by J. H. Croix
Roughly a half hour later, Ash stood at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips. “I’ll take the floor,” she announced.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I tossed my bag on a chair by the window before reaching up to pull the heavy drapes closed. Turning, I shook my head. “Nobody’s taking the floor. It’s a king-sized bed. We can keep practically three feet between us.”
I was teetering on the edge of exhaustion. I’d driven for eight hours before I even ended up in this Wyoming town whose name I’d already forgotten. I was in no mood to sleep on the floor and wasn’t going to put up with Ash trying to argue the point.
She met my gaze as I turned around and rolled her eyes before snorting a soft laugh. “True.”
After a minor argument over who was going to shower first, I won that one and insisted Ash went first by pointing out that I had manners and Jackson would give me hell if I didn’t use them.
After I’d finished showering, because I needed one to wash off a day of travel, I discovered Ash curled up in bed on the far side of the mattress, and she was already sound asleep. I’d gotten under the covers, acutely aware of her presence, but thinking it would be no big thing.
A few hours later, I came awake and rolled my head to the side to see the clock read 4:00 a.m. I’d fallen asleep quickly despite the unexpected turn of my evening and the surprising and unsettling reaction my body was having to Ash. Until now. I’d woken in the darkness to find myself curled up behind her with her sweet bottom nestled against my achingly hard arousal.
This was awkward and inconvenient, to say the least. I had no idea who migrated toward the other first, but we were smack in the center of the bed. The scent of her curled around me. She smelled like fresh soap with a hint of her sweet musky scent underneath. I had an arm wrapped around her with my palm splayed on her belly. Under her T-shirt.
I silently thanked God she wasn’t in just her T-shirt and underwear. Of course, the thin cotton of her leggings wasn’t much of an added barrier because my cock was nestled right between the cheeks of her bottom.
I debated if it would be more likely to wake her if I moved, or if I should just pray my arousal away. It didn’t help matters that she felt so fucking good, all warm and soft. She moved slightly in her sleep, shifting her bottom against me and nearly making me groan out loud.
I had a serious problem, and I needed to solve it. Fast. I decided moving was my only option. If I woke her, perhaps she wouldn’t even realize we’d been curled up together.
With every cell in my body protesting, I moved away swiftly, rolling onto my back and clenching my jaw to stay silent. I held my breath, hoping and praying Ash didn’t awaken. When her breathing carried on with its steady rise and fall, I finally let mine out in a slow sigh and willed my arousal to die a quick death.
Just when I thought I was out of the danger zone, Ash rolled over, curling up against me and hooking her knee over one of my thighs.
Dear God. What sin had I committed to be forced through this penance?
Chapter Three
Ash
My eyes fluttered open, and sensation filtered into my awareness. The rhythmic rise and fall of Mack’s chest under my palm. The warmth of his thigh where my knee was hooked over it. Mack was warm all over, and I didn’t want to move. His arm was wrapped around my back and his palm rested at the base of my spine, his fingers teasing the waistband of my leggings.
As soon as I absorbed the reality of my situation, I slammed my eyes shut as my heartbeat kicked off at a rapid pace. Considering that I was plastered against his side, I knew if he was awake, he could probably feel every thud of my heart against his ribs.
I could feel my cheeks heat in the darkness and prayed like crazy that he wasn’t awake yet. Cautiously opening my eyes again, I glanced at his face. His profile was in shadow, but his eyes were blessedly closed.
Just beyond his shoulder, I could see the glowing numbers of the clock on the nightstand. It was 5:00 a.m. Taking stock, I realized we were mostly over toward his side of the bed, which meant I was the one with the wandering body and hands. I was mortified beyond belief. I was curled against him so tightly that I didn’t know if I could detach without him noticing. As if it weren’t bad enough already, I could feel the slick heat between my thighs. Apparently, I was capable of getting insanely aroused in my sleep. Who knew? Certainly not me.
