17. Escaped
SEVENTEEN
Escaped
WILLOW
“You’ve got me feeling like a kid again, bright eyes,” Ash whispered. “Sneaking through the house with a girl, hoping my dad doesn’t wake up.”
Only in our case, hoping Ro stayed asleep upstairs in the loft.
“You could take me to the local high school one night and show me what happens under the bleachers.” I shut the bedroom door behind us, keeping my voice and giggle low.
“I like the way you’re thinking.” He sat on the bed and removed his yellow and black flannel shirt. My eyes glazed over at the sight of him here, his golden skin and abs on display.
“Then you should have taken a peek inside my head today with all the thoughts about you.” I removed my wool sweater, leaving my bra on. The heat of his eyes on me prickled my skin.
“Oh yeah? Tell me.”
“I’d rather show you.” I dropped to my knees between his legs and licked my lips.
“Yep. I definitely like the way you think.” He quickly undid his jeans and shoved them down. His rod of steel popped out, twitching toward my mouth.
I devoured him, my tongue claiming him while my hand worked mercilessly at his base.
“Holy fuck, look at you on your knees, taking all of me in,” he growled, his hips bucking upward. His hand gathered my hair to one side. “That’s it. Such a good girl, swallowing every inch. You look beautiful, sucking me so good. The best I’ve ever had.”
Drunk on his praise, knowing how closely he watched me, I swallowed him even deeper. My grip became iron at his base as he began to thrust against my throat. I groaned around him; the vibration making him curse and shudder.
“Is this too much?” He gasped, his voice breaking when I almost gagged.
I let him go with a pop and peered up at him, fluttering my lashes, tears coming to my eyes. “I can handle it.”
He grinned and caressed my cheek. “Yes, you can. Carry on, gorgeous.”
His outdoorsy scent overwhelmed me as I pressed my face against him, taking over like a starving animal returning to the hunt. I became possessed with the need to break him apart. My mouth sucked like a vise, and my throat relaxed further to take it all, never stopping until I had his surrender.
His grunts multiplied, his restraint giving in as pleasure overtook him. When he came, his fingers twisted painfully in my hair, but I didn’t move. He erupted, biting his lip, swallowing his moans. I consumed him completely, every drop, until he fell back on the bed, spent.
“Ah. This bed is everything I hoped it’d be.” His chest rose and fell. “And much more comfortable than that pitiful mattress at the bunkhouse.”
I crawled up beside him, curling into his arms, hating that I lay every night in this luxury while he slept in a house of snoring men. I played my fingertips gently along the hard ridges of his muscles, listening to his heartbeat and breathing return to regular levels.
The past week had become our new normal. He was finally mine. He’d shown up every day to see Ro off to the bus, as promised. But after, he returned to the cabin, and we attacked each other like we couldn’t get enough.
The first morning, he’d taken me from behind at the kitchen counter while I was baking cookies for the open house.
Another morning, I rode him on a pile of blankets in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace.
And I’d never forget how we figured out a way to fit the two of us into the cozy little shower here in the bathroom and get each other off.
Now this. Tonight after church, Poppy had brought Ro back to the cabin early because she was tired.
It gave Ash and me more time to sway to the music as Knox played, and hang out with everyone at the pergola.
But when he drove us back to the cabin, I didn’t want the night to end.
I talked him into sneaking in here after Poppy left with her sisters.
This was his cabin, and he had every right to be here with us.
“I want to wake up in your arms, Ash,” I admitted, lifting on an elbow to see his reaction.
He opened one eye. “What about Ro?”
That was more than a question about my daughter, but about us. People could see we were together, but we kept careful around Ro. I didn’t think she caught on yet that Ash and I were—something.
I had no doubt where Ash and I were headed—to forever together—but until he confirmed he was on the same page, I hated to get her hopes up about us becoming a family.
“I could set my phone alarm and leave before she wakes up,” he suggested.
I sighed back into him. “Right, guess we’re not ready to tell her yet.”
“Hey, we’ll figure it out at some point.
