Touch Wood (The Ash Brothers)

by Jenika Snow

  He’d taken off his button-down shirt and now just wore the white T-shirt he’d had underneath. I couldn’t help but focus on the way his biceps bulged as he held the axe, the sinew and tendons in clear definition under his skin. I took a step to the side, but my shoe snapped a twig, causing him to turn around and look at me. He seemed momentarily surprised that I stood there, but he regained his composure pretty quickly.

  “You like watching men sweat as they work?” I could hear the teasing note in his voice and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  I wanted to tell him that I liked watching him sweat while he worked, but I bit my tongue and glanced away, knowing my cheeks were probably red.

  “Well, hell,” he said and I glanced up at him.

  “What?”

  “I didn’t think it was possible.” He set the axe down, leaning it against the big slab of wood he used as a chopping block.

  “You didn’t think what was possible?”

  He full on grinned this time, flashing straight white teeth. “I didn’t think it was possible to get you to blush.”

  And just like that I felt my face get even hotter. I glanced away again and touched my cheek, feeling my warm skin. Yeah, probably red as a damn tomato.

  “I just figured that maybe we could talk.” I walked over to one of the large tree stumps and sat down. After a moment he did the same on the chopping block stump. Whenever we were around each other there was this...intensity.

  “How about I pick you up and take you to the construction site tonight? Makes more sense than both of us driving to the same place, right?” He smirked at me again, the corner of his mouth lifting up and making him so damn attractive.

  The independent part of me, the one who hadn’t let any man do anything for her, even something as small as picking her up and taking her someplace, wanted to tell him that I would just meet him there. And maybe this made me seem weak, but I wanted to be that female who had the man pick her up, open doors for her...just take care of her. I’d never had that before, and I could see that Liam would probably fit the bill pretty damn well.

  “Yeah, that would work.” I hated that it sounded so formal coming out of me. We exchanged phone numbers and I gave him my address. He kept grinning at me, and I couldn’t help but return the expression. There was definitely something about Liam Ash that made me just want to rip my clothes off, turn around, bend over, and grab my ankles.

  Chapter Six

  Andra

  I pulled my jacket closer to my body and stared at the building that was really starting to come together. I was glad I’d changed out of the dress, because the mountain nights, even during this time of year, were chilly.

  We’d sat in his truck silently on the ride over, but once there we’d sat with the truck idling, small talk filling the air.

  I learned about his family starting the business, and how he and his brothers had taken over. Liam was a hardworking man, as were his two brothers. This business was their life, and as such he’d devoted all of his time to it.

  “It’s really coming together,” I finally said and glanced over at him. He was already staring at me. The sun was just starting to set, and although it would be dark soon enough, he’d turned on a few work lights. They barely touched the middle of the building, but it didn’t matter because inside was what I really wanted to see.

  “Come on,” he said, and before I knew what he was doing, he took my hand in his and led me inside. I liked the feeling of his much larger hand encompassing mine, the slight callouses I felt pressing against the smooth skin of my palm. I stared up at him, took in his profile, the way his nose was broad, masculine. His lips were full, his jaw square. I lifted my gaze to his hair, the short strands looking so dark in this lighting.

  He took me to the west side of the building and showed me the different rooms, the offices and areas that would soon be furnished, decorated, and hold many new employees. It was crazy to see this once empty lot with walls and doors, lighting fixtures and the prospect of the future.

  And then he took me to the last room at the end of a long hallway, this one unfinished, with sawhorses in the center of the room, clear tarps hanging over parts of the walls and windows. It was the least finished room I’d seen thus far, but it had so much promise.

  I let go of his hand and walked the room, touching the walls, the exposed wood that would be sanded, stained, and made into beautiful banisters and exposed beams.

  “You guys have done so much in such a short amount of time.” When the company I worked for had hired Ash Lumber, I didn’t think we’d expected them to be so versed in so many things. They didn’t only manufacture the wood that built this incredible structure, but they were also doing the construction itself. “It’s going to be wonderful once it’s all said and done. It already is,” I said and turned around. The air left me when I realized he was right in front of me, his big body blocking out everything behind him, his focus on me.

  “I have to admit,” he said in a husky drawl. “This back and forth we have going on turns me on like a motherfucker.”

  My mouth went dry, the words leaving me. I felt my eyes widen when he lifted his hand and cupped my cheek. His skin was warm, his palm so big. “Mr. Ash,” I said, trying to be professional, but I was failing.

  I want to fail.

  “Mr. Ash?” he asked and grinned. “I kind of like you saying my name all formal and shit, but let’s be real.” He stepped closer. “Call me Liam.”

  “Liam,” I said softly and he groaned.

  “Tell me you don’t feel this chemistry moving between us, this sexual intensity.” He was stroking my cheek with his thumb now.

  “This needs to be professional,” I whispered. It didn’t sound convincing to me even as I said the damn words.

  He smiled but it was forced. He leaned in close to me and stared me in the eyes. “Liar.”

  He stared at me for long seconds. I felt the air heat, become thicker.

  “Now, lie to me again.”

