Chapter 6

CHAPTERSIX

When they pulled up to Slate’s house after dinner, Ashlyn was feeling extremely mellow. The night had been awesome. She’d loved spending time with him one-on-one. He was a great conversationalist. When they were out with their friends, he stayed in the background, often saying very little. When they’d first met, she’d actually pegged him as being moody and a bit of a downer, but that wasn’t the case at all. He just preferred letting his friends take the spotlight.

“You comin’ in?” Slate asked when he turned off the engine.

It was fairly late, but neither of them had to work in the morning, so Ashlyn nodded. “If that’s all right.”

“It’s more than fucking all right,” he answered, leaning in and snagging her behind the neck, pulling her close. He kissed her hard right there in his truck, his tongue twining with hers, immediately making Ashlyn squirm with lust.

“Inside,” he growled after abruptly pulling back and opening his door.

Ashlyn grinned and followed suit, once again meeting him at the front of the vehicle. Slate put his arm around her shoulders and led her to the front door.

Surprisingly, he didn’t immediately push her against a wall and strip her naked. Instead, he gestured to the couch with his chin after locking the door. “Have a seat. I’ll grab us something to drink.”

Still turned on, but letting the mellow mood she’d fallen into on the drive back settle over her, Ashlyn headed for his couch. It was a tan micro suede and extremely comfortable. She’d looked into getting one just like it after she’d seen it the first time, but it had been out of her price range.

When Slate appeared next to her with a glass in hand, she opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t want to drink anything because she had to drive later, but he spoke before she could.

“It’s Sprite. I figured you wouldn’t want any alcohol.”

“Thanks,” Ashlyn said, pleased—but not surprised—that he was considering her safety.

He sat next to her, putting the bottle of beer he’d taken out of the fridge on the coffee table. Next, after waiting for her to take a sip of soda, he took the glass from her hand and set it next to his own drink. Then he reached for her.

But instead of pulling her closer, he turned her body to face him and eased her back, pulling her legs up and putting her feet in his lap. Then he slipped off her sandals and began to massage her soles.

“Holy crap. Don’t ever stop that,” Ashlyn groaned.

Slate smiled and kept rubbing.

It was hard to believe she was here. In Slate’s house. Her belly full and with the man she’d crushed on for months, hard, giving her a foot massage.

He’d only turned the kitchen light on, so the room was fairly dark. And quiet. Sighing in contentment, Ashlyn pulled over a small pillow from the end of the couch and stuffed it under her head. Now she could see what Slate was doing and relax at the same time.

Several minutes went by with him massaging her feet before she spoke. “This is nice.”

Slate’s lips twitched.

“I don’t mean the massage. I mean, that’s great. Stupendous, in fact. But I mean…this…hanging out with you. Just being present together in the moment.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ashlyn felt stupid. But she should’ve known Slate wouldn’t make her feel uncomfortable.

“Yeah, it is. Sometimes with my schedule, and the things I see and hear at work, I forget to live in the moment. To take time to appreciate what I’ve got.”

“You have a family?” she asked.

“Nope. Was hatched from an egg,” Slate said without missing a beat.

Ashlyn nudged him with her foot. “Dork. You know what I mean. I haven’t ever heard you mention your parents or any siblings.”

“Don’t talk much about them,” Slate said as he resumed his massage. “But I’ve got ’em. My older sister is an aide to a Congresswoman in Washington, DC, and my younger brother works on a ranch in Montana.”

“Wow. You guys couldn’t be any more different, huh?” Ashlyn asked.

“Nope. Makes things very interesting when we all get together.”

“And your parents?”

“They live in Idaho on ten acres of land. Mom was a schoolteacher and Dad was an accountant. They’re both retired now, and are loving the quiet life,” Slate said. “What about you?”

“I’m an only child,” Ashlyn said. “I really missed having someone to hang out with when I was growing up. My parents are still together…but I wish they would’ve gotten divorced a long time ago.”

“They don’t get along?” Slate asked. He stopped rubbing her feet and simply rested his arm over her ankles.