I started to move in increments, and my knee barely brushed against the evidence of his arousal. Oh. My. God. Heat suffused my entire body, and I felt my core clench in response. No matter what my mind thought, my body was having an entirely different conversation with Mack.
I tried to keep my breathing quiet, but that only seemed to send my pulse into the stratosphere. I needed away from him and prayed he didn’t wake up. I rolled away swiftly, just far enough that we weren’t touching anymore. I worried too much motion and crawling all the way across the bed would wake him. He might not know I’d been plastered to him like a desperate hussy, but I’d noticed his arousal. I figured only one of us needed to be embarrassed.
I tried to go back to sleep, but my body wasn’t having it. I couldn’t shut off the need pulsing through me. Even worse, I kept imagining the feel of his hard, muscled body over mine, causing me to shift my legs restlessly in order to relieve the ache there.
Chapter Four
Mack
It was only five thirty a.m., but I hoped Ash had fallen back asleep after she threw herself away from me. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I slipped out of bed to shower. I didn’t even bother with a cold one and literally took matters into my own hands, picturing Ash until my release spurted against the wall in the shower.
Not much later when I came out of the bathroom, I found Ash leaning against the headboard with the bedside table lamp on. Her breath was coming in sharp pants, and her skin was flushed. I knew without a doubt what she’d been doing. And I was so fucked.
“Back off,” I warned.
The guy who just groped Ash’s ass as she walked by after coming off the stage gave me a drunken glare. “Who the fuck are you?” he slurred.
I shouldered him out of the way without bothering to answer his question.
Ash startled me when she replied, “He’s my boyfriend. Now, back off.”
Okay, whatever. I walked next to Ash, keeping her close with an arm around her shoulders until we pushed through a door into the hallway.
Ash looked up at me, blowing a loose lock of hair out of her eyes when she leaned against the wall in the narrow hallway. “Thanks.”
“Boyfriend?” I asked.
“Easiest answer,” she replied with a light shrug although her cheeks tinged pink. “I probably shouldn’t—”
Her words stopped abruptly when I shook my head. “I don’t care. You want me to play your boyfriend for the rest of the shows you have booked? It’s probably the easiest way to keep the assholes off your back.”
Ash pressed a palm flat against the wall and pushed away as she dipped her chin in acknowledgment. I followed her into yet another small room crowded with odds and ends. She gathered her things while I put her beloved guitar in its case. After she checked with the bar owner and tucked her paycheck away, we stepped out into the night.
It was summer in Montana, and the sky spread like black velvet above us with stars sprinkled like glitter across the surface, a distant sparkle in the darkness.
Ash stopped, leaning her head back to look up. “It’s beautiful here,” she said softly. With the muted sounds of the bar behind us, her voice was clear in the crisp summer air.
“It is.” My eyes scanned the sky, lingering on the moon hanging in a crescent over the mountain ranges surrounding us.
Moments later, we were inside my truck, and I glanced over at Ash. “How many more gigs do you have booked?”
Ash angled her head to the side. “Eight. Is that gonna be a problem?”
“Absolutely not. Just helps to know.” The engine rumbled to life when I pressed the start button.
When I’d pointed out I thought her original plan to hitchhike home with the money she earned from gigs was insane—because it was—Ash had gotten defensive. I’d left it alone since then because now she was riding with me. Her not-so-sensible plan wasn’t happening, so there was no point in arguing about it.
The information had come in fits and starts over the past few days, but I’d pieced together her life for the past couple of years. In short, some guy she had something like a friends-with-benefits relationship with had persuaded her it would be fun to travel as a veterinarian on the rodeo circuit. She worked sporadically while he rode the circuit and left her high and dry periodically. Apparently, he left her behind in a hotel in Colorado for another fling a few weeks before our paths collided in Wyoming.
I still wasn’t sure why the hell she’d left Stolen Hearts to begin with, but I wasn’t one to judge. Lots of people, myself included, made choices that didn’t always make sense for reasons no one else understood.
