by Noelle Adams
Ethan stood and watched her until she had actually started to pull up his bloody T-shirt. Then he jerked away from her again. “No, Ashley. I know how to undress myself.”
“But I like to undress you.” Her response was smooth and casual, but inside she was starting to shake. She reached back toward his shirt.
He grabbed her hands before they touched him. “I mean it. I don’t want you to.” His face was almost twisted in his struggle to control his rising emotions.
“Why not?” she asked bluntly, ready to have it out, so they could get over it. “Tell me why not.”
He tried to answer. She could see his mouth open and his lips try to form words.
“Tell me.”
Ethan turned his face away from her. Looked so helpless that Ashley’s heart went out to him.
But something very important was being decided here—something that went far deeper than blood-stained clothes—so she made her voice firm as she repeated, “Tell me.”
“I don’t want you to see me like this,” he managed to say at last.
She sighed in relief that he'd admitted the truth. “We’ve been over this before. This is an equal partnership. That goes for everything. I should be dead, but I managed to rescue myself and find you. I think I’m strong enough to help you get cleaned up. I love you, Ethan Moore. Even when you’re covered with blood. You believe that, right?”
After a tense moment, his face finally relaxed and something warm ignited in his eyes. “Yeah. I definitely don’t deserve you.”
“If we got what we deserved, every person in the world would be living in misery. We don’t deserve for good things to happen, but sometimes they happen anyway.” She grinned at him and was rewarded for her efforts—for all of her efforts—when he reluctantly smiled back. “You never did ask me how I managed to escape.” This time he didn’t resist when she started pulling off his shirt.
When they had gotten it over his head, Ethan responded, “I didn’t even think about it. It just seemed perfectly natural that you could elude certain death without even breaking a sweat.” He brushed her cheek with his thumb. “Although I do wonder how you came away wearing only one shoe.”
Ashley gave a start and looked down at her dirty sock. She’d almost forgotten about that. “I’ll tell you later,” she said, unfastening his pants. “Let’s get you cleaned up right now.”
When they had gotten Ethan’s clothes off, he stepped under the shower, and Ashley took advantage of his distraction to rid herself of her own clothes. Then she got into the shower with him.
“Ashley,” Ethan said hoarsely, “I’m perfectly fine in here by myself. You shouldn’t be here.”
“Are we starting that again? I thought we just got it settled.”
“That’s not what I mean. I just mean that if you get in here naked with me, I won’t be able to control my reactions.”
She grinned at him wetly. “I can live with that.” Then she picked up the bar of soap and worked up a lather before she started to soap up his chest.
“Ashley.” There was a hint of warning in his voice. “I’m serious. I have enough trouble keeping my hands off you when you have clothes on.”
“Well, that’s okay. Since we’re both safe, and Jones is taken care of, I’m feeling a lot better.” She scrubbed him up some more, then put the soap down, turned him around, and pushed him under the fall of water. Her hands firmly massaging his shoulders, she pressed herself into his back. She lowered her hands and felt that he was already starting to get aroused. “I’m so glad you’re still alive.”
“Ashley,” he repeated thickly. She felt his whole body tense up. “I thought you were dead. It was like the end of…everything.”
“Well, I wasn’t dead. We’re both alive. And I think it’s finally over. I think we’re going to be okay.” She moved one hand up to caress his wet hair. She kissed the back of his shoulder.
He made a long, guttural sound and turned around to pull her toward him, hugging her so tightly she momentarily couldn’t breathe.
But she wanted it. So much.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he murmured into her hair.
“I’m still here.”
She managed to pull away enough to look up at his face, but she only got a brief look at the tidal wave of feeling in his eyes before he was claiming her lips with his mouth. She let his lips, tongue and teeth have temporary control, and just relished the fact that she had gotten him back. Alive. And truly whole.
But her state of blissful, satisfied peace didn’t last very long as Ethan’s mouth and hands continued to move over her. Soon, he had her bent backward, one of his hands supporting her from behind. His mouth was on one nipple and his free hand on the other. The moisture on both of their bodies just added another layer to the sensations.
She couldn’t help but writhe beneath Ethan’s touch, but that was a mistake. Her foot slipped a little on the wet shower floor and she felt like she was falling backwards.
She let out a loud shriek.
Ethan held her body stable, so she didn’t actually fall, but she clutched at him frantically and then pressed herself against him as she tried to recover her balance.
And then Ethan actually had the gall to laugh at her. She had rarely seen him laugh so uninhibitedly. He stood under the shower spray, holding onto her, wheezing with amusement.
“It’s not funny. I might have knocked myself out.”
“I had you,” he assured her, sliding his hands down to her butt. “I wasn’t going to let you go.”
She sighed and laid her cheek against his chest. “That better apply in every way.”
“It does,” he murmured, now stroking her wet hair. “I’m never going to let you go.”
“That sounds about right.”
