Page 71 of Pieces of Ash

“That must have been quite a change from Hollywood.”

“Yes, it was,” she says, “but I’m grateful for it. I was, I mean, it’s good I went away to school.”

I realize that she’s opening up to me little by little, and I feel much the same way I do when I’m crafting something particularly delicate out of glass. One false move and I could destroy its shape or shatter it completely.

“Was it?”

She rinses the last bowl, then stacks all five neatly in the corner of the sink, turning slightly to look up at me. I’ve never been quite this close to her, and it’s impossible to look away from her upturned face, so innocent, so lovely. I fist my hands at my sides to keep from reaching out to her, but the temptation is strong.

I want to kiss her.

I want to feel the softness of her lips beneath mine.

I want to pull her into my arms while my tongue explores the hot, wet recesses of her mouth.

I want to crush her breasts against my chest and feel the points of her nipples against my pecs.

I want to devour her.

I want to mark her.

I want?—

“What?” she asks, her eyes searching mine, her voice a breathy whisper.

“What?” I whisper back, feeling myself lean closer to her, my own breath short and choppy as I lose myself in her eyes.

“The way you’re looking at me…”

Does she realize that she’s stepped closer to me? That, if we synchronized our breaths, our chests would touch each time we inhaled?

“It’s because…I want…Ashley, I want…”

I dip my head, my lips closer and closer to hers.

“Yes,” she murmurs, and I don’t know if it’s a question or permission, but I choose to believe it’s the latter as I drop my lips to hers.

A week of potent attraction and months of abstinence make it difficult for me not to grab her hips, lift her to the counter, and grind my hard parts against her soft. But what I’ve just learned about her tells me that she probably has very little experience with men, and moving too fast will get me pushed away, maybe forever, which is precisely what Idon’twant.

Her breath is sweet, and her lips taste like cream and wine. I raise my hands to her face and cup her cheeks gently as I deepen the kiss, running my tongue along the seam of our lips. She gasps softly, and given the chance, my tongue slides effortlessly between her lips. Her palms have been flattened on my chest since we started kissing, but now her fingers curl into the fabric of my T-shirt, and I increase the pressure of my hands against her cheeks, pulling her closer to me as my tongue glides along hers.

She gasps again, this time with a little whimper, and I can feel my heartbeat in my cock, which is hardening and throbbing between us. I am careful not to push it against her, though I long to draw her into my arms and ferry her to my bed.

Slow down, I think.You’vegotto slow down.

Breaking off a perfect first kiss with a beautiful, pliant woman isn’t something I ever imagined myself doing, but mydesire to have more than one kiss with her overrules my immediate hunger. Tomorrow, when Noelle leaves, Ashley and I will be all alone again, and unlike last week, when I pushed her away, all I want this week is time with her.

Drawing my lips away from hers, I kiss her right cheek, then left, the tip of her nose, and her forehead. I move my hands to her shoulders, keeping my pelvis a respectable distance from hers, and rest my forehead against hers until I feel her fisted fingers on my chest slowly loosen.

When I look down at Ashley, her cheeks are flushed. Her eyes slowly open. Well, slowly atfirst. Then they fly open wide in horror. Her hands push me away.

“No!” she cries. “Oh my god! I’m so…Thatshouldn’t have happened.”

I take a step away from her, but cover her hand, which has landed on the rim of the farm sink. “Hey. It’s okay. It was just a kiss.”

“Just a kiss,” she mutters, yanking her hand away, her eyes stricken when they look up into mine. “I barely know you. We shouldn’t have…Julian, I’m not…I’m notdirty. I’m not a bad girl. I’m not fast.”

“Of course you’re not. I know that.”