” He must have sensed that I was troubled, because he rolled over on top of me, kneeing my thighs open.
He hovered on his elbows and kissed me. “But right now, I need to be inside you. I need to take you in my bed for the first time in this cozy cabin I built.”
His cock hard again, so fast, proved a perfect distraction from the conversation we needed to have someday.
“Mmm.” My voice was thick with sleep when Ash’s phone alarm went off.
“Morning, beautiful.” He nuzzled into my neck, kissing that sensitive spot below my ear. “How are you feeling?”
I curled deeper into him. “Like last night was a dream.”
“You didn’t imagine anything. You and me sleeping together in this bed was very real. And I want to do it again.” He kissed my earlobe. “And again.” He kissed down to my breast, where my nipple puckered in the frosty morning air, warming to his tongue twirling around it. “And again.”
Suddenly, we heard Ro’s little feet taking the steps one by one from the loft.
“Shit, she’s up early,” I whispered, panic setting in. I wanted to tell Ro about us, but in a planned, calm way—and fully clothed. Not like this, where she could burst through the bedroom door any second and find us naked together.
We both shot upright, listening to her footsteps moving through the living room to the kitchen, accompanied by her voice as she talked to herself about horses and breakfast and whether she should wear her good blue boots or her sneakers to school. The cabin walls were surprisingly thin.
“We should tell her about us before she figures it out herself.” I hissed. I hopped out of bed and studied his face for any sign.
“Can I get dressed first?” He threw back the covers, and I tossed his clothes on the bed beside him. I found my leggings and his flannel and pulled them on, thinking fast.
“I didn’t mean right this second,” I backtracked.
“No, of course. She’s been through enough upheaval in her young life—losing her father, leaving California, starting over in a new place with new people.”
“Add the fact that her mother is in some kind of relationship with her uncle?” I chortled and shook my head.
“Some kind?” His words made me pause, and I saw the confusion flash through his eyes and his brow furrow. “Yeah. You’re right. We should talk about it and make a plan.”
“Mom?” Ro’s voice called out from the kitchen, startling me. “Are you awake? We’re out of cereal, and I’m hungry. Will Uncle Ash be bringing pancakes this morning?”
“I’ll be right out, sweetie,” I yelled back. Then dropped to a whisper again. “You need to go.”
“Where?” Ash froze like a solid block in the middle of the room, dressed and eyes wide.
“Window?” I pointed.
He snickered. “Damn woman. Like I said last night. You make me feel like a teenager again.”
He unlocked the window and raised it. His bulky frame would barely fit through, but it was the only option.
“Mom? I hear voices. Are you talking to someone?” Ro’s footsteps came closer, curiosity in her voice.
“Just talking to myself, honey, like you do. You know how we are.” I let out a nervous laugh. Ash was halfway out the window when I pecked his cheek. “Be careful.”
“The things I do for you.” He caught my hand and pulled me back for a deeper kiss. A dance of our tongues. A sigh, longing for more. I broke away when the temptation to linger on his lips became too strong.
He dropped to the ground, and I watched him run off toward the mess hall. I shut the window and hurried to the kitchen.
“Hi my love. You’re up a little early.” I brought her in for a big hug. Her hair smelled like the strawberry bath bubbles she’d used last night. I smelled of Ash and sex.
She yawned. “I couldn’t sleep well. I thought I heard strange noises all night long.”
My heart lodged in my throat. Definitely not very soundproof around here. Ash and I tried to be as quiet as possible. Clearly, we’d need to try harder next time. God, I desired a next time and so many more times .
“And what’s Uncle Ash’s truck doing here already? Where is he?” Oh, my girl was very observant.
“Uh, he just parked it there when he dropped me off last night and then walked to the bunkhouse. He’ll be by with pancakes soon. I’m going to take a shower.”
Once I shut the bathroom door behind me, I leaned against it and exhaled. From the moment we arrived in Montana, things had moved fast between me and Ash. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. This was exactly what I wanted. Now we needed to figure out the forever part.