by Lindsey Hart
“Yeah.” Trace’s voice sounded so much further away than the mere inches his mouth was from her ear. “I know. Honestly, if I could, I’d buy my own island and take my love to grow old there. It would be like one of your romances. That’s probably wishful thinking, though, since it’s hard to imagine people actually growing old together. It’s a nice sentiment.”
“A nice sentiment,” Ash breathed. “I like that. Maybe I’ll write that into one of my own books.”
“I still haven’t looked one up and read it yet. Although, I should. Has your brother?”
“Please don’t! I’d make you promise you wouldn’t read it, but that sounds too extreme and I know it will probably just have the opposite effect. And my brother… oh my god I hope not. He says he’d never read anything I wrote, especially about romance, because it’s too disgusting. I really hope that he meant it.” The thought honestly made her want to panic. She remembered her family’s horror when she published her first book. They’d quickly grown accustomed to the fact that she wrote explicit romance and just got over and on with it. It wasn’t like she was famous or anything.
“I bet even if your brother hasn’t read it since it’s probably not his thing, I am willing to put my money on him using it to get with someone else. I’m sure he’s dropped your name a couple of times. Men probably don’t know who you are, but women- that’s entirely possible.”
Ash shivered. “Oh gross. I don’t want to think about my brother using me to get laid in any capacity.” She made a gagging noise. “Totally gross.”
“I think it’s hot that you write romance. I think it’s hot that you’re a writer period. I especially think it’s hot that you work at a comic book store and that you and your brother are complete nerd ass-kicking geeks when it comes to board games.”
“If you think that’s good, you should see us when it comes to trivia.”
Trace laughed softly and her head moved up and down with the rumble. Ash smiled to herself. It felt so good to have Trace’s hand in her hair, massaging her scalp, the warmth of his body pressed into her, solid and comforting and real, that she’d forgotten all about the stupid reunion.
“One day. You’ll have to take me to your next trivia night or whatever.”
Ash closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about there not being a whatever or a whenever. Her chest filled up with that painful twisting again. For one more night, she wouldn’t go there. She didn’t want to ruin what she felt at the moment, which was, crazy enough, perfectly at peace, so she shut her mouth and pushed the yawning void of doubt off into a not so distant future. There was plenty of time for worrying.
At the moment, Trace’s hand just felt really, really, amazing in her hair and the sound of his heartbeat beneath her ear was absolute enchanting perfection. She had no reason to open her eyes, so she kept them closed for just a minute more.
Just one more minute like that, with him, at peace, and she’d be ready to let the real world in again. Just one more minute… just one…
CHAPTER 14
Trace
The first early rays of dawn were just starting to filter into the bedroom when Trace cracked an eye. He realized, first, that he wasn’t at his house. It was obvious since the hairy body of a cat was currently perched on the pillow. That big, warm, fuzzy body overflowed onto his forehead and the purring was probably what woke him up.
Okay, so someone probably wants their breakfast.
He remembered Ash falling asleep last night. She must have been exhausted. She looked so peaceful there in his arms that when she drifted off, he didn’t wake her. Beyond worn out himself, body aching and his heart doing all sorts of crazy things, going to war with his mind and what was supposed to be common sense, he’d closed his eyes and that was it. Lights out.
Ash was still draped over him, her arm flung out, her head on his chest right above his heart. She slept soundly, her shoulders rising and falling with each deep breath. She was beautiful, her flawless skin hued golden by the sun’s rays. Her blonde hair spilled out over him and the bed and her lips were pushed up into a sexy sleepy pout.
He could tell that it was early. He wasn’t in a panic to wake her, even though they hadn’t discussed their game plan for the reunion. He knew Ash would be fine. She just had to have faith in herself. All that easy confidence from the night before, when she was comfortable with her family, and the courage she’d shown in messaging him, the force that she was, a woman who chose to live her life on her terms and was proud of it, she just needed to channel all of that.
If not, he’d be there to kick whosever ass he had to kick.
