I turn around so I’m facing him and look into his eyes. They’re filled with lust and desire as he watches me. I force him back against the marble tile and watch as he swallows hard.
“Ashley, what are you doing?” Nolan asks.
“Making you feel good,” I respond.
I sink to my knees and lick my lips as I lean in closer to his hard cock, inhaling his desire. I’ve never done this before, so I hope I do it right. Yes, I’ve been with other guys, but just to scratch an itch, never this intimate. Not even with Shaun. The thought always made me want to throw up, but not with Nolan. He has quickly become my other half through the months we’ve been talking and flirting back and forth, and I will do anything for him. He proved he would do anything for me when he didn’t even hesitate to fly halfway across the country because I needed him. I take his cock into my mouth and suck hard, hollowing out my cheeks. Nolan's hands are in my hair, moving my head back and forth as his hips thrust towards me.
“Fuck," Nolan growls out.
I take one of my hands and gently squeeze his balls as I continue to suck his cock. Moving it in and out of my mouth to the rhythm of his hips. He’s growing harder with my movements and it spurs me on. His hands let go of my head and I can move freely. I lick and suck him harder, passing my tongue across the vein in the underside of his dick.
“I can’t hold off any longer,” Nolan groans.
I feel powerful in this position, knowing I brought this man this much pleasure. As I take his hard shaft as deep into my mouth as I can, without gagging, his hot release shoots into my throat and Nolan makes a moaning noise in the back of his throat. Swallowing all he’s offering, I gently remove his cock from my mouth as he grows soft.
I stand up and Nolan wraps his arms around me drawing me against him. My head is leaning against his chest. His heart is beating wildly against my ear as he breathes harshly. After a few minutes, Nolan’s heart slows down, and he kisses the top of my head.
“That was incredible. I’ve never had a woman make me feel that way.” Nolan says.
A twinge of jealously invades my mind at what he says, but I force it away. Stupid to think he’s never been with any other woman, but I still don’t want to hear about it. Nolan must have sensed my emotions because he brings my head up and his lips seal over mine, pushing away any thoughts I had. Breaking our kiss, I look Nolan in the eyes. There is something there that wasn’t before.
“I know you’ve been with other women, but I don’t want to hear about them. You are mine.” I declare.
“Ashley, I’ve been yours since the first time I laid eyes on you, standing on Xavier’s front porch, wearing that sexy sundress. No other woman has occupied my mind, except you. You’re all I can think about. Even when I was supposed to concentrate on work, you were always right there front and center. Just like you're mine.” Nolan confesses.
I grin to myself as Nolan shuts the water off and grabs two towels. He helps me dry off with one after he wraps the other around his waist. We step out of my bathroom and into my bedroom. I check the clock on the nightstand and figure we have about four hours left before his team, which is what he calls them, arrive.
I walk to my oak armoire and open it. I open the top drawer and pull out a pair of shorts and a tank top. I spot a pair of men’s sweatpants I bought when I prefer to go baggy and toss them to Nolan. He raises his eyebrow at me.
“They’re mine. I bought them when I want to rough it.” I explain.
Nolan puts them on and they fit snug against his body. What’s huge on me are tight on him. I close the armoire drawers and doors and slowly walk to my bed. All my muscles are tight again and it’s really pissing me off. I’m so tired, it takes all my energy to make it to my king size bed. There’s a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water on my nightstand. Nolan shakes two out and hands them to me with the water. I accept them and swallow the pills. I wash them down and hand him back the glass. I lay down on the bed and Nolan settles in behind me. He stretches his body against mine and his arm wraps around my waist, tucking me into him. Feeling safe and secure, my eyes grow heavy and I start to drift off. Before I completely succumb to my body's demand for sleep, Nolan kisses the top of my head.
“I’m here and think I’m falling for you,” he whispers against my hair.
I fall asleep with his words echoing in my head, wrapping around my heart and I feel the same way.
