Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Asher
A fter dinner, Julie and I walk down the street towards my house hand in hand, in comfortable silence. The sky is clear and the air is cold, and the winter night wraps itself around us, and I’m happy. I’m so fucking happy.
I have always loved this neighborhood, but I’m not sure I had a full grasp on how lonely I’ve been here until I walked into the Parkers’ house and was the opposite of that. Until Rachel hugged me like she’s known me forever and we baked a cake together and I chatted with Steven about the plans for a new development his company is building downtown and I made plans with Ben to get together with the guys and Julie was by my side all night. No one asked me about the team or even talked about football.
I was one of them, like Ben said. Important to them because I’m important to Julie, and I have never experienced that kind of easy acceptance, outside of my own family. My phone dings, interrupting my thoughts, and I pull it out of my pocket. The message preview on the screen pierces my bubble of contentment and has my stomach churning.
Coach
Can you be at the stadium tomorrow at 9 a.m.? Doc can see you then.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, my breath misting out in the frigid air.
“You okay?” Julie asks, stopping me with a tug on my hand.
“It’s my coach.” Julie knows I texted him earlier today when we got back, telling him my shoulder had been bothering me since the end of the season and that I wanted to get it checked out. With her encouragement, I left it at that. I felt weird about leaving out the anti-inflammatory injections, but she cut through my attack of conscience in her logical, matter-of-fact way. My shoulder is what it is regardless of how I’ve been medicating it for the past few years. The injections don’t change anything about what an MRI will show today. “He said the team doctor can see me tomorrow morning at nine.”
“Don’t think yet,” Julie says. “Text him back and tell him yes before you think.”
Me
Sure, I’ll be there.
I pocket my phone with shaky hands. “Done.”
“Okay.” She takes my other hand and faces me on the sidewalk. “Now, tell me how you feel, if you want to.”
“Scared.” I give her my most honest truth. “I’m really fucking scared.”
Julie nods at my answer. “It’s okay to be scared. This is really scary.”
I don’t know why her saying that out loud eases some of the pressure in my chest, but it does.
“But like I told you when we were in Boulder, you’re not alone. You have your family and now you have my family. And my friends—they’re all your friends too. And you have me. I’m not going anywhere. Ever. I swear it. Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out together.”
Steeped in gratitude for her, her brilliant mind, and her unwavering support, I unwind my hands from hers and wrap my arms around her shoulders. She circles my waist and holds on tight.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Always,” she whispers back.
I pull back so I can see her face but keep my arms around her. She is so fucking beautiful I sometimes can’t breathe when look at her.
“Well, I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight, so want to go to bed and…not sleep with me?”
She gives me a wicked grin and presses her hips forward right into mine, where I was already hard and aching for her. “I would love to go to bed and not sleep with you, Hot Shot.”
I lean forward and take her lips with mine, sweeping my tongue inside her mouth to taste her and anchoring one arm around her waist to press her harder into me as our mouths move together. A groan rumbles through my chest when she grinds against me, and her scent surrounds me. I could drown in her.
I pull away slightly, keeping my lips close to hers. “How fast can you walk? I need you naked and moaning my name in the next five minutes.”
“Pretty fucking fast.”
Three minutes later we crash into my bedroom, mouths locked together. I kick the door shut and press Julie against it, running my hands all over the delicious curves I couldn’t feel through the winter coat she shed before we even walked through the front door. Grabbing the hem of her sweater, I pull it up, our mouths only separating so I can get it over her head, and then I tug off my own shirt before we dive back together. Anchoring her to the door with my hips, I slide my hands up her sides and yank down the cups of her bra, palming her breasts and circling her nipples with my thumbs before rolling them between my fingers. Julie lets out a throaty moan and grabs my hair in both hands, tugging as she deepens the kiss.
The sharp edge of pain has me a little wild, and I pull my lips away from hers so I can kiss and suck my way down her neck, grazing my teeth over her pulse and relishing her sharp intake of breath and the way she tugs my hair even harder. I drag my tongue across her collar bone before reaching around and unhooking her bra, tossing it away before I dip my head to suck one of her nipples in my mouth, pinching the other one between my fingers.
