He climbs back into bed. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask, my arms still wrapped around my knees. “Did I do…or not do something?”
“No, no, everything’s fine,” he insists.
I nod and lay back down. Ash leans over me again.
“I…I took things too far. I’m sorry,” he says. “Are you okay?”
I try to decide if he means emotionally or if he’s asking if I need the same kind of relief he did.
“I’m good,” I assure him. It’s a lie on both counts.
He nods. “You sure, baby?” Again, he almost sounds…hopeful?
I nod. “I’m sure.”
“Good night then.” He kisses me lightly on the forehead before he lays back down and settles in.
I don’t close my eyes.
He keeps calling me "baby." He doesn’t need to keep up the act when we’re alone, but I reason that maybe it’s just easier to stay in character all the time so he doesn’t have to think about it.
The more I consider it, the more it seems like calling me "baby" is just a matter of convenience.
I’m not his baby, after all, and I don’t want to be.
Really.
Chapter 22
Ash
The sound of my name on Gray’s lips sets off a deep longing I feel in my bones. Her eyes are soft as she lies beneath me, and I recognize the desire in them. She wants me as much as I want her, and I groan as I savor how perfectly her body fits against mine.
“Ash,” she says, her voice a purr.
“I’m here,” I tell her, and my cock hardens even more as she wiggles beneath me. “Do you want me to fuck you? Just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”
I lift myself off her enough to part her legs, then settle myself between them. I notch my cock at her entrance and press forward.
“Ash,” she breathes.
I’m about to bury myself inside her when her face fades, and my vision goes a bright white.
“Ash.”
My eyes flutter, and it takes me a moment to realize I was dreaming. Well, mostly dreaming. The voice calling my name is real, and I force my eyes open against the sunlight streaming through the window. The sheer curtains were drawn last night, but I forgot to pull the shade, so the room is painfully bright.
“Ash, are you awake?” Gray asks.
I groan. I don’t usually drink wine, and the feeling in my head says I should never do so again. I had a headache the day after that first dinner with Gray as well, and now I wonder if there’s something in wine thatdoesn’t agree with me.
“Yeah, I’m awake. You okay, baby?” I ask softly.
“I…need to go to the bathroom,” she says.
I blink, wondering why she woke me to tell me that. Then I feel something shift against me and realize the issue. My body is wrapped around Gray’s. She’s spooned up against me, and my arm is banded around her torso to tuck her into my chest like I’m a wide receiver and she’s a football.
