“Over here,” I revealed softly.
Her steps halted, and in the moonlight I saw her turn and look in my direction. Without saying a word, she headed toward me. My eyes followed her every step as her hips swayed. When she reached me, she stood close so her thigh was next to my shoulders. Her hand shot out, threaded around the back of my neck, and brought my head toward her thigh until it was resting against the satin of her dress. My arms instinctively circled her legs and I pulled her close. As her fingers threaded through my hair, my eyes fell shut and a wave of calm swam with wild abandon through me. Time stood still, and I wouldn’t know how long we remained in that position, but it was the peace I needed. When she pulled away, she took a seat beside me and mimicked my body language. We sat in silence, both of us looking out over the water, swinging our legs, and getting lost in our own thoughts.
“What can I do?” Ashlyn’s voice cut through the air and broke the silence.
“Just being here is good.”
She twisted until she was facing me. “How’s your hand?”
“I’ll live.”
“Stop being a tough guy and show me.”
I smiled at her sass, and hissed when she lifted my hand to have a closer look. I knew it looked worse than it was, but fuck it hurt like a bitch.
“Shit, Josh,” Ashlyn said. “We need to get you ice.”
“It’s fine. I just need to sit out here for a bit.”
“I can’t believe you fought for me,” she whispered, her voice strained and littered with worry and confusion. Did she really expect me to let that asshole come here and speak to her like he hadn’t fucked up? Her face was void of emotion, and her lip was tugged between her teeth.
“I’ll always fight for you, Ash. I’d move heaven and fucking earth for you. Don’t think that I’ll ever let an asshole treat you badly. I don’t care who it is. No matter what, I will always be there.”
“No one has ever said that before.”
“Said what?” I asked, disbelievingly.
“No one has ever said that they would fight for me.” As if she could read my mind, she said the words I never expected to hear. “Not even my best friend.”
Her eyes shimmered with something I couldn’t quite understand. Was it realization, confusion, or understanding flashing back at me? Being told that Ky had never made her feel like that pissed me off. He was meant to take care of her. I stepped aside for him. I gave up years of being with this girl. Ashlyn, who deserved the world, had to fight for everything she received, and she did it mostly on her own. That stopped now.
“I have a lot of explaining to do,” she stated softly, with the faintest smile.
“You talk when you want to talk.”
Ashlyn shifted toward me. Her eyes roamed over my face, before dropping to take in my throbbing hand. “We need to get some ice,” she whispered.
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
Once again, her magnetic force speared into me, and I needed to touch her, to feel the connection between us. There was nothing holding me back now. The world knew that she wasn’t with Lachlan, and that thought alone inspired me to not stop until I got what I wanted. I lifted my hand and cupped her cheek, and as soon as I did, her eyes fluttered shut under my touch. My thumb grazed her bottom lip, and suddenly everything appeared to me. No one had told her she was worth fighting for. I should have fought for her. I should have found another way to have her while still saving my brother.
“I’m going to kiss the shit out of those lips of yours, Ash, because I need you to know that you’re worth fighting for.” I didn’t give her a moment to respond. I stole the distance between us and pulled her on my lap. Her arms went straight around my neck, and I shifted her body until she was straddling me. Her dress bunched up around the top of her thighs, and my eager hands disappeared under her ass to hold her in place. My lips dropped to hers, and tonight she tasted like a sweet combination of champagne and strawberries. My tongue ran the seam of her lips in silent need for access. Her lips parted, and my tongue slipped through and collided with hers. The harder I kissed her, the more she ground herself into my lap. Her soft moans fueled the fire burning within me, and I couldn’t get enough. Kissing this woman was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was like taking a deep breath after being trapped under water. It was a lifeline I desperately craved. I didn’t want to stop. I almost couldn’t stop. But I knew if I didn’t I’d be fucking her on the pier behind my parents’ house, while inside Ky and Eden celebrated their engagement party.
“Ashy, we need to stop. Otherwise I’ll be blowing my load, and I really don’t want to have to explain that to my parents.”
Her giggle was like music to my ears. She rested her face in the crook of my neck and I wrapped my arms around her tightly.
“Can we get ice for your hand now? If we stay out here, you’ll blow your load and I’ll want an orgasm.”
Ashlyn was too much. I burst out laughing, then grabbed her around the waist to hurl her off my lap. I stood and offered her a hand. In the moonlight as we stood on the pier, I could see her lips were slightly swollen, and her gloss, or lipstick, or whatever she was wearing, was smudged. I fucking loved it, and my tongue instantly ran over my lips where I could still taste her.
I didn’t hesitate. I pulled my phone out from my pocket, held it up, and snapped a photo. The flash lit up the space around us, and her gasp rang out through the night air.
“What the hell are you doing?” she shrieked, and started blinking rapidly, due to the effects of the intense flash. I started shoving my phone in my pocket, but her hand shot out and grabbed onto my arm. “You need to get blinded too. It’s selfie time.”
She yelped and grabbed hold of my arm as I pulled her in front of me. Her back molded with my chest, and my height allowed me to rest my chin on the top of her shoulder. Ashlyn shifted back until her head was resting just over my heart. I pulled my arm back and held my phone in front of us. Just as I was about to press the button, I shifted my face until my lips were able to kiss the side of her neck. The flash illuminated the space around us, and I felt my cock jerk as Ashlyn sighed in my arms.
