I found myself very jealous.
I could never have something like this.
“Hannah?”
“Hmm?” I asked as I turned around.
He pointed to a door. “This is your door. It comes right out to the balcony without having to come upstairs, and it leads right into your living room.”
I blinked. “I’m going to have a living room?”
“Yep. Come see.”
He opened the screened porch door and I quickly followed him inside. The quaint little living room had a small two-person dining table sitting by the window directly to my left. A small kitchenette with three barstools was bellied up to an elongated countertop in front of me. There were two couches and a recliner surrounding an electric fireplace and a flat-screen television mounted on top of the mantle. The plush carpet greeted me as Ash turned to the right, taking me down three little stairs.
And when he flipped on the light, my jaw dropped to the floor.
“What the fuck?” I asked.
Ash walked over to the king-sized bed. “You should be comfortable here until you find yourself a place. I know it’s kind of weird, having the toilet and the shower exposed to the bedroom. I haven’t gotten around to putting up a privacy wall yet.”
I blinked. “Wait, you added on this addition?”
He dropped my stuff next to the bed. “Nah. It came with my purchase. But it was pretty roughed-up when I found it. Took a couple of years to get it like this.”
“So, you remodeled it.”
“Essentially.”
“So, you hunt, you fish, you have your own place, and you’re a handyman.”
He nodded. “I guess.”
I snickered. “Whatever woman snatches you up better do whatever she can to keep you, I’ma tell you that.”
He chuckled, and the sound pulled me right to him. I wanted to hug him; I was so excited. There was no way in hell my ex would find me out in the middle of nowhere. Especially since I had no idea how long we drove through the woods in order to get here. I walked over to the glass-encased walk-in shower and marveled at the waterfall showerhead. I turned toward the bed and watched Ash fluff the pillows, which practically made my damn nipples hard.
“You’re a hell of a man,” I murmured.
“What was that?” Ash asked.
I cleared my throat. “Nothing. Just a bit tired and talking to myself.”
He flipped the covers back. “I’m sure you are. We drove all through the night to get here. I’m shocked you stayed awake the entire time.”
I shrugged. “Call it a talent of mine.”
He chuckled. “Noted.”
His eyes met mine and my toes curled in my shoes. I didn’t know what it was about this man that toppled me head over heels, but I couldn't stand it. Well, I could, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to jump his bones, rip his clothes off, and slide my tongue along every creviced line of his muscles his body had.
And judging by the way he looked at me, he thought much of the same thing.
“Anyway,” he said before clearing his throat, “take a shower. Get yourself some rest. Help yourself to anything in either kitchen.”
“Oh, so the kitchen down here has food?”
He nodded. “It’s got necessities. And if you go up the steps that lead into the main part of the house, it’ll dump you right into the kitchen up there. Feel free to pick stuff from there, too.”
“I appreciate that so much. Thank you.”
We stood there staring at one another for a little while before he finally turned on his heels. But he didn’t leave my presence without stealing one last glance over his shoulder. I tossed him another wink and he shook his head, but I saw the shadow of a smile crossing his face.
Maybe one day we can use this shower together.
But until then, I resolved myself to a shower alone.
Before I crashed into bed, wet and naked.
“Ash?”
My eyes fell open and I rolled over onto my back. The one thing about this room was that it was completely underground. So, when the lights were out, they were really out.
“Ash, you here?”
I called out for him as I pushed myself up. I slid off the mattress and padded over to where I thought the door was, though it took me a while to locate the light switch. I turned on the light and had to shield my eyes from how piercing it was at first. But once my eyes adjusted, I rummaged through my bags for something to wear.
Before I headed upstairs.
“Ash!” I exclaimed.
The birds chirped and the sun shone heavily through the upstairs kitchen windows. I smelled coffee in the pot, but the pot was half-empty. And lukewarm. I looked over at the dining room table and saw an empty plate that held nothing but crumbs from the food that used to be there.
But there was still no Ash.
“Ash!” I bellowed.
I walked into the dining room from the kitchen and saw a small piece of paper sitting on the table by the plate. I picked it up and unfolded it, wondering if it was something Ash left behind. But instead, I found a note addressed to me. Signed by the man I was looking for.
Huh.
Hannah,
Went to the Iron Horse this morning. I didn’t have the heart to wake you after sleeping all day yesterday. I hope you feel well-rested. I’ll be back tonight. Help yourself to anything. There are keys hanging up by your door downstairs. They go to the beat-up truck underneath the awning. If you want to go somewhere, it’s got a full tank.
Ash
I set the note down and rushed back down the stairs. I rummaged around until I found my cell phone and quickly got it plugged in. Of course, the damn thing was dead. I hadn’t plugged it in for days. But once I got my phone to finally turn on, I plugged in “Iron Horse” into my GPS.
And it showed me exactly where I needed to go from Ash’s place.
“I wonder,” I murmured.
I made my way back downstairs and found the keys Ash’s note spoke about. Then, I quickly threw on some clothes. Nothing fancy, mind you. Just some jeans and a t-shirt with a pair of my flats. I gathered my phone, purse, and phone charger, then I started my search for that beat-up truck.
