by Leah Holt
“I can't walk like this, Ash, I'm not exactly dressed for a wilderness retreat.”
Crooking my jaw, I let my eyes lick her body. “You're right.” My cock thickened as my eyes ran up and down her small frame.
Holding out her arms, she picked up each foot one at a time and let the sharp needle of her stiletto plunge back into the earth. “So how can I follow you?”
“I guess you can't.” Shrugging my shoulder, I started walking forward.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I'm going up over that ridge, that's where I'm going.”
Her eyes veered, glaring with confusion. “I thought we were going to talk?”
“We are talking, aren't we?”
“You know what I mean.” Her brow arched high. “If you brought me out here to prove some kind of point, it's not going to work. Right now you just look like an ass.”
“We all have choices to make, Nola. I decided I'd talk to you, even after the way you stood by and did nothing when they threw me out. But I can't make decisions for you, I can't tell you what to do. You can come with me or you can stay here, I won't beg you to walk at my side. That's something you need to do on your own.”
Pursing her lips, she shot me a stare that said, 'Screw you.'
“What? Say it, go on and say what you're thinking.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, her eyes jumped to the sky. “Look, I didn't mean to hurt you or piss you off. Those were not my intentions.”
“Then why can't you look at me when you say it?”
Dropping her eyes, she held her lids open wide. “Because I feel horrible about it.”
“Then make it right.”
“Make it right?” Taking a step forward, Nola wriggled her leg to free the heel. “What do you think I'm trying to do?”Holding out her arms, her brows furrowed. “But you assaulted Clint, I can't erase what you did.”
“This has nothing to do with that. I know I shouldn't have hit him and that's on me. But this is about you and you don't get it, you really can't see it at all.”
“See what, Ash?”
“You can't see what I'm willing to do for you. You can't see how much I'd fight for you. But I can see everything you're not willing to do for me.” Shaking my head, I smirked with disappointment. “You're looking at the world through purple colored lenses, but my view is clear.”
“What the hell does that mean? I wasn't the one who went storming into Clint's office and hit him in the face. There was nothing I could do for you after that.”
“You could have spoke up, you could have stood behind me. I thought you were in charge? I thought that was your castle? But you did nothing, you stepped back and wiped your hands clean.”
“My hands were tied, there was no—”
Don't play games with me, I know what you're hiding.
“Don't bullshit me, Nola, you weren't strong enough to stand up for me. You care too much about what everyone else thinks. I saw it written all over your face when everyone started looking at you. Otherwise you would have put up some kind of fight to keep me. You didn't, you didn't do shit.”
Tearing her heels off her feet, Nola stomped across the dirt. Standing with her toes pressing against the tips of my shoes, she peered up at me. “You're right, I didn't. But that's not because I didn't want to, it's because I couldn't.” Her lip trembled slightly as she took in deep breaths. “But I can now.”
“What's different then, what changed?” I asked.
“I did what I had to do.”
“You let him come between us, that's what you did.” Shaking my head, I let my eyes settle on hers. “So you're saying that me losing my job was your way of fixing things? What, now that I don't work there we can be together? That's bullshit, Nola. You stood there before I assaulted Clint and told me we were done. You ended it before we even had a chance to start it.”
And I know why, I just want to hear it from you.
Tell me, tell me yourself.
Thinning her lips, she pressed up on the tips of her toes, gently cupping my arms with her hands. “No, that isn't what I wanted. I didn't want us to be done, I just had to figure out what to do. We can be together, I want us to be together.”
“I won't be your little secret.”
“That's not what I mean,” she said, slinking into my arms. “I just need you to trust me.” Her lips scraped my jaw, brushing the skin ever so lightly. “I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you.”
Her breath heated my cheek as she spoke, pulling my heart out of my chest so she could clutch it in her hands.
“Is that really how you feel?” The tips of my fingers found the small of her back, pulling her into my chest.
“Yes, Ash.” Our lips brushed, sending sparks through the nerves.
Lifting my hand to her cheek, I ran the back of my fingers across the skin, pushing the hair out of her face. “I want to believe you, but it's hard, you gave up so easily. How do I know you're telling me the truth?”
“Because I'm here, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere.” Rolling her hips, she pushed her tits into my chest as she nibbled my bottom lip. “I never want to be without you.”
“Prove it.” Swooping her off her feet, I started walking over the small ridge.
“Where are we going?” she asked, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“Some place I need to show you.” Carrying her through the trees, I followed the thin dirt path.
Reaching the top, Nola was looking out into the clearing, her gaze wide. “What is this place?”
The trees had thinned out, exposing a small, run-down shack. The roof was caved in on one side, the front door was broken, leaving the inside exposed to the elements. There were no windows left, the glass had been shattered ages ago by storms and hurricanes.
“This is where I grew up.”
“But you said—”
“I know what I said, it was all a lie.”
Angling her head to look up at me, her lids lowered, lashes fanning her eyes like canopies. “Why?”
