Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Reggie pulled open the door leading out to the hall, and a flood of sound and light barreled toward Skye, making her wobble against Ash. A line of security held back the crowd, and Reggie led her and Ash forward with Sam following with Forest.
Skye blinked and covered her ears. How did Ash live with all this attention? But he ate it up. Even with his hand holding hers, he raised his other arm, waving to the fans and giving his rock-star smile.
Forest stepped around their small group and pushed Reggie out of the way. “Here, let me lead. I have a way with crowds.”
As always, a bubble of space formed in front of Forest, the crowd making room for the implacable force that was her brother.
While he cleared a path, Ash followed in his shadow, drawing her along beside him.
Sam and Reggie moved into position, flanking them, while simultaneously protecting their rear.
Forest seemed to know exactly where to go, surprising her, until she remembered that he’d spent the day helping with the sound check.
Her grip on Ash tightened as he sheltered her from the crowd.
“I have you, Skye. I’m never letting you go.”
She breathed out a deep sigh.
Women cried out their undying love while reporters hammered Ash—Blaze—with a rapid-fire stream of questions he couldn’t possibly answer.
Sam and Reggie hustled them to a waiting town car. Forest held the door open while Ash helped her inside. After everyone was seated, Forest slammed the door shut. Automatic door locks engaged, and a blessed empty silence fell upon them.
When they arrived at the hotel, Sam and Reggie held the lobby crowds back while Forest used his impressive presence to once again clear the way.
A short elevator ride saw them delivered to an impressive penthouse suite.
Six bedrooms led off a main living space, and Ash led her through the living area, not stopping, to head down the left hallway.
He clasped her hand with a possessive resolve, refusing to let go. “You’re mine for the rest of the night,” he proclaimed.
Forest arched a brow, questioning if she truly was okay. Other than a bone-deep weariness, she had no problem with spending the night with Ash. It was the rest of her life that concerned her, but despite that nagging doubt, for right now, being with Ash felt right.
He pulled her into his room and released her hand.
She wandered, ignoring the king-size bed and everything it promised, to stand before a wall of floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows.
The city buzzed with activity, buildings glowing with the light of those inside and cars swerving through traffic.
The pulse of the city spoke to her, all those people living different lives.
Did any of them have as messed up of a life as she led? Probably. Hell, who was she kidding? She took care of the sickest of the sick.
Fatigue—that was the root of her depressed mood.
Behind her, Ash twisted the lock to the door, and the snick sounded too loud in her ears, defining their seclusion from the rest of the world. Would the Ash who’d hunted waterfalls return, or was the rock star, Blaze, still with her?
“When the guys get here later,” Ash explained, “it can get even weirder than what you saw after the show. I don’t want any of that spilling in here. I know you must be tired, and we haven’t had a moment alone since…”
She’d left him at the airport.
“We party hard,” he continued, “and I’m not going to lie about it, but I won’t apologize either. I never hid my past, but it’s just you and me from now on.”
He’d been up-front to a fault about his past and even more forthright about his desire for the future.
She hadn’t hidden her past exactly, explaining only those few details necessary, but she certainly hadn’t shared the full extent of it.
He never asked for more, and she wasn’t yet willing to divulge her secrets.
He would run far and fast once that happened.
He claimed he was tired of gorging himself on sex. She hoped that was true. If her experience with Spencer had taught her anything, something other than sex would have to interest a man if she was going to keep him.
And, now, they were painfully alone, locked behind a hotel room door. Alone meant she would have to face, if not their future, then at least their very potent present.
And Ash took no time in proclaiming his intent. He devoured the distance between them. His purposeful long strides brought him to her before she could take a second breath. He stole all the air around her, making it impossible for her to think.
She took a step back, turning toward the bathroom. It was an evasive move but all she had. “Well, I’m tired, and you stink. Any chance we could take that shower?”
