Ash leaned over the center console and laced his fingers into my hair, cradling the side of my head in his palm. I went to him with no hesitation, no doubt, no question. It was as though we’d been here, in this place, for years—if not decades. In that comfortable space with one another that most people spent their entire lives trying to find yet never reach.

And somehow, it was like I’d woken up and found myself there with Ash.

My lips met his, and then parted for his tongue. I didn’t stop to think about the fact that we were in his car, in his driveway, at just after nine at night. At any point, someone could’ve walked past and noticed the idling vehicle, the headlights, the purring engine, and wondered what was going on. Several steps and a focused eye was all it would take to rip the rug out from beneath us, yet I didn’t care.

That was a lie.

I totally cared.

I just didn’t think about it, because when I was with Ash, nothing and no one existed. It’d always been that way, but after discovering he was much younger than I had originally thought, my morals became staticky, creating white noise I had a hard time ignoring. However, over the last few months, things had evolved well past the point where we had been in the beginning.

For instance, he’d taken me to dinner tonight, and it wasn’t the first time. Or the second. Or the third, but more like the tenth or nineteenth. I’d lost count. It was easy to do when every time I was with him in the real world—anywhere other than my bedroom—it felt like a first date, as well as a fiftieth anniversary all wrapped into one. That was the easiest way to explain the excitement rooted in the comfort. Everything was new yet utterly familiar.

I lightly scratched the short hairs on his cheek before tracking my nails down his neck to his chest. His breathing changed—my favorite part of his reaction to my touch—and his kisses grew harsher, slightly more brutal yet not quite punishing. Those were what I aimed for, because that meant I wasn’t too far from getting my way.

The last seven months of physical intimacy had lent many opportunities to discover these things about one another. Ironically, neither of us had ever had to explain a single like or dislike, yet we’d managed to learn by observing every reaction to every caress, and in the end, I could turn him on with one word while he could make me come by a single look.

“Babe,” he huskily whispered across my lips. “Let’s go inside.”

I shook my head and gave what I hoped were sexy bedroom eyes. “Let’s not.”

He growled when my fingers made their way down his hard stomach to the button on his jeans. Impatience burned within me. It’d started as a spark when we realized we would have an entire week together during spring break. Emma would be at the beach with her dad, and Will had a business trip overseas, so aside from my job, it would only be the two of us—no fear of my daughter seeing him slip out the back door or his dad catching us in his garage. And the closer we got to our week of freedom, that spark had turned into a flame, then a blazing inferno, and now, as we waited for the sun to rise on the first day, I was on the verge of spontaneously combusting.

“Don’t you want to be somewhere a little more comfortable than the front seat of my car?” He struggled to get out every word, his voice strained and gravelly. “Like a bed? Where we won’t have a steering wheel or gearshift in the way?”

“Nope. I want you just like this.” I lowered his zipper as he lifted his bottom off the seat, allowing me enough room to adjust the denim and free his throbbing erection. I’d never seen a prettier dick—not that I’d seen many—however, Ash hated it when I called it pretty, even though it was true.

I met his lips again while stroking his smooth shaft, tightening my grip as I worked my way toward the crown while keeping a slow, relaxed downslide to the base—just the way he liked it. As soon as he started to undulate his hips, I knew I had him right where I wanted. It’d been over a decade since I’d last given road-head, though I didn’t think much had changed over the years. Granted, we weren’t driving, which made this safer, but we were technically in a car, so that counted in my book.

When I pulled my face away from his, preparing myself to bend over the console between us, he slipped his hand next to his door for the controls to recline his seat. But before he could press the button, headlights filled the interior as a car pulled into the driveway behind us.

“Oh my God, Ash…it’s your dad.” I ducked my head and sank onto the floorboard in front of my seat. “I thought you said he was gone. Why is he here?”

“I’ll handle it. Just stay there.” His voice might’ve been calm—though a little raspy—the way he tucked his cock into his boxers and fastened his jeans was anything but. It was so frantic I worried he’d catch himself on the zipper.

Thankfully, he didn’t.

Ash shut off the engine and grabbed his keys. When he opened the door, he swung out his leg, not wasting a single second meeting his dad between both vehicles.