“No. For as long as I can remember, they’ve been at each other’s throats. And not in a joking or healthy way. They’d fight, then make up, then a day later they’d be yelling at each other again. My dad spent a lot of time sleeping on the couch.”

“That sucks.”

Ashlyn shrugged. “It is what it is. Lots of kids have it worse than I did. They both had good jobs, so we were never hurting for money. We were solidly middle class. I always had food to eat and clothes to wear.”

“But?” Slate asked.

Ashlyn looked at him. “But what?”

“I hear a but in there. You had your basic needs met, but what else? Where did you fall into the family dynamics?”

Dang, Slate was very observant. “A lot of times, they were too busy sniping at each other to remember they had a kid. And when they did take notice of me, it was to bitch at each other for raising me wrong.” Ashlyn shrugged. “I learned it was better to stay out of their way than to bring attention to myself. I was independent at a pretty early age.”

“Sucks, babe,” Slate said.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

Silence settled between them.

“Sorry for being a downer,” she said after a moment.

“You aren’t. On the contrary, you fascinate me.”

Ashlyn looked at him in surprise.

“You may not have had the best childhood, but despite having bad role models, you’re a loyal friend. You’re a hard worker. You have ambition, and empathy for others. I have no idea where or how you learned all that, with the kind of parents it sounds like you had, but I’m impressed.”

“I learned to pay close attention when I was very young. I needed to gauge the kind of moods my parents were in so I’d know how to interact with them. As I got older, that just continued with others. I observed everyone around me. Simply by watching people who were ugly toward others, and seeing the reactions when someone treated a person with kindness, I decided I wanted to be like the latter and not the former,” Ashlyn explained.

“Well, you’ve definitely succeeded in that,” Slate said.

He couldn’t have said anything to please her more. Some women craved compliments on their looks or material possessions; hearing Slate praise her because she was kind meant the world to her. “Thanks.”

They fell quiet again as Slate started massaging her once more. But this time he didn’t stick to just her feet. His hands moved up her legs, caressing her calves, tickling the backs of her knees.

When he finally shifted his position on the couch, bending one knee and moving to face her, Ashlyn’s heart rate picked up.

She’d worn a skirt to look nice for their first official date. It was loose and comfortable—and at the moment, was absolutely no barrier to Slate’s roaming hands. They slid under the fabric until he was caressing her inner thighs.

Ashlyn couldn’t keep the moan from escaping.

A small smile crept over his face, and when he pulled the gusset of her panties to the side, Ashlyn closed her eyes and spread her legs for him.

It didn’t take long for an orgasm to creep up on her. Slate’s hands were magic, and he knew exactly where and how to touch her to send her soaring.

Minutes later, when she was panting and had stopped shaking from the pleasure he’d given her, Slate said, “I like this skirt.”

Ashlyn couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing.

“I’m serious,” he said. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep my hands to myself throughout dinner.”

Ashlyn sat up, ignoring how wet her underwear was now. She knew she’d be removing them soon. “Hard?” she asked, looking at his lap suggestively. His erection was clear to see behind the zipper of his jeans.

Slate stood and held out his hand. “Shall we move this to the bedroom?”

“Yes, please,” she said politely as she reached out to take his hand. As soon as he had her in his grasp, Slate hauled her up, bending and leaning forward at the same time. He put his shoulder in her belly and hefted her over his shoulder.

“Slate!” she screeched.

“Hush, woman,” he said as he turned toward his room.

Ashlyn couldn’t help but giggle as he carried her off like she was a prize he’d won in a fight or something. When he got to the side of his bed, he dumped her onto the mattress. Ashlyn bounced and laughed some more. She didn’t stay down for long though; she’d been dying to get her hands on Slate’s cock, and now seemed like the perfect time.

While he was tearing off his shirt, she slipped off the bed. She had his zipper down and was palming his erection before he knew what she was doing.

“Shit!” he exclaimed as Ashlyn pushed his underwear down and pulled out his cock.

The head was dark purple, and the veins running up and down the length seemed to pulse with excitement. She looked into his eyes even as she leaned forward, running her tongue up the underside of his hard shaft.

