Chapter 7
MITCH HADN’T meant to slam the door shut, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled Ashley hard against his chest and crash-landed on her lips, as her hands clasped behind his neck.
Reaching under her ass, he hoisted her up, wrapping her hot legs around his waist. He took one step and twisted his knee.
He groaned as he stumbled, but managed to keep his balance.
“Put me down,” she demanded.
He wasn’t going to argue, but he wasn’t going to let it ruin the night. He made it to the bed, laying her gently on her back as he slid his hands under her dress, tugging at her skimpy panties.
“Let me take a look at your—”
“Later,” he murmured, lifting her dress over her hips, exposing her perfectly shaven womanhood. He wasted no time in burying his face between her legs. He kissed and teased, enjoying her hands massaging his scalp.
“Mitch, really, your kn—oh, God.”
He smiled against her sweetness. His fingers and tongue probing, finding the places that made her toes curl.
“You don’t play fair,” she whispered.
He was too busy to reply. He wanted her thoroughly satisfied before he even thought about his own pleasure.
Giving her gratification meant more than his own indulgence.
There had only been one other time in his life where everything changed on a dime and since then, his life had been smooth sailing.
Only he’d never realized how lonely his existence had become. He always believed that because he’d had his health and was out of his mother’s grip, life couldn’t get any better.
Then Ashley walked into his life and became the water he needed to stay alive.
Her body jerked as she fisted his hair, her legs clamping around his head. Her hips rolled with his hand as he slowly kissed the inside of her thigh, tracing a path to the back of her knee.
“Let’s get you out of this dress,” he said, tugging at the strap on her shoes.
A long moan escaped her lips. “Only if you get naked with me.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”
Careful not to put too much pressure on his bum knee, he slowly undid the buttons on his dress shirt, staring down at her while she wiggled out of her dress. Her nude body sprawled out over the bed like an angel floating above the clouds. She rose to her knees, pulling out a few clips from her hair, letting it bounce over her perky breasts.
“I could get used to this view,” he said. His voice low and filled with deep desire. Her tanned skin glowed in the moonlight.
She took his hand and placed it over her breast.
He sucked in a deep breath as she reached inside his slacks, her warm fingers curling over his length.
“Could you get used to this?” Her deft hands undid his trousers. Lowering her head, she looked up at him, licking her lips, her hot mouth covering him like a well-fit glove.
He rocked back on his heels, staring at her. His chest rose up and down with each choppy breath, but his lungs never completely inflated with air.
His eyelids fluttered as the room blurred in the background. He had no idea what love felt like. His mother didn’t understand the word, and she didn’t have a loving bone in her body. The men that came in and out of her life she’d used for purely selfish reasons, and it wasn’t just about sex. His mother learned how to control men at a young age to get what she wanted, making her one of the most feared women in the drug world.
Even after he’d been freed from his mother’s horrifying grasp, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to fall in love. Putting other people first became second nature after watching the way his mother treated those in her service, making the concept of laying down one’s life for a loved one an easy thing to do.
Except he never saw himself loving anyone. He figured it was just one more thing his mother had taken from him.
“Ashley.” He piled her hair on top of her head, tugging gently.
With her lips still coiled around him, she opened her mocha eyes, blinking wildly.
He eased her off him, cupping her chin. “You’re an amazing woman in so many ways.” After covering himself with protection, he rolled back, bringing her body over his like a blanket.
Their mouths melded together in the kind of deep, passionate kiss old lovers shared. It was familiar and yet filled with exploration of new sensations. Not only could he get used to this, he feared he’d die a long, slow painful death without her in his arms.
She pressed against his chest, raising her upper body as she lowered herself, taking him inch by inch, clamping herself around him like a warm cocoon. His muscles tensed as he took in a deep breath, focusing on remembering that he was a grown man, not a horny teenager unable to have any control over his ability to perform.
Her soft moans filled the room. Her hips rolled back and forth as she cupped her breasts. It took every ounce of energy he had to not explode.
He dug his fingers into her hips, forcing her to slow her movements, but it didn’t help. Raising up, he drew her nipple into his mouth, twirling his tongue over the hard flesh, biting gently, filling his mind with what his lips were doing.
Still didn’t help.
Reaching between them, he found her swollen nub, rubbing and pinching, hoping to bring her to climax again.
“Oh, Mitch,” she said, dropping her head on his shoulder, grinding harder and faster, her body jerking as heat poured out of her and onto him in a sea of passion, colliding with his climax as they both groaned, calling out each other’s name.
Nothing could have prepared him for a woman like Ashley and as she collapsed on top of him, breathless, he caressed her back, staring at the ceiling.
For months, he tried to get her to go out with him on one date. He had no idea what would’ve happened if they had, but in this moment, he wanted to believe that everything happened for a reason.
“I’m going to take the training job in Jacksonville,” he said as she rolled to her side, her leg and arm decorating his body.
“Is that what you really want?” She stared at him with her chin on his chest. Whenever he spoke, it appeared she hung on his every word.
“I want to be near you,” he admitted.
She blinked twice as her lips parted. “I don’t want you to make a decision based on me.”
“I’m not, but it does play a role in my thinking. I’ve loved living in Jacksonville. I know I’m more equipped to be an instructor. I know you’re worried about my knee, but I wouldn’t be doing half of what was required of me as a SEAL.”
“What about physical therapy? Are you going to continue?”
“Yes. Will you take me back?”
She kissed his chest. “I can’t if we’re going to give this a go. But I can recommend someone in my office that is as good as me.”
“Couldn’t I have private sessions?”
Her smile stole his breath.
“Of course, but I’d still want you to go see someone until it’s the best it can be.” She reached down, rolling her palm over his bad knee. “With this kind of swelling, it’s not anywhere near where it should be, and you’re overdoing it.”
“We’re in bed, naked, and you’re lecturing me on overdoing it?”
“Welcome to a relationship.”
He palmed her cheek, kissing her lips gently. “I had to fall into one eventually, I suppose.”
Ring. Ring.
They both jumped at the sound of the hotel phone.
“It’s close to midnight,” she said, pulling the sheet over her body.
“Let me get it,” he said, reaching over her body to get the phone. “Hello?”
“Mitch, it’s Riggs. Sorry to bother you. I tried Ashley’s phone, but got nothing. We need to talk.”
“About?” Mitch swallowed while Ashley mouthed ‘who is it?’
“That information Derek gave me. Can you come to my room?” Riggs asked.
That couldn’t be good. “Sure. Give me ten.”
“Who was that?” Ashley asked, pulling the covers up to her chin.
“Your father. He wants to talk to me about what happened earlier with Derek.”
She narrowed her eyes, glaring at him.
He’d never talked about his past with anyone since he’d been given his new life. There had been no reason to. For all intents and purposes, Marcus Nuniez was dead and gone, but something told him that whatever Derek had slipped to Riggs had to do with his past life, which could bring his mother’s wrath down on everyone he’d come to care about.
“What aren’t you telling me? I can’t stand lying. I won’t tolerate it.”
He couldn’t blame her for her reaction, considering. Though, how was she going to feel if she knew who he really was?
“I’m not exactly sure. Derek implied that I was dangerous.”
“Why would he do that?”
Mitch hiked up his pants, before sitting on the edge of the bed. “There is one thing in my past that only half a dozen or so people know about. I’m honestly breaking all sorts of laws even mentioning it to you, but I do want to be honest.”
“Are you a danger to me or my family?” she asked, her dark eyes laden with concern.
“Not me personally, but my mother certainly is.”