Though, it didn’t take me long to find it.
“Ha-ha!”
As I slid into the driver’s seat of that truck, it hit me. I was no longer in Hillridge Springs. I didn’t know where the fuck I was, but it wasn’t there. I was states away from every worry and problem I’d struggled with for months, and it felt like heaven. I plugged my phone into the car charger I set up and cranked the engine, listening as it quickly turned over. Then, I rolled down the windows and set off toward the Iron Horse.
I finally have my freedom.
My phone told me it was two in the afternoon the next day, which meant I had slept well over twenty-four hours. And I felt fantastic. The GPS navigated me through the dirt roads that had been carved out through the woods until I finally hit a paved road. And from there, the drive to this place was only twenty minutes. I parked in the parking lot in front of the bar and readied myself to go inside. I wasn’t sure how Ash would react to me being there in the middle of the day. Hell, for all I knew, he wasn’t here anymore at all.
I wanted to see him, though.
I gathered my purse and turned off the engine before I made my way inside. Power and freedom washed over me as I walked into the bar and didn’t hear my cousin calling out for me, or my ex popping out of the woodworks. No one knew me here. No one stared at me. No one eyed me or looked me up and down or murmured about me off in the distance. This fresh start felt amazing. I carried myself with pride as I walked up to the bar.
“Can I get you anything?” the bartender asked.
Then, a booming voice appeared at my side.
“Whatever she wants, put it on my tab,” Ash said.
And when I slowly looked up at him, I found his gaze staring down at me.
With a darkened look that made my heart stop in my ches
t.
7
Ash
I never thought jeans and a t-shirt could look so sexy on a woman. But there she was, standing at the bar in all of her glory. I figured she’d try to get out, especially after leaving her the keys to my pet project. But I never expected to feel such a tug toward her the second she walked in.
Her luscious ass filled out the back of her jeans while her thighs boasted of womanly curves I wanted to sink my teeth into. Her tapered waist called to my hands and her tits would be perfect handfuls against my palms. But her body had nothing on her countenance. The confidence with which she swayed those hips of hers made my pants tighten around my pelvis.
And suddenly, I found myself at the bar with her.
Putting all of her shit on my tab.
“Are you sure, Ash?”
I blinked. “Very.”
She smiled. “Well, I’ll have a Jack and Coke.”
I nodded. “Good choice. You hungry?”
“I suppose I should eat since I only got up forty-five minutes ago.”
I grinned. “Sleep well?”
She nodded. “Very much so. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Not a problem. Order whatever you want.”
I stood at the bar with her as she hopped up onto one of the barstools and we both ordered burgers and fries for ourselves. Our drinks came up in a hurry and I reached for my beer, watching as her lips curled around the outside of her glass. There wasn’t anything about this woman I didn’t find staggeringly beautiful. And for a split second, I thought I felt her trying to lean a bit closer to me.
Or it could’ve been my imagination.
“So, you want to fill me in on the whole story with your ex?” I asked.
She paused. “Do you want to know?”
“I think I should at least know what might come knocking on my front door.”
“Oh, he won’t find me out here. He’s not that smart.”
“Doesn’t mean I should be left in the dark. I like to understand my opponents.”
“Opponents?”
I took a pull from my beer. “Yep. Because if that fucker ever comes after you, he’s nothing but an opponent.”
She smiled brightly. “Well, I suppose when you put it that way…”
Our food touched down in front of us and I gave her some time to gather her thoughts. And to get some food in her system. But once she threw back the rest of her drink and ordered another one, she turned to face me.
And I readied myself to listen.
“His name is Dave.”
I nodded. “Dave. Got it.”
“Him and I went to high school together.”
“Sweethearts?”
“He wanted to be. But I didn’t want to date him back then. I was dating the quarterback of the football team, so things never really happened between us.”
“How did you guys get together, then?”
She shrugged. “People grow up, I guess. I don’t really know how it happened. It just did one night. I was out at the bar celebrating my twenty-first birthday and suddenly, there’s Dave. He’s buying me a birthday drink and we’re reliving the horrible times we had in high school. Then, he’s at my place and we’re hooking up.”
“And you didn’t stop hooking up.”
She nodded. “Right. It kind of became this thing we did a couple of times a week. We got together, had drinks, got food, then went back to my place. And it continued for a while until the town talked about us ‘being together.’ And that was that.”
“How long were you two together?”
“Uh… just shy of a year, I’d say? I mean, it wasn’t like an ugly break-up either or anything. I sat him down, we had a talk, and by the end of it we were both in agreement that we needed to end whatever it was that was between us.”
“But he still ended up stalking you?”
She sighed. “I don’t really know how it happened. I mean, first he’d come over to talk. I mean, he’d come over a lot. And then it got to a point where I’d come up with excuses just so he wouldn't come over. Then one day, on a day I told him he couldn't come over, I caught him sitting in his car outside of my place. And before I can walk up to him and ask him if he’s okay, he takes off.”
