Chapter 50
CHAPTER FIFTY
Ashlynn doesn’t realize I’m watching her. She sits on the penthouse balcony, her legs tucked underneath her, a mug of tea in her hand. She looks out over the vast skyline, watching the last bit of light disappear behind the mountains.
Six weeks ago she couldn't even stand without help. Now she moves on her own again like she used to–quiet, smooth and deliberate. The bruises that once painted her skin are gone now. If you didn’t know what happened, you wouldn’t see it at all.
But I know exactly where every one of them used to be.
I trace my fingers over the unseen scars when she sleeps, never allowing myself to forget that I almost lost her again. Twice.
The spot where she had the staples is healed as well, no longer raised. It left a scar, and Jerry guessed she was hit with a rock or a pipe. That information made me wish I could resurrect the dead and kill Owen a second a time…then maybe a third.
Her concussion symptoms are pretty much resolved.
She still gets headaches sometimes if it’s too bright or if we’re down in the booth for too long.
But that’s all. We’ve remedied that by keeping the penthouse dimly lit, and only staying in places with a lot of commotion for short amounts of time.
Jerry called it post-concussive symptoms. He said that they should have resolved by now, but he checks in often and is confident they will go away completely soon.
I think it’s stress.
A week ago she claimed her father’s body. The county released him in the middle of the night after the investigation closed. They were about to take possession of him and move forward with a cremation, but she showed the DNA results and they handed him over.
Ashlynn didn’t cry when we buried him. She didn't speak much either. She just held my hand while the priest talked about peace and forgiveness. When it was over she looked down at the headstone once. It was simple. No name or dates yet, but I know she won’t rest until he has a proper marker.
Lost for many years. Found at last.
“I’ll make this right,” she told him.
I didn’t have to ask what she meant. I already knew.
Standing from her seat, she walks toward the balcony door and slides it open. When she steps inside the living room, her eyes meet mine immediately.
“You’re staring…again,” she says, closing the door behind her before walking toward me.
I don't bother denying it.
“Occupational hazard.”
She smiles and shakes her head. Stopping next to me, she drops her mug in the sink then looks up at me through her lashes. Her crystal eyes study me for a minute longer than usual.
She looks like herself again. But I know better.
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately,” she says, tipping her head to the side.
“Watching you?”
She nods. I cage her against the island, both hands resting on either side of her against the marble.
“Just making sure you’re real.” My lips pull into a sideways smirk. “Good news,” I press my body into hers lightly. “You are.”
She lets out a soft chuckle and her hands land on my waist, fisting in the fabric of my shirt.
“Karson.” Her voice is softer now.
“Yeah, doll?”
Her fingers slide up my waist and across my chest until they come up to either side of my neck.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
My hands leave the counter and settle on her lower back. I pull her closer to me. I’ll never be able to get her close enough.
“That’s not how this works.”
Her eyebrows pinch in the middle.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” I murmur, then press my lips to her forehead where the bruise used to be. “I’m still going to look at you as if you might disappear.”
She lifts her head to look at me, her lips twitching into a smile.
“You’re impossible.”
“And you love it,” I say.
I lean into her, pressing my lips to her neck before nipping at her collarbone.
Her arms wrap tighter around my neck, letting out a soft whimper when I kiss the spot I just bit.
My cock hardens in my jeans, pressing painfully against the fabric.
It’s been far too long since I’ve been inside of her. I need her like I need air.
Trailing kisses back up her neck and along her cheek, my lips find hers. She opens for me instantly, my tongue swirling around hers. Her lips taste like tea, honey and something even sweeter–relief. The world tried to take her from me one too many times, and yet she’s right here in my arms.
I will fucking obliterate anyone who tries to take her from me again, and the ones who are still breathing are on borrowed time. But right now, the only thing that matters is that she’s here despite everything we’ve been through.
She’s here. She’s real. She’s mine.
My hand slides from the small of her back to her stomach and dips under the waistline of my sweatpants she’s wearing. I groan against her lips when I find she’s not wearing any underwear. She inhales sharply, breaking the kiss when my hand cups her pussy, her arousal already dripping from her core.
“I need you,” she whispers shakily.
I drag my middle and ring finger through her slit, coating my fingers before gently pushing both into her tight, wet cunt.
She moans softly as I kick her feet apart a little further, giving me better access.
I slide my fingers inside of her up to the knuckles, curling them before slowly dragging them back out.
Her pussy clamps down, trying to keep me inside of her.
Standing straight up, I watch as her eyes roll and her head falls back. Her chest heaves as I repeat the motions over and over. Her skin flushes a beautiful pink color. She slides her hands down my chest and fists at the hem of my shirt, holding onto it tightly as she rides out her first orgasm.
“Jesus Christ, doll. You’re so fucking gorgeous when you cum for me,” I groan.
Her legs tremble, and I remove my hand from her pussy. She whines at the loss.
Lifting her off her feet, I sit her ass on top of the counter and step between her thighs.
Her hooded eyes barely focus on me. Pressing the two fingers to her lips, she opens and sticks her tongue out.