“Did you have a specific date you needed to be back in Stolen Hearts?” Ash asked as I drove toward the hotel. I’d stopped and reserved a room earlier this evening after dropping her off at the bar to get ready for her gig.
“I finished my last job in Idaho and decided it was time to head home. They’ve got an opening on the first responder crew in Stolen Hearts Valley. I’m sure Jackson mentioned that,” I commented, referring to the fact her brother worked on the same first responder crew I’d be joining.
“How come you stayed away so long?” Ash asked.
I didn’t mind her question. She knew my life just as I knew hers. She was running from something. Meanwhile, I had my own ghosts and needed a change of pace. It was hard for years after my younger sister Krista died. Getting away from the memories helped for a while, but I was finally starting to realize that maybe I just needed to face them.
I could feel Ash’s eyes on me, but I resisted the urge to look. I knew I needed to come to terms with what happened to Krista, but it still sucked, and it still hurt.
“I bet you still miss her. I know I do,” Ash said softly, somehow reading my thoughts.
Ash was usually guarded emotionally. So for her to say that aloud, I knew she meant it deeply.
“Of course I miss her. But I’m ready to go home. Jackson said it’s fine whenever I get there, so there’s no timetable.”
“Of course he did,” Ash said with a small sigh. “You’re escorting me home.”
I slid my eyes sideways to see her wrinkling her nose. “Maybe so, but it’s just because he loves you, Ash.”
“I know. Thank you again.”
“No need to thank me.”
“It wasn’t a good plan for me to try to hitchhike. It’s not safe, and I pride myself on not doing stupid things.”
“Well, your friend there didn’t leave you in the best situation as far as money and transportation.”
Ash’s laugh was bitter. “No, he didn’t. It’s all good, though. I needed to shake him loose.”
Hours later, I lay in bed, staring at the dark ceiling. Unfortunately, sleep was hard to come by. I was confident I wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep until I wasn’t trapped in hotel rooms with Ash night after night.
After the first night, I made sure to get rooms with two beds. We had an argument about getting two separate rooms, but I knew Ash was short on cash. She was too proud and stubborn to let me foot the bill for an extra room, so I was stuck with being tortured.
I’d gotten accustomed to the sound of her breathing. Rolling my head to the side, I saw the outline of her shoulder and the rise of her breasts with every breath from the parking lot lights that filtered through the curtains. I didn’t need to notice that she’d shoved the covers down around her waist and her tank top was showing a strip of skin across her belly.
Fuck me. I forcibly rolled over and stared at the wall. Although we were tiptoeing around each other, there was no mistaking the electricity between us once we were alone. We distracted ourselves with stupid television shows and takeout at night, but even hotel rooms with two beds felt crowded with the sparks bouncing around in the air.
I was wrestling with my desire for Ash. She was Jackson’s little sister, and I couldn’t forget that. I imagined Jackson wouldn’t appreciate me giving her a ride if he knew my cock was hard every night when I was alone with her.
The next morning, I woke after a shitty night’s sleep and got in the shower first. Once again, I took care of business. The only way to stay halfway sane with Ash was to jack off every morning in the shower. I was toweling dry when the door opened, and Ash squeaked.
I was frozen for a beat when my eyes landed on her. She was wearing a tank top and a fitted pair of shorts. Unfortunately, on Ash, everything turned me on. Her taut nipples pressed against the thin fabric. I belatedly realized I was completely naked as I stood in the shower with a towel frozen on my head where I’d been rubbing it through my hair.
Chapter Five
Ash
My eyes roamed over Mack’s body, greedily soaking in every inch of him. It’s not as if I didn’t know Mack was built. But Mack naked with his skin damp from the shower was something else. Every inch of him was honed. Mack was a big man with broad shoulders, and heavy arms and thighs. Yet somehow, the lines of his body were sleek. He had a smattering of dark hair on his chest, and a tempting trail of hair led straight to the promised land.
