by Chloe Morgan
“I’m serious, Rhett. This man needs medicine,” I said.
“And yet, you had enough time to duck into a janitor’s closet?” he asked.
“I didn’t know you were going to corner me in there. I figured you’d take the hint and leave.”
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked.
I hesitated before I answered the question.
Why the hell did I hesitate?
“Yes,” I said.
“Well, just tell me how you’re doing, and I will,” Rhett said.
“I’m fine.”
“That’s not what my mother says.”
I snapped my head up at him. Was he talking about what I thought he was?
“I’m not ever discussing that with you. Not with anyone. Do you hear me?” I asked.
He furrowed his brow. “I hear you. And that’s fine.”
“Good. Now, get out of my way. I don’t even know what you’re doing up here anyway.”
I barged by him but felt his hand wrap around my arm. And immediately, electricity rushed into my shoulder. Trickled down my back. Pooled in my pelvis and made my knees feel weak. I ripped away from his touch, knowing it would be my death if I didn’t.
Then, I slowly turned around to face him.
“What?” I asked breathlessly.
“If you don’t want to tell me how you’re doing, then have dinner with me instead,” Rhett said.
I scoffed. “I told you. I’m fine.”
“Not judging by the way you’re looking at me, you’re not.”
“Did you think that maybe it has something to do with who I’m looking at and not my present circumstance?” I asked.
He grinned. “You always had a way with words.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m doing the best I can. Okay? Will you go now?”
“Nope. Not good enough.”
“I’m not having dinner with you.”
“What if I told you that you could say anything to me you wanted?” he asked.
I paused, considering his offer.
“Anything?” I asked.
“Anything. So long as you come and have dinner with me,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes slightly. “What’s the catch?”
“There is no catch. Dinner. I pay. You come and say whatever it is you want.”
“Whatever I want?”
“Yes.”
“To your face?” I said.
“Yep.”
“Over dinner?”
“Uh-huh,” he said.
I eyed him up and down before I sighed.
“Okay. I’ll meet you for dinner tomorrow night,” I said.
“Good,” Rhett said, grinning.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. That man had always been too confident for his own fucking pants. I buried my grin as I turned around, making my way for the nurses’ station. I felt his eyes on me, his gaze on my back sliding down my spine and stopping at my ass before I stepped around the desk. I looked up and saw him watching me. Analyzing me. Studying me.
I shooed him away with my hand, and he chuckled before he finally left.
My shift was long, and after it was done I went straight to Renee’s house. I needed to tell my sister about what had happened at the hospital. About Rhett randomly showing up. Because I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I knocked on the door with a fury and listened as she approached the door. I shuffled on my feet as she softly swung the door open, holding my adorable niece in her arms.
“I take it you had a long day at work?” my sister whispered.
I looked down at my sleeping niece and slowly scooped her out of my sister’s arms.
“You’ll never guess who showed up,” I whispered softly.
Renee ushered me into the house as I gently bounced Diana in my arms.
“Who?” she asked lowly.
“Rhett.”
I turned around and saw the stunned look on my sister’s face.
“I should go lay her down in her crib. Give me five minutes,” she said.
I waited around in the living room, flopping onto the couch. I leaned my head back into the cushions and sighed as Renee laid Diana down in her comfortable crib upstairs. I closed my eyes. I listened as her soft footsteps padded over the hardwood floors of her and her husband’s home. She sat down next to me and took my hand, and then I slowly panned my gaze over and looked at her.
“He’s home?” she asked.
I nodded slowly. “Yep. Rhett’s home.”
“Do you think he’s back for good?”
I shrugged. “No telling with that guy. You know how this all started in the first place.”
“That was nine years ago, Ashton. You have to leave the past in the past.”
“The man broke my heart. Left me in the dust without so much as a letter, Renee.”
“And yet, if you didn’t still care for him, you wouldn’t be here angry about it,” she said.
“I don’t care for him. But yes, I’m still angry at him. He tracked me down in that hospital and cornered me, like he thought he was owed a conversation by me. I can’t stand it when he does shit like that. Not after what he did,” I said.
“Nine years, Ashton. Remember that. A lot changes in nine years. What did he want to talk about?”
“You always see the best in people. But I promise you, Rhett doesn’t deserve it.”
“What did he want to talk about?” she asked again.
I sighed. “He wants me to have dinner with him tomorrow night.”
My sister patted my hand. “Just like old times.”
“No. Not like old times. Because I’m not in love with him, and I’m not a teenager, and he isn’t perfect. He said I could say whatever I wanted to his face, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“Ashton—”
“No, Renee. That man broke my heart. Left it in tatters on the floor when he left. He doesn’t get my good side again.”
“If telling him how you feel is what will help you move forward, then do it. But don’t go into this dinner intentionally wanting to hurt him. You don’t want to become him in the process, if you really despise him that much,” she said.
“I know. I know,” I said, sighing.
