Chapter 38

Brock

I felt a little silly in the black tux, but that was only because I was still in our small town. Once I got to Morgantown with other tuxedo-clad men, I wouldn’t feel quite so ridiculous. I pulled in front of the house and climbed out of the truck, doing my best to avoid getting dirty. I would have to dust off before I went into the party.

It had been dry this week, which meant dust was everywhere. There was no avoiding it, and I could see it clinging to the hem of my pants and my shiny black shoes. I knocked on the door and Jasper quickly answered it.

“Hi, Dad. You look very nice,” he said in an adult fashion.

“Well, thank you, bud.”

“Mom’s almost ready. She said she didn’t like her earrings. Grandpa said no one would look at her earrings.”

I laughed and made a mental note never to say anything I didn’t want repeated around Jasper.

Tanner was sitting in his recliner, reading the paper, but jumped up when he saw me. “You look dashing. I think Ashley will be very happy to see you,” he said with a grin.

Just then, Ashley cleared her throat. “Ta-da,” she said in a soft voice.

All three of us turned to stare at her. Once again, I was blown away by her beauty. She could do down-home country girl by day and Hollywood starlet by night. It was an amazing transformation.

“Stunning,” I uttered.

“You look real pretty, Mom,” Jasper said.

“Beautiful, hon. And those earrings look perfect,” Tanner pointed out.

I drank in the sight of her as she spun around, showing off the back of the gown. It was sexy but elegant. She wasn’t showing too much skin, but her shoulders were bare in the off-the-shoulder gown. The full length fitted her perfectly at the waist before flaring out at the knees and making her look much taller than she was. I had a feeling she must have on a pair of killer heels under all that fabric.

“Thank you. You look very nice,” she said, eyeing my tux. “I feel so grown up.” She started laughing.

I laughed as well. It was like going to prom but for adults.

“Ready?” I asked.

“I am.”

We walked to the porch before she hiked up the gown to keep it from dragging in the dirt on the way to the truck. It was as I expected. She was wearing a pair of black stiletto heels and black stockings. I had to block the image that popped into my head. I wanted to pull that dress off and see her in nothing but those heels and black stockings. It created a vivid fantasy in my head.

“I figured we could eat beforehand, so I made us reservations,” I told her as we drove up the highway.

“Good idea. We need to get food in our systems to absorb the alcohol that will likely be freely flowing tonight.”

I laughed. “I spoke with your dad. If there is too much alcohol involved, I asked him to watch Jasper for us in case we needed to stay the night in Morgantown.”

She blushed a little. “I bet he was all too happy to agree to that.”

“Actually, he did seem pretty excited at the idea of us not coming home.”

We ate a fairly light dinner. Ashley insisted if she ate too much the seams would rip out of her gown. I doubted that but didn’t push the matter. When we arrived at the hotel where the party was being held, I braced myself for round two of the Parks attack.

Hank and Teresa saw us almost immediately and warmly welcomed me. It was a little surreal, but I was going to go with it. Next, Leslie and her husband made their way over. Leslie wasn’t quite as thrilled to see me as Hank had been, but she wasn’t threatening to claw my eyes out. I guessed that could be called progress.

“Want to dance?” I asked Ashley, who quickly agreed.

“There’s Anna!” she said excitedly.

I looked in the direction she was staring and my mouth dropped open. “Wow. She looks amazing.”

Ashley giggled. “Yes, she does, but this is the only time you are allowed to say it.”

Anna looked very happy and completely in her element as she held court in a corner of the room. Men were fawning over her and she was practically glowing in her dark blue gown.

“Let’s grab a drink,” Ashley said, pulling me toward the open bar.

We spent the next hour drinking and dancing. I was having a blast and could tell Ashley was as well. It was good to be carefree and enjoying life with someone I cared so deeply about.

I left her at the bar with Anna and ventured over to talk with one of the realtors I knew in the area. It wasn’t long before there was a small group of us talking about various properties and the current demand for large residential parcels.

“I know an excellent photographer who can sell a property with a single picture,” I boasted, then spoke to the group about her skills as a photographer.

“Ashley.” I called her over. “This is her,” I said with a great deal of pride.

She nervously smiled, looking at me. “Her?”

“These gentlemen are looking for a photographer to create some pictures for a brochure they are putting together for a new resort they are building. I told them I knew the best photographer in West Virginia.”

