The way he slid his tongue against mine and the deep pull of his kisses had me realizing he was desperately hungry for this.
I moaned softly into his mouth when his hand that still remained on my hip tightened, encouraging me to roll my erection against his.
The pressure and motion of his hardness against mine had shocks of pleasure making me want to move my hips faster.
I kissed him back with everything I had. I wanted him to feel all the pent-up energy I’d hidden during the week’s long practices and last night’s home game.
I took a play from his book and pressed little nips into his bottom lip whenever he sucked in a breath, amazed at the intensity of my desire now that I’d told him how I felt.
The grunt he released each time my teeth pinched his lip was erotic enough to have that ache inside me spreading through my pelvis and groin.
Ash moved both hands to my waist, his fingers slipping under my T-shirt and sliding over my bare skin, the rough callouses of his hands creating goosebumps in their wake.
He pulled back from the kiss, breathing hard.
He grasped the hem of my T-shirt, pausing to raise an eyebrow in question. My nod had him yanking it up my torso.
I was more than willing to assist by freeing my arms from the sleeves and pulling the material over my head before dropping it on the couch beside us.
“Oh god,” Ash moaned. He leaned his head against the back of the couch, his eyes travelling over my shoulder, chest, and stomach. “These freckles. They’re so much better than I fantasized about.”
Ash tore his hungry gaze from my skin to make eye contact again. He pushed his hips forward, using his lower body strength to move us to the edge of the couch while still keeping me in his lap.
“I need to take you where I can see you better, sweetheart. I want you laid out on my bed the way I’ve imagined so many times. Can I taste you?”
I nodded, stunned silent by the effect of his words on my mind and body. I couldn’t scramble off his lap fast enough at the thought of his mouth on other parts of my body.
At this point, my body was so primed that he could literally touch me anywhere and it would be bliss.
He rose, quick to yank off his own shirt, before he took my hand and guided me urgently toward his bedroom. His actions suggested he didn’t want to wait another second for what came next.
Ready to combust, excitement continued to edge out the nerves I had about being naked with Ash for the first time.
twenty-five
ASHER
Ashirtless Cade, wearing sweatpants that rode low on his hips, made me lose my sense of restraint in an instant.
I’d meant to take the physical side of things slow after he explained his feelings.
But the heat of his kiss was all-consuming. Allowing myself to taste and touch him without guilt had incinerated whatever well-meaning self-control I’d held onto until this moment.
In the hotel in Sudbury, I’d avoided staring at his bare upper body when he stepped out of the bathroom in that damn towel.
But here in my apartment, I had permission to let my eyes feast on the galaxy’s worth of freckles that decorated every inch of his skin.
“Fuck,” I said again. The sight of so much temptation reduced me to a single-word vocabulary.
I knew immediately that the single floor lamp’s worth of light in my living room could never do justice to the beauty that Cade was allowing me to see.
My first priority had been getting him into my room and flicking on the light switch so that I could see all of him.
At the end of my bed, I took in the desire written in his eyes and the looseness of his limbs.
“Still good?” Despite wanting this so badly, I needed him to feel safe in every moment.
“Yes,” he answered.