We walked back to the house in silence. My phone felt like it was burning in my pocket, taunting me to look at the photo we had just taken. The lights that flooded the backyard came into view, and I glanced at Ashlyn from the corner of my eye. Fuck, her lips were still smudged. Before we moved through the gate, I grabbed her arm and halted her movements. I didn’t say a word, just lifted my thumb to her face and lightly brushed over the smudge of red, desperately trying to avoid her gaze. I couldn’t walk through the gates with a raging hard on, and that was where I was headed if my eyes found hers.
“You’re good,” I muttered, and pushed open the gate. The moment we appeared, it was like people came out of everywhere. Mom rushed toward us, then Eden dropped Ky’s hand and soon joined her.
“Are you okay? Show me your hand. We need to take care of this. Where did you disappear to?” Their questions swamped my mind, and I didn’t feel Ashlyn go until I saw her standing by Ky.
I answered Mom and Eden’s questions, then disappeared inside. I needed a moment, and I needed to take care of my now-throbbing hand. Standing in the kitchen, I leaned against the counter, clutching an ice pack, and holding a whiskey in the other hand. My mind kept swirling with memories of Ashlyn grinding against my cock on the pier. She had lost all her inhibitions, and it was almost as if she was silently telling me to take her. It wouldn’t have taken more than a second to slip her panties to the side and run my fingers through her soaked pussy before sinking inside her. Fuck, I craved her warmth. To have her again was something I’d been fantasizing about since our first night together. Yes, I’d had other pussy since that night, but nothing would compare to her.
The harsh liquor hit the back of my throat and brought me back to the present.
Ky slipped into the kitchen, and my eyes trailed him as he moved to Dad’s liquor cabinet and brought out the whi
skey that I was devouring. He poured himself a glass, and his eyes flashed to mine to see if I needed a top up. “So, are you going to tell me what the hell that was?”
Fuck! Here we go.
I sucked back the entire thing and placed the empty glass on the counter. Ky’s face was impassive, though his body language made it obvious that he wouldn’t tolerate any bullshit.
“Lachlan is a motherfucker,” I growled, and narrowed my eyes at just the thought of him. “He was balls deep in some random chick when she turned up in Australia. She walked in on that shit happening.”
“When did you find out?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Two days after we learned she was home. Lachlan emailed me asking if I’d seen her. It didn’t seem legit, so I confronted her and she told me.”
“And you chose not to tell me?”
“It wasn’t my story to tell. I handled it.”
“She is my fucking best friend, Josh,” he scoffed.
He did not just use the best friend fucking card. “Yeah, and I took care of it.”
“This is fucked up. You should have told me. I could have done something.”
“What could you have done, Ky? A reason she didn’t admit what happened was because she was afraid of your reaction. She knew you didn’t accept that she went back to him. She was embarrassed and ashamed. She had people telling her what a bad idea it was, you included, and she didn’t want to face that, so she didn’t fucking tell you.”
Ky paced the kitchen, swigging his whiskey as a shadow covered his face. He was pissed off. Actually, that was an understatement, but I would not apologize for anything when it came to Ashlyn Hart.
Something grabbed my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I swung around to find Ashlyn standing just outside the kitchen. Her face was completely unreadable, but by her rigid body language I knew she had been standing there for a while. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and, when she averted her gaze from mine to Ky, I knew my time here was done.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to chat. I need some fresh air.”
“Josh.” Ashlyn’s soft voice halted my escape. I dropped my head and looked at the ground before turning to face her. She moved into the kitchen and stood before me, then offered me the slightest of smiles. “Thank you for tonight.”
“You never have to thank me for fighting for you, Ash,” I said so softly that only she and I would hear. Her eyes darted from mine and I took that as my cue to leave.
I WILL ALWAYS FIGHT for you, Ash.
Josh’s words were on repeat in my head, and I felt like I was floating in a daze. His ability to surprise me seemed to have gone up a notch, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. As I watched him leave the kitchen, all I wanted to do was grab onto him and tell him how much I needed him to help me endure the conversation I was about to have with Ky. But I let him go. Knowing that Josh had to defend himself for something that wasn’t his fault pained me, and I hated myself for putting him in that position. It was my decision not to speak with Ky, and I was the only one that should deal with the consequences.
“You need to get back out there and enjoy your party,” I said, breaking the silence and offering Ky a half-assed smile. I stepped across the kitchen and grabbed his hands, squeezing them tightly in silent plea. “We can talk about this tomorrow. Not tonight. Not on your special night.”
His gaze dropped and took in our joined hands before looking back at me. “Just tell me why you felt like you couldn’t discuss this with me.”
I sucked in a breath. “I couldn’t have you looking at me like I’d made the worst decision of my life, like I had disappointed you . . . like you are looking at me now. I needed to handle it myself. If Lachlan hadn’t contacted Josh, no one would have known. Not until I was ready.”
