“Wait.”
“What?” she asked. The hunger in her eyes made my cock twitch once more. Instead of initiating another passionate session, I smirked at her and pinched her nipple.
“Fix your dress.”
She giggled and shook her head as she readjusted the cups of her dress, holding her hair up so I could tie the halter back up. I fixed my pants and sighed.
“I’m glad we’re not going anywhere else in public. I guess I forgot to drop my pants,” I said, looking down to the wet spot on my crotch and laughed.
“Now you’ll be reminded of me riding you in the truck,” she teased. I shook my head as we settled back into our seats, buckling our seat belts. Once we were situated, I started the truck and eased back onto the road. Ashton looked over at me with a small smile, her warm hand slipping into mine and squeezing. I returned her smile and drove home as we sat hand in hand all the way there.
∞∞∞
As soon as we got to the apartment, she kicked off her heels and trudged over to the couch, falling face down into the decorative pillows. I chuckled as I closed and locked the door, walking over to join her.
“I didn’t wear you out, did I?” I asked, coming to a stop next to her.
She groaned into the pillow and flopped onto her back. “It’s been a long night,” she grumbled. Her tired expression melted into shock and guilt when she looked up at me, quickly sitting up. “Your face.”
I touched my cheek and winced a bit, the soreness settling in. “Eh, it’s okay,” I said, sitting on the couch next to her. She jumped to her feet and rushed to the kitchen, returning with an ice pack. Straddling my lap, she gently placed the ice pack on my cheek. “Ash, I’m fine.”
“You’re starting to bruise,” she fussed, caressing my other cheek. I sighed and shook my head.
“I promise you I’m fine. He’ll be hurting a lot more than me in the morning,” I joked. She didn’t return my smile. She kept the ice pack on my sore cheek and continued staring at me with apologetic eyes. “And don’t blame yourself for this either.”
“I didn’t think he’d say something like that. I can’t help but feel as if this was my fault,” she murmured. I gazed into her pretty blue eyes that were filled with guilt and frustration.
Wanting to switch the mood, I wrapped my arms around her waist and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. “We had a good thing going in the truck,” I whispered, kissing her once more. Her beautiful smile finally appeared.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes, ma’am. I think we should head into the bedroom and…do some things,” I teased.
She licked her lips, a wicked gleam dancing in her eyes. “Mmm…some things like what?”
“Things that’ll help us forget about what happened tonight,” I murmured, kissing along her jaw. “Things that’ll allow me to release the frustration I feel.” I leaned forward and kissed her neck, my hands firmly squeezing her ass. “And last but not least…” I reached down between her legs and circled her clit with my fingers, watching as she shivered. “Things that’ll sate the aching throb between your thighs…things only my cock can soothe.”
“Then take me to bed and fuck me,” she murmured against my lips before kissing me. I wasted no time standing to my feet with her in my arms, damn near running to her bedroom. She giggled when I tossed her on the bed, her eyes watching me as I pulled off my already unbuttoned shirt and unbuckled my belt.
“Are you going to take that dress off or should I rip it off? I’d hate to ruin it,” I growled, a seductive grin pulling at my lips. She crawled over to the foot of the bed and turned around.
“Untie me then.” I did the first knot at her neck and then the one in the middle of her back, my fingertip trailing down her spine. Her head tilted to the side as if by instinct when she felt my lips on her neck, kissing down to her shoulder.
“Take it off,” I whispered, moving away. She slid the dress down and pulled it off, tossing it to the side and lying back on the bed. I looked down at her naked body in awe, stroking my growing erection.
“Do you plan on doing anything tomorrow?” I asked, a cocky grin on my face.
She giggled and beckoned me to come to her with her finger. “Does it matter right now?
