Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

ALIX

Oh my god.

Oh my god, I can't believe I'm doing this. I've never had a one night stand in my life. I've never even gotten close.

In my head, I'm a slut, but in reality I can count on one hand the number of guys I've ever kissed, and still have fingers left over. Until yesterday, I never would have pictured myself picking up a stranger in a bar.

Apparently, I'm doing a lot of things differently than I was yesterday.

Ash follows me back to the house on his motorcycle. He drives a freaking motorcycle! Like, of course he does, because he just had to go and get even hotter.

His headlight shines through my back window as we both pull into the driveway of Nana's empty house. Maybe it's weird to bring a guy back here, I don't know, but I also think that Nana would be cheering me on if she knew.

I take a moment before I turn off the car, staring at the bright yellow glow of my headlights shining against the house. I suck in a deep breath. I want to do this…like, I really want to, but my hands are shaking with nerves and I have the worst feeling I'm going to make an idiot out of myself.

A shadow falls over me from outside the passenger window, and I look up to find Ash standing outside waiting for me. I smile, and turn off the car before getting out.

"Nice place," he says, looking around at the big yellow farmhouse and the elaborate garden surrounding it. "Not really what I pictured when you said you were staying in Ironhill."

I laugh. "Did you think I was luring you back to my cave?"

His eyes flash with something…surprise, I think…then he grins. He steps closer to me, and puts his hand against the car door, boxing me in against the driver's side window. "To be honest, even if you were, I would've followed you."

My heart does a stupid little pitter patter, and suddenly I understand what the word "swoon" means. I smile, and look up to meet his impossibly green eyes. He really is absurdly handsome, in a way that almost feels unreal. Like, if I couldn't reach out and touch him right now he'd disappear, back to whatever magical place he came from.

Summoning every shred of bravery I have, I lean in.

In the bar, both seated, it was hard to tell how tall he is, but now he towers over me, nearly a foot taller than my 5'4" frame. I have to stand on my toes to wrap my arms around his neck, and my t-shirt rides up so high, my entire back presses against the cold car door and I shiver.

Ash moves his large hands to my sides, pressing long fingers into the bare skin of my waist. Then, he bends his head to kiss me.

Like in the bar, his lips are soft and taste like some combination of cinnamon and spearmint. My stomach soars, and I open my mouth, letting him explore my tongue with his.

He moves his hands down my side to cup my ass, and then without warning, grips the backs of my thighs lifting me off the ground. I gasp, and twine my legs around his hips. I can feel him growing hard against my core, and I grind against him lightly, loving the friction of our jeans.

He pulls his mouth back to whisper against my lips. "Inside?"

"Yeah," I reply. "I–"

Before I can finish, he lifts me more firmly into the air, and starts walking toward the porch. I grip my legs even tighter, and move my head to the side to trail kisses along his neck and sharp jaw. The stubble there scratches my cheeks and lips, but I don't care. I want to feel that roughness all over my body, on every inch of sensitive skin.

Ash carries me up the porch steps and toward the door.

"There's a key under–" I begin, but break off as he opens the door with one hand and we step inside. Huh. I must've forgotten to lock it? That's weird, I could've sworn I did.

The confusion flies out of my head as Ash kicks the door closed behind us, and murmurs against my hair. "Where to, Peaches?"

Um…

I pull my head up and look around the entryway of the house. The guest room I usually sleep in is upstairs, but I haven't even been up there myself, yet. For all I know, Nana has left art supplies all over the room, or decided to use it as an indoor greenhouse or something. That would be hard to explain, and would definitely ruin the moment.

"Couch," I murmur, jerking my head toward the living room to our right.

The living room is probably the least cluttered room in the house, aside from the kitchen. There's a long, red-velvet sofa pushed up against a large bay window, and a few eclectic armchairs all grouped around a spindle-legged coffee table.

Ash doesn't miss a beat. He carries me into the room, expertly navigating the maze of furniture, and lowers me down to the red-velvet sofa.

I have to tilt my head all the way back to keep him in view as he towers over me. My heart is beating out of control, and I'm suddenly nervous again.

He lowers to his knees in front of me, and I part my legs so he can kneel on the floor between them. Like this, we're almost eye to eye, and his smirk is sexy and arrogant as he runs his hands up my denim covered thighs.