“Because I didn't think you'd even bat an eye at me if you knew where I really came from.”
“Ash. . .” Pausing, she buried her face in my chest. “That wouldn't matter to me. I like you for who you are, not where you came from.”
Kissing the top of her head, I smelled her hair, allowing it to fill my senses. The floral notes skipped through my lungs, making my cock thicken.
“We come from different worlds, Nola. You have everything at your fingertips and I've had to scrape dirt to get where I am. I'm the guy who fucks up and you're the girl who touches things and makes them turn to gold. But none of that matters, it doesn't have to. That's why I brought you here, because I wanted you to know the truth. I don't have money, I don't have anything to offer you, not like Clint.” Shifting her face, she lifted her head to watch me as I spoke. “All I have is this.” Taking her hand, I placed it on my chest, pressing her palm to where my heart was stowed away. “This is what I can give you, but I can't do that until you do something for me.”
“What?” she asked, darting her eyes between mine.
“I need the truth too, I need to hear you say it. I don't want any secrets between us, not if we're going to make this work.”
“Alright,” she said, running her hands through my hair. “Clint was threatening my job, my career, and my father's company. I couldn't risk losing it all, my father worked so hard for it.”
“I already knew he had something to do with it, that's how I ended up in his office to begin with.”
“There's more—”
Setting her down on the grass, I gripped her hips. “That's okay, you don't need to tell me everything right now, I just needed something to know you're in this with me too. But you need to realize that there's nothing in this world that will push me away from you; except for you. Don't push me away, Nola, let me in.”
Her hands cupped my cheeks, holding my face still. The bright blue of her eyes pierced my
heart, shooting it across the sky like a comet. We stared at each other for a long moment, neither one of us speaking.
Embracing the silence between us, I leaned forward and kissed her. I could taste her smile, I could taste her emotions as they passed through my skin.
Tugging her in hard, I drove my hands into her hair. I never wanted to let her go again. Nola was mine, she was meant for me, we were meant for each other in so many ways.
It didn't matter the differences we had, because we shared one thing, and that was each other.
Our lips tangled, filthy and delirious. Our hands were wild, stroking and raking, grabbing and pulling. Laying her down on the grass, I slipped my hand up her thigh, pushing her dress up over her hips.
She didn't hesitate to follow my lead, allowing me to manipulate her like she was made of clay. Wrapping her legs around my waist, her hips bucked into my bulge.
Leaves were entwining her hair like delicate flowers, pine needles were poking my hands as I clutched the ground by her head. Her hands tore at my pants, needy and crazed.
Growling, I dug my fingers into the dirt, biting her neck. “Never leave me, Nola, I can't be without you, it hurts too much.”
An air-filled coo escaped her mouth as her back arched hard. Scratching the tips of her nails down my chest, she gripped my length and positioned it at her entrance. The heat off her pussy made my dick throb and pulse.
“I won't, I promise I won't.” Tender lips traced my ear as she whispered her words with the prettiest gasp.
The wind blew in around us, shaking the treetops as birds chirped in the distance. But all I focused on was her. She had become my everything, the only reason I had to breathe, the only reason for me to keep going.
If I didn't have her, I had nothing.
Life would be meaningless.
The tip of my cock felt her desire as it seeped through the thin lace of her panties. Nola pulled the barrier to the side, guiding my cock into her heat with one hand. As I slid in with ease, her moan made my breath hitch.
And as we made love under the clear blue sky, I knew without a doubt—she would be mine forever.
Eternity would be life without her, but living was having her at my side forever.
She was quickly becoming my everything.
Chapter Ten
Nola
“What now?” I asked, circling my finger through the small tuft of hair on Ash's chest.
Kissing the top of my head, he hugged his arm around my side, pressing me deeper into his torso. “Well, how does dinner sound?”
The wind blew between us, tousling the grass and making it tickle my skin. I didn't care that we were laying on the ground, rolling in the dirt and fallen leaves.
I was in the arms of the man I wanted to be with, that was all that mattered. My father had said a few things after dinner that made me rethink my life.
He was right.
I was working too hard.
I was giving up on truly living.
I was losing myself.
I wasn't happy.
“Don't be like me, Nola, don't become the same darkness.” My father's words breathed through my head as Ash stroked his fingers up and down the outside of my arm.
I thought I was living the life I wanted, but in reality, I was just living in my father's shadow, following the same lonely road he walked for so many years.
I thought he was two men, that he had wanted his life the way it was, but I was so, so wrong.
The countless arguments he had with my mother about the time he spent at work, the long nights he sat behind his desk instead of with the people he loved, he regretted it all. And I hadn't seen any of it.
I was quickly becoming that person, consumed by wanting more, greedy and eager to build it higher, to take and keep taking as I blindly fell into the same pit he had lived in.
Snuggling closer against Ash's skin, I shared his warmth. “Dinner sounds perfect.”
This, this right here is where I belong.
