Page 119 of Dangerous Men

“Actually—” I interrupt, feeling suddenly daring. Suddenly bold. “I could use your help with something inside. Before we go.”

I can feel the blood flooding my cheeks as I say it, like it’s so obvious. And maybe it is. Alec’s lips twitch slightly, and Sebastian glances at me, quirking an eyebrow.

Only Ashton seems oblivious.

“Yeah, of course!” He grins. “Whatever you need. Tonight, I’m all yours.”

I manage a quick goodbye to the other two, blushing even harder when Alec kisses me and murmurs “have fun, darling” in a voice that makes it very clear he knows what I’m planning.Sebastian refuses to meet my eye, slipping on his helmet and taking off on his bike without a word.

I usher Ashton into the shop, flipping the open sign to closed, and shooing Jade outside. She snickers as she leaves, waving to me over her shoulder.

Am I really doing this? I engage the deadbolt, heart pounding.

I’ve never been good at initiating sex. Chase seemed almost disgusted the few times I tried. He liked the hunt, liked to think he cajoled me into it. A woman who wanted it unprompted was just too easy.

But Ashton isn’t Chase. I swallow hard, suddenly nervous.

“So, what do you need help with?” Ashton’s voice is chipper as he follows me deeper into the store. “You need some boxes moved, or?—?”

The moment we’re far enough away from the windows that I hope we can’t be seen, I push him against the nearest bookshelf, shift forward until I’m standing on the tips of my toes, and kiss him.

There’s no hesitation. The moment our lips touch, Ashton gives a single grunt of surprise and then kisses me back, threading his hand into my hair and pulling me closer so he can slip his leg between my thighs and press my body tightly against his. He kisses me greedily, groaning as he opens his mouth to let my tongue slide over his.

“Oh,” he murmurs when I finally break away to catch my breath. “So this is what you wanted help with.”

There’s no derision in his voice, no disgust. He sounds excited. When I nibble a line down his jaw and to his neck he groans loudly, sliding his hands down my back to grip my ass.

I’m going to do this, I think wildly, reaching my hands under his shirt to feel the hard plane of his muscles.Oh God,his muscles. How many times have I fantasized about touching him? Feeling him under my fingers? I run my hands over his chest and abs, over each impossibly perfect inch of him.

More. I need more.

Ash swears low and in his throat when I finally reach for his belt, my fingers fumbling with the metal and?—

My stomach growls loudly, the sound cutting through the haze of lust between the two of us like a knife.

“Sorry,” I mumble, mortified, still fumbling with his belt. “Ignore that, I’m?—”

Ash takes my hands in his, pulling them away from his pants.

“You’rehungry,” he says, grinning.

“I’m hungry for more than just food,” I tell him with a half-smile.

“Nope,” Ash says. He lets go of my hands and starts to do his belt back up. “Trust me. It’s no good fucking on an empty stomach. Not when your body needs fuel.”

“But—”

Ash interrupts me by pulling me in for another searing kiss, parting my lips with his tongue and stealing every thought from my brain.

“Let me take care of you, Babygirl,” he whispers against my lips. “Please.”

My stomach growls again, almost angrily this time.

“I am pretty hungry,” I admit sheepishly.

“I know the perfect place,” Ashton says. “Do you like Mexican food?”

Thirty minutes later,we’re seated at a plastic outdoor table in front of a food truck, surrounded by anungodly amount of food. When Ashton told the cook we wanted two of everything, I thought he’d been joking. But...