I could hear the deep murmurs of their voices, yet my heart pounded too heavily to decipher the words. It wasn’t until they’d made it to the walkway, on their way to the front door, when I finally understood something that was said: “You going to lock your car?” And then a moment later, the locks engaged. I was trapped inside his car, alone, without the air running.

Panic made it difficult to inhale, in turn, leaving me dizzy and gasping for breath. I was certain I’d suffocate before he returned, which made me hyperventilate even more. I hadn’t wanted Emma to find out that I’d been sleeping with someone from her school, and now, she’d discover that when she learned of my untimely death, and then she’d war between hating me for what I’d done and grieving my loss.

Then there were my parents. I’d gone through all the ways they would be mortified over the news, and by the time I imagined them spitting on my grave, the door unlocked. When it opened, I nearly toppled out, sucking in lungful after lungful of oxygen as though I’d been buried alive.

“What the hell, Ash?” It was the quietest yell I could muster, and ironically, the loudest whisper. “You said he’d be gone. Why’s he here? Did he see—” My words were silenced by his hand over my mouth.

He led us to the closed garage door, where we remained hidden in the shadow of the house. “Apparently, his flight was changed. And stop freaking out. He didn’t see you. But for now, stay here. Let me go inside and pull his attention away from the kitchen window so you can cut across the yard. Wait until the front door closes, and then count to fifteen. Got it?”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware we were playing kick the can.”

“Playing what?”

I huffed and shoved against his chest. “Just go so I can start counting.”

Ash pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead and then rounded the corner to his porch. Once I heard the latch click into place, I began to count, but then I wasn’t sure if it should be normal seconds or Mississippis. Eventually, I compromised with…

One misses.

Two misses.

By fifteen, there was a good chance I’d hung around for a full minute and really started to freak myself out. Not wanting to have waited too long and chance being seen through the kitchen window, I went around the side of Ash’s house to the back and shimmied along the wall of bushes, staying hidden in the dark in the event Will could see me. And as soon as I made it to my yard, I ran to the back door as if I were being chased by a serial killer.

This was too much. And while I wished I could say being with Ash wasn’t worth the trouble, that would’ve been an outright lie. Not just physically, or because of the things he’d done around my house, either. He was worth it on so many levels—many of which I’d refused to give any thought to, afraid of what it would mean.

A hot shower didn’t slow my erratic heart, so I turned the water to cold.

All that did was make my nipples hard.

I even tried a shot of rum…which warmed my insides, though the panic remained.

My last option was to climb into bed and wait for sleep—or death, whichever came first. And less than thirty minutes later when Ash arrived, I found myself praying for death, regardless if it was quicker or not.

“What are you doing here?” I pushed up on my elbow and glared at him. “Wait…how’d you get in my house?”

“You’re not very sly with your key-hiding skills. It’s always the rock, babe.”

Groaning, I tossed myself onto the mattress again. I stared at the ceiling and mentally ran through every possible scenario that had the slightest chance of happening, and then weighed the consequences. In the end, I was left with, “I’m going to be forced to wear a red P on my shirt while they hang me in the center of town.”

“What’s the P for?”

“Pedophile.”

He was quiet for a moment, then broke the silence by asking, “I could be wrong, but doesn’t the fact that I’m eighteen negate that theory?”

“Semantics.” My body vibrated as his soundless laughter shook the bed. And when I rolled my head to the side to see his face, the sight of his smile nearly made me forgot about the noose and townspeople with buckets of stones waiting for my punishment. Nearly being the keyword. “Maybe instead of a P, it’ll be C.”

“Care to share what that stands for?”

“Cougar.” Once upon a time, I would’ve laughed at that. Now, it was just sad.

Without dropping his gaze, Ash reached out and laced his fingers with mine, holding my hand in the sliver of space between our bodies. “What do you get when you cross a cougar and a snowman?” His grin stretched wider when I shrugged. “Frostbite.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better about your dad almost catching us with your dick in my mouth?” Actually, it might have had I not reminded myself of that last part. The joke was lame, but his smile was infectious.

“What does the cougar say to his friends before they go hunting for food?”

“I don’t know, Ash…”

“Let us prey.” Despite the mirth in his dark eyes, the pun was lost on me. After a few seconds of watching me stare at him, he finally decided to put me out of my misery. “Prey…with an E.”

