by Lucy Score
“You are incredible, Ashley.” His voice was calm, but she heard the edge of victory. “We’re going to get them.”
She grinned back at him, basking in the moment. The end was near, and so was a new beginning.
“I kind of just want to rip your clothes off right now,” he said huskily.
“You’re going to have to hold that thought until next week, Romeo. I’m leaving for my parents’ in a few hours. Anniversary weekend. I need to get out of my life for a few days.”
“Monday then,” he winked. “Do you mind if I make a few calls? I’ll take you for breakfast afterward if you promise not to drink any more coffee.”
“Perfect.”
Jason took the folder with him and went outside to make his calls. Ashley busied herself by checking her email on her phone. She hadn’t checked it in two days, which was unheard of for her.
She spotted one from her mother from the day before. Subject: Change of plans!
When Jason returned, he found Ashley slouched in her chair, staring pensively at her phone. “What’s the matter, beautiful? Run out of caffeine?”
Ashley sighed. “No. Worse. My parents canceled. Dad surprised Mom with a cruise.”
“That’s terrible,” he said, straight-faced. “What a bastard.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Terrible is me spending the weekend with Steven who already has plans to spend it with his mistress.”
“He’s planning on you being gone the whole weekend?”
Ashley nodded mournfully. “I was supposed to leave in two hours. I wasn’t coming back until Sunday night.”
Jason leaned forward and covered her hands with his. “How would you like to still leave in two hours?”
She perked up, but stayed suspicious. “Where am I going?”
“Do you own any flannel?”
###
Ashley shifted in the vinyl seat of the Jeep and watched greenery sweep past her window. Jason was driving while directing what sounded like a conference call. It was his third call of the drive so far. But she didn’t mind. It gave her time to think.
There was no doubt in her mind what this trip to Jason’s cabin was going to end in.
Sex. Of the mind-blowing, reality-altering kind. Her pulse quickened.
She stole a glance at him. Dressed in worn jeans and a faded t-shirt, he still looked hot, but a more approachable hot.
Ashley was glad she had taken the time to shower, shave, and repack the bag originally intended for the trip to her parents’.
Good-bye comfy shorts and tank top. Hello matching underwear and bras.
She rubbed her palms against her jeans. Was she ready to have his hands on her?
Jason hung up and tossed his phone into a cup holder near the floor.
“Sorry about that. Just trying to put things in motion so nothing stalls while we’re away.”
Ashley nodded. “Do you think we have enough for someone to start an investigation?”
“I think it’s enough for some healthy suspicion. My grandfather has an old friend in the SEC, and he’s going to start there.”
“So we have the weekend off?”
“The whole weekend. Did you have anything in mind?” His expression told her exactly what he had in mind. He winked.
“I thought we’d just play it by ear and see what comes up,” she said, innocently.
He rested a hand on her thigh and squeezed. “I have a feeling something will come up.”
###
The road to the cabin was more like a trail than a driveway. She enjoyed the winding path through the woods entering the full bloom of spring. They drove into a sunny clearing, and Ashley could only shake her head as Jason brought the Jeep to a stop in front of the sprawling log home.
“Welcome to the cabin.” Jason leaned over and released her seatbelt.
“This isn’t a cabin. It’s a log castle,” she corrected, looking out the window. Surrounded by trees the L-shaped home rose more than two and a half stories high. There were windows everywhere and a huge porch that wrapped around to the back of the house.
“Come on. We’ll unpack after the tour.” He squeezed her leg and slid out of the Jeep.
She joined him outside, admiring. The forest of trees reached up to the blue sky. Flowering bushes and unstructured evergreens ringed the house, and a wide flagstone path led to the porch.
Birds and squirrels chattered in the trees, but there wasn’t a hint of traffic or human noise.
“This is amazing. I feel like we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
Jason took her hand. “The closest neighbor is half a mile that way.” He pointed to the west. “In the winter, you can see their lights from down at the lake.”
He led the way onto the porch and fished keys out of his pocket. The heavy barn-style front doors quietly clicked open and Jason stepped aside.
Ashley stepped inside. “Holy crap, Jason.”
He joined her in the foyer, grinning at her reaction. “Yeah, it’s not bad.”
“Not bad?” Ashley snorted. The great room had cathedral ceilings spanned by massive rough-cut beams. Leather couches and chairs faced a two-story stone fireplace in the living area that was overlooked by a loft. The kitchen and dining area took up most of the space to the right.
Daylight poured through three sets of French doors on the back wall.
She trailed her fingers over the countertops. “Roughing it doesn’t usually involve granite and custom cabinetry.”
“Trade-offs. There’s granite, but no cable here.”
Ashley raised an eyebrow. “TV?”
“One big screen with an extensive Blu-Ray collection.”
“Internet?”
“WIFI, of course. Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
Ashley laughed and crossed to a set of French doors. She stepped out onto the deck and took in the view. Lake, mountain, and the forest in bloom. From the railing she felt as if she was staring into a painting.
The breeze toyed with her hair and she lifted her face to the sun.