Time stood still as his eyes bounced over my face, then his hands tightened their grip. Ky was showing all the signs that he was going to accept my response, that this, that we, were going to be okay.
“I don’t want you to think you ever have to hide anything from me again. It fucks with my head that you had to go through this on your own.”
“I wasn’t on my own; I had Josh.”
The sound of the backdoor opening halted our conversation, and a timid Eden appeared. “Sorry to interrupt, but Aunt Carole is leaving and wants to say goodbye.”
Ky kissed my cheek and let go of my hands. “No matter what, don’t feel you have to hide anything from me.”
I took a moment after Ky and Eden left the kitchen to compose myself. My hands were still shaking, and I felt like a rubber band ready to snap. Seeing Lachlan had affected me more than I wanted to admit. I didn’t like the girl I became when all my insecurities came to the surface. That Ashlyn was timid, untrusting, and lacked self-confidence. It immediately pushed me back to a place I chose to ignore and didn’t want to believe existed. Nobody deserved to have that control; not my parents, and definitely not Lachlan.
With a deep breath, I put a smile on my face and stepped out of the house to rejoin the party. The Lachlan fiasco seemed to have been forgotten, and now guests were dancing, chatting, and enjoying all things Ky and Eden. Maybe the night wasn’t completely wrecked.
“How are you, sweetheart?”
I jumped at the sound of Sue’s concerned voice and turned in her direction. Her face held comfort and sincerity, and it caused my heart to swell. All I needed was a motherly hug and a promise that everything would be okay, and I knew Sue would provide me exactly that. I moved closer, and she engulfed me in the tightest hug I’d ever experienced.
“You know I already consider you a daughter, Ash, so if you ever need to talk, you call me or come over. I am so proud of my boy, and I always thought you two would be perfect together. Tonight proved that,” she revealed wistfully.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
She moved until she was standing in front of me, and her eyes glistened with something that I adored seeing from her: love.
“You and Josh. You two are meant to be together, and you are and will continue to be the best thing to ever happen to him.”
“There is nothing between Josh and me,” I whispered as the ability to breathe fled my body.
“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” she offered with a knowing smile that I recognized, and her resemblance to Josh was two-fold. “I’ve set up Josh’s room for the two of you. You don’t mind sharing with him, do you?”
“Um, that should be fine. I don’t know where he has gone, so he might not be back.”
“He’ll be back.”
Two hours later, I was lying in Josh’s childhood bed, wide awake, while the rest of the house slept. There had been no sign of Josh since he left, and he wasn’t responding to calls or texts. I had officially stepped into worried territory.
Footsteps in the hall grabbed my attention. I waited with baited breath for the next move, then a shadow appeared from under the door.
“Josh?” I whispered into the still air as the room was momentarily flooded with light from the hall.
“Yeah, it’s me, Ashy.”
I pulled myself up onto my elbows and watched him step into the room. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling and texting you.”
“I just needed to go for a walk and sort my head out.”
I dropped back to the bed in defeat. “Oh, okay.”
He walked around the room in silence, and my eyes followed his every move. He opened the bag that was sitting on the chair, then pulled out a pair of sweatpants and placed them on the edge of the bed. The moment he turned around, his eyes found mine and I couldn’t stop myself from staring in fascination as he began to loosen his tie.
“I’m about to crawl into bed beside you.”
Warning sirens started screaming in my head. “You do realize we are at your parents’ house?”
“Right at this moment, I don’t give a fuck where we are. I need you any way I can have you tonight, so I’m climbing in beside yo
u and taking whatever I can get.”
My body hummed at the thought of being wrapped up in his warmth. I swear he started moving in slow motion as he unbuttoned his shirt and slid it over his shoulders. I’d always admired his body in secret, but in the dark bedroom, with only the shadow of the moon, I could admire it openly. All the running and trips to the gym had given him a body that I wanted to admire and explore with my hands and mouth. A firm chest led into ridges of muscles, which covered his stomach and led to a prominent V on his hips. Heat spiraled out of control within me, and I suddenly had the urge to giggle into my pillow like a school girl perving on the hottest guy in class. But somehow I resisted.
“What are you wearing?” he whispered as he began unbuckling his belt.
I swallowed hard. “Panties and one of your old shirts that I found.”
“Take off your panties.”
“You cannot be serious,” I shot in an unusually high pitch.
The sound of his belt falling to the floor shattered the air. “Do you honestly think I’d joke about that?”
“My panties are staying on, thank you very much.” I crossed my arms and tried to ignore the feelings of rebellion that started to appear. Taking my panties off would lead to guaranteed orgasms, but it would also mean that I was breaking a promise to myself of not going there with Josh again.
“Do you like the panties you’re wearing?” He leaned on the edge of the bed and moved in close to my face.
I felt his breath bouncing off my lips as the air around us spiraled out of control. “Of course I do. They cost me a lot of money,” I rushed out in response.
“Well, you either take them off or they’ll be ripped off. Those are you choices.”
Holy shit, I was in trouble, and trouble never felt so good.
Josh lifted the comforter, then slid in bed beside me and didn’t take his time in prowling toward me until his body covered mine. The close proximity of our bodies and the immediate warmth that immersed me, felt incredible.
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