How had I known him my whole life, and yet this was all new?
I’d seen him without a shirt on countless times, but I’d never known the way the rising sun would cast shadows across his tight abdomen as it rippled with need. Hadn’t known the tenor of his deep, agonized moans as I seated myself on his cock completely, pressing my clit against him while I rocked back and forth, as close as two people could get. Hadn’t known how well his hands would fit the exact shape and size of my hips…my breasts… Hadn’t known how sweet it’d sound to hear him whisper my name in the throes of ecstasy.
“You’re gonna make me come,” he said, his fingers digging into my hips as I sat back against his raised thighs.
Rocking faster, I panted and shook my head. “Me first.”
“Always.” He slipped one hand down, the rough tips of his callused fingers strumming me as well as he strummed a guitar.
While he drove me out of my mind with one hand and gripped my hip with the other, I reached up and cupped my breasts, pinching my nipples as I rode him to our peaks.
The sight must’ve been too much for him, because, with a groan, he pressed high with his hips, holding me in place above him as he thrust up in a fast, unforgiving pace.
“Oh myGod.” I came on a sob, bracing myself on his chest as I collapsed forward. The waves of my orgasm washed over me even as he continued pumping his cock deep inside me, extending my pleasure as I shuddered through my release.
“Fuck,” he said through gritted teeth. “Love how you look when you come on me.”
Catching my breath, I pressed my chest to his, sliding my fingers through his hair as I nipped his lower lip, soothing the sting with my tongue. “Love how you look when you fill me up.”
“Nat,” he groaned, his hips stilling as he thrust up and pressed deep. His cock throbbed inside me as he came, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of my ass.
I stared down at him, watching the pleasure sweep across his face as he spilled himself inside me. As there was nothing left between us…no secret left to uncover, no boundary we hadn’t crossed. My breath caught at the intimacy of feeling him without a barrier between us…something I’d never experienced with anyone before.
So, it hadn’t just been last night, when we’d been swept up in the day’s events. When we’d started this all because of a challenge—a flimsy excuse, but one apparently both of us had needed to admit to wanting to try something we knew better than to gamble our friendship on. But I had complete certainty, even as I felt his warmth inside me, that this wasn’t an anomaly.
The two of us had always clicked, more so than even me and Nash—though now it was clear this thing between me and Asher spilled into the bedroom as well. Our ease around each other had allowed us a level of comfort I hadn’t ever had with anyone else. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever find again. Wasn’t sure I even wanted to.
I didn’t need to think about that now, though. Not while he was tracing the rough pads of his fingertips along my spine. Not when he was kissing my jaw, pressing his nose to my neck and inhaling deep. Not as he gripped me tight and flipped me beneath him, grinning down at my squeak of surprise, his sleep-mussed hair hanging down and tickling my breasts as he kissed his way across my chest.
I allowed my lids to flutter shut as he closed his lips around my nipple and got lost in the feel of his body against mine.
Later, I’d contemplate what this all meant. Later, I’d play this over again in my mind, breaking it down and locking it away in neat little boxes so it made sense.
Later, I could worry about what the aftermath would be when I left.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ASHER
“Appreciate you helpin’me, sugar,” Gran said from her perch in the grass in the Havens’ backyard. “I might feel like a spring chicken, but I haven’t been one in a while.”
Nat, the kids, and I had come over earlier in the day after Nat’s momma had called, inviting us over for the afternoon. Owen was currently napping, Caroline on monitor duty, and Nat sat several yards away, her and June’s laughter floating to me as they dug in the dirt.
I dropped two bags of soil on the ground near where Gran sat on a garden cart. “Well, I’m happy to let you use me for my muscles anytime, Gran.”
“I’m glad you said that. Why don’t you get on down here and help me dig some holes for these flowers?” She gestured to the patio, where at least six flats of flowers sat. “I’ll be out here all night if I do this by myself.”
“That’s a lot of flowers. Doesn’t your son employ a gardener?”
“Pfft.” Gran swatted the air as if batting away my suggestion. “You know I’m not about all that nonsense. If I can do the job myself, I intend to do so. And if I can’t, I intend to sucker someone else into helpin’ me.”
I laughed, my attention snagged by a shout of excitement from June. She was beaming, jumping and running circles around Nat, whose head was back, her face tipped toward the sky and a brilliant smile on her lips.
“Something besides me and all these flowers got your attention?” Gran asked.
I blinked, shaking my head as I met her gaze. “What? Never. I’m totally focused on you.”
“I might not be able to haul eighty pounds of dirt over my shoulder like you, young man, but my eyes haven’t gone bad just yet. Pretty easy to see your bride’s snagged your attention.” Gran glanced over to where June and Nat were rolling down the hill near a large oak tree, their gardening supplies long forgotten as their laughter rang across the yard. “And I can see why. She’s really something special when she’s with those kids, isn’t she?”
