by LK Farlow
“You little liar!” I holler as my balls recede, seeking the warmth of my body. “The water is fucking freezing!”
“Feels fine to me.” She shrugs, the moonlight casting her in an almost ethereal glow. “Maybe you should swim a little bit closer?”
We’re playing a dangerous game, and I know good and well getting any closer to her while we’re both naked won’t lead to anywhere good. Or rather, it will be too good. I should turn around and swim toward the shore. I should get dressed, and demand she do the same, and then I should bunk down with Cruz.
And yet, I find myself paddling out, diving head first into the temptation that is Ashley Murphy.
“See?” she says once I’m standing before her. “Isn’t that better?” We’re out far enough that the water covers us both from the chest down, but the memory of her naked body bathed in moonlight is permanently etched into my mind.
The water feels the same, but the thought of my little temptress’s bare skin so close to mine has my body temperature—and my cock—rising.
“You’re crazy, you know that?” I ask.
“Is that a bad thing?” she fires right back, splashing a little water my way.
I pretend to mull over her question. “Hmmm.”
“Jackass!” She slices her hands through the salty water, sending a surge my way.
“You’re gonna pay for that, devil woman!”
“Gotta catch me first!” She dives headlong into the surf and, like the sucker I am, I give chase.
Even with her head start, I’m on her in two strides. I band my arms around her from behind, pinning her back to my chest. “Gotcha!” I whisper into her ear, before skimming my nose down the column of her neck.
She inhales sharply. “Colton.”
“Do you know what you do to me?” I speak the words against her skin, peppering her neck and shoulder with kisses between words.
“Tell me.” She arches her back, and I skim my hands up to cup her breasts.
“You make me feel wild.” I tweak and tug at her stiff nipples. “Reckless.”
A soft moan slips past her parted lips as she tips her head back onto my shoulder, looking up at with me with wanton desire in her eyes. “Is that a bad thing?”
“I’ve always been risk averse.” I hold her tighter to me with my left hand while I slide my right hand down between the valley of her breasts. She trembles in my arms as I drag my fingertips over the lean lines of torso, not stopping until I’m cupping her pussy. The warmth of her arousal is a stark contrast to the cool water surrounding us. “But you…”
“Me?” She rolls her hips as I explore her folds, applying pressure to her clit with the heel of my hand.
“You make me want to risk it all.” I drive two fingers into her as I claim her lips, swallowing down any reply she might have had.
“Oh, fuck,” she moans as she rocks against me, the waves around us setting our tempo.
“That’s right, Ash,” I groan my praise, “show me how much you want it.”
I fuck her with my fingers, murmuring all sorts of filthy promises in her ear, until she completely falls apart in my arms beneath the light of the moon.
No sooner than she comes down from her release does she start shivering. “Come on, Ash. Let’s head back.”
“What about you?”
“Next time,” I tell her with a wink.
30
Ashley
We race back along the shore, up the dunes, and across the street to Colton’s moms’ house. We’re both covered in sand and shivering by the time we make it back.
“Leave your shoes,” he whispers, toeing his off. I follow suit and then we slip inside and up the stairs.
“S-s-so cold.” My teeth chatter.
“I’ll warm you up.” Colton grabs my hand, pulling me along behind him and into the bathroom. He flips the lock on the door and starts the shower, fiddling with the temperature before turning to me. “Ditch the clothes.”
He strips out of his own shirt before shucking off his shorts and boxers.
The chills wracking my body turn to a different kind of quake as I take in his naked form. Even in the harsh bathroom light, he’s a solid ten. Long and lean, firm and sculpted, his body is the kind photographers beg to shoot. He’s a modern-day Renaissance sculpture come to life—except with a much bigger dick.
When I don’t move immediately—far too busy staring at his sinewy muscle wrapped in supple golden skin to worry about being cold—he reaches out and tugs on the ends my hair. “Come on. Let’s get you warmed up.”
