“You’re going to be just fine with me, I promise,” I whispered.
And when she sniffled, it broke my fucking heart.
8
Hannah
I heard the bike engine rumble up to the house and I shot up from my chair. I charged up the stairs with my robe tied around me and quickly opened the oven. I timed it just right this time. Every day, for the past two weeks, Ash left before I got up and didn’t come home until around six or seven in the evening. Sometimes, he’d peek his head in during lunch, but other than that he was gone with the guys or traipsing around the Iron Horse. But this time, I timed dinner perfectly.
“What smells so good in here?” Ash asked.
I set dinner on the stove top. “It’s a one-pan bake kind of meal. You hungry?”
Ash lumbered into the kitchen. “Not really. Just thirsty.”
“Oh. Well. I made up some fresh lemonade. Would you like some?”
He opened the fridge. “Bottle of water is fine.”
I nodded slowly. “Well, you want me to bring you a plate of food in about an hour? When your hunger kicks in?”
He cracked open his water. “I’m good, but thanks.”
“I—uh—well—I mean, is there anything you’d like? There’s some ice cream in the—”
“I’m going to go clean up. We can talk afterwards.”
I sighed as I watched him disappear from the kitchen. He tipped his bottle of water up, draining it before he crumpled the plastic into his hand. He tossed it into a small trash can by the television set in the living room, then he slipped into his bedroom and closed the door. My shoulders slumped as I looked over at the pan of steaming hot food. I shook my head before I reached for a bowl, wondering what in the world I had done to make that man hate me. For the past two weeks, he’d been distant. He hadn’t touched me, kissed me, or held me close like he had. Hell, the man hadn’t made a move at all!
Maybe he wants me gone.
After shoveling food into the bowl and getting myself a covered glass of lemonade, I made my way back downstairs. If he didn’t want to eat, then I wasn’t going to wait for him to eat. I closed the door at the bottom of the stairs to give myself some privacy before I walked over and flopped onto the couch. I’d been living with him full-stop for two weeks, and part of me wondered if he was getting sick of me. Maybe I needed to go out and get a job. Make some money of my own so I could move out and get my own place. Maybe Ash felt cramped, especially for a loner like him.
“Why did he kiss me then?” I whispered to myself.
I turned on the television, but I couldn’t focus on it. I was much too distracted. Did I piss Ash off? Because I really didn’t want to do that. All I wanted was to get to know him a bit more. Be closer to him. I wanted to feel his massive arms around my waist and feel his lips pressed against my skin again. Did he not like it the first time?
“Maybe I stink,” I murmured.
I raised my arm and smelled myself just to make sure.
You’re doing it again.
I sighed as I stabbed my chicken, trying to block Ash from my mind. But every time he moved upstairs, it sounded like the damn roof was about to come down over my head. I couldn't fall into the same trap. I had to make sure I kept my head screwed on straight. The last thing I needed was to become obsessed with some man that didn’t even want me, especially during this time in my life. I needed to be focused on creating a new life for myself. I didn’t need to be playing house with some guy that happened to kiss me on my ear.
I snickered. “Not like he kissed you on the lips, Hannah.”
I turned around the idea of getting a job in my head. But I didn’t know enough about this town to know what kind of jobs were available. Part of that problem could be solved by me using the truck to get around. I didn’t feel like leaving the double-wide lately, though. Part of me was worried, but the other part of me was scared. I didn’t want to go out into town only for my ex to run into me. It was enough that my cousin had ridden into town just to spook the living hell out of me. I didn’t need to pile anymore on my plate.
You have to build a life for yourself, though. Stop letting him run the show.
I shoved my mouth full of chicken, trying to block out the voice in my head. I knew it wouldn’t work, though. The truth of the matter was that I felt stuck. I felt stuck, lost, alone, and I didn’t have the kind of support I thought I’d have coming back here with Ash. Every night, he came in exhausted. Every night, he turned his nose up at dinner and went straight to bed. And on nights when I finally found the courage to talk to him about our interactions a couple of weeks back, I lost my nerve the second he pinned me with those tired eyes of his.
I didn't want to become a burden to him.
So, I kept my mouth shut.
With every creak and groan upstairs, I wondered what he was up to. I heard water running for a while, and figured he was in the shower. Which did absolutely nothing good for my state of mind. The mere idea of envisioning that towering behemoth naked made my nipples pucker. I sucked the sauce off my chicken a bit too hard as I locked my eyes with the television screen. I wanted to know what his muscles looked like underneath those clothes. Did the man have any tattoos? Because he definitely struck me as a tattoo kind of guy.
“Mmph,” I grunted.
The water turned off above my head and more creaking resumed. His footsteps padded around upstairs and I closed my eyes, envisioning his naked body reaching for a towel. I imagined him drying off those muscles while water droplets fell between the slats of his strength, trying to work their way to the floor. I thought about drying him off myself. The two of us, running the water cold before getting out and cleaning him down myself.
“Come on, Hannah. Stop torturing yourself,” I breathed.