That was the game plan.
He smiled like a fool. It didn’t even occur to him that after the reunion she’d really have no need of him. She might have sent him a message about a plea for a fake boyfriend, but there was nothing fake about his desire to be with her.
His arm tightened around Ash’s dainty shoulders and held her closer. She didn’t stir. She was his. He’d known it from the second he walked into that coffee shop and saw her sitting there, with two paper cups, because she’d ordered for him. Hell, he probably knew it right after he’d read her message. It just got better. Every single minute that he spent with her just reinforced in his mind how much he didn’t want to let her go.
Trace savored the time he had with her, those stolen minutes. He promised himself that he’d remember them forever, no matter what came after the reunion, and he didn’t care one bit that it sounded cheesy as fuck, even in his own head.
As the sun’s rays grew stronger and warmer, he knew he had to wake her.
He’d asked her the night before if she believed in a love like her parents’ had. He himself hadn’t before. He’d very much doubted that he’d ever find someone who could see him for himself. Then he met Ash, and right from the start, he was just Trace. She’d given him her friendship, her unguarded moments, her care, her worry, her family. She gave him everything he wanted and didn’t know was possible and didn’t dare hope for.
And it had been a week.
How much better could it get?
She’s mine. She might not know it yet, but she is and I’m hers. I’m not letting her go.
It was time to dial up the charm. He was playing for keeps as of the minute that reunion ended.
As the purr machine above his head kicked into high gear, Trace gently shook Ash awake. She sprang up so fast she nearly smashed her face into his.
“Whoa there. I promise I’m not here to hurt you. I’m just an innocent bystander who fell asleep in your bed.” He pointed up towards the cat, who hadn’t moved off his forehead. “And I think someone is sending me not so subtle messages about getting his food.”
Ash’s anxious face broke out into a smile when she eyed Slappy. “Oh, yes that’s right. I- oh my god. What time is it?” She grabbed for her phone off the nightstand and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness. It’s only seven. We still have time to get a plan together and get ready. Twin Falls is a forty-minute drive and it will probably take at least half an hour to get out of the city. The thing starts at three, but I don’t want to look desperate and arrive right at the beginning. I’d rather wait an hour or whatever and hope that by then I can just get in and get out unnoticed or at least unscathed and I-”
“Hey, hey,” Trace cut her off. “It’s going to be okay. Just calm down. We have lots of time to talk and get ready. I know we didn’t mean to fall asleep last night, but worse things have happened. Don’t turn feral on me now.”
Ash rolled away from him, leaving his arms- and heart- empty. She glanced around the room wildly, like something awful was waiting in the corners to devour her. Her eyes were wide and wild, and he could practically feel the tension radiating off of her.
“Hey…” he brushed the cat away, who swatted at his hand angrily as he dared disturb the regal beast from the throne it made of his head. He rolled out of bed and stumbled, still sleepy, to his feet. He held out his arms, but A
sh rolled her eyes and stalked out of the bedroom, muttering things under her breath he wasn’t quite sure were entirely complimentary.
Trace sucked it up. He couldn’t take Ash’s rudeness personal. He could tell that she was a hot mess already. He followed Slappy out into the kitchen, where Ash was busy cracking a can of tuna open. She poured it over a bowl of hard cat food and set it on the table.
“It’s the only way he’ll eat his crumbles. Ever.” She didn’t look at him. Her hand shook when she tucked the can opener back into the drawer.
Trace closed the distance easily with his long stride. He dropped one hand to the small of Ash’s back and she froze. He wrapped her up in his arms and tugged her against his chest. She tried to wriggle away, which only served to make his already raging hard hard-on that much harder.
“I think we need to take this back to the bedroom. You’re wound so tight that you’re going to explode.” He placed a seduction kiss on the nape of her neck where her hair had fallen out of the way, exposing the sweet, creamy skin to him. “You definitely need to take that tension out on me.”
