hands, and her voice was shadowed and rough like textured velvet when she whispered, “You are so goddamn beautiful.”
“You are,” Eve replied just as reverently.
“God, Eve,” Aspen sighed, her hands dropping to Eve’s waist to pull their bodies together as she claimed her lips in another devastatingly tender kiss.
The warmth of Aspen’s skin against her own was electric, and Eve alternated between clinging to Aspen and caressing as much of that beautiful body as she could reach as they traded one slow, deep kiss after another. She swirled her tongue around Aspen’s as she hooked her thumbs beneath the waistband of Aspen’s joggers and boxers, and sucked against it lightly as she pushed them down over her hips and thighs until gravity took over and carried them the rest of the way to the floor.
“So gorgeous,” Eve whispered as she grabbed Aspen’s firm behind. A rush of arousal crashed between her thighs at the feeling of Aspen’s glutes flexing beneath her hands, and she scratched her nails encouragingly across the curve of Aspen’s ass as she kissed her hungrily.
Eve mewled when Aspen’s hands found their way to the waistband of her leggings, and she smiled when Aspen murmured, “You have too many clothes on,” against her lips. She agreed wholeheartedly with the assessment, but she wasn’t about to stop touching Aspen to take them off herself. “So take them off,” she husked as she dragged her right hand up Aspen’s body to play with her breast.
Aspen whined when her nipple was rolled firmly between Eve’s thumb and forefinger, and kissed her hard once before pulling away with a rasped, “Brilliant idea,” as she dropped to her knees.
Eve tipped her head back with a moan when Aspen nuzzled her through her leggings, and she threaded her fingers through Aspen’s hair for balance as Aspen tugged them down over her hips. The warmth of the fire against her back had nothing on the heat of Aspen’s mouth against her belly as she stepped out of her clothes. She tightened her grip on Aspen’s hair as strong hands wrapped around her thighs and urged them open wider, and clenched with a fresh wave of arousal at the low, rumbling tenor of the “Good girl,” her compliance earned her.
Aspen clearly noticed the effect her words had, because she moaned and pressed her forehead to Eve’s belly as she husked, “Fuck, you smell so good.”
“Aspen…”
Aspen sank back to her heels and rubbed her cheek against Eve’s inner thigh as she stared up at her with dark eyes that reflected the dancing flames of the fire. “What do you want?”
“You.”
Aspen’s smile was pleased as she caressed the arc where Eve’s ass met her legs. “You have me, beautiful girl.”
It was all Eve could do to keep her eyes open as another rush of desire crashed between her thighs, and she licked at her lips as she summoned the air to whimper, “Please. I need you.”
Aspen forfeited her own battle to keep her eyes open as Eve’s plea rained down on her, and she moaned as she surged forward to angle her head between Eve’s legs.
“Oh, yes,” Eve hissed at the first light flick of Aspen’s tongue against her clit. She widened her stance as she pressed herself closer to the source of her pleasure, and groaned when Aspen’s hands wrapped around her hips to hold her still.
“Patience, beautiful,” Aspen murmured silkily. She nuzzled between Eve’s legs and dropped a soft, intimate kiss to her clit. “I’ll take care of you.”
“Aspen…”
“I know, baby.” Aspen’s hands drifted to caress Eve’s ass as she dragged her tongue through the length of her, spreading her open wider before finishing with a bold, firm lick over her clit that made her hips jump. “God, I can’t get enough of you,” she exhaled, her voice soft with wonder as she used her hold on Eve’s ass to tug her closer so she could drag her tongue through Eve’s wetness again.
Eve tipped her head back with a trembling moan of wanton surrender as Aspen’s tongue swirled around her clit. The press of Aspen’s hands on her ass guided her hips into a rolling grind that matched the languid pace of the mouth between her legs. The soft sounds of pleasure that Aspen made as she worshipped her with licks and sucks affected her just as much as the heavenly glide of Aspen’s lips and tongue, and it wasn’t long before the heat of her building orgasm began to spread down her trembling legs and up her belly. She scratched at the back of Aspen’s head as she rocked against her mouth, searching for more contact one moment and then pulling away in the next when sensation became too much.
Her hips jerked when Aspen’s tongue rubbed firmly over her clit, and she cried out in pleasure when the sensitive bud was pulled between Aspen’s soft, full lips with a slow, heavy suck, that was so exquisite her knees very nearly gave out. She mewled with a mixture of relief and regret when the pressure eased, and a heartbeat later she was crying out Aspen’s name like a prayer when that wickedly talented mouth enveloped her once more.