I opened my eyes and forced myself to pay attention to the television. But I only ate through half of my dinner. I put the rest of my bowl of food in the fridge I had downstairs, then finished off my lemonade. Man, it was good. Just the right amount of tart to sweet. However, when I stared over at the closed door, debating on going upstairs to get some more, I placed my cup in the sink.
The truth was, I didn’t feel welcome upstairs. I felt like a burden. Like a growing nuisance. And I needed to stop trying to interject myself into Ash’s world. He’d been kind enough to me already, and the last thing I wanted was him pity-fucking me because I wouldn't leave him alone. I thought we had chemistry. I thought we shared a moment. But I’d never been the best judge of character when it came to men.
Plus, I never attracted the good men. I never attracted men like him. Men like the Dragon Riders. I always attracted men like my ex.
And that wouldn’t change simply because I wanted another life.
9
Ash
My eyes slowly eased open and I stared up at my ceiling. Holy hell, I felt like garbage. Resupplying our weapons arsenal last night had been filled with bullshit trips back and forth that I didn’t usually have to make, and I didn’t like the risk that had come with that. I had to double-check and make sure no one followed me home, especially with Hannah downstairs.
After all, her cousin was convinced her asshole ex knew where she was.
I swung my legs over the bed and eased myself up. My muscles ached with exhaustion. My back hurt from lugging so many damned boxes, bags, and ammunition into that fucking storage shed. I lumbered into the bathroom and stripped myself of my clothes, tossing them off to the side.
Then, I turned on the shower and let it get as hot as it could.
I hissed and groaned as I stepped into the piercing stream. But once I turned my back, I sighed with relief. I pressed my hands against the shower wall and sighed, trying to release all of the tension from my shoulders. I hated doing arsenal runs in the middle of the night, but I understood why we did it. Still, I couldn’t believe both Link and Bowser bailed on me.
At least they’re getting laid for it.
I turned around and opened my mouth. I g
argled with some hot water before I spit it out and reached for my toothbrush. I squeezed some toothpaste onto the bristles and ran it around in my mouth, feeling the foam drip down my chin. It was always easier for me to brush my teeth in the shower, especially with a sore back. I always had to dip too far to get my mouth underneath the stream of the bathroom sink, and this way I got to save my back as well as my sanity.
I gargled with mouthwash and spit it all out onto the bottom of the shower floor. And as I slipped my head beneath the hot water, I watched it all swirl down the drain. Dirt and grime fell away from my body. Bacteria screamed as the water drowned it. I washed my hair twice before running some conditioner through it, and it took all the energy I had to find the strength to contort myself enough to wash my body.
“This shower’s too damn small,” I murmured.
Once the water grew lukewarm, I turned it off. I reached for a towel that was much too small for me and dried myself off. I stepped out, slipping against the linoleum floor and almost cracking my ass on the ground. But I caught myself against the counter.
Before I heard a voice waft up through the floor.
“Ash? You okay?”
I smiled at her voice. It was filled with such concern, and it warmed my heart.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just need some caffeine.”
Hannah spoke up. “I just brewed some down here. Want me to bring you a cup?”
I turned her words around in my head. The more I interacted with her, the more I wanted her. And I made myself a solemn vow not to make her mine one damn bit until she was safe. I knew my limits. I knew what distracted me and what focused me. And Hannah? Well, she was the biggest distraction I’d ever run into.
But I couldn't help myself.
“Sure. Be down in a bit.”
I threw on a pair of sweatpants and made my way for the basement. I lumbered down the steps, allowing the smell of coffee to waft up my nose. Oh, she made it strong. A woman after my own heart. I got downstairs and saw a steaming hot mug of coffee waiting there just for me, complete with creamer and sugar set out.
“I wasn’t sure how you took your coffee,” Hannah said.
I turned to face her and watched her eyes dance over my shoulder. Over my chest. They rolled down my abs until they hit my sweatpants, and I caught her staring at my bulge. A grin spread across my face as I reached for the mug. I didn’t put shit in my coffee. The burn woke me up and the grittiness of the bitter aftertaste shocked me back to life. It was the one thing I looked forward to every morning. Waking up to a hot cup of coffee I got to enjoy before getting back at it.
But the electricity rushing through my body perked me up before I took my first sip.
“How’d you sleep?” I asked.
Her eyes slowly slid up to mine. “Uh, yeah. Good. You?”
I sipped my coffee. “Not long enough.”
Her eyes fell back to my chest. “I didn’t know you had tattoos.”
I nodded. “Yep. Had them for a while now.”
“That do they mean?”
“Hmm?”
“Your tattoos. What do they mean?”
I shrugged. “I liked their designs, so I got them.”
She giggled. “Ever the simple man.”
“Life’s easier if I keep it simple.”
She smiled. “I can understand that.”
Her smile lit up the room and I felt myself drawn to her. My brain yelled at me to stop. I abandoned my coffee in favor of being closer to her, and my heart skipped full beats. Hannah stood her ground as I came closer. I hovered over her as my shadow cloaked her figure. I smelled the fresh minty breath falling from her lips and felt her body heat reaching out for me.
Ready to pull me closer as we stood there, face to face.
“Ash?” she asked softly.
“Mhm?”
“I, uh…”
I plucked her coffee from her hands. “You what, Hannah?”