“Yeah, that would’ve been a lot better if I’d gotten the punchline instead of needing to have it explained.” I rolled my eyes to the ceiling again and released a heavy sigh. “Got any others that don’t require a roadmap for senior citizens to understand?”

Rather than rattle off another joke, he shifted onto his side and held his top half over my body, an arm on either side, eyes intently burning into mine. “Does it really bother you that badly?”

“That we were seconds away from getting caught? Yes. This time was so much worse than that day in the kitchen with Emma. At least then, all I had to do was pull my skirt back in place. Tonight, your dick was out of your pants. Fully erect, might I add. And if that wasn’t the worst part…I was in your car. It was easy to explain to Emma why you were in the house. What would we have told your dad if he’d realized you weren’t alone?”

He shrugged, as if it were no big deal, which pissed me off—though not as much as when he added, “I guess we would’ve told him the truth.”

With my palms flat against his hard, sculpted chest, I held Ash away without completely pushing him off. “Are you out of your mind? He’d come after me until there was nothing left. And then Emma would have to bring her kids to the prison to visit their grandmother. Hell no.”

This time, rather than a shrug, it was a smirk. “I mean, I can’t be positive, but I doubt he’ll go after you. I honestly don’t think it would be that big of a deal.”

“Don’t you dare tell your father, Asher Jenkins.”

He brought one hand to my face and traced my brow with his thumb. “I won’t, babe. I swore to you that I wouldn’t say anything to anyone until we were both on the same page. But you asked what would’ve happened if he had caught us tonight, and I answered. If you don’t like what I have to say, or if you don’t agree with it, that’s all right, but my opinion of how I believe my dad would react doesn’t mean I’m the bad guy here.”

Damn him and his ability to put me in my place.

“But the good news is…he’s actually gone this time. So it’s official—the week is ours to do with as we wish. Well, aside from your job, I mean. But it’s only Friday, which means we have the whole weekend, and then every evening until Emma comes home next Saturday.”

“Oh, good. Then that means you’ll be able to make it to my trial. Maybe they’ll have a guillotine. I bet that’s sure to have heads rolling, right?”

His laughter wafted across my face in breathy waves. They were so effortless they matched the upturned corners of his mouth and the slight crinkles that extended from the sides of his eyes. “You have nothing to worry about. I promise.”

“Why did he come back? And how do you know he won’t show up unannounced again?”

“He forgot his passport at the house, so they had to change his flight. Then he asked if I wanted to go.”

“Why are you here instead of packing? Isn’t he going to Switzerland?”

“Yeah…and I’m here because that’s where you are.” Be still my heart. “I told him I’d taken extra orders to stay busy while he’s gone and school’s out. He can’t argue with that. The more money I make for myself, the less he has to provide.”

“Back up one second. Do you actually have orders to fill?”

“A few. Not many, though. I didn’t want to be stuck in the garage while you’re home.”

“Okay, so let me see if I got this right. Your dad invited you on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and you told him no. You made up a lie about having a lot of work to do while he’s gone, but in reality, you only chose to stay because I’m here? Are you out of your mind? You are aware of where Switzerland is, right? Like you’re not confusing it with the alley behind Tao’s Market?”

He took this opportunity to shift his body completely over mine, making room for his hips between my legs. “I’ve spent damn near close to a year wondering what it would be like to wake up next to you. I don’t care if he invited me to rifle through the treasures of the lost world…nothing would keep me from falling asleep with you by my side.”

“Millennials…you people are insane.”

“Hate to break it to you, babe, but you’re one, too.”

“No one asked you.” I laughed and shook my head, yet it felt good to let go and joke around. I wasn’t sure how he managed to always do that, but I prayed he never stopped. “Did you bring a bag or anything with you to stay the night?”

“What would I need?”

“Uh…clothes? Toothbrush? Deodorant would be nice.”

“We won’t have any need for clothes, my toothbrush is in my back pocket, and I plan to run home in the morning to change once we figure out what we’re going to do with an entire day to ourselves. I can put some on then.”

“You’re wise beyond your years, Ash.”

He lowered his face to mine and captured my lips with deliberate, leisurely caresses.

This was a beautiful start to our week together—providing I didn’t count anything that had taken place prior to Ash coming into my room.

Hot water rushed through the polished silver spout, filling the deep tub that Ash and I sat in. I fit perfectly between his bent legs with my back to his hard, bare chest while he held me against him with both arms around my middle.

