Page 23

Charlee

A cocoon of warmth surrounds me and my body burrows deeper into it.

My face is buried into a firm chest.

The beat of Asher’s heart is a steady crescendo in my ear.

The sound should soothe me, but it doesn’t.

My whole body aches. I feel like I’ve been put through the ringer emotionally. I watch Asher sleep as a distraction from it all. For the first time since I met him, he looks at peace.

Sunlight beats in through the cracks of the black drapes, giving me an unobstructed view of his features up close.

Dark lashes brush against his cheekbones.

There’s a small dusting of dark facial hair covering the lower half of his face.

The crooked ridge of his nose leads a trail down to a perfect Cupid’s bow and a pair of skilled lips.

Lips that I can still feel pressing against mine.

Remembering what they’re capable of has my pulse quickening.

A flash of warmth spreads from my chest straight to my core.

I clench my thighs together to ease the ache that’s building inside of me, but the slight movement is enough to wake him.

Dazed blue eyes meet mine. They’re soft and unsure.

“Hi.”

I don’t l know what else to say.

“Hi.”

His fingers rub against the exposed skin of my hip, where my t-shirt has ridden up, in long smooth light strokes. “You okay?”

“No,” I sigh.

“You will be.”

His eyes wander over my face as he continues to trace his fingers along my skin. “How’s your ankle?”

“Better than my heart.”

Tears pool in my eyes as thoughts of my dad flood my mind.

“I hated what he did and wanted to run away from him, from all of it.

It shouldn’t hurt me like this if I wanted to escape him and never look back, but he was my dad and I was so awful to him the last time we saw each other.

If I had known that—”

I choke back a sob wanting to break free and force out the rest of my words.

“That it would be the last time we spoke I wouldn’t have been such a bitch.”

All control leaves me as I lose it completely.

I hate myself for being so weak in front of him right now.

I need to be strong and get away from here, not lying in bed with the enemy.

But, how can I when the only other person in my life has been taken from me? Kelsey was right. At the end of the day I am a daddy’s girl.

The fingers of his other hand reach up to catch a few stray tears that run down the side of my face onto my pillow, but he doesn’t move otherwise.

He just lies there letting me cry until I’m all cried out once again.

It takes me a good minute to pull my crap together.

“I’m sorry.”

I sniffle.

“It’s fine, Princess.”

He pulls a strand of dark hair out of my eyes and twists it around his fingers.

My heart flutters against my ribs at the gentleness of his actions. They’re a sharp contrast to the Asher I’m used to.

We curl deeper into the mattress, staring at each other and letting the silence speak for us, saying so much more than words ever could.

His gaze dips down to my lips as the hand on my hip tightens.

He leans forward, hovering until our lips are almost touching.

He’s waiting, asking for permission.

I lean my head in, closing the distance between us, granting it without words.

My lips tease his with soft gentle kisses, and for a little while he lets me have that one brief moment of control, but it doesn’t last long.

Bruising and demanding, he dominates me. His tongue collides with mine, a promise of dirty things to come.

Asher breaks away long enough for his hands to trace up the contours of my body, dragging the t-shirt over my head and off to the floor, leaving me in nothing but the red lace thong from last night.

He gently pushes me until my back hits the mattress, and nestles himself between my legs.

I let my hips fall to the side, welcoming him in.

He’s firm all over, which is evident by the hardness of his erection as it presses into my core.

The thin lacy material of my thong and his boxers are the only barriers between us.

His hips tilt slightly, causing an ache of friction between us.

A small gasp escapes me and I’m rewarded with a smile.

He leans down and sucks a nipple into his mouth. A legion of butterflies summersault in my belly. I drop my head back onto my pillow as my back arches, pushing my chest forward. One hand cups my other breast, pinching the nipple between his fingers and giving it a sight tug. He doesn’t stop working me until both of my nipples are pointed into stiff peaks.