“Shit,” Julie gasps, dropping her head back against the door. “That feels so good.”
Looking up at her, I smirk at her swollen lips and the glazed expression in her eyes. “Baby, you haven’t seen anything yet,” I say, and I drop to my knees in front of her.
“I’ve always wanted a big, strong athlete on his knees for me,” Julie says, tangling her fingers in my hair again.
“Have you, now?”
“Well, no, but now that I see you down there, it seems like something I should have wanted. I like you down there.”
“I will worship you on my knees any chance I get, Juliette. Kneeling in front of you, seeing you look at me like that? It’s my every fucking dream come true.”
Without breaking eye contact, I unbutton her jeans and slide them down her legs, lifting one foot then the other, to free her from the pants, before slowly smoothing my hands up the outside of her legs, feeling her muscles quiver under my touch. Gripping her hips, I lean in and run my tongue over her belly from hip bone to hip bone, across the top of her underwear and then back again and she gasps, chest starting to rise and fall quickly.
“Asher. Touch me.”
Her responsiveness has me leaking inside my boxers and I have to hold myself back from devouring her and burying my face in her cunt, feeling her clench around my fingers while she comes, fast and hard. There is a time for that, but this isn’t it.
“Juliette, it’s our first night together in my house, and I want to take my time with you. I want to hear every moan and sigh, feel your muscles shake, and watch you unravel for me over and over again. We are going to belong to each other in this room in every way imaginable and we’re going to do it slowly because I want to remember every single thing about this night, for as long as I live.”
“Fuck me. When did you become a poet?”
“The way I feel about you, Juliette? It is fucking poetry.”
Draping one of her legs over my shoulder, I glide my tongue along the skin where her thigh meets her groin, dipping my tongue under the lace covering her pussy, tasting that sweet skin. I do it again and again, watching the wet spot on her underwear grow and breathing in the scent of her arousal, filling my senses with her while she lets out shuddery breaths. Without saying a word, I put her leg on the floor and hook my fingers in the sides of her underwear, sliding them down her legs. She kicks them aside and I put her leg right back on my shoulder. She is spread wide open above me, and I can see every inch of her, pink and glistening. Sliding a single finger through her slit, I circle her clit once, and then again, and she lets out another gasp and a strangled moan when I pull my hand away.
“You are so wet, Juliette. Fucking dripping for me. Should I lick it all up? Make you come on my tongue?”
“God, yes, please. Do that.”
Spreading her with my fingers, I give her one long lick from opening to clit, lapping at her with my tongue while I slide a single finger inside her. I thrust my finger in and out while I keep moving my tongue over her clit with enough pressure to make her a little crazy, but not enough to tip her over the edge. I feel her legs start to shake and I smile against her, loving the feel of her coming apart for me.
“Oh my god, Asher, it’s so good. You feel so good.”
“You are fucking gorgeous, Juliette. Just looking at you makes me so hard. You want more?”
“Yes, please,” she says, breathlessly, her eyes locked on mine
Without breaking eye contact, I slide a second finger inside her, rubbing my thumb side to side over her before I dive in, covering her pussy with my mouth and devouring her. She cries out when I suck and lick her clit, moving my fingers in and out of her, thrusting them deeper every time, hitting every inch of her. Julie’s chest rises and falls like she can’t get enough air and it makes me take her faster, curl my fingers to make her moan louder, shake harder. She grinds against my mouth, and I groan against her, loving the feel of her above me, taking what she needs. Wanting to feel her come apart on my tongue, I graze my teeth over her clit before sucking it into my mouth, pulsing my lips around her.
“Yes, Asher, right there. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop,” she moans out, her eyes dark with pleasure.
“Never, baby,” I rasp, sealing my lips back around her clit and swiping it with my tongue while I curl my fingers inside her as deep as I can, holding them there while I suck on her, hard, and that does it. She comes with a gush on my face, groaning out her release as her whole body trembles and her hands tighten on my head to steady herself. Her hips buck against my mouth and I stay with her while she rides wave after wave, licking up everything she gives me like it’s my last damn meal.