“Oh, boy.”
“Yeah. Then, he starts popping up everywhere: the grocery store, the bar, my place. Just watching. It creeped me out, so that’s when I moved the first time. But when he found me at my new place, I quickly moved overnight into another apartment in that same complex until I could find another, totally different complex to move my ass to.”
“I take it something else happened.”
She swallowed hard. “I was moving in late at night into that new apartment in the old complex, you know? And I drag the last of my things up the stairs and boom! I run straight into him.”
“You’re kidding.”
She shook her head. “Nope. Not one damn bit. He asked if I needed any help and I told him I didn’t need any help from a guy who was stalking me, and that started an argument.”
“What happened with the argument?”
Her eyes fell to her food. “He, uh…”
The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end. “What did he do to you, Hannah?”
She shook her head. “Just—took something that wasn’t his. That’s all.”
I wanted to choke that boy on his own entrails. “I’m so sorry, Hannah.”
She shrugged. “My mistake.”
“Look at me.”
“What?”
“I said, look at me, Hannah.”
She slowly lifted her eyes to mine. “Yeah?”
I gripped her chin. “It is never the victim’s fault. Ever. You hear me?”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Yeah, I hear you.”
“Good.”
I stroked my thumb along her skin, reveling in how soft it was. I had to force myself to release her before I buried the instinct to pull her in for a kiss. Damn it, she had the most kissable pair of lips I’d ever seen on a girl. And I wanted nothing more than to see how they looked wrapped around my cock. I wanted to make this woman mine. I wanted to take her in every way and make sure she was safe for all eternity. She strummed something inside of me no one had ever touched in my life. Not a woman, not a girl, not a high school sweetheart… no one. And I never wanted it to end.
Until the doors of the bar burst open.
“Hannah! Are you in here!?”
She gasped. “Slash?”
I turned around. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Slash put her hand in my face as she charged up to Hannah.
“We have to go. We have to talk, now,” she said.
“What’s going on, Slash? What’s happening?”
I narrowed my eyes. “The fuck are you doing here? You’ve got no right—”
Slash held her finger up to me. “Dave knows you’re not in Hillridge Springs anymore.”
My stomach dropped to my toes as Hannah’s face paled.
“What?”
Slash shook her head. “The second I got word, I hopped on my bike. He came into the bar looking for you a couple of hours after you left with Ash, and he had a wild look in his eye.”
Hannah looked up at me. “What are we going to do, Ash?”
Slash shoved me in my chest. “He’s not doing anything. But you and I are getting as far away from here as possible.”
I growled. “Over my dead body.”
Slash shot me a piercing look. “This isn’t for you to decide. This is bigger than you, and bigger than our beef. Even bigger than Skeleton.”
Hannah shook her head. “I’m not leaving Ash’s place.”
Slash paused. “You’re staying with this asshole?”
She nodded. “Yes, I am. And I’m not leaving his place. I feel safe there, and he’ll never find us where Ash lives. I can promise you that.”
Slash looked up at me. “Oh, really? Can you promise that?”
I glared at her. �
�I can promise that if he does, he’s a dead man.”
Slash paused. “She told you, didn’t she?”
Hannah sighed. “Just did, actually.”
I pulled out my wallet. “Come on. We need to get you back there, anyway. Especially if this creep comes rolling into town sometime soon. For all we know, Slash was followed.”
She scoffed. “I’m never followed.”
I chuckled. “Rich, coming from a woman involved with what just happened with our last op.”
I pinned her with a look before I offered Hannah my hand. She took it and I helped her off the stool before the two of us headed outside. I had to get her back to my place. We had to hunker down for a while so I could put out feelers within the community. But I sure as hell wasn’t letting Slash come with us. That bitch could stay in a cardboard box for all I cared.
But I knew one thing was for certain. I knew I couldn't make Hannah mine anytime soon. I had to get her safe first. She had to feel safe before I could venture into anything like that. So, my own vices and my own daydreams would have to wait.
“Ash?” Hannah asked.
I opened my truck door for her. “Yep?”
“Look at me.”
I gazed down at her. “You all right?”
Her eyes held all of the longing in the world, yet neither of us could act on it. And it killed a part of me inside.
“I don’t know how I’m ever going to thank you,” she said softly.
I grinned. “Trust me, I’ve got a few plans of my own.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Really, now?”
“Mhm. Especially since we’ll be cooped up with one another.”
She blushed. “Such a forward man, you are.”
I leaned down to her ear. “I know what I want, and when I do, I go after it. But not until you’re safe. You hear me?”
She sighed softly. “I do, yes.”
“Good girl.”
I kissed the shell of her ear and felt her press against my lips. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me as I let them linger against her warm skin just a few seconds longer. I settled my cheek on top of her head. She wrapped her arms around me, even though she couldn't fully embrace me. And as we stood there, with her head pressed against the bottom of my chest, I stroked my fingers through her hair.
Ash (Dragon Riders MC Book 3) Page 5