My naughty eyes disobeyed me entirely when I tried and failed to keep from looking there. Oh. My. God. The V of muscles tapered down like an off-ramp on the highway showing me where to go. Even his cock was gorgeous—thick and heavy against his thigh.
My nipples were so hard they ached. When my eyes made their way back up to Mack’s face, I knew my cheeks were bright red. I snapped my mouth shut and spun away just as he whipped his towel around his waist.
“Sorry,” I squeaked as I scurried out of the doorway and slammed the door shut behind me.
I was only half awake when I rolled out of bed to hurry to the bathroom, which was why I hadn’t even noticed Mack wasn’t in bed. I was wide-awake now. I yanked on a pair of sweatpants and sat at the foot of my bed, trying to calm my racing pulse and get some desperately needed air into my lungs.
I felt like I was losing my mind. After almost two years of being close to numb when it came to men, it confused the hell out of me that my body was practically on fire for Mack. I’d known Mack for so long. I could remember his mother yelling at him and Jackson when they got in trouble for putting frogs in Evie’s bed when I was spending the night there.
Not once during all the years I’d known him had I ever experienced even a flicker of attraction toward Mack. Now, it just wouldn’t quit.
I heard the bathroom doorknob turning and took a deep breath, instantly aware that I forgot to throw something on over my tank top. The moment my body knew Mack was about to come through the door, my nipples thought they needed to personally greet him. Oh, God.
Just play it cool. You can totally do this.
That fervent hope went up in smoke the moment Mack stepped out of the bathroom. Fuck my life. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. Again. He had on the sweatpants he tended to wear when he was relaxing. They rested low on his hips, just low enough to make my mouth water. Up until a few minutes ago, I only had my imagination to go on as for his delicious V muscles and where that teasing trail of dark hair led.
I knew before, hypothetically, but now I knew. If you know what I mean.
I pasted a polite smile on my face. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t really awake and didn’t notice you weren’t in bed,” I said, pointlessly waving my hand in the air in no particular direction
The moment Mack’s ridiculously sexy chest came into my line of sight, my eyes were like freaking magnets and clamped onto him. Ugh. In the soft light cast from the lamp I’d turned on, my eyes traveled over his gleaming skin, following down to that V and that trail of dark hair. Oh God. I needed to stop thinking about Mack naked.
&nb
sp; My mouth watered, and I had to squeeze my thighs together. I wanted to lick him all over. He was super lickable.
I leaped up from the bed. “Mind if I shower?” I blurted out.
Still holding a towel in his hand, Mack lifted it and scrubbed it over his damp hair. That only made matters worse. Mack with his dark brown hair mussed and damp was so sexy that my belly was doing somersaults. It felt as if sparks were raining from the sky over my body, setting my nerves alight until I was tingling all over.
“Course not,” he drawled, gesturing toward the bathroom.
Apparently, he had the capacity for his conversation and coordinated hand motions to actually make sense, instead of the flailing I seemed to do whenever I was nervous around him.
I raced to my suitcase where it sat on a chair in the corner and blindly grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, remembering at the last second that I would need underwear and a bra. I really needed a bra. I needed to smash my nipples into submission, or at least add enough fabric between them and the sight of Mack that it wasn’t obvious my nipples were waving at him.
“You want to what?”
“Stop for a day or so in the Badlands,” Mack explained.
I opened my mouth to say no but caught myself before I acted like an ungrateful bitch. “I’d love to see the Badlands.”
That was actually true. It was just that every stop we made only extended the torture of trying to get my body under control. My body was behaving like an oppositional teenager and was in all-out rebellion against my rational, sane mind.
I felt Mack’s eyes slide to me, and I looked over. “Sure, let’s stop,” I added for good measure.
“I figure since we can’t do a direct route anyway, there’s no sense in trying to rush it. You have two days before that gig in Michigan. After Michigan, I figure we can decide when to angle south. Be a pretty drive. You know, we’ll be less than a day’s drive from Niagara Falls. Ever been?”