  I swallowed the thick lump in my throat and shook my head slowly. “I can’t.” I was being honest. I didn’t want to fight this anymore.

  He groaned and closed his eyes for long seconds. When he opened them again his stare was intense. “I haven’t been with a woman in years, Andra. Fucking years I’ve had no interest. Not in relationships, being intimate...nothing.” He rested his forehead against mine and groaned again. “And I’m so fucking happy I haven’t been with a woman. I’m glad you’re the one who is breaking that celibacy streak, who is finally going to be mine.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that last part, but elation filled me at hearing those words.

  Liam had his hand wrapped around my nape, his mouth slammed against mine. He pushed his tongue between my lips, fucking me there, stroking the interior of my mouth. My body was on fire, my nipples tingling, my pussy wet. He walked us backward until the wall stopped us. I braced my hands behind me, the plaster cool, dry under my sweaty palms. He was pressing his pelvis against my belly, his dick thick, long, and so damn hard.

  I was breathing heavy, not even about to talk myself out of this. He broke the kiss and started dragging his mouth down my cheek, along my jawline, and finally stopped right at the pulse point beneath my ear. Liam licked and sucked at my flesh, causing my inner muscles to clench painfully. I wanted him deep inside of me, stretching me to the point of pain. He was thrusting against me, back and forth, adding more pressure, more force with each passing second.

  “I could devour you until there wasn’t anything left, until you were a writhing mess under me, begging for more.” He growled low against my neck, and I felt the vibrations all the way to my clit.

  I was already to the point of begging. I was wet now, so wet that my panties were soaked. My mind and body were on the same wavelength, screaming for Liam to have his way with me, to take me in any way he saw fit
. I didn’t want to be the powerful one when I was with him. I had that every day in my life. With Liam, I wanted him to call the shots.

  I noticed the way his breathing changed, how it was more ragged, broken. I knew I was helpless to stop anything he wanted to do to me, anything I wanted him to do to me.

  Liam pulled me forward until our bodies were flush with each other. My breasts pressed against the hard planes of his chest, and the air gushed out of me at the feel of his hard body right up against mine, at the fact he was so masculine where I was feminine.

  “You are so fucking beautiful, and the fact you’re mine, only mine...” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe I was standing right here, about to give myself over to him.

  “I’ve never wanted anything so much as I want you, Andra.” His words were spoken softly, but his voice was guttural. Liam was rough around the edges, brutal in his strength, in his personality, and I knew he was the type of man who didn’t apologize for these traits.

  That’s what drew me to him, had me aching for him.

  “I want you so much,” I said, not caring if I sounded desperate.

  He lifted his hand and ran his finger along my cheek. The scent of the exposed, fresh wood filled my head, making me dizzy, seeming to make my desire climb higher. I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch, needing more of it desperately. I knew this would be a fast and wild experience, and I anticipated that. I needed that.

  He lowered his head to mine until our lips were a hairsbreadth apart. “You make me crazy with your stubbornness, with the fact you get under my skin.” His words were low, husky, full of promise. “But that’s what makes me want you so fucking much, Andra.” He ran the tip of his nose up my cheek. “You’re the first thing I think about when I wake, and the last thing to fill my head before I fall asleep.”

  My heart was beating so hard and fast.

  He leaned back and stared right into my eyes. “How much do you want this?” He lifted a brow, his face full of passion. “Tell me and it’s yours. I’ll give you anything you want, baby.”

  “I want it as badly as you do.” I wanted to lean in that little bit and kiss him again, but I stayed still, looking into his eyes, waiting for him to make another move, to take that control.

  He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “My cock has never been this hard, baby.” He took my hand and moved it between our bodies, placing it right over his dick. A gasp left me at his size, at his hardness. His warm breath slid along my face, making me drunk.

  “Take me,” I whispered. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, feel it in my throat.

  “I want to taste you, to run my tongue over every part of you, memorizing you.”

  I licked my too-dry lips, tried to take in enough oxygen so I wasn’t so dizzy.

  “Do you want that, sweetheart? Do you need that?”

  “I need you, Liam.”

  “Fuck, baby.” He held still for a moment, not speaking, not moving, as if he were trying to rein in his control. But I wanted him to break free, to just give me all of him, however he saw fit. I was tired to trying to be the one in control of my entire life. I just wanted to jump off that ledge and see how it felt to reach the bottom.

  He pressed his lower half into my belly, and the feel of his huge erection prodding me had a fresh gush of moisture leaving my pussy.

  “I hope you’re ready, because once I finally claim you there is no going back.” He slid his thumb along my bottom lip. “You’ll be mine and no one else’s.”

  And truth was, that’s exactly what I wanted.

  Chapter Seven

  Liam

  I was a fiend for Andra, so far gone that stopping seemed like a distant thought. Even if I had the strength to walk away from this I wouldn’t have. I needed her in all ways, needed to claim her in the way that only I could. To make her mine. Andra would soon see I was the one in control, that I was the one who would give her pleasure, hear her calling out my name as she came.

  I stood there staring at her, unable to take my gaze off her. She was perfection, beautiful...mine.