“Will you let me know how it goes?” she asked.
I reached over and gently squeezed her hand.
“Of course I will, sis. Always.”
Chapter 7
Rhett
I knocked on Ashton’s door and stood on the porch. I slipped my hands into my pockets, drawing in the fresh Washington State air around me. My nostrils flared as I heard footsteps behind the door. I felt the grin already sliding across my face. I knew she’d be shocked, but this was the only way I could know for sure she had any intention of showing up to this dinner.
And when Ashton opened the door, her jaw dropped open.
“Rhett?” she asked.
“The one and only,” I said.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to pick you up for dinner.”
She peeked out of her door and looked around.
“How the hell do you know where I live?” she asked.
I smiled brightly. I liked how dirty her mouth had become.
“You work for my mother. It was easy to get her to pull your address for me. Besides, this was the only way I could make sure you’d actually show up at dinner tonight,” I said.
“You could have called. My phone number is in that file, too,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I have it saved in my phone in case I need it.”
She scoffed, but I saw the shadow of that grin of hers playing on her cheeks—the same one I’d seen as she headed back to her nurses’ station yesterday. I knew part of her hated me. But part of her didn’t.
And that was the part I wanted to appeal to tonight.
“Well, I’m not ready yet,” Ashton said.
“That’s fine. I can wait in the living room,” I said.
“Or
you can wait out on the porch. Be down soon.”
Then, she closed the door quickly in my face.
She’d always been feisty, but this was an entirely different level. One I was anxious to get to know. I sat on the porch for damn near an hour before she emerged from her house. And when she did, she looked fucking fantastic. She had on a small black dress that fell over her curves softly. Not too tight, but tight enough for me to want to envision what she looked like underneath the damn thing. Her black heels flexed her curvy legs, making me salivate as her crimson lips popped from the rest of the outfit. Her skin was kissed with just the right amount of sun, and the freckles smattered across her nose beckoned to my lips.
I wanted to press kisses along every single one of them.
“Ready?” Ashton asked.
I slowly stood, taking her in before offering her my arm.
“Very much so,” I said.
She looked down at my arm, then walked past me and headed to my car. I sighed and put my arm down, resolving myself to a difficult night. It took all the energy I had to keep my eyes off her swaying ass. And I could have sworn she was swaying it deeper on purpose. I opened the passenger door, and she slid in. I got into the driver’s seat and drove us both to the restaurant I had picked out for the evening.
A booth in back. A silken tablecloth. A nice steak menu and a bottle of red wine already chosen for us.
There were even candles dancing on the table for our viewing pleasure.
“So, how was work?” I asked.
We ordered our food before Ashton took a sip of her wine.
“It was fine. How’s the military?” she asked.
She spat that question a bit, and I braced myself for whatever was coming.
“It’s fine. I’m on track for my goals, which is all I can ask for,” I said.
“And those goals would be?”
“Making E-9 status before I’m thirty.”
“That not something that happens often?” she asked.
“It’s something that rarely happens,” I said.
“Well, good for you, then.”
A pause fell over us before I cleared my throat.
“How’s nursing treating you?” I asked.
“I enjoy it. Mostly,” Ashton said.
“Mom said you studied in New York.”
She eyed me carefully. “You talked to your mother about me?”
There was a twinge of panic in her voice, and I wanted to know why.
“Not very much. Just expressed that I was shocked you were a nurse. Back in high school, you wanted to be a teacher,” I said.
“Well, things change. You know that,” she said.
“I do.”
I waited for her to lay into me, to express her anger and to get off her chest whatever it was I could see she needed to. But instead, the conversation morphed into a place I didn’t expect it to go.
A place of kindness.
“Can we just start this over? And not talk about our jobs?” Ashton asked.
I paused. “If that’s what you want. Sure.”
“Good. Okay. So, what brings you back into town?” she asked.
“That’s work related.”
“Okay. How was your travel? Did you fly? Or drive?”
“Oh, I flew. I hate driving. I only do it when I absolutely have to,” I said.
“I don’t mind driving. Especially with the music blasting and a mug of coffee in the cup holder. I’ll even roll my windows down to give my passengers some relief,” she said.
“Well, I don’t sing on road trips. But I’ll keep you caffeinated so you have the energy to.”
She giggled, and the sound completely relaxed the atmosphere around us.
We talked all throughout dinner, and not once did we touch on our jobs, or our aspirations, or the past. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was a pleasant dinner, one I hadn’t expected. We finished up dinner with smiles on our faces, and then I settled the tab and escorted her back to the car.
I drove her home and walked her to her door, and I was shocked when she turned her face up to mine and smiled.
“Thanks for dinner, Rhett.”
“Anytime, Ashton. It was good to see you again. And I mean that.”
Her eyes danced between mine before she pulled her keys from her purse.
“Anyway, I should be getting inside,” she said.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said.
She unlocked her door and threw it open but stayed there on the porch with me.