Pressing down on her tongue lightly, I slide them to the back of her throat.
She gags, then closes her lips around them, tasting herself on them.
She lets out a soft hum as I drag them back out slowly while she licks and sucks my fingers clean.
When my fingers are out of her mouth, my lips crash into hers again. She tilts her head to the side, allowing me to kiss her deeper, and her hands scramble for the top of my jeans. Snatching her wrists, I stop her before she can unbutton them and look down at her.
My little terror actually growls at me.
“Karson.”
“Easy killer,” I chuckle. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
As desperate as I am to be deep inside of her for the rest of the night, I don’t want to aggravate any of her injuries. Yes, she’s healed and moving better. But if I move her in a way that pulls at her ribs and causes her pain, I won't forgive myself.
“You won’t,” she breathes. “Please.” Her eyes search mine, pleading. “I need to know that after everything that’s happened, after how much things around us have changed, that we’re still the same. That we’re still us.”
My heart cracks a little and my right hand cups her cheek.
“We are,” I murmur, my thumb brushing over her bottom lip. “Nothing that’s happened changes that. It’s still you and me. Always.”
My forehead presses to hers before I find her lips again.
Letting go of her wrist with my other hand, she pops the button of my jeans and unzips them.
Pushing them down as far as she can, she presses her feet to my thighs to shimmy them the rest of the way.
I shove my boxers down, my cock springing free.
Wrapping one arm around her lower back, I lift her ass off the counter to tug my sweatpants down her smooth legs. Stepping back, I pull her feet out of them and drop them to the floor.
She lowers herself onto the counter, her back flat against the marble. I gently pull her to the edge and place her legs over either shoulder. The saints cross lines up with her opening, and I push myself inside of her.
We both moan as I push all the way into her until my thighs touch her ass and the edge of the counter.
I pause, giving her a moment to adjust. She tries to grind against me, needy and desperate for some friction.
Instead of giving her what she wants, I watch through hooded eyes as she circles her hips.
I’m going to marry this woman. Even if I have to drag her down the fucking aisle. She will be my wife.
I’ve never considered marriage before, never really knowing what the appeal was. All I ever saw was dysfunction, toxicity and heartbreak. But looking down at this goddess of a woman, I get it now.
I know what life is like without her. Dark. Miserable. Cold. Lonely. I’ve never known fear. Not until she was laying on that pavement, or holed up in that rest stop bathroom. I will not go another day walking this earth without her as mine. In every sense of the word.
“Karson,” she whimpers. “Please.” Her body shivers.
“Mmm. Please what, doll?” I pull out of her slightly before sliding back inside slowly.
“Fuck me.” Her lashes flutter open and she pins me down with a glare.
She’s adorable when she’s pissed at me.
I smirk. “Anything for you, gorgeous. If I hurt you–”
“Karson–” she starts impatiently, cutting me off, but I pull back and slam into her before she can finish. Her eyes roll in the back of her head and she lets out a long moan.
Finding my rhythm, I wrap one arm around the front of her thighs and slide the other up her torso to push up the t-shirt she has on and cup her breast. Pinching her nipple, I roll it between my fingers, forcing another long moan to drag out of her.
The sound echoes throughout the penthouse, spurring me on and I fuck into her harder.
Sweat beads across my forehead, dripping onto her exposed stomach, and I feel her pulse around my cock. The piercings drag against her inner walls and I feel my spine start to stiffen.
“Oh fuck,” she gasps, shattering around me.
Her thighs shake against my chest, her tight cunt milks my cock, and I’m right behind her.
Slamming into her one last time, I cum deep inside of her, my dick pulsing with the release.
I still myself, giving us both time to come down, and stroke my thumb along her thigh, my other hand rubbing softly against her ribs.
She opens her pretty blue eyes and smiles up at me lazily.
“I love you,” she breathes.
“I love you too, doll.”
Once her breathing returns to normal, I pull out and help her sit up before lifting her off the counter and walking her back to our bedroom to get cleaned up.
After we’ve showered, I crawl beside her in bed and she wraps her naked body around me.
Within minutes she falls asleep with her cheek pressed to my chest and her right leg locked around mine.
And for the first time in what seems like forever, I quickly fall asleep.
Hours later, the vibration of my phone on the nightstand drags me out of a deep sleep. The room is dark, the only light coming from the faint glow of Perdition through the curtains. Ashlynn is still curled against me, one arm draped across my chest, her breath slow and steady.
The phone buzzes again on the nightstand. Careful not to wake her, I reach over and grab it.
Kellen.
“Yeah,” I answer groggily.
There’s a brief pause before he speaks.
“He’s ready.”
I glance down at Ashlynn and let out a sigh.
“Got it.” I hang up.
Beside me, Ashlynn shifts. Her eyes blink open slowly, heavy with sleep as she rolls onto her back trying to get comfortable again.
“Who was that?” she asks quietly.
“Kellen.”
Her movements pause, before she turns her head toward me. She studies my face for half a second.
“Okay,” she says, her voice calm and certain. “Let’s go get him.”