Chapter 19
Nolan
My phone vibrating somewhere pulls me from a deep sleep. I slowly blink my eyes open and try to remember where I am, when a soft, warm body splays against my chest. I glance down, and Ashley’s curled around me, sound asleep. Images of the last few hours come drifting back to my mind and I smile. I remember her falling apart in my hands in the bathroom and the stairway in the subway station. I remember her mouth owning me, demanding my attention as she sucked me off. Thinking back to all our daily text and phone calls and now I'm here with her is perfect, just like I remember. She's just as beautiful in person than she is on the phone.
Damn, this woman is under my skin. I’m never letting her go. I turn my head to check the time and we’ve been asleep for five hours.
Ashley shifts slightly throwing her leg over my waist and it brushes against my hard dick. I release a low groan from the back of my throat as her tits press against my side. I run my hands up and down her back tenderly. She stirs a little more, pressing her pussy against my hip. The heat radiating from her body is turning me on. Fuck I can’t get enough of this woman.
My phone vibrates again somewhere, and I remember that’s what woke me up. I haven’t slept this good in a long time. I’m constantly on alert and get maybe three or four hours of sleep at a time. Too many ghosts and demons invade my mind when I sleep. I trained myself a long time ago to always be alert, sleep only when needed and when I do sleep, it’s light and I’m always prepared. It’s saved my life quite a few times.
But not today. Today, sleeping next to Ashley, I actually slept soundly and deeply.
“Uh, are you going to get that?” Ashley grumbles in a husky voice.
“Nope,” I answer popping the p. “I’m not planning on moving."
She lets out a laugh and picks her head up, her light brown eyes are full of humor. The bruise on the side of her face has turned a deep purple, and it’s pissing me off, but instead of killing that little fucker like I want to right now, channeling my anger, like I was taught, I grip her hips and pull her closer.
“Sleep good?” Ashley asks.
“Yeah, really good. I haven’t slept that soundly in a long time.” I respond, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Ashley leans towards me, our lips are a breath apart. Her body is almost covering mine now and I tighten my arms around her, pulling her against me. Her tank top has risen to her chest so were skin on skin.
“Me either. I feel a lot better. My muscles aren’t hurting as bad anymore,” she tells me.
Dirty, filthy thoughts cross my mind as my lips find hers. Oh, the things I crave to do to her. She whimpers into my mouth as my cock grows even harder from her pussy rubbing against it. My tongue is caressing the hot wet cave of her mouth, showing Ashley what I want to do to other areas of her body when there’s a loud knock on her door making us both jump.
Fuck! Now I know why Xavier wanted to kill me when I did that to him. I owe him an apology next time I see him.
“Go away," Ashley growls against my lips.
There’s another loud knock, they’re not going away. Whoever is on the other side of that door is like an annoying fly. Always around bugging you at the wrong time. Ashley huffs out a heavy sigh and gets up from the bed. I watch her in her tight little shorts and tank top as she stalks over to the door and yanks it open.
“Go the fuck…,” Ashley’s voice stops mid-sentence. She’s just standing there, not moving, not saying a word. I can’t see who’s there from where I’m lying on her bed.
“Ash, who is it?” I ask. She turns towa
rds me narrowing her eyes. I hear a giggle from the other side of the door and sit up. “No fucking way,” I mumble to myself as I stand up.
I walk over to Ashley’s door and yup, sure enough, that giggle belongs to the one and only Izabella Jones in a yellow sundress, white sandals, and her hair pulled up in a sleek ponytail. Her green eyes widen in surprise when she sees me.
“Nolan? What are you doing here?” Izzy asks, stunned.
“Well, I was sleeping,” I answer her.
She huffs out a breath and crosses her arms. “How long have you two been seeing each other?” she asks, looking between the two of us. She sounds a little hurt. Shit, now I feel bad for not saying anything to her or Xavier on how serious I am about Ashley.
“Since the night you and Xavier got engaged,” Ashley whispers. She peers over her shoulder at me and offers me a small smile. I stand behind her and rest my palms on her shoulders, hiding my scars with Ashley’s body. We both look back at Izzy, preparing for a tongue lashing
“It’s about fucking time,” Izzy says with a grin, shocking both of us.