“I don’t want this week to be over.” My voice was nothing more than a lazy murmur, almost drowned out by the running water. But with the back of my head resting on his shoulder and his face lowered to the crook of my neck, there was no way he hadn’t heard me.

For the last seven days, I’d fallen asleep draped over his chest and awoken every morning in a mess of tangled limbs. Emma would be home tomorrow, which meant this was our last night. The thought of climbing into bed without him made me never want to see the sun color the sky again.

He tightened his arms, pulling me closer as if he had the same fears. “We’ll make it work, babe. We’ve managed to get this far; two more months should be a breeze.”

“Part of me wishes we hadn’t done this…spent all week together this like, I mean. It just makes going back to the way things were that much harder. I realize it’s only two months, but it feels like two years.”

“Whenever you’re ready to stop hiding, let me know. You make it sound like we have to go back to the way things were, but really, we don’t. We could have it all starting tomorrow.”

I knew he’d bring that up, make that point, yet it didn’t change anything. “We can’t do anything until I feel it out with Emma. You still have to go to school together, which could cause more problems if she has an issue with us as a couple. Whereas, if we wait until you graduate, that’s one less thing we have to worry about.”

Ash was quiet for a moment, gently circling his fingertips along the sensitive skin below my navel. After releasing a long exhale, he turned his head to bring his lips closer to my ear. “Have you ever been in love?”

It shouldn’t have, but his question caused my heart rate to increase and each beat to become more intense than the last. I had to take a second to control my voice, make sure it didn’t give away how deeply the idea of love had affected me while I was in his arms.

Finally, I shook my head and closed my eyes. “I thought I was with Emma’s dad, but I was young and immature. By the time I found myself in another relationship, I had grown up a lot, which made it easier to understand my feelings.”

“You didn’t love him, either?”

“No. I’m pretty sure I was only with him so I didn’t feel so alone.”

“What’s the difference between that and your reason for being with me?”

I trailed my hands from his forearms to his biceps and held Ash tighter—not because I was scared my response would upset him, but because I hadn’t been able to admit the truth to myself. The idea of confessing it all now freaked me out. Once I accepted my feelings, there would be no going back. I’d never be able to play off the last nine months as simply having fun with a younger guy or lie to myself and say it didn’t mean anything.

“Effort,” was all I could say to explain the difference without giving anything away. “Despite being together for as long as we were, neither of us really put much energy into the relationship. I don’t mean things were easy and uncomplicated. I think it was more of a convenience for us both, and when we reached a point where we had to make decisions—about us, our future, what we both wanted and needed from the other—we weren’t interested in going that extra mile to make things work. He’s the one who technically ended things, but I wasn’t too upset about it.”

“So you’re saying you make an effort to be with me?”

“Yeah…which is ironic because what we have feels so natural.”

Every time his fingers wandered closer to the apex of my thighs, he brought them up again. I could feel his desire against my back, which made his restraint odd. Most of the time, we gave in when we shouldn’t, so holding back when we had the house to ourselves didn’t make much sense.

Until he asked another question.

“If you’d never had Emma, who would Kristy Richards be right now?”

He fought against his physical need in order to learn more about me, which smothered me in conflicting emotions. His desire to understand me on every level filled me with unimaginable contentment, yet at the same time, it reminded me that we had something that went beyond sex. I hadn’t quite come to terms with the backlash that would come from sleeping with him, let alone having feelings for an eighteen-year-old.

However, I closed my eyes, pushed the fears aside, and did what I had to, what I had done for the last seven months—I gave him what he wanted. “I’d be an investment broker. I had always dreamed of working on Wall Street, but that would’ve never happened.”

“Why not?”

I shrugged as much as I could while basically being pinned between his arms. “I’ve never been much of a city girl. In theory, New York sounds amazing and fun, everything moving at such a fast pace, but there’s no way I’d last more than a few months.”

“Life has a funny way of steering us in the right direction, huh?” His soft voice sounded sympathetic when I replayed his words in my head. Yet I had barely heard them over the roaring bath water that continued to fill the tub, so there was no way to know if I’d misunderstood his tone or not.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure Wall Street would’ve been exciting, but I personally think what you do now is more fulfilling. I imagine it gives you a greater sense of purpose.”

