After giving Duchess the attention she demanded, she showered and threw on her LSU softball T-shirt and a pair of jogger cutoffs and got in bed. But when she reached for the remote, her hand stopped midair.
Ashanti stared at the door that connected her room to Thad’s.
“You are not seriously considering this,” she whispered.
Yes, she was.
She was more than a thousand miles away from home. A thousand miles away from Anita, the daycare, the twins. A thousand miles away from all the other responsibilities that ran her life. She could push them out of her mind for this one night, couldn’t she?
She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, remembering the way Thad’s muscle had felt under her hand. Was his entire body that solid? She already knew the answer to that; she could tell just by looking at him.
She peeled away the bedding covering her lower half and scooted off the mattress. Ashanti felt as if she were having an out-of-body experience, as if she were hovering above the room, watching herself walk to the connecting door.
She was sure her heart would bruise her rib cage with the way it pounded against her chest. She gave one last valiant attempt at reminding herself of all the reasons she shouldn’t do this, but her mind wouldn’t allow any of those arguments to take up space. All she could think about was how much she desperately wanted this—wantedhim.
If there were any regrets, she would deal with them in the morning. Right now, she was going for what she wanted.
She knocked on the connecting door.
She could hear Thad shuffling just beyond it, as if he was hopping off the bed. A second later, the door opened.
His grayARMYT-shirt and matching sweatpants had both seen better days, but on him they looked perfect.
“You needed something?” he asked.
“Um, yeah.” She licked her lips. “Duchess was feeling lonely. I think she wants to spend the night. And, uh, I think I want to join her.”
He stared at her and, just like that, Ashanti understood what it meant to be eye-fucked.
He stepped aside and she entered his room.
The moment she crossed the threshold, Thad scooped her into his arms and propped her against the wall.
She knew he would be strong, but notthisstrong. Ashanti looped one arm around his neck and braced her other hand against his firm chest. It felt like a concrete wall underneath her fingers.
She pulled at his T-shirt, needing it off. She wanted to feel him without the barrier, because while his muscles were hard, she suspected his skin would be soft and silky. She needed to know if her suspicions were accurate.
Thad pinned her against the wall with his pelvis, wedging his hips between her thighs to hold her in place while he used one hand to tug his T-shirt up. Ashanti handled the rest, pulling it over his head.
Better. So, so much better.
He gripped her hips and thrust his tongue into her mouth. His erection was rigid, pressing into her belly and setting her entire body on fire.
“This up-against-the-wall thing looks great in the movies, but I need you on the bed,” Ashanti said.
“I think I can wait that long,” Thad said. “Maybe.” He cradled her bottom with one arm and her back with the other, then turned and carried her the seven or so feet to the bed.
“Made it,” he said. Then he dove for her mouth, plunging his tongue inside and stroking like the Army gave out medals for it. Ashanti remembered their time at the Vessel tonight and closed her eyes so that she could heighten the sensation of his body against hers.
Their mouths remained fused together as she pulled off her shorts. Thad pushed up her shirt and the sports bra she wore to bed—why hadn’t she thought to get rid of it—both bunching at her neck as he roughly explored her nipples with his teeth and tongue.
“We’re one hundred percent certain about this, right?” he asked as he trailed his lips up her neck and along her shoulder, peeling her shirt and bra off the rest of the way.
“One thousand percent.”
“Thank God,” he said, the words leaving his lips in a desperate prayer.
He reached for his wallet on the nightstand and, within moments, had a condom open and rolled onto his intimidatingly thick erection.