“No,” she protested as she struggled harder. Her sweet hips grinding into his cock nearly made him see stars.
Trace licked that tender spot on her neck and Ash gasped. “Yes. Trust me on this one.” He suckled her skin and she made his favorite whimpering sound. “Have I ever steered you wrong?”
“Don’t start that,” she gasped. She tried one last time to push away, but he held her fast. “You giving me an orgasm isn’t going to fix my reunion problem, much as I would like it to.”
He rolled his eyes even though she couldn’t see. His hand snaked up from her waist and smoothed over her shirt, right above her nipple. She sucked in a breath and ground her hips against him. “That’s right, baby. You’re so responsive to me. You want this. Your body wants this. Just let go. And one orgasm… please.” He pinched her nipple and she made a sweet mewling sound in the back of her throat. “Do you know who it is you’re talking to? I think four should do nicely. Get you good and relaxed and then we’ll shower, eat some of those amazing leftovers your mom packed up for us last night, and go over our action plan.”
“We’ll go over it now,” Ash protested breathlessly.
Trace traced his way up her tunic, under her bra and straight to her other breast. He rolled her nipple between his thumb and index finger before he pinched her. Hard. She bucked against him so fiercely if she did it again, he doubted he’d last more than a few seconds with her when he finally got her naked.
“I’ll go back home and get changed and you’ll get yourself ready, though you could roll in mud or dog shit and still be the prettiest girl at that damn reunion.”
“Dog shit. Riiiiggghhhhtt. Get real.”
“Oh, I’m real.” He pinched her nipple again and literally heard her grind her teeth together to keep from crying out. “I’m very, very real.” He whispered into her ear, for better effect.
“No- really- Trace, please.”
Trace spun Ash around so he could face her. “No. Really. You’re incredible. You’re amazing. You’re flawless, smart, sexy, independent, incredibly beautiful. You’re my goddess, remember? You kick fiction ass and you kick comic book ass. If anyone calls you a nerd or a geek, you take that as a compliment, and you thank them for noticing that you are so much further above them. They are mere mortals, allowed to praise you in the only ways they know how because words like queen and goddess are reserved for me alone.” He licked his way up her neck before he sucked her earlobe into his mouth. He bit down and was satisfied by her lusty exhale.
“Trace…”
“Yes? More protests? I would try and convince you that we have more than enough time for a quickie, but I don’t plan on being quick at all.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide and glazed over, her pupils fully dilated, eating up her gorgeous green irises. “No. No more protests. You win, but I’m holding you to your promise.”
“What did I promise?”
She trembled against him and he watched her sexy plump lips part. Her tongue swept out to moisten them and that did all sorts of things to the tent pole in his pants. “Four. Four orgasms. I’m going to hold you to it.”
He growled low in his throat and swept her up in his arms. “Good.” He carried her down the hall, to the bathroom. Her eyes went even wider, if it was possible, when he pushed the door open and flipped on the light. “Since I know you’re on a tight schedule today, orgasms one, two, and possibly three, are going to happen in here.”
“And what about you?” she asked in her thick, sexed-up voice. A voice that raised the hairs on the back of his neck and in one hell of a good way.
“What about me?” He set her down and began stripping off his clothes. He loved the way her eyes remained glued to his every movement.
“I- well, you need to save a couple for yourself as well. I think maybe I’ll- well…” she flushed a deep crimson and he had to bait her into it. He had to hear her say whatever was so dirty it made her go crimson to her hairline.
He bent his head and spoke right into her ear as he began to slowly tug down her leggings. “Yes?”
“I want to have you in my mouth. I mean- I want you to… in my mouth.” Okay… so maybe she’d succeeded in surprising him. He didn’t think they were quite at that stage yet. “What?” Her hands moved to her hips, even while he was sliding her leggings away. “Is that not allowed?”
He shook his head and grinned up at her. “Seeing as maybe I’m a little nervous and wound up about your reunion too, maybe I’ll make an exception in this case.”