Pushing up, Ash gave me his hand and helped me off my back. “Good, because I'm starving.”
Running my fingers through my hair, I picked out the leaves and debris. “Before we do that, you should know something else.” My lungs constricted just thinking about the right words to say to tell him about the video.
“Shh,” he hushed me, holding a finger to my lips. “Right now I just want to enjoy this.”
“But you said you wanted the truth.”
“And I do.” Flapping his jeans, he slipped them up his legs. Pushing up off the ground, he shimmied his hips and buttoned them. “But for right now, I just want you, us, this.” Picking my dress up, he shook it out. “I don't need to hear anything else right now.” Smiling, he held out his hand for me to take.
Gripping my knees, I stared into his eyes. “But you need to hear this, I have to say it.”
“It's not going to change anything, Nola. Whatever it is you need to tell me will be the same an hour from now or a day from now, but it won't change how I feel about you.” Tossing my dress over his shoulders, he bent down and grabbed my wrists. Pulling me to my feet, he swiped his hands down my back and over my ass, cleaning me off. “All I really care about is knowing that you feel the same way about me that I feel about you. That's all I needed you tell me, to know that we weren't over.”
“And I do feel the same,” I said, rubbing the dirt off my elbows. “But this is important.”
“Nothing is more important than us right now. I told you I was going to make you love me, Nola York, and I meant it.” Bundling up my dress, he opened it at the neck and slipped it over my head. “Right now, I just want to love you like this. Like the woman I just ravaged in the woods, like the woman with eyes I could stare at for hours and a voice I could listen to for days.”
Did he just say he loved me?
My brain buzzed with white noise as I tried to grasp the meaning of what he said. If he had meant love in the true sense or if it was just that this was too perfect to ruin. I didn't ask, simply letting him manipulate me as he helped me get dressed.
Turning me around, Ash zipped the back of my dress, letting his hands rest on the tops of my shoulders. Kissing my neck, he let the side of his face brush against mine.
“To be honest, all that shit that happened doesn't really matter, because you're here with me now and that's all I care about. Having you is what I need, and you gave that to me.”
Dipping my head into my chest, he placed feathery kisses across my nape. Goosebumps erupted down my arms, causing my muscles to tremble.
Deep down in my heart, I knew I loved him. I wasn't ready to admit it to myself or say the words out loud, but I could feel it all over my body. It was like a warm blanket curling around my soul.
Picking up my heels, Ash swooped me off my feet and started in the direction of his motorcycle. “I know whatever it is you have to tell me, we can get through it. You didn't want any of this to happen, I knew it then and I know it now.”
Curling my arms around his neck, I laid my head against his chest. “You're right, it wasn't what I wanted at all.” Listening to his heart beat in his chest, my eyes teared up. “I'm sorry, I really am, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you.”
“I know,” he said, whispering into my hair. Sitting me on the seat of his bike, he gripped one ankle and slid my foot into my shoe. His thumb stroked the underside of my leg as he moved to the other one and slid my foot inside. Tingles shot up through my calves and thighs, making my body shiver. “Let's get out of here.”
Ash held my face, so I gripped his wrists as he kissed my forehead. Smiling, he climbed onto the seat and guided my arms around his waist.
I wanted to just spit it out and tell him about the video Clint had of us and what he was threatening to do with it, but I stayed quiet, allowing it to sit on the tip of my tongue like acid.
A small piece of me was glad he didn't want to hear anymore right then, because I wasn't sure I'd even be able to find the words I
needed. The crack in my heart was still open as this last secret burrowed into my chest.
I'll tell him later, he said it could wait.
Pressing my body to his, he started the bike and drove us back to the city.
I was going to tell him the truth, every last piece of it. But it wouldn't be long before it all came out, and I wanted him to hear it from me first.
I couldn't change what had been done, but I could ready him for the onslaught of slander he was about to be dragged through.
Because I made a choice that affected us both, and I wasn't the only one who would have to live with the repercussions.
All I could hope was that he was right, that we were strong enough to survive together.
I wanted to see the other side of this happiness and I hoped it was beautiful.
Chapter Eleven
Nola
Pulling up to a small restaurant, Ash parked and climbed off, helping me down. “This place is good, we can grab a bite and then head to my place if you want?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” My stomach was clenched tight with nerves all bundling up, just knowing that I had to tell him all about the video.
You have to, there's no other way around it.
I couldn't win this battle. I couldn't keep the video a secret and have Ash too.
Clint was going to get his way.
And I had accepted that, because Ash was worth more than anything Clint could do to either of us. I didn't care anymore about my name, my status or the money. I wanted something more, and his name was Ash Devoy.
Walking hand in hand, we entered the restaurant and found two seats at the bar. Ash and I ordered drinks and food off the menu. It felt really good to be where I was, sitting by the man who still stood by my side even after I tried to push him away.
Looking around, the place was filled with people, all of them laughing and having a good time. It made me think of the story my father had told me about how he met my mother, in a place just like this, small and quaint.
