His fingers brushed her cheeks. “Skye? Shit. Shit. Shit!”
She’d hoped things would be different, but she was horribly wrong.
“No. Don’t stop.”
She wrapped her hands around his neck and tightened her legs around his hips, but he was already backing away.
“We’re doing this together, babe, or not at all.” He rolled to the side, pulling her tight against him. “What happened?”
What could she say?
“I want to understand what I did wrong.”
His erection softened, drooping from his body, still heavy, if not nearly as engorged.
She ran a hand up and down her body, a vague gesture, and then did the same to his. “This…I can’t do this. I thought I could, but I can’t. When I get close…it gets complicated.”
“You can’t come?”
Oh, she could come. Under threat of bodily harm, hers and Forest’s, she’d been trained to respond to the commands of a madman.
A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. “I’m pretty sure I can get you to come.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“I’m not laughing, Skye, but I think I know a thing or two about how to please a woman.”
There was nothing remotely humorous about her messed up sexual history.
“But that’s just it. Don’t try. Don’t make an issue of it. Just don’t.” She wanted to open up more, but to do so would invite the past into the present.
“Don’t you see?” He drew a heart on the foggy window, spearing it with an arrow. “You’ve bruised my rock-star image by freezing up like that. I’m not walking away from this, from you.” His words were meant as a joke but hurt nonetheless.
She tried pulling away, but he drew her back into his arms. “This is the most fucked up fuck in the book of fucks.” Her tears flowed freely now.
He ran his hand from her shoulder to her hip, caressing her skin and raising fine goose bumps along the way. “Don’t ever say that again, Skye. There’s nothing fucked up about us. We don’t have to rush this. I thought you wanted…I’ll never push you like that again.”
But that was the whole problem.
She’d never be ready—at least not for what Ash wanted. And he was a rock star with flocks of eager fans who could give him everything he desired.
She said nothing, letting her silence speak with thunderous intent.
“You’re absolutely amazing.” The timbre of his voice deepened as he pressed his lips to hers. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life undoing whatever that bastard did, starting with tonight.”
“But that’s just it.” She couldn’t keep silent anymore. “Don’t you understand? I don’t want to be fixed.”And wasn’t that the perfect lie?
Unlike Spencer, who had taken what he wanted, Ash wasn’t content to be a one-sided lover. He wouldn’t stop until he figured out her broken body, but she didn’t want Ash to see how damagedshe was. She wanted the gentle rhythm they’d developed back in the cabin.
She’d rather keep her broken body locked down tight than relive her foster father’s abuse. As long as Ash didn’t force the issue, things would be fine. That strategy had worked well enough with Spencer.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever fix myself, and for the most part, I’m happy with who I am. I want to make you happy even if it doesn’t work for me.” She stroked his cock, glad to see him harden again.
He jerked at her touch. A low groan emanated from deep within his throat. “You want to fuck but don’t want me to do anything for you?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not right. What if that’s not what I want?”