They soon got out of the shower, and they both seemed to be overwhelmed by the effects of adrenaline and relief. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom without even bothering to stop for a towel. He laid her gently down on the bed and moved over her immediately, his mouth devouring a path over her body again.
When they were both aroused, he put on a condom and entered her fully as she kissed him. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, although her feet kept slipping on his wet skin.
He started thrusting, strong and deep.
Ashley had to pull her mouth away so she could suck in air.
“Is it good?” he asked thickly, his face revealing that he’d already lost the battle for self-control.
“Oh, yeah,” she panted, trying to get her legs higher up his back. “Good. So good. Want more. Harder.”
He raised himself to his knees and grabbed her hips, pulling them up so he could continue pumping into her. “Love you, honey,” he rasped, a sheen of sweat now mingling with the remaining moisture from the shower. “Love you. So glad…you’re still alive.”
She felt shudders of pleasure all through her body, and her hands reached out desperately for something to hold onto. “Love you too,” she joked. “More, Ethan. Please.”
He was rocking into her hard now, but she needed it. Needed to feel him in every way. Needed to know he was alive, whole, and hers completely.
She watched his face and knew he couldn’t hold out much longer, so she released the sheets and slid a hand down to rub her clit.
She gasped and tensed and arched as the sensations intensified. She let them come. Then she came.
Ethan came with her. And she knew they were together because he was crying out just as frantically as she was.
Both of their spasms lingered even after the initial rush and release. She lay there twitching a little with Ethan collapsed heavily on top of her.
It took several minutes for either of them to get their voices back, but eventually, Ashley found the energy to reach up and stroke the back of his head. “I’m glad you’re alive too,” she whispered.
He met her eyes and just smiled.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Now,”
Ethan said, in his natural voice, “everything is different. I need to make sure all the loose ends are tied up. But after that, I think I’m finally free. Do you know what means?”
“We can go back home?”
“Better than that.” He paused for a beat. “We can use our phones and credit cards again.”
***
They made a quick stop at a discount store that was opened all night to buy clean clothes and then got a room at a nicer hotel.
Ethan had to make another call to tie up more loose ends, so she went into the bathroom and started running a bath for herself, sprinkling in some of the complimentary bath salts.
There were certain advantages to staying at higher-class establishments.
She shed her clothes and sank into the hot bath.
She didn’t get out until the water started to cool a half-hour later. It was by far the best bath Ashley had ever had. It felt like all of the stiffness, stress, discomfort, and fear from the last two weeks were draining away with the water.
When she got out, Ethan was off the phone, and they ate a very good, very late dinner from room service in contented, exhausted silence.
When Ashley had stuffed herself as much as she could, she sighed and stood up. “What time are we flying out tomorrow?”
“There’s a flight that leaves at 6:00am, if that’s not too early.”
“That sounds good.” She felt like she barely had the energy to put together more than five words in a row.
“You look like you’re about to drop. You might as well go back to bed, if you want. I’m going to take another shower, but I’ll join you soon.”
Ashley nodded and got in bed. She’d been going to wait for Ethan but she dozed off almost immediately
When Ethan joined her in bed some time later, she woke up enough to know what was happening.
Ethan was pulling her into his arms.
“Take care of everything?” she asked drowsily, instinctively rubbing his bare back.
“Yes. Everything’s settled.” He was lightly kissing her forehead and the bridge of her nose. “Jones has been turned over to the ATF. It doesn’t look like they’ve tied the evidence to me or Smith. So I think that means I’m done. I’m free.”
She yawned dramatically and then asked, “What about the rest of the moonshine crew back home? Won’t they be mad at you for turning?”
Ethan’s fingers idly fondled her bottom. “Without Jones, I don’t think they’ll do anything. The ATF will take down as much of the network as they can, so everyone will be scrabbling to stay off the radar. I really think the whole thing might just fall apart. The guys still around back home might hate me, but I can live with that. I’m used to people hating me.”
She chuckled sleepily. “Well, I don’t hate you anymore.”
“I’m very glad. Anyway, the hired guns who used to work for Jones—”
“Cute and Other Guy,” Ashley corrected, awake enough to know people’s proper names.
“Yes, them.” Ethan’s voice was very dry. “They’re taking care of the rest of the details.”
“Good.” Ashley yawned again. She snuggled into Ethan’s warmth. “Ethan?”
“Hmmm.” His mouth was pressing kisses into her hair.
“You know I’m all for having lots of sex.” She waited a beat and heard him mumble something incoherent. “But I think I’m too tired tonight for sex.”
“I know.” He sounded rather sleepy himself. “I wasn’t making advances.” He shifted so that he was on his back, with her curled against his side. “Just wanted to be close to you.”
She was almost asleep again but she felt herself smiling. “I knew you were the snuggler. Not me.”
“Never snuggled in my life.”
“Never snuggled. Never slunk. Lots of things you never did.”
“Not until two weeks ago, anyway.”
She would have responded, but she’d already fallen asleep.
And it was the end of the thirteenth day.
Day Fourteen
They got home at around in the early afternoon the following day.