“What?” We answer at the same time.
“You two were driving me nuts when she was at home. She was constantly watching you, you always watching her. I thought I would go crazy," she says, throwing her hands up in the air.
“Izzy, what are you doing here?” Ashley finally asks.
“I came to help,” Izzy answers, looking at Ashley.
“That’s very sweet of you Izz, but it’s not safe for you to be here right now,” Ashley says with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“You,” Izzy says pointing at me. “Out, I need to talk to Ashley, in private."
“Yes, ma’am,” I say saluting her like a smart ass. Izzy rolls her eyes at me.
“Give us a minute,” Ashley say, closing the door and clicking the lock before she can respond. She turns towards me narrowing her honey brown eyes, giving me a look I can’t quite decipher. I hold my hands up in front of me not sure what to say as I back away a little. That look scares me.
“I thought you called Ashton not Christian," she says, leaning against the door.
“I did. I don’t know why she’s here. I swear I have nothing to do with this.”
Ashley pushes away from the door and approaches me. She’s so close, I can smell the strawberry body soap she used earlier. I search her eyes for annoyance or anger. When I only see worry, I wrap my arms around her waist pulling her closer.
“I’m sorry Ash, I’ll find out why they’re here,” I say against her lips.
“I'm just worried she’ll get hurt,” Ashley says, laying her head on my chest. “It’s dangerous right now and I don’t want anything happening to her or Xavier for that matter. She’s only known the racing side, not the other parts of my business. She’s never met Reiser or seen the things he’s capable of. I wanted to keep her protected from this part of my life."
I run my hands up and down Ashley’s back, trying to sooth the fear. Pulling her face up gently, being careful to avoid the bruising, I lean my head towards hers. Our lips meet, and a tingling sensation starts low in my stomach. Ashley whimpers when my tongue enters her mouth in a heat of passion. She presses up against me tighter, threading her fingers through my hair, grabbing ahold of it. I want to finish what we started a few minutes ago, but I know we can’t right now.
I break the kiss, breathing heavily. I rest my forehead against Ashley's. Our hearts are beating hard, I can feel them in sync with each other through her thin tank top. She takes a deep breath and a smile appears on her face.
“I suppose I should face the firing range,” Ashley says reluctantly.
“Yeah, let me change my clothes and I’ll let you two talk. I’m sure you’ll have some explaining to do with her and I will with Xavier."
“Unified front. Stronger together than apart,” she says with a wink.
I let go of her even though I honestly don’t want to and find my jeans on the bathroom floor. Ashley’s eyes are watching me when I take off the sweatpants she let me borrow. Standing in just my boxers, my hard on back in full swing I shift so she gets a front view and our eyes lock for a minute. I smirk at her and raise an eyebrow. Ashley bits her bottom lip and watches me with no shame.
“Like what you see?” I inquire.
She nods her head, her blond hair bouncing on her shoulders. She approaches me slowly and wraps her arms around my neck. Kissing her gently on the lips, I rest my hands on her hips.
“She isn’t going to wait forever,” Ashley says against my lips.
“I know. Let’s get dressed. I’ll go to the firing squad downstairs and you deal with Izzy."
“Do I have to? She scares me when she gets that look in her eyes,” she replies, and I release a laugh.
“Yes, you do. I’m not dealing with her. She scares me sometimes,” I confess.
Ashley lets out a giggle as we let go of each other and I slide on my jeans and put my t-shirt on, covering my scars, Xavier and Izzy have never seen them and they never will. I find my side arm on her night stand where I laid it earlier and strap it to my hip. Ashley wiggles into a pair of dark blue jeans and a black tank top with a black and white flannel over it. She pulls her blond hair up in a messy bun on her head and nods to open the door.
Izzy is standing on the other side; her arms are across her chest and she’s tapping her foot on the floor. She’s trying to intimidate me but it’s hard to take her seriously in the little yellow sundress she’s wearing. If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Oh, boy she’s pissed. I give her a huge grin, trying to ease her tension and she glares at me.
“Don’t try to be all cute, Nolan, I’m pissed at you,” Izzy growls.