I shake out of my fog and strip. “Thanks.”
He holds the curtain back, letting me step under the spray first. “Oh, that feels so good,” I moan as the warm water cascades over me.
“Bet I can make you feel better.” He backs me into the cold tile wall, but his body offers all the heat I need.
“I’m not fucking you in your moms’ house,” I hiss.
“You’re right. We’re not fucking. Because when I’m inside of your tight, hot pussy for the first time, it’ll be in my bed, and you’ll be begging me for it.”
Colton drops to his knees, licking his lips as he looks up at me.
“Then what are you doing?”
“Eating my dessert.” He runs his hands up and down my legs a few times. “Put your foot on the bench.”
I comply as he holds me steady.
“Such a pretty pussy.” He leans forward and licks me from bottom to top, flicking my clit with the tip of his tongue before pulling away. “I’ve been dying to taste you for weeks. Dreaming of it, jacking off to thoughts of it.”
Feeling emboldened by his words, I reach down and run my fingers through my wetness. “And? Is it everything you imagined?”
“More,” is all he says before burying his face in my pussy and devouring me whole. He licks and sucks and slurps as he moves his fingers deep inside of me, curling them to hit that sweet spot until I’m falling apart for him—because of him—for the second time tonight.
But this time, I’m not content to be the only one satisfied. When he stands, with a pleased smirk on his face, I drop to my knees and flip the switch, taking him into my mouth before he can utter a single word.
I take him as deep as I can before sliding my lips back up the length of him. He gathers my wet, salt-tangled hair in his hands and tugs until my eyes meet his.
A strangled groan lodges in his throat as I dive back down on his dick, sucking and licking. In no time, he’s fucking my face in earnest, all the while telling me how good my mouth feels and how he can’t wait to experience the real thing.
I can tell he’s close when his hips start bucking and his pace falters. Wanting to blow his mind the way he did mine, I reach up and cup his balls, massaging them in time with his thrusts.
He groans and taps my cheek. “Going to come.”
I suck harder, giving him the proverbial all clear. He pumps once…twice…three times more before he pins me in place with my forehead flush to his abdomen as he shoots his load.
“Fuck,” he groans shakily as I pull my mouth away and spit his come to the shower floor.
“You okay?” I ask, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
He slides down the wall to the shower floor. “I think you broke me.”
I lean forward and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “No, Colt, I blew you.”
“That you did, body and mind.” He scrubs his hands over his face. “If oral with you is that good, I-I think sex might kill me.”
I grin as I stand to my feet. “But what a way to go.”
After we recover, we take turns washing up before heading back to the bedroom. Colton slides on a pair of fresh boxers while I change into my bralette and shorts set.
Upside to tonight’s sexy shenanigans—I’m no longer nervous about him seeing me in the bedtime silk and lace.
He eyes me appreciatively as I climb into the bed, claiming the right side as mine.
“
You know it’s not even ten, right?”
I stretch my arms over my head, arching my back in a yawn. “Feels later. I’m exhausted.”
He settles down beside me. “Then let’s sleep.”
Shockingly, there’s no awkwardness as I lay my head on his chest and snuggle into his side. Nope, there’s just an overwhelming sense of contentment. Of rightness. Like I’m exactly where I need to be.
31
Colton
For the first time in I don’t know how long, I sleep in. Well, by my standards, anyway. And it’s all thanks to the knockout of a woman sharing the bed with me.
We’re still pressed together in the same position we fell asleep in, with her head on my chest. Only now, I have one arm beneath her, cradling her head, and the other wrapped around her, gripping her ass beneath the silk of her shorts, holding her to me. Our legs are intertwined, and there’s not an inch of space between us.
Something about sleeping beside this woman soothes me; she quiets the chaos of my brain…my soul. Deep in the recess of my mind, there’s a voice whispering to me that this is what true happiness feels like.