“This is beautiful, Jason.”
“I’m glad you like it.” His voice sounded husky. “I like having you here.”
Ashley turned to face him. She could see need and desire in his face. She felt it, too.
He stepped into her, hands settling on her hips. Her pulse quickened and blood stirred. “I want you, Ashley. More than I can say.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ashley ran her hands up his arms to his chest. She felt the thud of his heart under her palm and was reassured that his was racing, too.
She brought her hands to his face. She answered him in the only way she knew how. Her lips brushed his lightly, gently at first. Ashley felt a tremor run through him. His fingers flexed against her hips. He took a deep breath and lowered to her.
Need stirred between them.
Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair. Jason shifted to press against her as his tongue swept inside her mouth. She felt him hard against her, with the railing biting into her back.
She rocked her hips against his and Jason spun her away from the railing without breaking contact with her mouth. She felt his fingers slip under her henley. They skimmed across her stomach before streaking up her sides. Like flashes of lightning, it burned her skin.
His hands stilled just under the silk of her bra. Ashley heard a soft moan and realized it came from her.
Jason skimmed his hands over her body and lifted her shirt. Careful not to touch her soft curves, he drew it up and over her head. He broke contact with her mouth to draw back and look at her.
Ashley missed the heat of his body as soon as he was gone.
His hands returned to her hips and met at the zipper of her jeans. With swift tug, he had them unbuttoned and was drawing down the zipper. Ashley could sense his impatience and knew he was trying to fight it.
He was trying to make it special for her. She smiled against his mouth.
; “Jason, I need you,” she whispered.
“I’m here, baby.” The voice was rough, but the hands stayed gentle. “I want to see you.” He drew her jeans down her hips and sank down with them. On his knees, he steadied her so she could step out of them. He pressed his mouth to the navy silk of her underwear and Ashley gasped.
So close.
He rose up, lips leaving a trail of kisses, until he stood over her sighing against her mouth again.
“You’re perfect.” He whispered it.
Ashley dropped her head back and let him rain kisses down her jaw to her neck.
His hands slid down her body to cup her butt. Squeezing, he lifted her up against him. Ashley happily complied, wrapping her legs around his waist.
They were moving. Ashley felt the sunlight disappear from her skin, and a moment later felt cold granite beneath her. She rocked back on the kitchen counter, skimming hungry fingers down Jason’s chest to his abdomen. Lower still, she reached the waistband of his jeans.
He growled against her mouth, and she felt his stomach muscles quiver beneath her fingertips.
A shiver of power flowed through her. Her hands rushed to free him from the denim.
Ashley sighed against Jason’s mouth and trailed her fingers over the cotton of his boxer briefs.
He groaned and it was all the encouragement she needed to slip her hand behind the waistband and grip his straining erection.
“Wait.” His voice was a rasp.
But she ignored him. She stroked down his smooth, thick shaft and when her hand returned to the tip it was wet.
“Oh my God,” she whispered against his lips.
Impatient now, Jason tugged her underwear to the side and cupped her sex with his hand.
Her bra strap slid off her shoulder and the cup slipped lower on the curve of her breast. His fingers pressed against her wet center. “Show me,” he demanded.
Ashley yanked the other strap off her shoulder and shoved her bra down. Her nipples were already straining toward him.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
Ashley met his gaze and inhaled sharply as he drove two fingers inside her.
She gripped his erection tighter and began to stroke.
His fingers matched her pace and when his mouth finally found her breast, Ashley’s head fell back. She was completely at the mercy of the sensations coursing through her body.
His lips tugged at one nipple first and then the other. Jason’s tongue worked its magic on the taut peaks, feeding.
She drew him to her and angled the tip of his shaft against her wet center. Each stroke of her hand slicked him against her in a heavenly torture.
Once. Twice. She matched the strokes with the tugs of his mouth. “Jason! I can’t stop.”
“Don’t fight it, baby.”
On the next thrust of his fingers she came, closing around him in warm waves of pleasure. She felt his heavy penis twitch in her hand.
She didn’t even have a moment to float on the carnal decadence because he was lifting her again. He cradled her butt in his hands. The tip of his shaft pressed against her slick folds, teasing her every step. He took the stairs at an urgent pace and Ashley knew she had pushed him to the edge.
She squeezed him tighter with her legs. The need to be closer overwhelmed.
Jason shoved through a door, and she felt rather than saw the daylight that poured in through the wall of windows.
It warmed her skin like Jason’s touch.
He dropped them both on the bed, and Ashley hiked her hips up against his. Apart by only millimeters of fabric, it still wasn’t close enough.
She tugged at his shirt, and he accommodated, severing the connection with her mouth only long enough to pull the fabric over his head.
He sank down to her again, and Ashley relished the feel of his skin against hers. Fire to fire.
She ran her hands over his chest. Smooth, hot skin over carved muscle. She let her fingers trail lower over his stomach. Ashley wanted to stop and just look, to take him in, but couldn’t stop kissing him.
