by Aleo, Toni
He nods, so damn sure of himself. “I know.”
So cocky! And boy, do I love it.
But the one thing that demolishes me inside is that I didn’t need any of this.
All I need are those three words.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Asher
Ally wasn’t playing when she said she was going to give me the best loving of my life.
I arch into the wall with my shoulders, sliding deeper into the back of her throat as she sucks me into oblivion. I squeeze my eyes shut as I drag in a deep breath, unsure how the hell the Lord gave my girl a mouth like this. Not only is she quick-tongued, she sucks like a damn dream.
“I almost don’t know if my cock loves your mouth or your pussy more,” I somehow get out, and when she laughs around my cock, a shiver runs up my spine.
She runs her tongue up the length of me, a smacking noise leaving those beautiful lips before she asks, “What is your favorite?”
I can’t even open my eyes. “Both. I love it all.”
She moves her mouth over me once more, her tongue curving around my girth and sending me out of this world. I thread my fingers into her hair, pulling it out of its ponytail before I wrap the strands around my hand, guiding her up and down my cock. She cups my balls, her other hand holding me at the base, and everything is on fire. I’m burning inside and out, and I don’t know how much more I can handle. I don’t even know how we got here. I planned on loving every inch of her once we got back to my place, but she had other plans.
After a great and what I feel was a special dinner, we shared a dessert of chocolate-covered strawberries. Very romantic and she loved it. Everything I wanted to accomplish with this night has become a reality. I wanted her to feel beautiful, check. Really, that should get like nine checks because, good Lord, she’s stunning. I wanted her to feel special, check. But most of all, I wanted her to know how much she means to me. Yup, I know she knows. I can feel it. Now, though, in the bathroom of the restaurant that serves as the backdrop to a perfect night, my cock is down her throat, and she’s on her knees.
She looks unbelievably beautiful in the strapless red dress that hugs her body in all my favorite places. Her ass, her hips, and those great breasts of hers. I love it all. I’ll never forget the chub I got when I slid the fuzzy white jacket down her arms. Yes, chub is my new word when it comes to her.
She’s gorgeous. Simply stunning. Her hair was up in a sleek ponytail before I messed that up, but I don’t think she cares. I know I sure as shit don’t. Her makeup is all dramatic and sultry in a way I’ve never seen. Her lips were a dark red, but now, they’re pink, her lipstick smeared around her mouth and on my cock.
As she rakes her teeth down my throbbing skin, I feel my body shaking. My knees are weak, my stomach is clenching, and fuck, I never want her to stop. “Fuck, I’m about to blow.”
She moans against my cock and, around it, says, “Blow.”
I groan loudly, and I don’t care who hears me. In all reality, I want the world to know that I am getting the best and hottest blow job of my life. I angle my hips forward, so deep in her mouth and throat as I unload the massive load that has been building since she walked into the restaurant. Her mouth is relentless as she sucks me dry, draining me completely. I squeeze a fistful of her hair, her name falling so softly from my lips, I hardly hear it, but I know I said it. I draw in deep breaths, and then I feel her lips on mine. I hadn’t even realized she had moved. Her tongue is tangled with mine, and she squeezes my jaw with her fingers. I wrap my arms around her waist, but she stays so far away from me.
“What the hell? Come here.”
“No, I don’t want come on my dress,” she says against my lips, kissing my bottom lip. She is an utter mindfuck. I don’t care about her dress, I’m about to rip it off and have my way with her, but then she’s moving out of my arms.
Shit, I miss her.
“Come back.”
She waggles her brows at me. “Get it together, and then meet me back at the condo.”
My lips curve as I watch her trying to make herself presentable and not look as if she’s just had a cock in her mouth. Others might not know, but I do, and seeing her flushed face is giving me the feels. “Seriously? You’re gonna suck me like that and then leave me to think of you until I get back to the condo?”
Her eyes flash with mischief. “Yup.”
“Rude.”