The stubble of his facial hair scrapes against my stomach as he drags it downward toward the apex of my thighs. Along the way, his fingers hook into the side of my thong and drag the thin scrap of fabric down my legs. He tosses them onto the floor behind him before his eyes take in their fill of me.

“I need to taste you.”

Hunger burns bright behind his gaze. His tongue licks up my slit to my clit. He sucks the bundle of nerves into his mouth so hard I have to bite down on my lip to keep from crying out. His tongue continues to lick while the suction of his lips creates a sweet ache inside of me that needs to be filled. He increases the pressure once before letting go with a loud pop.

“You taste even sweeter than you smell.”

The heat of his breath blows against my skin, lighting a match of need inside me.

“More. I need more.”

My hands come up of their own accord to cup my breasts and begin toying with my nipples.

“More what? Tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you.”

The tip of his nose brushes against my inner thigh as his thumbs bite into the indentation of my hips.

“I want your tongue to fuck me.”

My breathing is fast and shallow.

“Where do you want my tongue?”

He licks up my inner thigh. “You need to be more specific, Princess.”

“I want your tongue in my pussy.”

My hands rest against his broad shoulders.

“Your wish is my command.”

I feel his smile against my thigh. The wet heat of his tongue thrusting inside of me has my back bowing off the bed.

“Oh, fuck.”

I writhe against the cotton sheets, moving my hips in tandem with his tongue. Pressure builds slow and deep in my core, spreading through my entire body like wild fire. Not ready for it to be over yet, I attempt to hold back.

“Don’t fight it, Charlee. Let go and come for me.”

His words are my undoing. One last thrust of his tongue is all it takes for my core to clench. My entire body quivers as he continues to tongue-fuck the orgasm from me.

Blood rushes to my face. I sink into the mattress feeling like dead weight. Every limb tingles with pleasure, but he’s not done with me yet.

Feather light kisses trail up my inner thigh, up the taut muscles of my stomach, along my breasts, stopping on my lips. He braces an arm on either side of my head, keeping the brunt of his weight from crushing me. His eyelids are heavy and his lips glisten with evidence of my arousal. It’s one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen.

His tongue thrusts inside my mouth, a perfect mixture of him and the musky taste of my juices. My hands brace against his shoulders, running along his spine.

“I need you,”

he whispers against my lips.

“Take me.”

He lines his hips up with my center and presses the tip of his length inside. Inch by inch, he fills me, stretches me, until I feel the bones of his hips digging into mine. “Fuck, you feel good.”

He groans next to my ear.

“Oh god.”

My heels dig into the mattress for better leverage. A slight bite of pain registers in my ankle, but I’m so lost in the moment I don’t even care.

Asher doesn’t just fuck. He dances with his hips, hitting me in places I never knew existed. I’ve had a couple of partners before him, but none have ever made feel like this. Every thrust hits me harder, deeper than the last.

Beads of sweat drip down our bodies as we become lost in each other. Lost in the moment. A few more deep-seated thrusts have him wringing another orgasm from me. It’s even more intense than the first and hits me twice as hard. My body bows and shakes with every swivel of his hips.

Asher continues pounding into me until we’re both lost in a fog of sensation. I feel the second he comes. A loud grunt fills my ears as his body tenses underneath my fingers and he twitches inside of me.

I’d like to say that we lie together and come back down from the high together, but that’s not what happens. The second he pulls back and looks down at me, everything inside me withers and dies. Something’s changed. Disgust is written all over his face.

“Fuck.”

He’s pulling away, both emotionally and physically. He snatches up a pair of gray sweats and walks out of the room without a backwards glance.

I’m left in his bed, naked and alone, wondering what the hell just happened. This was something we both wanted. Or at least I thought we did. Never have I felt so dirty, so used. I dress and stumble back into my room, straight to the shower, noticing for a split second that the power came back on.

Cold water bites into my flesh the minute I undress and step inside, but I let it. I want to wash any traces of him off me.

Asher Savage is a royal asshole. A mistake. One I should have known better than to indulge in.