I ignore that little voice in favor of watching Ashley sleep. She looks so peaceful with her purple hair fanned out across the white sheets and her lips slightly parted. Her chest rises and falls in an even pattern with each breath. I almost wish I could freeze this moment, to remember the way I feel here and now, to hold on to it always.
You could have this always, the voice whispers to me, you could have her for always, if you only stopped pushing her away.
Ashley blinks herself awake, saving me from arguing with myself like a crazy person. And therein lies the problem—Ashley Murphy good and truly makes me crazy.
Though, the more time I spend with her, the more I find myself wondering if her brand of crazy is such a bad thing.
“Good morning, handsome,” she murmurs, sleepily, gazing up at me from beneath her lashes. “What time is it?”
I glance to the clock on the nightstand. “A little after seven.”
She makes the cutest sleepy noise as she stretches. “I could stay in this bed next to you forever.” Her entire body stiffens, and she quickly tries back tracking. “Because you know, the bed. It’s so comfortable. And don’t get me started on these sheets—”
I silence her with a kiss, pressing my lips to hers. I kiss her thoroughly, leaving no doubt that I feel the same. But just in case, I break the kiss and give her my words, too. “I slept better than I ever have with you next to me.” I peck at her lips again. “I could easily make a habit of sharing a bed with you.”
“W-what?” she stammers, her voice equal parts pleased and confused.
“You heard me, Ash.” I extricate myself from the tangled mess of sheets. “Don’t fish for compliments; it’s unbecoming.”
She pouts and gives me puppy dog eyes, and when that doesn’t work, she toys with the strap of her lacy bra-thing, sliding it down her shoulder, batting her lashes as she reveals the swell of her breast to me.
A weaker man would crumble under—oh, who am I kidding—I fall like a house of cards. “I slept better last night, with your body pressed into mine, than I ever have in my entire life.” Viper-fast, I lean forward and steal one last kiss. “I’m gonna shower before breakfast. Join me or don’t, it’s up to you.”
I’m mildly disappointed when Ashley doesn’t join me in the shower, but at the same time, I get it. Fooling around in your man’s moms’ house under the cloak of night is way different than doing it in the daytime.
Not that I’m her man or anything…because I’m not. We’re simply two adults engaging in a little bout of mutual pleasure.
I bang my head against the shower wall—the same one I ate her against last night—in defeat. Because that sounds like a load of shit, even to me.
When I step back into the bedroom, Ashley is dressed and ready for the day. Her gauzy coverup gives no hint at the type of swimwear lurking beneath, but I’m happy to let my imagination run wild.
“Miss me?” I ask, dropping my towel.
Her eyes widen, and she licks her lips. “I did, but you wanna know who I miss more?”
I bristle, wondering who in the hell my girl is missing. “Who?”
“Cruz.”
Fuck and double fuck. Not only did I just call Ashley my girl, but hearing her prioritize my son over my dick…I think I just fell a little harder.
“Yeah, that’s fair.” I grab my swim trunks from my bag and slip into them. “Let’s go see 005.”
Ashley arches her brows at me. “Race you, Agent C!” She darts out of the room and down the stairs. I forgo a shirt and follow, hot on her heels, the two of us busting into the kitchen like the Kool-Aid man.
Three sets of eyes regard us: one in confusion, the other two in knowing delight.
“What’s all the commotion?” Mama K asks, standing from her barstool to grab two mugs from the cabinet.
“Just excited to see my favorite dude.” I walk over to my son and wrap him in a bear hug. “It was weird not seeing your face first thing.”
“Gramma Mel said you and Agent Purple needed to sleep. She said y’all probably had a late night.”
“No, Cruz, I said they had a long night.” Her tone is upbeat and good-natured, which is why I don’t see it coming. “I cleaned up all the water the two of you tracked in. I hope you enjoyed your dip in the gulf.”
Ashley squeaks out an unintelligible sound, but I just groan. Ever since I was kid, I’ve never been able to get away with shit, so Mama Mel knowing—or at the very least, strongly suspecting—what we got up to last night doesn’t surprise me in the least.