She kisses me again but doesn’t let me grab her the way I want. “How do you think I feel? You’ve wined, dined, and made me feel a way I can’t even put in words. It’s my turn.”
“Ally T, you’re killing me.”
The most sinister grin comes over that swollen mouth. “Ash, how do you think I feel? I’m dripping wet, and I have to wait for you to get home.”
“Oh, so rude,” I groan, and she purses her lips at me. I go to grab her, but she smacks my hands away. “Playing hard to get?”
She laughs, hard. “Yup. Also letting you know now, I might need to get myself off before you show up. I don’t think I can wait, since you gotta pay the bill and all.”
I honestly don’t know how my cock is still alive at this point, but blood is rushing to it once more. “So fucking rude.” She licks her lips. I swear, she is one fucking hot woman. Her lipstick is smeared along her thick lips, but the tilt of them is what has me vibrating all over. “Damn, you’re beautiful, Ally T.”
Her eyes darken. “Hurry home.”
I swallow hard as she wipes her mouth and then leaves as if nothing just happened.
As if she didn’t just rock my world.
And fucking made me feel something.
Something real.
Something scary.
Something I’ve never felt before and would have ignored with anyone else.
Fucking Emery and Stella.
And Ally.
Damn it. These women are going to kill me.
* * *
I lean on the counter, feeding Ally one of the leftover strawberries I had boxed up for us. She leans on the bar, her teeth grazing my fingers, and she is delectably naked underneath my white tee. I’m aware I think she is the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen, but it seems that, at every turn, she becomes more and more beautiful. As if every time, I’m seeing her in a new light. I don’t know what it is about this night, but it’s fucking magic.
She’s like a fairy tale.
I can see her nipples through the shirt, and her hair is wild along her shoulders. Her makeup is gone, and those lips are swollen from my kisses. I’m pretty damn sure we broke my bed, and I’m unsure how we’re up and moving. But when she suggested we eat the rest of our dessert, I was down. Food may be a favorite of mine, but sitting across from Ally, I’ve decided she is my new favorite.
She licks her lips, and then her fingers, free of chocolate as she leans back, pulling her hair up and into a messy bun. “Shit, you wore me out.”
I grin. “Same. You’re one hot tamale, Ally T.”
She gives me a sneaky grin. “I actually like being sexy with you. I was a little nervous it would be weird.”
I lick the tips of my fingers, my eyes locked with hers. “Weird?”
She shrugs. “Yeah, I thought you’d want some soft, missionary sex, but damn, if you don’t fuck me like a paid hooker.”
I snort, almost choking on the strawberry I just ate. “My mom would be so proud.”
We both grimace at my awful joke. She grins as she crosses her legs. “Well, leaving your mom out of this, I happen to love it.”
“Good. I do too,” I say, reaching over and cupping her wrist. It’s not enough, though. I walk around the bar, and she watches me with confusion swirling in those green depths. I reach for her, picking her up out of the chair and carrying her to the couch. I set her in my lap, holding her close as I lie back. She snuggles deep into my chest as I move my hands up and down her hips. I kiss her temple, loving how close she is as I take in a deep inhale of her scent. She brings her han
d up to my neck, holding my jaw, and I take it, feeling my mom’s ring under my palm. I think I should tell her it’s my mom’s, what it means to me. But I don’t want to yet. I want to wait.
“What does A.A. stand for?”
I look down to see she is inspecting the ring’s band touching the skin along the base of her finger.
It stands for Asher and Aiden, but I say, “Always, Asher.”
Wow, that lie came off my tongue like it belongs between us. I’ve never really lied to Ally, but here we are. I don’t even know what I’m doing.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
I kiss her palm, the ring, and then the tip of each finger. I’m trying to distract her, but she’s in love with the ring. I clear my throat and ask, “You sure you gotta go?”
She nuzzles her nose along my jaw. I didn’t shave today, but I don’t think she minds. She’s been nuzzling like this at every turn. “Yeah. I have an early meeting with my adviser.”