I crawled up to her and settled between her legs. “Yeah, it does. When I’m finally done with you tonight, you won’t be able to walk unassisted.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ashton
When I woke up the next morning, he wasn’t in bed with me. I sat up and looked around for any kind of evidence that he was still here. I sighed and fell back on my pillows. A slight grin formed on my lips as my mind replayed last night. Whatever aggression he felt from the situation with Steve was released with every rough, delicious stroke he put inside of me. I glanced over at the empty space next to me. Just hours ago, our bodies were tangled together after collapsing into a heap after intense sex. I became lost in his hazel eyes as he ran a tender thumb across my cheek. The moonlight streaming through the window had illuminated the worry and frustration scattered over his handsome face, filling me with guilt.
So many things raced through my mind, but one thing stood out the most. O’Shea was fucking sexy when he took charge and defended me. Everything happened so fast; one minute we were dancing and having a good time and the next minute, he was sucker punching Steve. I’d known Steve since we were in high school and never in my life had I heard him use a racial slur or call me a whore. To see how protective O’Shea was over me, I couldn’t help but appreciate him for what he’d done. He could’ve stayed out of it and not done anything, but he stepped in as if I was his woman and defended me. He handled the situation before I could really even react to what Steve had said, ordering Steve to respect the both of us and to not talk to me in the way that he had.
The little rendezvous in the truck was hot as sin, too. I’d never been the spontaneous type, but something about O’Shea brought out my wild side. Pleasing him oddly made me happy. It turned me on to hear his moans of pleasure, watching his muscles flex as he reacted to the pleasure I’d put upon him. I loved when he called me his little sex kitten and how he was as eager to please me as I was to please him. When we held hands on the way home, a warm fuzzy feeling settled around my heart. He’d kissed the back of my hand a few times while driving, sending butterflies in my stomach and making me feel like a shy teenager hanging with her first love. Now that I was starting to get to know this man, his cocky, asshole persona faded and a sweet, protective, sexy, and caring man took his place.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand. I rolled over and grabbed it, unlocked it, and read the text message.
Ava: Be there in 10!
Shit. It was 12:30 in the afternoon! I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. With a night like the one I had last night, I was surprised I didn’t sleep later.
I sat up in bed and stretched, every muscle in my body sore. Ava’s text message was still open on my phone, reminding me that I needed to get myself together to wash away the evidence of sex. Grabbing my robe, I made my way to the bathroom and took a quick shower.
Just as I rinsed the body wash from my body, someone pounded on my door. I quickly washed off the remaining soap and shut off the water, grabbing a towel. “I’m coming, I’m coming,” I said out loud, wrapping myself in the towel and slipping on my robe. Padding to the door, I opened it to find my very tanned friends.
“You guys look very…orange,” I snickered. Alex rolled her eyes and moved past me.
“It was Ava’s idea. I never said the girl was bright,” she said. Ava gave me a small smile and stepped inside. I closed the door behind them and joined them in the living room.
Ava studied me for a few moments, squinting a little. “So what the hell happened last night?” she asked.
I sighed. “A bunch of bullshit, that’s what.”
“I know one minute you and O’Shea were dancing and then the next, Steve was eating O’Shea’s fist,” Alex said.
“Yeah, we were dancing and then Steve came over with his usual bullshit. Trying to rub our breakup in my face and brag about Clarissa being pregnant and everything.” I cringed as those memories filtered through my head. “O’Shea offered to take me to the bar, but then Steve got in his face and called him the N-word twice.”
“Holy fucking shit,” Alex gasped. “Steve didn’t!”
“He did. And called me a whore,” I answered.
Ava looked around. “Where is O’Shea anyway?”
“I think he’s at work already,” I said.
“This is so insane. I didn’t take Steve to be, you know, racist,” Alex said with a sigh. “And I feel so bad for O’Shea. What happened when you guys left?”
I fought the urge to blush. Oh you know…we fucked on the side of the road in his truck and came home and fucked again.
I fiddled with the fringe on the throw pillow. “We just talked about it,” I said. “He knows what happened between Steve and me—”
“Is anything going on between the two of you?” Ava interrupted. I looked up at her with wide eyes.