A drop of precome immediately beaded on the end, and Ashlyn couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

“Stop fucking around,” Slate grumbled as he put his hands on her head, running them through her hair.

Ashlyn wanted to tease him about his impatience, but at the moment, she was just as eager to get started as he seemed to be. She opened her mouth and took him inside as far as she could. Which wasn’t all that far, since he was so thick. She began to bob up and down slowly, taking a tiny bit more of him each time, loving his taste…and the constant groans that were coming from his mouth.

His hands tightened in her hair, but he didn’t force her to move faster or take more of him than she could comfortably manage. He shifted, spreading his legs farther apart as she sucked him.

Ashlyn had never really enjoyed doing this in the past, but with Slate, she freaking loved it. Loved the control she had over this strong, dangerous man. She used her hand to jerk him off as she continued to move up and down his length.

“Holy shit, babe…that is so damn good! You have no idea. I love being inside your pussy, but this is—” He inhaled sharply and couldn’t finish his thought when she moved her other hand down to cup his balls, bobbing faster on his cock.

Ashlyn was so into what she was doing, she didn’t feel Slate let go of her hair. The next thing she knew, she was flying through the air once more. She landed on her back on the mattress and Slate quickly grabbed her thighs, pulling her ass to the edge of the bed. He threw her skirt up and ripped her lacy panties right off her like a wild man.

He grabbed the box of condoms on the bedside table, spilling them all over the place in his rush to get the box open. He managed to tear one open and roll the condom down his dick in record time. He pushed her thighs apart and notched his cock between her legs.

But then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, obviously trying to get control.

“I’m ready,” Ashlyn said. “Fuck me, Slate.”

He looked down at her, and she could see the relief in his eyes. “You liked sucking me off, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” There was no use lying about it. He’d see for himself how wet she was as soon as he entered her.

“This is gonna be rough and fast,” he warned.

Ashlyn smiled. It wasn’t as if his words were a surprise. “Okay.”

That was all the permission Slate needed. He entered her in one hard thrust, which made Ashlyn inhale sharply. Then he was fucking her hard.

It felt good, but it wouldn’t be enough to get her off. She didn’t mind. Knowing she’d made Slate lose it so badly was hot as hell. She had a feeling he rarely let go of the iron control he wore like a protective shield around him.

It wasn’t long before he swore under his breath and shoved deep inside her, his whole body shuddering. Seeing him come was damn beautiful. The satisfaction and pleasure and awe on his face was worth not orgasming herself. His jeans were still hanging off his thighs, and he looked better than any half-dressed male model she’d ever seen.

And for now…he was all hers.

He finally opened his eyes, and when he met her gaze, Ashlyn shivered. She saw determination in his stare.

“Your turn,” he said.

Ashlyn shook her head. “It’s okay, I—”

Her words were cut off abruptly when he pulled out of her body and knelt on the floor next to the bed. He grabbed a pillow and shoved it under her ass.

“Slate?”

“Hush,” he said gruffly. Then asked, “You ever have a G-spot orgasm?”

“Um, I’m not sure…”

“Then you haven’t,” he said. “Hang on, babe. I’m about to rock your world like you just did mine.”

Ashlyn didn’t have time to comment before he leaned over and proceeded to blow her mind.

Thirty minutes later, Ashlyn felt completely boneless. Slate had proven that she hadn’t, in fact, ever had a G-spot orgasm before, and how different and intense it could be. Then he’d stripped her naked, manhandled her limp body onto the bed, turned her onto her stomach and taken her from behind, making her explode once more—this time while he was deep inside her, fingers on her clit—before coming again himself.

Now they were lying sweaty and exhausted. Slate had pulled her close to his side, and she had her head on his shoulder. She’d never experienced anything as pleasurable as what Slate had done in the last hour. The man should definitely come with a warning.

“You okay?” he asked as he ran his hand over her hair.

She snuggled closer, practically purring. “I’m awesome,” she said. “You?”

“Fucking perfect,” he drawled.