“What for?”
She hesitates, and I feel her body going taut. I’m pretty sure this is what she wanted to talk about. “I finally got all my recommendations from everyone, so I sent off the majority of my applications for jobs that are open. We’re going to go over them, make sure I sent everything I needed, and then look at some leads she has for me.”
I move my nose in her hair as my stomach turns. “Where all did you apply?”
“All major market hockey cities. She wants me to expand to other sports, but I’d rather try for the field I want.”
I slowly nod against her head. “This is what you wanted to discuss, huh?”
She doesn’t answer right away, and I can feel the anxiety coming off her in waves. “Yeah. I know it’s months away, but I guess I’m in my head about what will happen with us if I get a job in another state. I put in for some rehab centers here, and of course, the Assassins. But Elli just hired a new sports psychologist last year, so I know she won’t hire me—or fire that girl—no matter how much she may want to.”
I swallow hard around the lump in my throat threatening to choke me. “Oh, okay.”
She moves, and I don’t want to let her go. I don’t want her to look me in the eye and see the fear I’m sure is all over my face. I knew she was graduating; I also knew the possibility of her leaving town was high, but having it in front of me, right in my face, is another feeling. I don’t want her to leave. I don’t want to leave either. She sits up, turning so her feet are at my hips. She leans on her knees, but she doesn’t look at me. “There is an awesome job in South Carolina, with the IceCats, that I’d love to get. I could also do that program Angie got into to further my education. But there are over a hundred applicants for this job, and I’m a brand-new college graduate.”
I slide my hands along her ass, her hips, needing to move them to keep myself in the moment. My initial reaction is to hide and not discuss this. This is hard. This is relationship shit I’m not ready for, but it’s time to stop hiding. I want to let myself feel what I want to feel for this woman. I owe her that. “I don’t know, babe. I hadn’t really thought of leaving once I came back.” She nods and swallows visibly before pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. “I like it here now. I love my jobs—”
“No, I know that.”
“But really,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “No matter what, I got you.” She gives me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “We don’t have to worry about this yet,” I say because the pure torture on her face is killing me. I hate it, and I don’t want her to burden herself with this yet. “We have months before we have to figure out what to do.”
“But we’ll figure it out together, correct?”
She brings her eyes to meet mine, and I reach up, cupping her jaw. “Of course, Ally. And no matter what, we’ll be together.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’m not letting you go that easy. Think you can ghost me? Please.”
She grins. “I would do no such thing.”
“We’re good,” I promise, cupping her ankle. She exhales the breath she must have been holding before she leans in to capture my mouth with hers. Our kisses turn urgent, but just as I’m about to slide my hands between her legs, my phone sounds, and then Ally’s does the same. Almost at the same time. We look at each other, surprised, before reaching for them on the table.
“It’s Aiden.”
“It’s Shelli.”
We say it at the same time, and she gets off me as I answer the ringing. “What’s up?”
“Dude, Posey just went back for surgery. She had an ectopic pregnancy.”
It all happens so quickly. His words. My heart dropping to my stomach as fear fills the spot where my heart just was. I hear Ally cry out in surprise as I assume Shelli is telling her the same thing. “I’m with Ally—”
“Okay. Take care of her. We were worried how she would handle this.”
The phone goes dead, and I throw it down, going right to Ally. I wrap my arms around her as she cries, holding me, while she and Shelli talk. I love Posey, and hearing that she had an ectopic pregnancy scares the shit out of me. But what is going through Ally’s head scares me even more. I’m aware that makes me a shitty dude, but Ally doesn’t cope well when she hears about people losing babies. It brings back the worst memories from her childhood, and my heart aches for her.
Ally’s sobs rip through her as she begs Shelli to keep her in the loop. When she hangs up, I take her phone and wrap her up tighter in my arms. Her body shakes within my embrace, and I try to hold her closer, to make her feel safe. I kiss her temple, her cheek, before I kiss her jaw. “It’s okay. She’ll be fine.”
