He places one last kiss on my pussy, then kisses his way back up my body. When his mouth captures mine in a kiss, I groan at the taste of myself on his tongue. “Do you like how you taste?” He lines his cock up at my entrance, the tip breaching my virgin body.
“Yes.”
“Good.” He pushes his hips forward, sinking into me. My body fights to stretch around him. “Are you okay?” His genuine concern eased any pain I might have felt when he first entered me.
“I feel amazing. But I need more.”
“There’s my greedy girl.” He smiles against my lips, his hips pulling back then pushing forward again in a steady rhythm that’s driving me wild.
“More.” I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him in deeper.
“Fuck, Ash, you feel so good.” Riker’s thrusts lose the controlled rhythm, pounding me harder and faster until I’m gasping for air and calling out his name.
“Yes, Riker!”
With a grunt, he buries himself deep inside of me. “Mine.” He growls, covering my lips with his.
“And you’re mine,” I claim him back.
eight
Riker
My phone vibrates fromthe bedside table, waking me from the most amazing dream about Ashton, until I fully wake up with her head on my chest and her arms and legs wrapped around mine, and I realize it wasn’t a dream.
Not wanting to wake her, I carefully ease her out of my arms and gently roll her onto her side, facing away from me. I push myself up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed and pick up my phone. The words on the screen halt my plans with Ashton for today.
Cal:It’s over. The police caught Ashton’s stalker—her former boss, Vanessa Grambling. Nina was her accomplice, but after the mess at the bookstore yesterday, she admitted everything, including that Vanessa bribed her to stash those letters so Ashton would find them. It appears Vanessa hired some people to cause a scene and scare Ashton. Vanessa has pleaded the fifth, but for the most part, it’s over. You can bring Ashton home.
My phone trembles in my hand. I’m not ready for this to end with Ashton. A soft gasp over my shoulder alerts me that Ashton is awake and has seen the text. Without acknowledging Ashton’s presence, I type my response to my boss.
Me:Over and out.
I reply before tossing my phone onto the bedside table—those three small words sealing my fate.
“So, as you know, it’s over. We can get dressed, and I’ll take you home.” The words feel like knives stabbing into my heart. I don’t want to let her go, but I know it’s the right thing to do.
“No.” She leaps out of bed, tucking the sheet around her body, and reaches for something on the bedside table before dashing out of the room. At first, I think it’s my phone she grabbed, but then I realize it was the keys to my truck.
I grab my sweatpants from the floor, almost tripping as I run after her while trying to put them on. “Ash, wait!” I yell after her. I catch up to her outside by the creek.
“I’m not ready to leave.” She throws my keys into the creek. “I don’t want to leave until you love me back as much as I love you.”
She loves me.
Her words sink in, and I finally realize even if I am broken, I’m not too broken to be loved and to love her.
“I love you, too, Ash.” I pull her into my arms, kissing her with all I have until she kisses me back just as fiercely. “Now, which one of us is going wading in that water to retrieve the keys to my truck?”
She gives my chest a playful shove as she darts under my arm and rushes to the cabin, “Not it!” She yells over her shoulder.
I chase after her, catching her just before she reaches the front door, and throw her over my shoulder with a swat to her ass. It isn’t until much later that we come up for air that I’m electedto retrieve the truck keys, but it doesn’t matter as long as she’s mine.
Epilogue - Riker
Six Years Later
“Mommy, why was Daddydressed like the guy on the front of your book?” our oldest, Juniper, asks Ashton, spoiling my surprise.