“What?”
“Like are you two an item or something?”
“Um, no. Why would we be?”
“I don’t know. You two were looking like a couple on the dance floor. Steve seems content as long as you’re miserable over him, but last night, you looked like you’ve moved on to bigger and better things. Probably why he approached you,” she added.
I bit the inside of my cheek. Maybe she was right. Ava, Alex, and I had been there for almost an hour before O’Shea finally showed up. Steve had seen me plenty of times during that period, even standing a few feet away from me as he got another beer, but refused to acknowledge me. The moment O’Shea and I danced together, he finally made it his business to come over and try to embarrass me and disrespect O’Shea. I didn't understand why he’d care. It wasn’t like he wanted me anymore.
Then there was the conversation O’Shea and I had last night in the truck. Neither one of us knew what we were doing, but I knew it felt good; it felt right. He'd admitted that he'd been thinking about what would happen if we became emotionally involved. Seeing this new side of him made me want to open up and get close to him, but it was far too early to know for sure.
My phone vibrated next to me, displaying a text message from him.
O: My mom wants to come visit soon. That cool?
He sent another text right after.
O: She’ll be in a hotel. She just wants to see that I'm safe and okay. You know how moms are.
I smiled to myself. It was rather cute how his mom fussed over him.
A: Totally fine. Do you know when? Oh and mom actually wants you to join us for dinner this Sunday.
O: If you wanted to ask me on a date, you could've just said so. You don't have to dress it up as “family dinner”
Rolling my eyes, I typed my reply.
A: Aaaand welcome back, asshole. She just wants to meet my new roommate.
O: How you gonna introduce me? The guy who fucks you senseless and makes you come multiple times?
A: Oh fuck off, you cocky bastard. You're my ROOMMATE.
O: Genital bumping buddy sounds more appropriate.
“And Steve’s already posting about it like the asshole he is,” Ava said. Alex leaned over and looked at Ava’s phone screen, shaking her head.
“Even when he gets the shit kicked out of him, he’s delusional enough to think he actually hurt O’Shea,” Alex mentioned.
I looked up from my phone. “What are you two going on about?”
“Steve posted about the fight on Facebook. Have you seen it?” Ava asked.
I shook my head. “No. We’re not friends on Facebook anymore.”
Ava held out her phone to me. I took it and looked at the screen, reading Steve’s last post.
Trust me, the other guy looks worse. That’s what happens when you think you’re big and bad in my town.
I snorted. Typical Steve to make everything about him as if he'd won the war. “O’Shea looks nothing like that. He only has a slight bruise from where Steve’s ring cut him. Looks like Steve is talking about himself,” I said, handing her back the phone.
“How did you feel about everything that happened anyway?” Ava asked.
I sighed. “At first I felt super embarrassed. I mean I told O’Shea about what happened between Steve and I, but to hear Steve say things like that about me in front of him…that was a different story. Like it’s one thing to tell someone something, but completely different for them to actually witness the fuckery themselves, you know?”
“True. I didn’t expect him to go into hero mode though. Kind of feel bad for inviting him. I totally forgot that Steve is always there on Thirsty Thursdays,” Alex said.
“Yeah, I felt bad, too. It was supposed to be a fun evening but everything went to shit and the night ended early,” I mumbled. Well, the night ended early as a group, anyway. My night officially started when I told him to pull over.
“Oh yeah, about what you texted me yesterday, Ashton,” Alex said as she snapped her fingers. “Do you have feelings for him?”
“Wait, what did she text you yesterday? Why didn’t I get a text?” Ava asked with a pout. I glared at Alex, who only shrugged in return.
“It wasn’t really anything important,” I said, trying to change the subject.
“I’ll be the judge of that. What did she say, Alex?” Ava asked. Alex pulled her phone from her pocket, messing around with it for a bit before clearing her throat.