Ashley was exhausted and very nervous when Ethan pulled the rental car into her parents’ driveway.
“You ready for this?” he asked, turning the car off and looking over at her.
She took a deep breath. She was supposed to be the good girl, and what had happened over the last two weeks wasn’t good at all. She wasn’t who her parents thought she was. She wasn’t who she’d thought she was. “Yeah.”
When he got out of the car with her and walked around to join her, she looked up at him in surprise. “You don’t have to go in with me.”
“Of course, I’m going in with you. Do you think I’m going to leave you to explain all this to them alone?” He frowned at her, obviously displeased by her assumption.
“There’s no reason why you have to.” She was continuing merely on principle. The truth was she’d be very glad to have Ethan with her, since she wasn’t sure how her parents were going to react to everything, including that fact that she and Ethan were now together. “They’re going to be pretty mad. Not just about getting me involved in all this, but also about Mark. They think the same thing I used to think.”
“I know.” His eyes rested on her face with an expression that was sober, but also almost fond. “But I dragged you into this, so I’m going to help you get through this last part. I’m pretty tough. I can take it.”
She smiled at him with a wave a sappiness. “Okay. Thanks.”
They walked to the door, and Ashley tapped on it before she opened it. The door was always unlocked, except after they’d turned in for the night, but she wanted to give them a warning before she barged in.
Her parents were both on their feet when she entered the living room, with Ethan behind her.
Her dad reached her first. “Thank God you’re home,” he muttered, pulling her into a tight hug. “What has been going on?”
She felt safe and strange both as she returned her dad’s hug. Oddly emotional. Then she pulled away and saw her mom was facing Ethan. Her mother’s face twisted slightly with emotion and she raised one arm.
For one bizarre moment, Ashley thought her mom might actually slap Ethan.
She didn’t. She pulled him into a hug. “Thank you,” she said, into Ethan’s shoulder. “You dear, dear boy. Thank you.”
Ashley’s head was spinning a little as she stared between her mom and dad. When her mom let Ethan go at last, Ethan looked stiff and confused.
“For Mark,” her mom said, sniffing through her visible emotion. “He told us the truth when we were out there. We can never tell you how grateful we are for what you did for him.”
“Oh.” Ethan looked more uncomfortable than ever. He stared at the floor and stuck his hands in his pockets. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“It was a big deal.” Her dad clapped Ethan on the back. “Now tell us what you’ve been doing with our daughter for the last two weeks.”
Her mom brought out coffee, and they all sat down in the living room. They told her parents most of what happened. Not all of it. There were some things her parents didn’t need to know.
When Ethan left an hour later, her parents obviously thought he was part of the family again.
***
She took a long nap and then had dinner with her parents and talked to Mark on the phone.
Then Ethan called and asked if she wanted to get some ice cream.
Naturally, she agreed. She was used to being around him all the time—waking up with him, going to bed with him—so it felt strange to be apart from him, even for just several hours.
He came in to chat with their parents, and then they got in Ethan’s truck and drove off. She was nice, and he was nice, and something just seemed off.
It was like they were going through the motions. Like they weren’t really together.
As they sat at the one traffic light in town, Ashley was suddenly terrified that their relationship was j
ust a crisis-thing, and now that things were back to normal, they weren’t going to be able to sustain it.
That happened sometimes. Maybe it was true about them.
“What’s the matter?” Ethan asked, turning to look at her.
“Nothing.” She smiled at him, trying to hide her thoughts.
“Don’t lie to me.” He frowned and raised a hand to her face. “Something is wrong with you.”
“Don’t argue with me about my own feelings. If I say that nothing is wrong, then you have to believe it.”
“I’m not going to believe something I know isn’t true, so tell me what the hell is wrong. Right now.” His voice snapped with authority.
“Since when has that tone worked in getting me to do what you want?” She glared at him as the car behind them honked, since the light had turned green.
He sighed and said, “Never,” just before he pushed the gas pedal to accelerate.
When they got to the neighboring town, where the Dairy Queen was located, he asked, “Do still you want some ice cream?”
“Yes. Please.”
They both stewed in silence, obviously displeased with each other, as Ethan took them through the drive-through. When they got their ice cream, he pulled into a parking space so they could eat it.
She enjoyed her sundae, but she thought Ethan’s looked even better, so she reached over a couple of times to take a spoonful from his. He let her initially, but after the fourth time, he pulled his away. “Hey. Eat your own. This is mine.”
She scowled at him. “Well, you could be nice and share. You don’t have to turn all caveman on me.”
“Caveman?”
She pitched her voice low and growly. “Sundae good. Sundae mine. Mine all mine.”
“I’ll buy you another damned sundae if you want one.”
“I don’t want one.”
He grumbled under his breath and stretched his sundae out toward her. “Take whatever you want.”
She couldn’t help but giggled at his martyr-like expression. “I’ve had enough. Thank you, though.”
He tried to keep a resigned expression, but she could tell he was trying not to laugh.