His fingers trace over my waistband, fiddling with the silver metal button of my jeans. "Can I take these off?"

I nod, even as I reach down and tug my t-shirt over my head. The fabric catches on my necklace, and Ash reaches out to help me. He stares for a moment at the gold pendant on my chest, before his eyes travel down to my purple lace bra. He leans over to press his mouth against my collar bone. I tilt my head back against the couch and moan when he drags his lips down, sucking lightly on my right nipple through the lace.

He fumbles with the button and zipper on my jeans for a moment, and I lift my hips to help him peel them down my legs. He tugs them off and tosses the jeans to the side, and the cool air rises goosebumps on my bare skin. Fuck, I've never been so grateful in my life for lazer hair removal, or to be wearing pretty underwear. My black thong doesn't match my bra, but at least I'm not wearing horrible laundry-day panties.

He looks down at me with a clear hunger in his eyes, and I writhe under the attention. I'm not sure anyone has ever looked at me like that.

I'm suddenly very aware that I'm practically naked while he's still dressed. I grip the lapels of his leather jacket and push it down his muscled arms. Underneath, he's wearing a simple white t-shirt, and my mouth waters when I spot the intricate tattoos covering both his arms from wrist to beneath the white cotton sleeves. Leaning closer, I can see that both arms are covered in a continuous pattern of symbols. It looks like some cross between norse runes and ancient arabic characters.

"Nice ink," I blurt out.

He glances down at his arm, and frowns. "Thank you…"

I help yank off his t-shirt, and discover that the tattoos extend from his arms, over both shoulders and across his chest. He's corded with muscle, like he spends every waking hour in the gym. My eyes widen, and I find myself staring at his abs, before jerking my eyes back up as if I've only been admiring the tattoos and not his perfect body. "What do they mean?"

"They're a family thing," he replies vaguely.

"Like a motto?"

"Something like that," he mutters, then leans forward to capture my mouth in another kiss.

I quickly forget my questions as the kiss turns heated again. He runs his hands up my bare legs and over my stomach to cup my breasts. Squeezing lightly, he runs his thumbs over my nipples, scraping with his thumbnails. A tingle travels through my entire body, and lands in my core. I arch my back, pressing my chest more firmly against him.

He moves his lips down my neck, across my chest again, and lower until he reaches my stomach. He presses an open mouthed kiss to the skin just below my belly button, and I suck in a sharp breath at the feeling of his chin scratching against my too-sensitive skin.

He pushes my legs wide apart, and presses a kiss against the triangle of lace covering me. I moan, and he opens his mouth, dragging his tongue over the rough fabric until I'm soaking wet and writhing.

"Take them off," I demand.

He doesn't quite follow my direction, instead simply hooking one finger under the lace and dragging my panties to the side, exposing me. I writhe when he returns his mouth to my core, this time sucking my clit hard into his mouth.

"What do you know?" he murmurs. "You are delicious, peaches."

Oh my god.

I've never felt this good. Never. Not even when Ryan and I were still newly married and all over each other, which incidentally is the last time I had anyone go down on me. Four years of only occasional, boring obligation sex, and I'd started to think I just didn't like sex with real people the same way the fictional characters in my romance novels seem to.

Wrong. Totally, and completely wrong. I do like sex, and even if I never see Ash again after tonight I'll be glad he taught me that.

Ash sucks harder on my clit, scraping his teeth, and at the same time he thrusts two fingers inside me. His fingers curl against my inner walls, and I scream. My entire body shudders and I close my eyes, gasping for breath.

Without waiting for me to recover, Ash gets to his feet. He undoes his own belt much faster than he got my jeans off, and then he's sitting down on the couch next to me. I only have a second to marvel at the size of his cock, standing straight up, before he's tugging me into his lap.

I let out a breathy moan when I feel his tip nudging against my soaking wet entrance. Fuck.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wonder if I should ask him to use a condom. Fuck it, I'll risk it. I'm on birth control, and even during the year that I wasn't, and Ryan and I tried to get pregnant, it never worked out. I'm not even sure I can have a baby.

Pushing that thought from my mind, I refocus on the man in front of me. Ash is looking up at me, eyes intense and seemingly lit from within. I push my hips forward and rock against him, sliding his cock back and forth over my entrance.