Her lips parted like she was going to fire something back at him, but he stopped her. He gripped her tunic and pulled it over her head and then it was game on as he crushed her mouth with his.
CHAPTER 15
Ash
The Twin Falls high school stood like a brick sentinel. The double doors that served as an entrance had either been replaced or repainted. They used to be red and now they were yellow as if by painting them a welcoming color, the place would look less like a brick fortress and more like a place where people went for education.
Yeah right. Like anyone would attend high school if given a choice. Okay, well, like almost anyone would attend high school if given a choice.
“You ready?” Trace stood beside her, a solid pillar of strength that she resisted the urge to lean on, even though she desperately wanted to.
“I hope so.” She drew in a sharp inhale and pulled the door open.
She’d picked a black dress that wasn’t fancy but was classy. It fell to just past her knee. The neckline swooped low but not low enough to reveal anything. She’d paired it with a chunky black necklace that the saleslady who worked at the same department store she bought the dress had assured her would go ‘smashingly,’ in the British accent and all. No one said ‘smashingly’ unless they were British. It turned out, she was right. The necklace was amazing. With her hair down and curled and a pair of sexy black shoes that weren’t too high to impede her walking or increase the likelihood she’d trip and fall flat on her face, Ash actually felt like she could walk into the school and not be swallowed up whole.
The guy at her side, who stood like a menacing, handsome, sexy as hell pillar, dressed all in black to match, might have a little something to do with her confidence.
The six orgasms he’d given her that morning, yes, six, might play a small role as well. Trace was right. He knew exactly what she needed to relax.
The entrance opened up to a long hall in either direction. She knew that just to the right was the principal’s office. Beyond that was the staff room and after that, the student lounge. There were a few classrooms between that, on the left and right, places where she’d had English, math, and science- until the lab was relocated to the end of the school where there was better access to ventilation for the toxic chemicals. No more math class next door smelling like farts when the Bunsen burners got going.
“S
eems harmless so far.” Trace shot her a devious smile. “Should I be on the lookout for ninjas coming at us?”
Ash nearly snorted. “I don’t know, but if you spot any, let me know and we’ll get ourselves into a corner. Or a back to back position. Too bad I didn’t bring any weapons with me.”
Trace leaned in and whispered to her. “I might be packing a stun gun in my back pocket.”
Because she had to, she whispered back. “Is that all you’re packing?”
He grinned at her while her eyes swept over him. He looked good in color, but in black, he was lethal. His pants were expensive-looking, as though they’d been tailored to fit and cup all the right places. And god, did he ever have right places. His black dress shirt was unbuttoned, and the sleeves rolled up, revealing sleek, corded forearms that made her want to find a private corner. He was freshly shaved, and his dark hair was pulled back at his neck.
Her body heated at his proximity, but it was also because he was handsome as sin and smelled just as good, like the sex demon he was. That’s right. She’d decided he must belong to the dark legion, a villain through and through because nothing associated with the light could do the sinful things he did in bed. And in the shower. And on her couch. And the kitchen counter.
Straight ahead was the gym, which, even if she’d suddenly experienced an extreme case of amnesia, was easy to spot given that the music pumping from inside was already going hard, even though it was only four in the afternoon. As promised, she’d shown up an hour later than the stupid invite said.
“Well… shall we go in?” Trace’s hand shifted to her lower back. The heat of his palm burned right through her dress and her nipples pebbled. Aside from the sexual heat, Ash took comfort in his touch. She let him steer her forward.
“I guess so,” she whispered, even though it was redundant.
He walked her up towards the door, where Lisa Samson stood with a damn clipboard and a list, as though it was a VIP party. Ash nearly laughed. Maybe she’d get lucky and her name wouldn’t be on it. Considering that Sonja planned the whole thing, it was a very real possibility. But no, they were waved through with a bitchy smile Ash didn’t miss. Lisa’s eyes clung to Trace as he passed. Ash wanted to snarl at Lisa, but she knew that would be far too catty.