“Why are you thanking me?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I figured you’d lay into me like a hungry shark. I actually had a nice time. Thank you for that.”
She nodded slowly. “Well, you’re welcome. Sometimes, the past just has to stay in the past.”
I reached for her and gave her a hug, but I felt her lock up. It took a few seconds for her to relax and give me a hug back, but it was more like a pat on the back. I breathed in her perfume. It was a scent I hadn’t caught all evening. It was rich and laced with floral notes, like orchids planted among citrus trees. I held her a second longer than I should have, and when I pulled back I felt our noses brush together.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” I murmured.
And when my eyes connected with Ashton’s, I felt her press her lips against mine.
Chapter 8
Ashton
I have no idea what possessed me to kiss him. Maybe it was his cologne, woodsy and laced with oak. Maybe it was the muscles that twitched underneath his clothes when I hugged him. Maybe it was the familiarity of his warmth or the need for closure. But when my lips reached up for his, my legs felt weak.
And I whimpered when he kissed me back.
His arms wrapped around me, and he scooped me off my feet. He held me close to him, my body seated against his chest. I wrapped my arms around him as he walked me through the doorway of my home, kicking the door behind me.
Then, the next thing I felt was my couch against my back.
Our kisses grew furious. He sucked on my lower lip as my lipstick smudged everywhere. I moaned down his throat as his tongue raked across the roof of my mouth. He kissed me down my neck and chest. His hands rolled my black dress up my thighs until my body was exposed for him. His hands pressed against my knees, and he spread my legs open, my black panties out there for him to see. He puckered his lips around my clothed nipples, teasing them through the fabric of my dress.
“Rhett. Yes,” I whispered.
He tossed my legs over his shoulders, and my heels pressed into his back. He pulled my panties off to the side, gazing at my glistening pussy. My hands locked around his head as his tongue fell to my slit. He lapped up my juices until he found my clit, causing me to jump against him.
“There it is.” He groaned.
He devoured me, wrapping his lips around my swollen clit. I bucked against his face, covering him in my juices as his hands fisted my hips. He pulled me closer to him, and I slid down the couch, my chin planted into my chest. I rolled my hips, and he puckered his lips until stars burst in my vision.
“Rhett! Fuck!” I exclaimed.
He turned me around on the couch as I shook with my orgasm. He reached down, ripping my panties off my body before tossing the tattered remains to the floor. He stripped down, his pants and belt falling to the floor before he fell to the couch next to me. He wrapped me up in his strength and pulled me upright into his lap as I straddled his throbbing cock.
It was bigger than I remembered it being.
His hands commanded my body, slowly easing me down his girth. My pussy swallowed him down, inch by inch, until I was seated against his body. My arms wrapped around him as he slowly moved my hips back and forth, side to side, swiveling me and bouncing me on his dick. I allowed him to command me as I nibbled his neck. I soaked up his growls, relishing them as I found my strength. My knees pressed into the couch, and I rose up, sliding back down his cock.
“Holy shit, A
shton.” He grunted.
My name from his lips filled me with a fierce energy.
We bucked together. We rocked together. My juices dripped down his balls and soaked the couch below his body. I clutched his shirt and crashed my lips against his. I felt his arms cloak my back before his hands fisted my ass, rolling me faster into him.
“That’s it. Just like that. Holy fuck, Ashton. So tight for me.”
“I’m gonna come, Rhett. I’m gonna come.”
“You better, Ashton. You better come for me.”
I pressed myself into his neck and wrapped my arms around him tightly. My body shook against him, my pussy fluttering around his cock. His hips stuttered, and his hands curled deeply into the excess of my ass. I clenched my thighs around him as my pussy milked his dick, and then I felt him pop.
I felt him spray my walls with his thick threads of arousal.
I collapsed against him, feeling him hold me like he used to. Feeling him kiss me like he used to. I shook against him, and he massaged my back, working me down from my high like he used to. My heart fluttered in my chest. I felt my body melt into him. Part of me had missed him. Part of me had missed him more than I could stand to admit.
He left you, Ashton. Without so much as a goodbye.
I jerked my head up and quickly worked my way off his lap. I kicked my heels off so I could stand up on my wobbling legs and roll my dress down my body. I felt our intermingled juices dripping down my thighs. I grimaced at the feel of it.
“Everything okay?” Rhett asked.
“You can’t stay,” I said.
Regret pooled in my gut as I watched him stand. He tucked himself back into his pants, and I led him to the front door. This couldn’t happen again. I couldn’t let myself fall for a man that had done to me what he did. I wasn’t in a position to accept love anyway. Not after what happened in New York to that little boy in my care.
“I had a good time tonight. Thanks for dinner,” I said.
I led him out onto the porch and avoided his gaze.
“I had a good time, too. Can’t wait to do it tomorrow,” Rhett said.
My eyes shot up at him as I watched him turn around.