“Mel, let the kids be,” Mama K admonishes her before focusing her attention on Ashley. “A little birdie told me you liked French toast.”
“I do,” Ashley replies, her cheeks the color of the red Fiestaware mug she’s sipping coffee from.
“You haven’t lived until you’ve had my caramel-soaked French toast. Sit, let me serve you.”
And just like that, Ashley is swept up in Hurricane Kim.
In no time flat, a heaping plate of food is placed before her. Since my girl has an appetite, she digs in. “Oh, wow.” She scarfs down two more bites. “That is divine.”
“I helped!” Cruz says, standing tall.
Ashley smiles so big her nose scrunches. “That explains why it tastes so good.”
Cruz drags his barstool closer to Ashley, seemingly as infatuated with her as I am.
We chat throughout the rest of breakfast about our plans for the day, deciding to beach it this morning and do a little shopping after lunch.
Two hours of sun and sand later, Cruz finally decides he’s ready to brave the waters of the Gulf.
“You’re sure a shark won’t eat me, Daddy?”
I refuse to make promises to him that are beyond my control, so instead, I say, “I promise to stay right by your side and to never let you go, not even for a second.”
He searches my face, smart enough to know I skirted around the shark issue.
“Agent Purple, will you come, too?”
Ashley hops up from where she’s been reading on her towel. “Of course!” My eyes roam over her swimsuit appreciatively. For all my imagining, none of it prepared me for the real deal. She’s not in a skimpy two piece—hell, I can’t even see her stomach—and somehow, she looks hotter than ever.
“Okay.” He nods once. “Let’s do this.”
I hold his left hand and Ashley his right as we wade out into the surf. He whimpers when the first wave breaks, crashing against his knees, bringing with it seaweed and foam. With the second, he squeals. And the third—he laughs like a loon.
Before long, the three of us are trying to jump the waves. One a little bigger than the rest rolls in and sweeps Cruz’s feet from beneath him, sending him face-first into the salty water.
I reach for him, panic gripping my chest. I expect tears, but instead he pops up sputtering but smiling. “Did”
—he coughs up a little water— “did you see me go under water?”
Ashley rolls her lips inward to keep from laughing. “We did see you, bud. But maybe next time, plug your nose first.”
He looks at her funny. “How do you do that?”
She spends the next forty minutes teaching him to hold his breath. He puts up a little fight when it’s time to go, until Mama Mel tells him we’re going out for lunch.
It looks like his grandmothers learned overnight what took me weeks—food is the way to my boy’s heart.
My moms take us to a little local place called Dilly’s for lunch. It’s your typical small-town lunch spot, decorated with bright colors and a menu full of diner fare. We order a few appetizers for the table along with our drinks.
“So, bud, did you like the beach?” I ask my tired son. His eyelids are heavy, and he nearly fell asleep on the drive over.
“It was super awesome. I wanna go all the time.”
“Good thing Gramma Mel and KK live here, huh?” Mama Mel asks. The bond my son and moms has formed in such a short time blows my mind. He almost took to them faster than he did to Ashley. “You’re welcome to visit us anytime.”
“Anytime?” he asks, his once-drooping eyes now wide open.
“That’s right.”
“And if your daddy doesn’t wanna drive you,” Mama K interjects, “we’ll come get you.”
“Overbearing woman,” I mutter good naturedly, only for her to cuff me upside the back of my head.
“No back-talk from you, boy.”
I roll my eyes, fighting a grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
Ashley’s noticeably quiet beside me, with her phone in her hands and her eyes glued to the screen. “You okay?” I ask her softly.
“Oh, yeah, sorry.” She grins sheepishly. “I was texting Mally. Does tomorrow sound good for the drive out to Bay Ridge?”
“Sounds good.” I knock my shoulder into hers, grinning. “I’m excited to meet your best friend. It’s almost on par with you meeting my moms.”