“I’m just a branch manager at a bank. What purpose do I have?”

He lowered his lips to my shoulder, and then ran them along my neck while caressing my lower stomach with his calloused palms. “Setting up retirement accounts and life insurance policies for single mothers. Getting them in a good place so they have one less thing to stress over. Seems far more satisfying than making rich people richer.” Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing and squeezed my body with reassurance. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against someone who’s invested well and continues to cushion their pockets. But in the grand scheme of things, they don’t need the help, unlike some of the customers you serve every day.”

I stared at the water flowing freely from the spout for a moment while I absorbed his assessment. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Plus, I have Emma. She’s worth every sacrifice. I’d take her and my position at the bank over Wall Street any day.”

“What do you plan to do once she leaves for college?”

I grazed his arms with my nails while debating how to answer. “Well, I have the house. Even after I finish taking care of all the smaller things I have on my list for this year, there’s still so much more that needs to be done. I’m sure that’ll take up a solid five years of my life, which would put me at about forty. And who knows, maybe by then, she’ll be married with a kid or two, and then I’ll have grandbabies to spoil.”

While he remained quiet, the harsh dip in his throat could be felt, and without seeing his Adam’s apple, I was certain it plunged low. I’d witnessed it enough times to anticipate a difficult question—as soon as he finished mulling over how to word it. Finally, his husky voice danced along my skin as he asked, “But who are you without her at the house? Without home improvements taking up the next six years of your life. Without kids crawling around at your feet. Who’s Kristy when she no longer has to be a full-time mom to her daughter?”

“I’ve never given that any thought, so I’m not sure I can give you an answer.”

“You’ve spent half your life being someone’s mother. Prior to that, you were just a kid. I think it’s about time you discover who you are.” He ran the pad of his thumb over my ribs along my side as he spoke. “You have friends, right? Anyone you share a common interest with that you enjoy being around?”

I refused to analyze the reasons I wasn’t embarrassed to admit this to Ash. “Meeting people hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world—even though it used to be effortless when I was younger. But ever since I had Emma, it’s like I’ve constantly been on a different playing field as everyone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s so hard to connect with anyone my age. When she was a baby, I couldn’t go to parties or hang out with my friends, and if by some miracle I was able to get a night off from mommy duty, it wasn’t like I could stay up until three or four in the morning…I had an infant at home who needed me to function the next day. Even in my early to mid-twenties, I had nothing in common with anyone, and those I could relate to—other single moms—were older, which created another set of differences that prevented us from finding shared interests. I guess I eventually gave up and found contentment in my quiet, simple life.”

“I get that. In a way, that’s how I feel. Everyone I know parties on the weekends or goes to Cancun for spring break, getting drunk from sun-up to sundown. I personally have no interest in those things. Maybe it’s because I’ve already done most of them, and the consequences aren’t appealing. I’d rather spend my free time in my garage than take the chance of fucking up again.”

“It sucks to learn things the hard way, huh?”

“Sometimes. But then I stop and think about you, and I can’t help but appreciate what I had to go through to get here.”

I leaned to the side to see his face. “What do you mean?”

“When I was younger—like in elementary school—my mom used to laugh at me for hitting on my teachers. I’d give them my apple, or I’d buy an extra milk from the lunch line and bring it back to them if they were having a bad day. On occasion, I would pick flowers from the garden in front of the building just to make the pretty ones smile. Mom always said she’d have to watch out for her friends when I got older because she wouldn’t put it past me to go after them, and if I were half the Casanova my dad was, they wouldn’t stand a chance.”

I could’ve listened to him talk for hours. When happiness filled his words and his lips held the slightest curl, it was like he shared a part of his soul. I’d never felt that way while listening to others, and I wondered if that was because I’d never paid attention, or if it was just one more thing that set Ash apart from everyone else.

“I’ve always had a thing for older women,” he continued while focusing on the water filling the tub. “But let’s be real…in order to have a relationship, I’d have to wait until my late twenties. It doesn’t matter how mature I am or what I look like, no woman would date me until I reach some magical age where it no longer matters.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Had I known how old he was from the start, I wouldn’t have given him a second glance, let alone a minute of my time. I almost didn’t when I thought he was twenty-two. So, I fully understood, and in a strange way, almost felt bad for him.

He turned his head to find my eyes before continuing. “Then there’s you.”