“You’re too kind,” she said, extending her hand and introducing herself to the men.

They exchanged information.

“Thank you,” she whispered in my ear.

“Of course. I’ll have your schedule booked full by the time we’re done tonight.” I winked.

It was close to midnight when I realized I’d had enough of partying.

“Ash.” She was giggling in a corner with her sister, Leslie. “Ash, I have a room for us. Are you ready to leave?” I asked, hoping my words weren’t slurred.

The champagne had been very generous, and I felt very tipsy and horny. I wanted to get my girl alone in the hotel room. We had both admitted defeat an hour ago, recognizing there was no way I could drive home.

“I am,” she said. Her face was flushed from her alcohol consumption.

“Have fun, you two,” Leslie mumbled.

She had clearly been enjoying the free alcohol as well. In fact, the entire room was filled with raucous, drunken laughter and a lot of flushed faces. The hospital knew how to throw one hell of a party. It was a little ironic, but they had worked out a deal with the hotel that any party-goers would get a discount on rooms if they chose to stay. It was a win-win for everyone.

Anna came to stand beside Leslie. “Let’s go,” she said, taking Leslie’s hand.

“Drive safely,” I told her. “Are you sure you don’t want to get rooms? I’ll pay,” I offered.

Leslie smiled. “No, thank you. Anna is sober. We’ve got to get home to the kids. We stayed too long as it is.”

We wished them well and headed for the exit. Ashley wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned into me. The two of us stumbled down the hall to the elevator. It was reminiscent of many of the parties we’d attended when we were younger. When the elevator doors slid shut, I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her.

“I love you,” I murmured against her lips.

She went stiff in my arms and tried to pull away. I kissed her again, holding her firmly in place.

The doors slid open and I pulled her down the hall to our room. I managed to get the keycard in after fumbling a few times and pushed the door open. She kicked off her heels the second she stepped inside.

“Thank God,” she said a little too loudly. “My feet were killing me! Why did I think I needed such high heels?”

“Because they are incredibly sexy.”

She giggled. “You couldn’t even see my shoes. The gown covered them.”

I grabbed her and kissed her. “I love you.”

“Brock,” she protested, trying to pull away.

I shook my head. “Uh-uh. I love you. You are not going to run from me this time, Ashley Parks. I love you and you are stuck with me.”

My hands moved up her back and found the zipper. I slowly pulled it down as I kissed her neck. It fell away and pooled at her feet while I caressed her nearly naked body. She carefully stepped out of the dress and draped it over a chair. I stood there, staring at her in those thigh-high black stockings and tiny black thong with a strapless bra.

“You’re so fucking hot, Ashley. I love you,” I said again. “I want to fuck you every time I see you. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world and you’re mine.”

I was going to keep saying the words until she heard them, believed them, and accepted them. I wasn’t letting her run out of my life. Not again.

A sexy, “fuck me” smile spread across her face as she sauntered toward me. She kissing me before pulling the bowtie from around my neck. I reached down and scooped her up and into my arms. She gasped.

I carried her to the single bed in the room and gently deposited her on top of the blankets.

“I love you. I am going to make love to you and show you how much,” I promised her.

She leaned back, propping herself up on her elbows, challenging me to have my way with her body. I was going to do just that, but first I owed her. I reached down and started to pull one of those sexy black stockings down her leg. I kissed each inch of her leg as it was exposed, spending some time at her knees before moving down her beautiful shins and all the way down to her toes.

I kissed her foot, then each of her toes. “I love you.”

I went to work on the second leg, repeating the action, and this time, when I got to her foot and kissed it, she said it.

“I love you, too,” she breathed out.

I smiled and looked up at her. “I know.”

She laughed. “Ha! You only thought you knew.”

“Oh, I knew, Ashley. It’s you who has taken so long to figure it out.”

I went back to kissing her feet and gently massaged each one. She had told me earlier in the night that the heels were killing her feet. I had promised to pay them a great deal of attention. I was a man of my word.

“You’re amazing,” she whispered.

I grinned. “I know.”

Her head dropped back as she laughed. “If only you weren’t so lacking in confidence.”

I chuckled as I rubbed her feet. It didn’t take long for the foot rub to turn into something else entirely.