  Her cheeks were flushed, dotted with red from her lust. I started kissing her again, taking in her flavor, her very essence. My desire was so fucking intense that I ground myself against her belly. Her mouth was hot and sweet, and my cock jerked behind my jeans, the fucker needing out and buried deep in her body.

  I swept my tongue into the wet cavern of her mouth, stroking it along hers, bringing out a moan from her. I swallowed that sound, wanting more of it. Sliding my hands down her back, I gripped her full, round ass and brought her closer to me, which was almost an impossible act, given the fact we were pressed tightly together. My cock jerked at the feel of her softness, at the scent of her.

  “I want you so fucking badly. I can feel it in my marrow, taste it on my tongue,” I said against her mouth, kissing her harder after the words left me.

  The sound of her lightly moaning told me she was finding pleasure in this, that she craved me as much as I craved her. And the way she dug her nails into my arms let me know she needed more.

  And I’ll give her so much more she can’t even fucking breathe.

  Andra slid her hands up my chest and dug her nails into my skin. I hissed in pain...in pleasure. It felt good, so fucking good I could have probably gotten off on this alone.

  I needed us naked, needed her bare skin pressed to mine. I wanted to feel her body shaking beneath my hands and mouth, losing control because she came, because I was the one who brought that out in her. I was purely working on instinct now, and there wasn’t anything on this fucking planet that could stop me from claiming her, from making her mine in every way I saw fit.

  “You sure you want this, baby?”

  “I want this. I want you,” she said instantly and looked into my eyes.

  I kissed her harder and with more possession, needing her to see that she was, in fact, only mine. She moaned and pressed her breasts harder against my chest.

  “I’m going to have you so sore tomorrow you won’t be able to sit comfortably, but you’ll want more. So much more.”

  “Yes,” she breathed out, and I swallowed the sound.

  I gripped the cheeks of her ass, slid my hands up and curled them around the material of her shirt, pushing it up and off her body. I had my hands back on her ass, squeezing the mounds and pulling her harder against me, right on my cock. I became frenzied as I took a step back and all but tore the rest of her clothing off then did the same to mine until we were both naked, panting, and ready. The sexual buildup had been too much, too strong for so long.

  Now it was time for us to unleash it all.

  And then I lifted her easily into my arms. Andra wrapped her legs around my waist, and the warm, soaked feeling of her pussy had me nearly coming right there.

  “Oh, God, yes, Liam.”

  I’ll have her screaming out more than that really damn soon.

  I turned and moved toward one of the sawhorses. I grabbed a cloth tarp that was folded beside it, and hung it over the wood. She stared at me, already knowing what I wanted before I even said anything. I could see it written on her face.

  I moved closer to her again, pressed my dick into the softness between her legs, and claimed her mouth. She gasped, and I groaned.

  She panted against my lips. “I want you inside of me.”

  Grinding myself against her again, I knew I was being a filthy bastard. I should have wined and dined her, been sweet, taken things slow. But fuck, she had everything inside of me so damn twisted. I couldn’t control myself.

  “I am going to have my dick so deep inside of you, fuck you so hard, every time you sit down you’ll be thinking of me.”

  “All talk,” she teased, taunted. “How about you show me?”

  “Baby, I want you so fucking bad, so much it hurts.” I ground myself against her
over and over again until I was close to getting off from the act alone.

  I forced myself to stop, because no way I was about to fucking get off without being deep inside of her body.

  When she dug her nails into my biceps, I pushed away all other thoughts except what was happening right then. I relished the sting she caused, how the pleasure and pain coexisted.

  “God, Andra, baby. That’s it.” I ran my tongue up her neck and stopped at her mouth. My hands were already on her waist, and I clenched my fingers tighter into the lush curves of her body. Smooth, warm skin greeted me. Fuck, I loved everything about her.

  She leaned back on the sawhorse, and a groan left me when I moved my hands to her ass and squeezed. I pushed back an inch and looked between our bodies.

  “Spread your legs wider.” I barely got the words out. She obeyed me right away and I grunted in pleasure. I went back to kissing her, and soon I became desperate, needy, and full of passion and heat.

  “I can’t breathe,” she said and leaned her head back on the wall. She looked down the length of my chest, and lower still until she could obviously see my cock. Hell, the damn thing was all but digging into her this whole time. With us both naked, my dick hard, long, and probing her pussy, I knew that once I was buried inside of her I wouldn’t last.

  When she reached down and touched my abdomen, I couldn’t stop the low sound that left me. I wanted to fuck her so badly, and as much as foreplay was at the front of my mind, I was barely holding on to my control, barely leashing my need to just bend her over and thrust deep in her pussy.

  She leaned in and ran her tongue along my bottom lip, and I shivered, my big body involuntarily reacting to her touch. Andra moved lower until she was touching my erection. “I’m ready for you to have me. All of me.”

  “Good, because you’re mine.” I growled the words out, both of us heaving, ready for this to actually begin. “I’m going to fuck you so good, so hard, you won’t think of being with anyone ever again.”