Chapter 32
Asher
With the Harmons forfeiting their funding, all plans to expand the camp have been put on hold for the foreseeable future.
It doesn’t affect the repairs needed for the storm-damaged cabin next door, thank fuck, though that’s a small relief in the grand scheme of things.
Construction for the new development was supposed to begin shortly after Labor Day, but now that there’s no cash flow, all those plans have gone to shit.
And I feel like a failure. Like I’ve failed Daisy.
Her—our—dream of creating a state-of-the-art children’s center, complete with a STEAM program and universal design and accessibility, won’t be possible anytime soon.
We already comply with all ADA standards, but we wanted inclusion for all disabilities. I still want that.
I spent nearly an hour last week trying to convince Lacey to press charges against Todd, but she refused. In the end, I was forced to respect her wishes.
“I just don’t understand why she wouldn’t want justice,” I gripe to Claire one evening as we relax in the hot tub.
Bea is spending the night with my in-laws, so I have Claire all to myself.
Her tone is patient and gentle when she says, “Women are hesitant to report sexual harassment or assault for a variety of reasons that others may never understand. Please don’t judge her.”
“I’m not judging her, I promise. I’m just angry on her behalf.”
“And that’s what makes you one of the good guys.”
I’d find her use of “the good guys” humorous if we weren’t discussing such a serious topic.
“Please just accept that you did more than what most people would do.”
“Okay,” I sigh, head dropping.
Claire pushes off the edge of the tub and floats over to me, placing her hands high up on my thighs. Bubbles jump and pop around her shoulders, spraying fine mist.
“Can we talk about something else?” she asks, her expression tender. “I really don’t want to spend our sleepover discussing things that are out of our control now.”
“Of course,” I comply, dragging her in by the hips so she’s straddling my lap.
Against the shell of her ear, I whisper, “How about that orgasm you were saving for me? Is it still available?”
She draws back slightly and giggles. “You say it like it’s an item that can be purchased at the store.”
“No, baby,” I growl. “Your pleasure is invaluable. It’s one of a kind.”
You’re one of a kind is what I really want to say.
With deft fingers, I glide up her torso, reveling when goose bumps erupt down her arms, despite the torrid temperature of the water. Her nipples are perfectly peaked, and I silently praise her for not replacing the padding in her bikini top.
“When was the last time you got off?” I nip at her earlobe. Hard.
She shivers in my arms. “I—I don’t remember.”
Between my friends’ visit and her period, along with this new financial stress, the frequency of our physical intimacy has dropped. I’d like to change that.
Right.
Fucking.
Now.
“What do you want?”
“I want you,” she breathes.
I brush the stray hairs away from her face. “You’re going to have to be more specific, baby. Where do you want me to touch you?”
“Here,” she says, tapping her bottom lip.
She pouts, anticipating a kiss, but I run my index and middle fingers along her delicate skin.
Her breath hitches, and when she sticks her tongue out a tad to lick her lips, I sneak the tips of my fingers into her mouth.
She draws back, then moves forward again, bobbing her head and sucking them down to my last knuckle, never breaking eye contact.
Fuck. That’s so sexy. A whimper escapes me, and I can’t even find it within myself to be embarrassed.
Not with her mouth still around me and the way she’s rocking her hips, rubbing her clit along my hard length.
Gripping her ass with my free hand, I control the speed of her thrusts, faster for a bit, then winding down to a torturously slow pace.
She bites down, signaling her frustration.
I can’t help but laugh in response. Damn, she’s adorable when she’s this worked up.
Extracting my fingers and lifting her off my lap, I command, “On your knees, baby. Straddle the jet.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” I nod to the side of the tub where the water burbles at the surface.
As she complies, kneeling on the seat, I reach around to cut the porch lights off. My in-laws can’t see my dick—uh, my deck—from their vantage point, but still.
Lights shine intermittently around the lake, which is a striking bluish-purple color in the moonlight.
“Is it hitting the spot?” I ask.
She grips the edge of the tub and nods.
Her hair is gathered in a messy knot on the top of her head, but the tendrils that have fallen are slick against her nape. I sweep them to the side and suck on the delicate skin where her neck and shoulder meet.