He growls, and grips my hips tightly, pressing me down until I'm seated fully on his lap. I'm impossibly full. The pressure is intense, and oh so good. "Holy shit."

He throbs inside me. "Bounce on my cock."

I shift my knees to the couch on either side of his hips, and wrap my arms around his neck. Then, I rise slowly, sliding him out, and back in again. His grip tightens, and I know I'll have bruises on my hips in the morning. I fucking love it.

I move faster as he tears the cups of my bra down, and sucks one nipple back into his mouth. Pleasure begins to build inside me once more, and short gasps escape me as I grind down on him, rocking my clit with every stroke.

"Fuck, peaches," he growls against my skin. "Just like that."

I move even faster, and he helps, lifting my hips with both hands and slamming me back down again over and over. My clit throbs, and my legs begin to shake both with pleasure and exertion.

Sensing me slowing down, Ash lifts me off his cock and slams my back down against the couch. With an agility that I almost envy, he moves over me and slams back inside once more.

I moan, and raise my hands over my head and he circles both my wrists with one large hand. In this position, I'm just along for the ride, loving the burn of pleasure and friction as he fucks me so hard my head bounces against the cushoned sofa armrest.

Warmth spreads through me again, and I squeeze my eyes shut tight. Every muscle in my body seems to tense. My toes curl, and I draw my knees up, holding Ash against me.

We both shout at the same time. He shudders, and grows harder inside me, before collapsing forward and pressing his face against my chest.

Despite our size difference, it's strangely not uncomfortable to feel his weight pressing against me. I'm completely enveloped in warm, tattooed muscles, and I lay there growing a bit too comfortable as my breathing slows down and my heart rate returns to normal.

Finally, he pushes up on his hands to look at me. Our gazes connect, and the happy, soap-bubble around this moment seems to pop.

Now what?

Is he going to leave? What is proper one night stand etiquette?

"Um," I begin, having no idea where I'm going with this.

He grins, and slides out of me before standing up. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"Um," I sit up. "Not really. I mean, there's water."

He gives me a cocky smile, and drags his gaze over my naked body appreciatively before turning and walking naked across the room. Good lord, I want to sink my teeth into his ass.

"Water will do," he points out of the living room and down the hall. "This way?"

"Yeah," I mutter, pushing sweaty curls out of my face. "The kitchen is through the dining room."

"Good," he replies, already moving away. "I think you'll need to hydrate before round two."

My stomach leaps in excitement. "Round two?"

He grins over his shoulder at me. "Of course, peaches. Did you think I could survive on only one taste of you?"

My mouth falls open. Fuck, I think I might love him. Like, not really, but I definitely love the way he fucks me. I can feel a real infatuation barreling toward me like a freight train.

I watch appreciatively as Ash walks across the entry way and through the dining room toward the kitchen. He stops short in front of the stacks of books on the dining room table.

Ash picks up one of the books and looks closely at it, before turning back around to face me. His smile has vanished. "What the hell is this?"

"Um…" It takes me a moment to process what he's asking, then find the words to answer. "Just books. Have you ever heard of Isabelle Reading?"

"Isabelle?" he says slowly, his voice slightly strangled.

The mood in the room has shifted dramatically. Shit. Maybe Ash is a fan of Nana's? If he wants to spend the rest of the evening talking about fairytales I think I might die.

I sit up straighter, scrambling for my clothes. Instead, my fingers find Ash's tshirt. I get quickly to my feet, tugging the shirt over my head like a dress.

"What's wrong?" I ask, striding across the room.

Ash is still focused on the books, his shoulders tense. He turns slowly to look at me, his eyes darting from my face to my collar bone. He seems to fixate on the lump of my necklace hidden beneath his t-shirt, and a barrage of emotions flickering behind his eyes. Horror, Guilt, Anger.

"Okay," I let out a shaky laugh. "You're freaking me out. Have you read the books or something?"

"What's the name of the man on the cover?"

I furrow my brows. "That's King Thorne, he's in the book. Does it matter?"

Ash licks his lips nervously, and his handsome face crumples with resignation, as if he already knew what I was going to say. "Fuck, Peaches. I'm so sorry about this."

"Sorry about what?" I demand.

He raises a hand in the air, and I don't get to hear his reply as everything goes black.