He moved his lips over her, whispering dark promises that made her open for him, cuddle his hardness against her heat.
He pulled back, watching her face as he pressed into her.
Ashley gasped and let her knees fall open to the sides.
“I’m not going to be able to stop once I’m inside you.” He leaned over her and kissed her gently.
She shivered at the promise.
His hips shifted back, away from her, and Ashley’s fingers dug into the muscles of his arms demanding he stay. “Jason, please!”
He drove against her again, and Ashley locked her legs around his hips to keep him there.
“Greedy girl,” he warned.
She squeezed him tighter between her thighs.
Jason turned his attention to her breasts. He trailed his fingers across the upper curves of her breasts, following with his mouth. His lips burned a path that edged the delicate lace. “Lift up, love.”
Ashley did as he asked, rising to her elbows. He unhooked her bra with a deft flick and freed her.
Jason dipped his head to feed on her. She arched against him and rode the sensation.
This was what it felt like to be slowly consumed by hot licks of flames.
Impatience was building. Ashley used her heels to work at the waistband of his jeans.
Ever obliging, Jason stripped off his pants and underwear. With his erection finally free Ashley couldn’t stop the deep ache within her. Huge and hard, she wanted him to bury himself in her.
When Ashley made a move to wriggle out of underwear he stopped her.
“Let me.”
Ashley laid back and let him slide the silk down her legs. She opened wider for him. An invitation.
They studied each other for a moment, she on her back and he on his knees. His cock hung heavily barely an inch from her aching center. She took in the lines and plains of his muscled body.
“Is this really happening? Am I really here?”
He lowered to her, his mouth finding hers as the crest of his shaft probed intimately against her.
“Finally.”
Ashley wrapped her fingers around his cock. Desperate for the contact. He let her stroke and play. Ashley watched as he closed his eyes and tried to keep his breath under control.
She stroked harder. His breathing grew more ragged, his jaw clenched. He was beautiful, she thought. And he was hers even if it was just for today.
“God, Ashley.” His voice was ragged and his face was strained. It made her feel powerful, making his control slip millimeter by millimeter.
His hand closed around hers. “Stop.”
Pulling back, he shackled her wrists at her sides with his hands. “It’s my turn.” He lowered himself down between her thighs and placed a whisper-soft kiss there where the heat pooled.
Ashley’s head dropped onto the pillow as Jason tasted her very center. Already she felt it building. She was too close to the edge.
His fingers probed as his mouth worked against her. With the first thrust of his fingers she was lost.
“Jason! I can’t —”
“You will.” His voice was a rasp.
He ordered and her body complied. She couldn’t stop the first wave or the ones that crashed through her after it. She said his name on a gasp.
He growled and ranged himself over her. “Say it again.”
When she said his name again he drove into her, filling her, never breaking eye contact. She cried out, but kept her eyes locked on his. Full and aching, she took him in.
Finally.
They moved as one. Every breath, every sigh, every stroke, they climbed together toward the sun. She took him deeper and heard the growl from the back of his throat. His measured thrusts came harder and faster as the rhythm unraveled into a primal beat.
Her slick skin slapped against his.
Ashley felt the crest coming. Felt herself tighten around his shaft.
&
nbsp; She bucked against him and shattered. Over the roaring in her head she heard him groan and felt the first jet of his release let loose deep inside her.
They grappled for each other in the crashing waves, coming together in the storm. She heard him whisper her name like a prayer.
###
Ashley was sprawled on the bed over Jason’s arm, facedown in beautiful oblivion. She felt like her body had just fulfilled its greatest purpose.
“Are you suffocating?” Jason rolled to her, running his free hand down her back to the curve of her butt.
“If I am, I’ll die happy.”
He gave her a gentle swat. “You can’t die. We’re not done yet.”
Ashley rolled over and swept the hair out of her face. “There can’t possibly be more than that.”
Jason dropped his mouth to her shoulder, kissing across her clavicle. His beard tickled her bare skin.
“There’s always more, love.”
And he proceeded to show her just how much more there was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Hours later, Ashley woke to a reality better than dreams. She could feel Jason against her back. The sheet was pulled over them, and her feet were tucked neatly between his. The angle of the sunlight slanting through the windows told her evening was on its way. She rolled her head to the side and found Jason watching her.
Suddenly feeling vulnerable, Ashley swiped a hand over her mouth to make sure she hadn’t been drooling. “How long have you been watching me?”
“Just a few minutes.” His finger traced a trail across her chest just above the sheet. “How do you feel?”
Ashley gave herself a luxurious stretch. “Like I don’t have bones anymore.”
“Is that a good thing?”
She planted a kiss on his mouth. “A very good thing. This is an incredible room, by the way.”
It was true. Though they had already spent several hours in the room, this was her first good look around. The bed was a huge expanse of luxurious fabrics cradled by dark, ornate wood.
The gable end of the room was a separate seating area set off by a wall of windows overlooking the forest and lake. A deep window seat with bookshelves beneath it tempted with the promise of a lazy afternoon reading with a water view.