When I feel her start to collapse against the door, I stand, lifting her with me. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I immediately cover her mouth with mine, kissing her deeply. My head spins, and I am right on the edge already just from making her come and feeling her mouth against mine. Without breaking the kiss, I walk us to my bed, laying her down so her head is resting on the pillows and covering her body with mine. I can feel her heart pounding as she tries to recover from her orgasm and every beat feels like proof that she’s here. That she’s mine. That we belong to each other. The emotion of it threatens to take me under. Needing a second to get myself under control, I stand, stripping off my jeans and boxers in one move. Seeing the way her eyes slide hungrily up and down my body has my cock twitching against my stomach, and I stand there, letting her look her fill.
“Come here.” Julie’s command is low and sultry and has my body moving before my brain engages. I slide back over her, and she parts her legs wider, letting me settle between them. My cock slides right against her hot core, still soaking wet from her orgasm, and when I glide against her clit, she hisses and tangles her hands in my hair. Pressing my forehead to hers, I roll my hips, moving my cock back and forth against her wet slit, coating myself in her while she writhes beneath me. Julie drops her hand from my hair and reaches between our bodies, wrapping her hand around me, gripping me tightly while she slides her hand up and down my shaft. When she rubs her thumb over my tip, collecting the bead of moisture there, I almost lose it.
“Juliette, I need to be inside you, right now.”
“Well then what the fuck are you waiting for? Get inside me. Right now.”
Supporting my weight on one arm, I reach between us and cover her hand with mine, lining myself up at her entrance and sliding just the tip of me inside her. Taking her hand away, I press our intertwined hands to the mattress above her head and fill her with a single flex of my hips. Our moans join together, hot breaths mingling as I take her mouth in a slow, sultry kiss while I tip my hips against hers, sliding even deeper inside her in a way that has us both gasping. When I’m as deep inside her as I can get, I pull out all the way to the tip and thrust back in, feeling her walls clench around me.
With one of my hands still intertwined with Julie’s and my weight on my other forearm, I drop my head to her breast, sucking her nipple into my mouth and laving it with my tongue while I roll my hips against her. The salty taste of her skin makes me feral for more, and I suck harder, rolling her nipple with my tongue. She lets out a strangled moan and palms the back of my head, holding me to her while her hips rise up to meet mine. I switch sides, capturing her other nipple in my mouth and sucking gently while I angle my hips so I hit her clit every time I move back inside her.
“Oh my god,” she moans, as I pick up my pace. “I’m so close.”
“You want it, Juliette? You want to come again?”
“Yes, god, yes. I need it. Please,” she groans.
The sight of her beneath me, face flushed with pleasure, eyes dark, and blonde hair spread over my pillow like a halo makes my wide-open heart crack open even wider, spilling out love for her .
“Look at you,” I rasp, keeping my thrusts steady, holding her right on the edge. “Spread out under me, telling me what you need. I want to give you everything. Wrap those gorgeous legs around me, pretty girl, and let me give it to you.” Her eyes flash and she does what I say, locking her heels behind my back and bucking up against me, meeting me thrust for thrust until she comes on a long, low moan, dropping her head back on the pillow and closing her eyes as the pleasure washes over her.
“Open those eyes, Juliette. Look at me.”
When she does, I lean down, capturing her mouth in a long, slow kiss, still feeling her clench around me with the aftershocks of her orgasm. “I’m so proud of you for coming twice for me. You did so well, baby. You’re going to give me one more before we’re done,” I say, grinding my hips against hers right over her clit.
“Asher, I can’t,” she gasps, lifting her hips to meet mine.
Her body’s response to mine has me feral for more. “You can and you will. Trust me, Juliette. We’re coming together.”
Pulling out of her, I flip her over onto her stomach, kissing my way up her back, sucking gently on the soft points of her spine and down again before I grip her hips and pull them up so she’s on her knees, then sliding inside her from behind.
“ Asher ,” she whispers, urgently. “Fuck. You’re so deep. I can feel you everywhere.”
I pull out and thrust back inside her, and the feel of her pussy gripping me has pleasure shooting up my limbs. “That’s what I want, Juliette. I want you to feel me everywhere. I want your body to memorize what it feels like when I’m inside you. No one else will ever make you feel this way. Only me.”