She swallows thickly as she nods, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I’m scared.”
“I know,” I reassure her, kissing her once more.
“Shelli says she’ll be okay, that they even believe she’ll still be able to have children.”
“Good. See? It’s okay. It just sucks. Did they plan this?”
She shakes her head against my cheek, her hair getting caught in my beard. “No, not that I know of. She never told me she was pregnant.”
“She didn’t tell me either. She must not have known. Plus, if she’d told Shelli, we’d have known.”
“For sure,” she agrees, and I kiss her again.
“Babe, Posey is strong as fuck. She’ll be fine.”
Her watery gaze meets mine, and it’s like a punch to the throat. “It scares the shit out of me.”
“I get it, Ally. I do.”
Her voice shakes. “I hate that I can’t just be worried for my best friend. That I automatically start thinking of when my mom lost Jamie.” It hurts. The pain in her eyes, her tears, everything, it hurts me. “There was so much blood when I found her, and it’s like I have PTSD from it.”
I was younger when Harper lost Jamie and I don’t remember it all, but Ally does. She was there when it all happened. Her mom was three days late to deliver her baby brother, and no one knows what quite happened, but she started hemorrhaging and passed out while everyone thought she was napping. To this day, it still haunts Ally because she thinks if she’d found her mom faster, she would have been able to save her brother. She had a ton of therapy when she was younger, and it helped. But once Claire kept losing baby after baby, it brought back all those fears. And now this.
“Ally, baby, I promise. It’s okay. Posey will be fine. And look at Claire. They’re living the dream now.”
She swallows hard, her whole body making the motion before she meets my gaze. “It scares me.”
“I know—”
“No, I mean it scares me to think about trying to have a baby.”
I cup her jaw, shaking my head. “No, don’t do that. Don’t let fear do that to you.”
I should probably take my own advice, but that’s neither here nor there.
“But it—”
“You’re right, it could. But I refuse to allow you to think that. It will ruin you, Ally. Please don’t.” She nods
as she takes in a shaky breath. “No matter what, I got you. If it does, we’ll be fine. We’ll always be fine.”
Her eyes meet mine in surprise. “What does that mean?”
“I got you,” I say simply.
“Are you saying you want a baby with me?”
Shit. Is that what I just said? I slowly shrug, realizing the answer. “I don’t think I’d want to make one with anyone but you.”
She pulls in a shuddery sigh. “Really?”
“Yeah. My future has you in it, Ally. Like this. Us.”
She cries out, and it’s not a sound of sadness. It’s happiness, and that wrecks my heart. She presses her lips to mine, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her so close, hoping to become one with her. I have never felt like this. I almost feel new. It’s insane, because the one person for whom I’ve kept my feelings locked up is the one person I want forever with. My future is her, and I know this. So why is it hard for me to open up and just give her my heart? How can I know this, how can I feel it, yet I don’t know how to tell her how I feel? All these feelings are rushing through me. I feel them everywhere, but I can’t say the words.
Thankfully, she hasn’t said them. Though I know she loves me.
I can feel it.
All over.
When she pulls back, she cups my cheek, and her eyes are drowning in tears. She clears her throat, her eyes so bright even through the tears. “I love you, Asher Brooks.”
I never thought those words could rattle me so much.
Oh. Fuck.
She waits.
I wait.
Nothing.
“Did you hear me?” She laughs, tears spilling from her eyes, and I probably look like a deer in headlights. “I love you, Asher. I love you so much. I always have.”
I hear her, completely, and if I weren’t scared out of my mind, I would enjoy those three words—hell, all these words—but I’m just staring at her. I can’t answer. My lips stay pressed together, and slowly, I watch her face change from the happiness she’s shown all night to an expression of pure anger. She steps out of my embrace and I try to bring her back, but she strikes those hips that I love so hard.
