“Starlight, let us have this. Please. Just for a few minutes.” It was selfish, and I knew I had to get to Portland. I needed todebrief. The team needed a course of action. I needed to end this shit once and for all.
“Have what?”
“Peace.”
Despite my silent plea, she rose up on her elbow, her messy waves surrounding her face. “You say that as if we’re never going to have it again,” she noted cautiously.
Because I didn’t know if we were.
I had a target on my back, and this was the first time I had other lives to think about. It wasn’t just mine at stake. It was hers. It was my team and their families. My knuckles traced the gentle curve of her jaw. “Please, Angel.”
Something in my voice must’ve gotten to the heart of her. Her face relaxed and she lay on my chest once more, her fingers curling the hair there. “Can we talk about everything?”
“Later,” I promised.
“No, not about the heavy stuff. The other stuff.”
I stared at the ceiling, my brow furrowed. “You mean the sex.”
She wiggled slightly, clearing her throat. “Yes.”
My head dropped, and I hooked a finger under her chin, guiding her back. “What is this?” I asked, seeing a deep blush in her cheeks. “Embarrassment?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…it’s daylight now and—”
Her words were cut short by my soft laughter. “So my woman can’t talk about such things in the sunlight, is that it?”
She blinked. “I just…I’ve never…I don’t know how to do this.”
I brought my thumb to her bottom lip. “Do what?”
She gestured between us. “Considering you’re the first man to ever be in my bed, Ash, I guess all of it.”
I went rigid, my hand frozen in front of her face as my blood ran cold. She tilted her head. “What’s the matter?”
“Angel, were you—was I—fuck.” I tripped over my words, running a hand through my hair.
“No,” she laughed. “I wasn’t a virgin.”
My shoulders relaxed, and then something primal inside me made them tense up again. “What did you mean by that?”
“I’ve never had a man in my bed,” she answered, looking out the window to our left, watching the trees. “I lost my virginity in high school to the captain of the soccer team in the back of his mom’s van.” She winced. “It was awful.”
My lips twitched. “That’s better than losing your virginity to your best friend’s twin sister on a couch in their basement at a fucking fourth of July barbecue.”
“What?” she giggled, looking at me again. “You?”
I sighed. “It wasn’t my best moment. But I was a stupid boy, and she was…well, there, to be honest.”
“How romantic.”
“Uh-huh, and did Mr. Soccer Captain take you through the drive-thru for an ice cream cone afterward?”
She shook against me, her body rocking with laughter, her hand containing the sweet sound. “No!”
“Right, well, I got ice cream after I lost mine,” I bragged, winking at her.
“I think I deserved some ice cream after last night, at the very least.”