“She asked me, ‘Hypothetically speaking, what if I continued this thing with O’Shea and end up falling in love with him?’ I asked her what would be so bad about that, because look at him. The man is fucking gorgeous and I personally think he’s funny while you think he’s being an asshole,” she said.
“This ‘thing?’ So you’ve been sleeping with him more than that one time you admitted to?” Ava nearly shrieked with the biggest smile on her face.
I put my face in my hands and groaned. “You guys are so embarrassing. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. Just like I told Alex, he’s already stated more than once that he’s not looking for anything. He told me he didn’t know what we were doing, but he was just enjoying the company of a beautiful woman. So if anything, it would turn into a one-sided situation that would leave me hurt if I was dumb enough to fall for a guy like him,” I explained, just as the front door opened.
O’Shea walked in and paused, looking at the three of us with a raised brow.
“What’s up, ladies?” he asked.
“You’re off already?” I asked him.
“Nah. Just grabbing something to eat. On my lunch break right now,” he answered and headed toward the kitchen. Alex and Ava watched him until he disappeared.
“He’s fucking sexy. I wouldn’t care if he never fell in love; I’d bang him every day,” Alex admitted.
Ava rolled her eyes. “Sure. Now it’s totally weird hearing you talking about banging other people when you’re dating my brother.”
“Just saying,” Alex said, lifting her hands in defense.
“Ash, are we out of turkey?” O’Shea called from the kitchen.
“It should be in the drawer with the rest of the lunch meat!” I called back.
“Yeah, I don’t see it in here,” he said back. I sighed and stood up from the couch.
“I’ll be right back, guys,” I muttered, and headed to the kitchen. O’Shea leaned against the counter near the fridge, holding the opened package of turkey slices in one hand while chewing what I assumed was a slice of turkey. “What the hell?”
He put a finger to his lips and put the turkey on the counter, pulling me to him and pressing his lips to mine. I looked up at him with wide eyes when he finally pulled away.
“I’d wanted to do much more than that on my lunch break, but you were saved by your friends,” he whispered. I looked toward the living room, hearing Ava and Alex talking amongst themselves.
“Maybe it was a good thing. I have to start taking calls as soon as they leave anyway.”
“Too bad I won’t be able to listen in on those calls,” he murmured, kissing my neck.
“O’Shea! We gotta show you something!” Ava called out. I jumped away from him and moved back just as Ava and Alex appeared in the kitchen.
“What’s up?” he asked.
Ava held her phone up near his face, probably showing him Steve’s post. He looked at the screen for a few moments and chuckled, shaking his head.
“Maybe he got into another fight with someone else to think the other guy looks worse,” he mused. “Last I checked I look pretty damn good after last night.”
“Totally,” Ava said with a giggle.
“And we’re sorry about what happened last night. Definitely didn’t think Steve would’ve done something like that or we wouldn’t have asked you to come.”
“It’s not your fault. Even if you hadn’t asked me, he isn’t going to run me out of a public place. I didn’t care so much about what he’d called me; I was more upset about him disrespecting her,” he said, nodding toward me.
My cheeks warmed as everyone looked at me. “Um, well, I’d love to sit and chat with you guys all day, but I have to get ready to take some calls now,” I said.
“Yeah, I need to run a few errands before work this evening. Pretty soon I’m going to be joining you in this phone sex venture,” Alex muttered. I giggled.
“I’m sure we’re always hiring when you’re tired of retail,” I said. They both said goodbye and left, leaving O’Shea and I alone. I walked back into the kitchen where he now made a sandwich. “Are you okay?”
He looked up from the mayo he was spreading. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I just wanted to make sure after last night. Things were pretty intense, you know?”
“Yeah,” he said, focusing on putting turkey on his sandwich.
“At least your bruise isn’t that noticeable,” I added.
“Well, his punches were weak and sloppy.”
I gave him a small smile. “I really do appreciate what you did for me last night, especially when you didn’t have to.”
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