My breathing slowed, as if every ounce of energy went toward listening to him.

“You had to grow up faster than most. Because of that, the person you were before Emma has been stuck on pause for the last seventeen years—never aging. And the older you get, the quieter she becomes. Eventually, she’ll lose all hope of being found, and if that happens, she’ll be gone forever.”

I couldn’t speak as he dissected me, making me see things I’d never thought of before. And after a moment of us both staring at the other, no words spoken, he brought his lips to mine. It was a soft, gentle kiss, full of emotion and truth. When it ended, I shifted again until I resumed my place against his chest.

To my surprise, his fingertips raked down my stomach, then up the top of my thigh, down the overly sensitive skin on the inside, before doing the same on the other. The entire time, he avoided the ache between my legs. And when he whispered against the side of my face, I nearly came from his words alone. “But don’t worry…I found her.”

“You found who?” My question was breathy, full of desperation.

The easy rumble that reverberated against my back indicated that he’d seen through me—it was obvious I’d forgotten what we were talking about. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that I went through all that in my past—getting in trouble, moving here, having every ounce of freedom ripped away—so I could push play…for both of us.”

I lifted my bottom, chasing his fingers as he continued to tease me, going near but never touching where I needed it the most. “Keep talking.”

The desperation was thick by this point, and he was fully aware of it. He knew what I wanted, and without making me beg, he delivered. Continuing the light strokes along my skin, occasionally grazing my clit, he carried on with his explanation. “Between your desire to feel young, and my need to remain level-headed and responsible, we balance each other out. The parts of us that have been in limbo connect to each other.”

“And what exactly is it about me that you connect with?” It wasn’t easy to pay attention to his words while he had his hands on me, but I did the best I could with the situation I found myself in.

“Your maturity…” He cupped my mound. “And your age.” His dick became fully hard against my back, proving just how turned on he got by older women—specifically, me. “You understand what it’s like to grow up before everyone else. But what I love the most, is when I connect with you”—he slipped two fingers inside my core—“here.”

My spine arched, my head pushing against his shoulder, as I chased his touch, matching him push for pull. But the growing erection against my back only served as a reminder of how badly I needed him to fill me.

I gripped the sides of the tub and lifted myself onto his lap. As if he read my mind, he slipped his fingers out to guide the crown of his dick to my entrance. I sank down with an audible moan, beyond satisfied with his impressive girth stretching my insides, his notable length filling me.

“Turn off the water, babe,” he ordered in a husky tone from over my shoulder.

Ignoring him, I continued to ride his cock as water splashed along the sides of the oversized tub. Our momentum grew faster, harder, until our bath resembled the waves of the ocean, threatening to spill out onto the tile floor. But I didn’t care. Feeling him inside me was worth the clean-up in the end.

With a throaty growl, he crossed one arm across my body, just beneath my breasts, and hauled me against him. He gripped my hip with his free hand to guide me, taking charge like every time we were together.

“Kris, the tub’s gonna overflow,” he warned again, though this time, he didn’t sound as concerned, more like making an observation.

“Then let it.” Those three words spurred him on more, which drove us closer and closer to the brink. In this position, I had no doubt he’d get me off, but I was too impatient to wait. I dropped my hand between my legs and began to furiously rub circles over my clit. Between his dick stroking the flames from the inside and my fingers adding the accelerant, I found myself seconds away from imploding.

He palmed my breast, no doubt leaving behind small bruises in the shapes of his fingertips. Until Ash, I never fathomed I would enjoy rough sex. It was as though my body spoke to him, communicating how much pressure it needed, and ever since that very first brutally powerful orgasm, I had craved his intensity like a junkie craved the next fix.

“Fuck, Kris…” His guttural curse layered my shoulder with heat, just before the careful bite of his teeth made me whimper. “I won’t last if you keep touching yourself like that. You know it drives me crazy.”

He’d made it no secret that he thoroughly enjoyed watching me pleasure myself—which came about after I’d expressed how hot it was to watch him stroke himself—but this time, I wasn’t doing it to tease him. Simply put, I was too eager to wait. Ash had this amazing ability to get off, and then five minutes later, be ready to go again. So, I figured there wasn’t any harm in hurrying this along, knowing we could dry off and resume on the bed, where I’d allow him to make me come several more times all on his own.