When she shudders beneath my touch, I wrap my arms around her waist, then drag a hand down her core, confirming for myself that the jet is pulsating against her clit.
I hike my left leg onto the seat next to her thigh, then press myself firmly against her ass, eager to slide inside her.
Fingers brushing over her pebbled skin, I find the edges of her bikini top and yank the cups down, exposing her tits to the cool air.
She bucks back into me and groans her approval.
Supporting her breasts in my palms, I squeeze them and pinch and roll and tug her nipples, alternating pressure.
“Does this feel good, Claire?”
An incoherent sound tumbles from her lips and she grinds harder against me. The tip of my dick is breaking free from the elastic of my swim trunks. Regrettably, I put space between us. Because if I come in this tub, I’ll have to drain the water, and that’s a task I don’t want to deal with.
“Ash,” she whines, tipping her head back on my shoulder.
“Yeah, baby?” I kiss her damp temple.
“Can I come?”
A shot of desire bolts down my spine. The way she’s asking for my permission is so fucking hot. The way she makes me feel like I’m in control when we both know she holds all the power.
I twist her nipples and knead her breasts as I suck on her neck. I’m fairly confident it’ll leave a mark, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.
“Yeah, baby. You can come now.” I kiss the side of her head and hold on as she convulses against me in time with the flashes of heat lightning in the night sky. I want to bottle up this moment so it lives with me forever.
She’s still spasming when I hoist her up and out of the tub, careful not to slip on the deck.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“To my room. I’m going to dry you off, then fuck you till you see stars so bright they’re no match for the ones in the sky.”
Once inside, I retrieve a towel from the bathroom and dry her off first. I get to work on myself next, but I’m too damn impatient.
“Fuck it.” I toss the towel to the floor. “I need to be inside you.”
If carnal desire could be converted to electricity, I could light up this whole summer camp.
She lies sideways across my bed, her heels propped up on the edge.
Approaching her, I tug down my swim trunks, freeing my aching cock, already leaking with precum, and fumble for the bottle of lube in my nightstand.
Heart pounding in my ears, I clumsily squirt it directly onto my shaft.
And as if she can read my mind, Claire sheds her bikini bottoms just in time for me to thrust halfway inside her.
She gasps at the intrusion, and I pause to confirm that she’s okay before sinking all the way in.
“You make me so fucking greedy, baby. Greedy for this pussy.” I brush a finger against her clit. “Greedy for this body.” As I caress her abdomen, she contracts beneath my touch. “So fucking greedy for you.” I drop a kiss on her lips.
A delicate kiss, like she might crack under my pressure.
Her hips undulate, and while I fucking love it when she writhes beneath me, I dig my fingers into her soft flesh and still her movements.
“How about you keep this cock warm with your cunt while I give this perfect little clit the attention it deserves?”
Claire’s pupils dilate. “Wh-what?” she stutters.
With a wicked smirk, I growl, “You heard me. Keep my cock warm.”
“Yes, sir.”
My dick twitches in response to her words, and now she’s the one sporting a mischievous grin, clearly pleased with the power she possesses.
Focused on where we’re connected most intimately, I spit.
Then I use my thumb to work soft circles over her clit.
When the noises she makes get louder, I switch up the rhythm with my first and middle fingers.
She opens her mouth, her lips forming an O and her breathing shallow, signaling that she’s close.
“You’re being such a good girl, keeping my cock warm.”
“Wait,” she gasps, swatting me away and pressing her hand to her clit like she’s trying to stave off another orgasm. “I’m so sensitive.”
I brush the damp bangs off her face. “Take your time, baby. There’s no rush.” I’d gladly stay inside her for as long as she’ll have me.
Arcing over her, I press a kiss to her forehead, then whisper against the shell of her ear. “I know, I know.”
She shudders and her pussy clenches around my cock.
I groan at the remarkable sensation. “When I’m inside you, I feel like I’m a part of you.”
Breath hitching, she wraps her arms around me, then uses her feet to slide my swim trunks down my legs. When they pool around my ankles, I step out of them.