There, she could give him a hand job or a blow job and move his mind through and past sex. She’d be able to hide her issues behind the steam. It had worked with Spencer often enough, and she prayed it’d work now.
A victorious expression brightened his face. “A shower sounds awesome.”
He peeled his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. He kicked off his sneakers and tugged at the fly of his jeans.
She smiled as she walked to the bathroom, analyzing what was to come with clinical efficiency. Ugh, she was such a mess.
“This is going to be so much better than the back of a car,” he said.
Yes, their epic fuck. At least things could only get better after that fiasco.
The long, hard length of his cock bobbed as he joined her. Steam billowed out of the shower and folded around her in a warm blanket of mist.
She stepped into the spacious two-person shower enclosure and pointed to the door. “Close that, please. I like my showers steamy.”
All she really craved was sleep. If she had been at home, she wouldn’t have bothered and would’ve fallen into bed, fully clothed. With Ash, in his post-performance afterglow and rank sweat stench, there was no way to avoid the shower.
His presence enveloped her, wrapping her with a potency of male desire and need.
She wanted nothing other than to tap into his sensual energy.
To come alive at the touch of a man was her hidden dream, and she held out the smallest hope that she could do that with him.
To not cringe or flinch or hope for his quick completion—those were her prayers, but worry was the enemy, too, because it smothered all the joy in being with him.
Ash wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped his forehead to rest against hers. A long moment passed with his steady exhalations, pulsing between them, while the weight of their circumstance settled into the silence.
Husband and wife. They were lovers as well as strangers.
His fingers combed through her hair, straightening the mess of curls. He massaged her neck and her shoulders, and then he dug into the knots of her back. Then, he found her hands and entwined their fingers, sinking his brow against hers, intensifying their connection.
She followed his gaze down to where he clasped her hands. His calloused fingers traced hers, lacing them together. And, beneath their hands, his cock jutted, engorged with his arousal and full of his need.
Her chest filled with a warm glow beneath all the worry.
She could do this. With him. If she tried really, really hard.
He stepped back, taking his warmth with him. Chilly air filled the empty space between them. His expression had her heart clenching, desire etched into the strong features of his amazing face, tension clenching at his jaw, and indecision swirling within the depths of his eyes.
A miserable knot tightened in her belly. She had seeded his doubts, and the weight of them would suffocate him. How to fix things remained a daunting task.
Without asking, Ash spun her around, facing her away from him. Then, his hands touched her nape, sweeping from her neck to her shoulders. His fingers dug deep into the knots of her muscles.
With a groan, she breathed slowly while his fingers forced the tight muscles to surrender to his will. Rough calluses dragged against her skin, sending tiny shivers shooting down her spine and up her nape. She luxuriated in his touch as he pressed and kneaded with expert precision.
Her muscles fought his onslaught, but they were no match for the insistence of his touch.
Soon, her muscles relented, all tension easing under the heat of the water pouring over her skin and the fire stoked by his touch.
He began to hum, and the beauty of the thick, low timbre vibrated over her skin, caressing her nerve-endings and soothing the swirling chaos of her thoughts.
“You carry a lot of stress, babe,” he said.
A shiver of hopeful excitement tingled through her, unbidden, as he moved down her spine.
No other man had ever made her tremble with anticipation.
Ash knew something about back massaging, too.
He pressed at the pressure points beneath her scapula, making her hiss when he found a particularly sensitive spot.
“Too hard?” He eased up.
Yes, but it felt so good. “No. Keep pressing.”
He leaned into the troubled spot, causing her to cry out.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
He increased the pressure, and she breathed against the pain. Moments later, the muscle beneath his finger fatigued and released.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, concern lacing his voice.
“You won’t.” She’d endured worse. “It feels amazing.”
The press of his fingers hurt but with a good kind of pain.
His hands continued their magical dance as they traced their way down her spine, moving one vertebra at a time. Her breaths quickened as she braced against pain, and they hitched with another sensation, lifting the tiny hairs on her arms.