Understanding my desperation, he pinched my nipple, twisting his wrist just enough to send me over the edge. I opened my mouth to release cries of ecstasy, yet no sound came out. The only noise in the room came from the water rushing through the pipes, our bath spilling onto the tile, and then Ash’s unrefined grunts as he surged into me one last time.

With his cock buried deep, I relaxed into his chest, causing him to fall against the back of the tub. Neither of us could catch our breaths as we attempted to calm down. But before I could get my racing heart under control, it stopped beating. It went from a harsh, thunderous rhythm to nothing, pumping blood through my veins to sucking the life out of me…all within the split second it took for Emma to appear in the doorway.

Her mouth hung open, eyes narrow, face askew. Utter disgust painted her expression like graffiti on a cracked wall. Though she didn’t wait around. Without giving me a chance to stop her, she turned and fled, running as though she were being chased by a madman.

“Oh my God…” I cried while frantically disconnecting from Ash, who attempted to help me out of the tub. “I have to stop her. I have to explain.”

Luckily, Ash didn’t hinder my escape. If anything, he was the calm to my storm, grabbing clothes I could quickly pull on and then staying behind to take care of the mess. It couldn’t have taken more than sixty seconds to make it out of my room, yet that one minute had to be the single longest moment of my life.

I came to a sudden halt in the living room when I found her in front of the kitchen island several feet away, her back to me with her head in her hands.

“Emma…” Her name came out wrapped in a burst of frantic air. My chest heaved, yet I couldn’t manage to get enough oxygen to my brain to make my feet move. “Honey, look at me. Please.”

She whispered, “So gross, Mom,” yet she turned around anyway. And the moment I caught the revulsion in her stare, I wanted to puke—though not nearly as much as when she added, “Couldn’t you have picked a guy your own age?”

Finally, I went to her and prayed she wouldn’t take off again. It was like approaching a wild animal. This was worse than anything I could’ve imagined, and it left me feeling like the child in the room, about to be scolded by her parent—completely irrational.

“Let me explain.” However, my plea fell on deaf ears.

Emma shook her head, shifted her gaze over my shoulder, and then returned her glare of disapproval to my face. “Do you have a thing for teenagers or something? Is that why I never see you date anyone? Because the guys you go after are so young they have curfews?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could utter the first word, Ash announced his presence. “Don’t talk to her that way, Em. That’s not fair.”

“Oh,” she scoffed, “so you think you can order me around just because you’re screwing my mom? Guess what, Asher…that doesn’t make you my dad. You don’t have the right—”

“Enough, Emma.” Somehow, Ash crossed the room until he stood next to me. His deep voice bellowed with anger while remorse left it full of grit. “This isn’t easy for any of us, so why don’t you come down from your high horse and let her explain.”

I turned, placing my hand on his chest to hold him back. “It’s okay. Let me handle this. I’ve got it. Go home, and after everything settles down, I’ll call you. But this is between my daughter and me.”

I’d never seen Ash more dejected than he was in that moment. The determination that hardened his expression fell away, leaving behind desperation and fear I never imagined seeing on his face. He didn’t argue, just nodded and retreated to the front door in silence.

Once he was gone, I faced Emma again, hoping she’d give me the chance to explain. Yet that seemed to be wishful thinking the second she opened her mouth and floored me with her aggression. “Are you serious, Mom? What the hell are you thinking? He’s the same age as Thomas. Do you have a thing for my boyfriend, too?”

“Emma Lee!” I’d had enough. I held up my hand to stop her from saying anything else she couldn’t come back from. “I understand you’re angry. You weren’t supposed to find out now…or like this. But I’m still your mother, and regardless of how you feel, you don’t have the right to treat me this way.”

“I don’t even know how I feel, Mom. This is all just too weird.” She shook her head with a sigh, then moved past me to grab her duffel bag off the couch.

By the time she had made it a few feet away from the front door, I realized she was leaving. “Where are you going?”

“Dad’s.”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know…maybe until I can wrap my mind around this and be able to express my feelings within my rights.”

All I could do was nod, knowing anything else would simply push her further away. “Well, technically this is still your night with him. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I told you, Mom…I don’t know when I’ll be back. As of right now, I don’t want to be here with you.”

As hard as it was to watch her walk out, there was nothing I could do about it.