The cloth fell from my fingers, but I didn’t stop the hand that continued down my body. As I brushed across the sensitive ball of nerves between my thighs, I pressed my teeth into my lip to stop from crying out. I had no idea if Asher could hear me through the walls, but he was right next door, and the last thing I needed was for him to know I was touching myself. I especially didn’t want him to know I was touching myself while thinking about him.
Whatever lock I’d had on my emotions had cracked now; I couldn’t stop the memories of all the times Asher had touched me, loved me, made my body feel like it was going to combust. I stroked my clit harder, leaning back against the wall as my legs grew weaker. The buildup started low in my gut, my body responding even though my chest ached and tears poured down my face, mingling with the water.
I had missed this feeling, and it wasn’t even a tenth of the way Asher had made me feel. My knees went weak as the orgasm crashed over me, and I would have hit the tiled floor … only strong arms wrapped around me before I could. Strong and familiar, the gold-tinted marks standing out across his bronze skin.
Asher.
I wanted to kick him out immediately, but I was still riding out the waves of my orgasm, and then he was there, his scent and our bond smashing into me.
“No,” I shouted, finally managing to untangle myself, chest heaving as I stared at him.
Asher’s chest was doing some heaving of its own. He was naked, bar a pair of black fitted men’s underwear boxers, his cock straining against them and drawing my attention. His eyes draped across me, lingering on my body, sending heat through me.
“What are you doing in here?” I asked, not making a single attempt to cover myself. Fuck him. He was the one who barged in unannounced.
“I heard—” His husky voice broke off. “I thought you needed me.”
My body was still humming from coming, and yet, at the sound of that statement, I knew I wasn’t even remotely satisfied. “I don’t need you, Asher,” I said angrily, my voice louder than I intended so I could try and prove my point. “I won’t make that mistake again.”
Fire filled his eyes. “You think we were a mistake?”
“Why the fuck wouldn’t I?” I shouted back. “You destroyed me. I can’t do that again. I can’t be that person again. The Maddison you knew died the same day you did.”
His expression shuttered, and normally I’d think that was pain on his face now, but after the way he’d acted recently, who the fuck knew what he was feeling.
“Hear me,” he growled, crowding me, both of us half under the shower. “There was not a single fucking mistake between us. We’re fated mates, and nothing will ever change that. No matter what you say.”
I pushed at him, and he didn’t move an inch. “Mates don’t treat each other that way,” I shot back at him.
He made another rumbling, angry sound. “I’m protecting you!”
I shoved him again. “The only being I need protecting from is you, asshole!”
Why was I still shouting?
Asher’s jaw was clenched hard, doing that scary ticking that usually meant he was about to lose it. He moved fast, and I gasped as his lips slammed into mine, my back hard against the wall as he pressed into me.Oh gods.
My brain turned to fuzz as one of his hands tangled in my hair and the other came up under my ass to lift me higher. Before I could think twice about it, my legs were wrapped around his waist, my body straining into the long hard length of him. I opened my mouth and his tongue swept across mine in an instant. I’d never thought I’d taste him again, never thought I’d have this chance to be loved by Asher. Hedied.To me he died, so this was a gift. And a curse.
“Asher … gods,” I cried, sobs falling from me. Needy, moaning sobs.
“What, baby?” he murmured, our lips still moving together. “Tell me what you need.”
Even if it was only one night that I had this, I was going to take it. I’d deal with the repercussions in the morning. Today had almost been perfect … I could pretend a little while longer.
“I need you to fuck me,” I said confidently. “Make me forget everything, Ash. I need to forget for one night.”
An unfamiliar emotion flickered across his face before it disappeared and his lips were on mine again. “I’m going to make you forget your name,” he promised, and a long, happy sigh left me.
He lowered me down onto the small bench seat in the shower, my back against the tiles. His lips pressed to mine over and over until I was breathless and panting. His hands cupped my breasts, holding the weight of each and brushing gently across the nipples. His tongue soon followed, and as he loved each breast, sucking and kissing, I threaded my fingers through his hair and pulled him tighter to me.
“Don’t make love to me,” I moaned. “Fuck me.”
Asher lifted his eyes to meet mine, looking up through thick dark lashes. His grin was wicked, and I groaned at how damned sexy he was. Before I could say another word, he yanked my lower half forward on the seat, supporting my ass with his hands. His mouth was on me, closing around my clit and sucking so hard that I almost came off my chair. My back arched up as I begged him for more.
He was an expert with his tongue, using it to bring me closer and closer. When his fingers slowly pushed inside, I couldn’t stop the screaming orgasm that smashed into me, my hands clawing into Asher’s back in a desperate attempt to hold on.
To find something to keep me from detonating into a million pieces.