She visibly shivered. “Are you sure?”
My gaze hooked onto her stare as her back fell against the wall. I pressed my hands into the plastered wall and licked my lips. Damn it, she looked divine. Draped in nothing but a long shirt and a robe with her prickly legs extended. She was real. True. Raw, in all the best ways. And when I leaned down to her face, I watched her eyes flutter closed.
“I’m always sure, Hannah.”
She let out the softest sigh and I backed away. Her eyes ripped open as a grin spread across my face, watching her face flush. My body fought against itself. My brain screamed at me to stop while my gut begged me to keep going. It didn’t help that my cock had already throbbed to life. The tip of it pressed against my sweatpants, already leaking with want for her. I had to get away. Coffee was a bad idea. I needed to get my ass back upstairs and get ready for another long-ass day in the bar and that damn storage shed.
But when Hannah’s eyes fell to my crotch, I saw her lick her lips.
And I couldn't contain myself any longer.
“Ash, I—oh!”
I pinned her to the wall. “Tell me ‘no.’”
She blinked up at me. “What?”
I pinned her hands above her head. “Tell me to go back upstairs and I will.”
She swallowed hard. “What if I don’t want you to?”
“You have to, Hannah. You have to stop me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to. I won’t, Ash.”
Damn it.
I crashed my lips against hers as the tip of my cock settled against her clothed pelvis. She moaned down the back of my throat, rolling her hips against me. Pulling me in further with each swipe of her tongue against my own. She tasted like coffee and cinnamon. A heavenly combination that pushed me further against her body.
Until she squealed and started to giggle.
“Ash, you’re crushing me.”
I pulled back quickly. “Did I hurt you?”
She grinned up at me. “Not in the slightest, handsome.”
Her hand pressed against my throbbing cock and the beast within me rattled free from its cage. I threaded my hands through her hair and brought her back for a kiss, standing her up on her toes. I wrapped my free arm around her and picked her up, her hand falling away from my dick. And as I walked her over to the bed, I turned around.
Before I sat down on its edge.
“On your knees,” I commanded.
She kissed down my neck as her hands pressed against my thighs. I growled as her tongue slid down my chest, lapping at the divots of my muscles. She felt divine. Like an angel sent from heaven to show me a taste of what I’d never be allowed once I died. And as she sank between my legs, my cock leaked even more against my sweatpants.
“Guess someone’s excited, huh?” Hannah asked.
My gaze locked onto her. “Pull it out.”
Her eyes fluttered up to me before she slid my sweatpants down my legs. My cock sprang free, its ridges glistening with precum as it dripped down my skin. Her tiny little hand wrapped around its base, and my balls jumped. I fisted her hair with one hand and gripped the bed with the other, steadying myself as she studied it.
And I could’ve sworn I saw shock in her eyes.
I’ll ruin you with it, beautiful.
She lapped up my girth and my head fell back. Holy fuck, it had been so long since I’d been sucked off by a woman. My toes curled into the floor and my thighs jumped. She licked up the mess her presence had already created before fondling my balls in her palm.
Which almost sent me through the roof.
“I think someone likes this,” she said with a giggle.
I led her lips to my tip. “Why don’t you see what you can really make him do?”
My head fell forward and I caught her eyes just before she kissed the tip of my cock. She stroked her hand slowly, already lubed up with my dripping girth. I bucked softly against her lips, wanting to feel more of her. But when she pulled back, the animal in me took over.
“Open those lips. Now.”
&
nbsp; I shoved her head down onto my cock and felt her gag around me. I held her there, feeling her fingernails dig into my thighs as she opened her perfect little throat for me. Her hands slid up my legs. She gripped my hips as my cock sank down the back of her throat. And when it closed around me, I hissed with desire.
I squeezed my eyes shut and thought of anything to keep myself from exploding right there down the back of her throat.
“Holy fuck,” I growled.
She slid back up my shaft and swirled her tongue around my tip. I jumped with ecstasy as electricity set off a storm inside my mind. I gripped her hair as much as I could. Her swinging breasts swayed against my legs. I guided her mouth up and down my dick slowly, feeling her spittle trickling down to my balls.
But when her eyes found mine, something in my mind finally shifted into place.
And I knew nothing would be more perfect than us, in that moment.
“You’re gorgeous, Hannah,” I grunted.
She lifted her head and gazed into my eyes while she caught her breath.
“You… really think so?” she asked.
“I would never lie to you about such a thing.”
I didn’t know what it was about my words, but her eyes darkened. I watched a curtain of lust fall over her features before she slowly rose to her feet. My hand fell away from her hair as I watched her movements. Every joint in her body seemed to move with the grace of a jaguar and the heated intensity of a panther.
Then, one by one, her clothes fell away from her body. Until the sweet, delectable curves of her breathless form stood in front of my very eyes.
“Hannah. You look…”
She sauntered over to me. “Like what you see?”
I swallowed hard. “Holy fuck, you’re perfect.”
And when I reached out for her hips, I pulled her to me. Sinking my fingertips into her excess before I rolled over and pinned her beneath me.
Ash (Dragon Riders MC Book 3) Page 6