The rolling grind of her hips against Aspen’s mouth became increasingly erratic as her pleasure built to a crescendo, and then they stilled in a hard, heavy grind that pressed her clit against Aspen’s tongue as her release washed over her. The pounding of her pulse in her ears drowned out the gasps and cries that spilled from her lips as she came against Aspen’s mouth. She whimpered when the waves of her pleasure began to ease, and Aspen stood to take her into her arms.
She wrapped her arms around Aspen’s neck as Aspen’s lips found hers, and moaned at the taste of herself on Aspen’s tongue. She clung to Aspen as they traded slow, deep, messy kisses, and smiled when Aspen pulled away to paint a string of kisses along the line of her jaw to nip at her earlobe.
“Fuck, so good,” she sighed happily as the sting of the bite ricocheted through her nipples to tug at her clit.
“You like this?” Aspen murmured as she playfully flicked her tongue against underside of Eve’s jaw.
Eve’s eyes fluttered as tongue sliding lightly over her skin sparked a tendril of heat low in her belly, and she reached up to tangle her fingers in Aspen’s hair encouragingly. “So much. Please don’t stop.”
“Definitely not planning on that,” Aspen promised.
A positively wanton, “Fuck,” tumbled from Eve’s lips when Aspen’s hands dropped to the backs of her thighs and she was lifted easily off her feet, and she wrapped her legs around Aspen’s waist as she was carried toward the bed. She tightened her hold on Aspen’s neck and around her waist as Aspen crawled onto the bed without breaking their kiss, and hummed in pleasure when Aspen’s body blanketed hers.
She trailed her hands down Aspen’s back as her legs fell open, and whispered, “You feel so good,” when Aspen’s powerful hips settled into the cradle of her thighs.
A breathtaking smile lit Aspen’s face as she braced herself on her left arm beside Eve’s head so she could tenderly caressed Eve’s cheek with her right hand. “You do,” Aspen murmured, her voice smoky and textured with longing as she rolled her hips in a gentle grind.
Eve’s heart lodged itself in her throat at the tenderness that laced Aspen’s voice and shone so plainly in her eyes. She cradled Aspen’s face in her hands as she lifted her chin to kiss her. Her body came alive at the way Aspen’s hips pressed into her as their tongues danced and swirled together, and she pulled at the nape of Aspen’s neck as she lifted her hips needfully. She’d just come, but she already needed her again.
“Again?” Aspen asked, her gray silk voice laced with delight.
Eve nodded. “Please.” She arched against Aspen, smearing the evidence of just how much she wanted her over the soft skin of her belly.
Aspen swore softly and kissed her again as, one by one, she took her hands and pinned them to the pillows over her head.
Eve’s throat tightened with emotion when Aspen’s fingers threaded through hers, and her pulse throbbed needfully between her legs when Aspen began to grind against her in time with their slowly stroking tongues. Everything about it was soft and unhurried and absolutely magical, and Eve felt like she was slowly floating away with every languid thrust.
Her eyes rolled back in her head when Aspen’s chin turned her head to the side so she could nuzzle her ear.
“I could do this forever,” Aspen whispered, squeezing Eve’s hands for emphasis as she ground their hips together.
Eve’s throat tightened with emotion. “I would let you.”
“Oh, Eve…” Aspen dragged her mouth back to Eve’s to kiss her as she increased the pressure of her hips.
Soft moans and quiet gasps marked the space between kisses as their bodies fell into a rhythm that was wholly and uniquely theirs, hips rolling, pressing, searching for more, always more, as they lost themselves in each other. Aspen was the first to fall, the steady rhythm of her hips faltering into a long, heavy press as she came with a keening moan, and Eve echoed the sound a moment later when she followed her into release.
Their bodies slowed as they coasted through their ebbing climaxes, and Eve’s heart felt like it was trying to push itself out of her chest when Aspen gazed down at her with such open affection that it stole the air from her lungs as her hips finally stilled.
“That was incredible,” Aspen whispered.
Eve lifted her head to kiss Aspen sweetly. “It was.” She squeezed Aspen’s hands gently and added, “I am so, so glad I met you.”
Aspen smiled beatifically as she dipped her head to whisper against Eve’s lips, “Me too, beautiful girl. Me too.”