At the same time, she removes her bikini top. “I need you to move,” she says, barely above a whisper.
As she buries her face in my neck, her arms still wrapped around me tight, I rock into her. Slow, shallow, savory thrusts at first.
“How’s that?” I ask.
She lets out a shaky exhale. “Perfect.”
Before long, she turns up the tempo. While she grips my ass and grinds her clit against me for more friction, I drive into her over and over. Heat licking my insides, my vision darkening.
“That’s it, baby. Use me. Fucking use me.”
“Can you come with me?” She sobs. “Are you close?”
“Baby, my dick is buried so deep inside you. Of course I’m fucking close.”
“Ash,” she pleads. “Will you come inside me?”
The tingling in my spine grows stronger. “Is that what you want, baby?”
“Yes. Is that okay?”
Her smile does things to me. Things I’m not sure my heart is prepared to take on. And I have so many questions about what it may mean. But in this moment, I’m not thinking about any of that.
My brain is almost completely consumed by her, but a comment one of the guys made pops up too. Not knowing the answers can’t stop you from living.
So I choose to live. I want to live inside Claire, if only for this instant. I want to make her feel pleasure like she’s never felt before.
I slow my movements so I can savor the sensation of being inside her.
“Yeah, baby. I’ve got you. I’m with you. Come on, Claire,” I grunt. “Come with me.”
Her muscles grip my shaft like a vise, milking me as I rut into her as deeply as I can.
Exhaling a shuddering breath, I collapse on top of her and revel in our shared ecstasy.
When I inhale against her neck, the faint smell of chlorine fills my lungs, along with the sweet vanilla scent of shampoo I’ve grown accustomed to seeking out like a drug.
She shivers beneath me, and I pull back a fraction. As tears fall from the corners of her eyes and disappear into her hairline, my stomach lurches. “Shit. Are you okay?”
I start to draw back farther, but she holds me steady around my waist.
“Fine, fine,” she replies, wiping at her face. Though the hitch in her voice tells a different story. “That was intense, but I’m good. I promise.”
The aftereffects of her climax cause her pussy to pulse around me, and when my dick twitches naturally in response, her muscles flutter again.
Claire giggles, the change in emotion confounding me.
With confusion swirling in my head, I scrutinize her. “What’s so funny?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
“Tell me.” I nip at her nose.
“No, it’s too ridiculous.”
I buck up into her. I won’t be hard much longer, and soon my release will be spilling out of her. “Tell me.”
“I was just thinking that it was almost like my pussy was talking to your dick. Like they were having their own conversation.” She pulses around me once more.
“And you call me the dork.” I nip her nose again.
The two of us laugh until my length slips out of her.
I stand over her, taking in every detail.
Her face. Her flushed cheeks. The new freckles that have popped up on her chest over the weeks.
Her nipples are erect, reminding me that I’ll need to warm her up in a minute.
I continue my study down her taut stomach, toned from her time spent at the gym, to the patch of dark hair nestled above her clit.
I run my index finger over it, pulling a gasp from her.
Eyes locked on me, she spreads her legs wider.
I trail my hand up toward her navel, then press down slightly.
She understands my silent request and contracts her muscles, causing my cum to leak from her entrance.
Dropping to my knees, I fuse my mouth to her pussy so I can consume our combined release straight from the source.
She darts out a hand and grips my hair at its roots.
“Ash,” she cries.
With one last lick, I press a kiss to one thigh, then the other, wishing I could tattoo the shape of my lips on her skin. Despite how greedy she makes me, she’s spent, and I won’t push her anymore tonight.
I weave one arm under her back, the other under her knees, and hoist her up. With her hand against my jaw, she tugs me in for a kiss, and I share the taste of our pleasure with her, our tongues tangling tenderly.
When she finally releases me, I carry her into my bathroom, then set her down in front of the shower. As the water warms up, she embraces me from behind. When she splays her freezing hands against my bare abdomen, I jolt at the sudden sensation.
She tries to pull away, but I clamp down on her wrists, holding her to me.
Because this feeling is worth it.
And though it’s faint, somewhere deep in my consciousness, a voice tells me: She’s worth it.