I turn my head back towards Ashley, mouth good luck to her and duck past Izzy. I walk at a rapid pace down the hallway when I hear Ashley’s door shut, and a squeal comes from behind it. I don’t know if it was Ashley or Izzy, but my hearing is thanking me for not being in that room.
Chapter 20
Nolan
I walk down the stairs, into the living room and a bunch of heads shift in my direction. I swallow hard when I see a pair of blue eyes narrow in my direction and a scowl crosses Xavier’s face. He stands up from the couch and stalks towards me. I nod my head to the kitchen and Xavier returns the gesture.
I haven’t had time to really take in Ashley’s place when we arrived, but I do now as Xavier and I walk. It’s an open space set up with floor to ceiling windows surrounding the house. I can look into the living room and dining room from the kitchen. The kitchen itself has dark hardwood flooring, black cabinets wrapping around the small room, black and white marble counter tops and stainless-steel appliances. There’s a small island separating the kitchen and dining room with sleek black bar stools pushed in on the other side. I start a pot of coffee and lean up against the counter. Xavier takes a seat at the island and folds his hands on the counter. He’s watching me, waiting for me to say something. My coffee is done, and I fill up the mug. I add some sugar and take a sip. The bitter sweet taste coats my mouth and sends a shot of caffeine into my system.
I turn back around, ready to face this head on. I look around to make sure nobody else is in earshot and take a deep breath. “It’s really bad. I found Ashley beaten and bruised. The guy who did it is her ex, Shaun Reiser.” I tell Xavier.
“How’s she doing now?” he asks.
I shrug my shoulders. “She’s doing better physically, but emotionally she’s struggling. Ashley is dealing with a lot right now and she’s worried you or Izzy might end up hurt. These people after her are not who you’ve dealt with back home.”
“How did she get into this mess?” Xavier questions.
I peer around again to make sure no one is listening. This information is something Ashton dug up and no one realizes I have it. I don’t even think Ashley knows the real truth and I want to protect her from it for as long as possible. I pick up my coffee mug and open the sliding glass door leading toward the back d
eck. Xavier follows, and we don’t stop walking until we’re far away from the house, leaning up against a black wire railing, separating the beach from her deck.
Ashley has a big kidney-shaped pool in the middle of her dark wooden deck. There are lounge chairs around the pool and a small room off to the left to change and store supplies in. The beach house is behind us and I look over the horizon, watching the wave crash against the white sand. There’s a light salty breeze coming off the ocean, cooling my skin down a little from the humidity.
“I had Ashton do some digging when I arrived. He didn’t find anything good. Ashley is involved in a number of illegal shit, but she’s been trying to get her crew, as she calls them, to go legit. There’s a lot of talk, some of the other bosses aren’t liking it and trying to get Ashley out. There’s only one way to leave this world, and it’s not walking away,” I confess gripping my coffee mug so tight I’m surprised it doesn’t shatter.
“How are you handling it?” Xavier’s question surprises me.
“What do you mean?” I inquire. I want to see what he knows or what he thinks he knows.
“Just like I said. How are you handling it? I realize you haven’t told me a whole lot from your past before you came to live in Michigan, but I can tell it wasn’t good.” Xavier's deep voice is quiet.
“I’m dealing with it the best I can. Some things are tough, but I can handle it.” I answer, my voice cracking a little and I draw a deep breath, inhaling the salty air. I watch Xavier out of the corner of my eye and see him breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe he knows more than he’s letting on.
I don’t want to divulge into my past right now. That’s a road I don’t want to travel down, especially with these other things we have to handle. Once I reach that dark place, it takes me days to come back and Ashley is my number one priority. I need to keep it together to make sure she stays safe. I need to keep the memories away, locked up tight.
“Good, that’s good to hear,” Xavier says, blowing out a breath.
“X, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about how serious it is between Ashley and me. Izzy is pissed at me right now, but I didn’t want to admit anything until I knew it was the real thing. She hasn’t left my mind since I met her."
Racing Dirty, L.A. Page 12