“Only you,” she moans, arching her back and pushing her hips to meet mine as I rock into her, staring down, mesmerized at the sight of my dick sliding in and out of her. Marking her. I drop wet kisses to her shoulder while I reach around and palm her breasts, rolling her nipples between my fingers, and her breath quickens.
“It’s so good, Ash. Oh my god,” she gasps out.
I pull out and slam back inside her at the same time I pinch both her nipples. The hottest fucking sound I have ever heard comes from her chest, and suddenly it’s not enough to hear her sounds. I want to feel every single one of them. Wrapping an arm around her chest, I pull her up so we’re both kneeling on the bed, Julie’s back against my chest, her head against my shoulder, and her hot breath in my ear.
“I need you, Ash. I’ve never needed anyone, but I need you. Make me yours. Please. I’m yours.”
The pleading words and raw openness from this strong, fiercely independent, and often guarded woman are gasoline poured on the fire licking through my veins. My entire body ignites. I slide one hand up to grip her throat and move the other down to her clit, rubbing circles as I start to move inside her again. The sound she makes has my rock-hard cock hardening even more and my strokes speeding up, deepening, so she feels every inch of me inside her, and I feel every inch of her as she grips my dick. I fucking love it. I’m addicted to the way her pussy hugs my cock, like we were made to fit together. Two parts of a whole. Julie turns her head so our gazes meet, and what I see in her eyes has my heart thrashing in my chest.
“Kiss me, Ash.”
I crash my mouth to hers in a kiss that is hot and wet and completely fucking filthy. My tongue slides against hers while I press harder against her clit, loving how she gasps into my mouth while our bodies move together. She reaches up, locking an arm around my neck, pressing us together even closer before rasping “Harder, Ash” into my ear.
“Anything, Juliette,” I grit out, before pulling out and slamming back into her, over and over again, tightening my hand around her neck and sliding her clit between two fingers, strumming it in time with my thrusts.
Her breath quickens, and I feel her walls start to flutter around me. Electricity zips up my spine and I know I won’t be able to hold on much longer, but I’ll be goddamned if she doesn’t come again before I do. I am all pleasure and sensation and wide-open heart, so when I open my mouth, the words tumble out in a stream of feelings and emotion that I have no way to control and wouldn’t even if I could. Julie Parker owns me, mind, body, and soul. It’s enormous and wild and absolutely inevitable.
“I love you. My hearts beats for you. I fucking breathe for you. Come for me, Juliette. You’re mine. Come for me and take me with you. Make me yours.”
“I love you, Ash. I’m yours. You’ll always be mine.”
Her words burrow right into my soul and have me immediately, desperately, on the edge. I angle my hips, so I hit her g-spot when I thrust back in and pinch her clit at the same time. She explodes around me, screaming my name and clenching around my dick so tightly it only takes two more thrusts before pleasure takes over my body and my vision blurs around the edges. I come harder than I have ever come in my life, groaning into her neck and spilling inside her as my hips jerk against hers before slowing, rolling gently as we both come down.
When the pleasure ebbs, we collapse down onto the bed. I reach out and pull Julie to me, her back to my front, wrapping both arms around her, needing to keep her close, feeling emotionally wrung out by what just happened. She must feel the same because she presses closer, wrapping both her arms around mine and snuggling deeper into me.
“So, that was…” her voice is a little shaky, and it trails off before she finishes her sentence.
I press a kiss to her shoulder, her neck, and finally to the side of her head, tightening my arms around her. “I know, baby. For me too.”
“I know you know this, but I feel like I have to say it again. It’s never been like this for me. Never. You make me feel…everything.”
My chest tightens with emotion at her vulnerability. It will never not feel like a gift when she opens herself up to me. “It’s never been like this for me either. You make me feel everything too.”
“I love you,” she whispers. “So, so much.”
I rest my forehead against her shoulder, breathing her in, feeling my heartrate calm. “I love you too, Juliette.”
Her breathing starts to slow, and I know she’s close to sleep. I reach down and drag the comforter over both of us then tangle us back together, laying one of my legs over hers. With my arms securely around her, and our bodies as close as they can be, I follow her into a deep, dreamless sleep.