Ashlyn smiled against his shoulder.

“Been wondering something,” Slate said after a minute or two of comfortable silence.

“Yeah?” Ashlyn asked.

“I know you don’t have a problem with drinking in general, but is there a deeper reason behind why you won’t even have one drink if you have to drive? Besides the fact it’s a smart fucking thing to do, obviously,” he added.

God. He really was perceptive. “I worked at a bar in San Diego before I moved to Hawaii,” she said. “Aces Bar and Grill. It’s owned by a woman who’s married to a SEAL.”

“I know the place,” Slate said. “Awesome atmosphere.”

Ashlyn nodded against him. “Yeah. I loved it. There was this guy who was in there all the time. Like, every single day. He was a veteran, and he’d come in fairly early and sit at the end of the bar and nurse a few drinks. Something clear, so I figured maybe it was a gin rickey or something…you know, club soda, gin, and lime. He was hilarious and told the best stories about his time in the Navy. I guessed his wife had died fairly recently, and he was lonely. He always left around ten, before the bar got too busy.

“Anyway, one day I came into work and he wasn’t there. Jessyka, the owner, told me the bad news that he was killed in a drunk driving accident the night before. I assumed it was because he was driving drunk. But apparently, all he ever drank when he was at the bar was Sprite with a lime garnish. Someone else had been drunk behind the wheel of their car and hit him head on.”

Slate hugged her with one arm and turned to kiss her forehead.

“I know life is short, and we don’t know when our time will be up, but I never, ever want to do something stupid and be the reason someone else’s life is cut even shorter. So I choose not to drink when I know I’ll be driving. Even if it’s only one drink, or if I know it’ll be hours before I have to get behind the wheel of a car. I can’t do it. I sincerely appreciated the wine earlier, and believe me, if I wasn’t driving I’d have had a glass or two. But…anyway, that’s why I only had a sip.”

“I think that’s very smart.”

“I don’t want you to think I’m judging you if you have a drink with dinner or anything. It’s perfectly fine. I just can’t do it. I think of that sweet old man and it still upsets me.”

“One of the kids I went to high school with drove after drinking, crashed his car on prom night my junior year,” Slate said quietly. “It was extremely sad. His date didn’t die, but she ended up in a wheelchair. Her spinal cord was severed. So I get it. And for the record, I’m very careful. I limit myself to one drink if I’m driving.”

Ashlyn petted his chest, loving the feel of the crisp hair there. “I know. I’ve noticed.”

“And now that I’ve ruined the mood…can we talk about how revved up you got by sucking my cock?” Slate asked.

Ashlyn burst out laughing. With any other man, she’d probably be embarrassed, but Slate made it feel natural to talk about pretty much anything while lying naked in each other’s arms. She propped her head on the hand on his chest and looked at him. “Couldn’t help it. You’re seriously hot, Slate.”

“Back at ya, babe. Seeing your lips stretched around my cock was a dream come true.”

She smiled. “Good, because I’ll be trying it again, since as you stopped me before I was finished.”

It was Slate’s turn to laugh. “You want me to come in your mouth, Ash?”

“Um…maybe?”

He grinned. Huge. “Works for me.”

Ashlyn abruptly yawned. “Sorry,” she muttered. “I should get going.”

Slate stared at her for a long beat before finally nodding. “You want to shower before you go?” he asked.

“No. It’ll wake me up too much. I’m gonna go home and crash. Besides,” she added, “I kind of like smelling like you.”

“Like smelling you on me too,” he told her. “You gonna be able to stay awake long enough to get home safely?”

“Sure.”

“While you’re changing, I’ll make you a tea to go. Yeah?”

“Sounds good, thanks, Slate.”

He sat up, taking her with him. Then he put his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up to his. He kissed her, longer, slower, and sweeter than any other kiss they’d shared so far. When he pulled back, his eyes roamed over her face and body.

“You have sex hair,” he announced with a grin.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You have a sex hickey,” she retorted, nodding to a spot on his chest she hadn’t been able to resist sucking on earlier.

“Gonna wear it with pride, babe,” he said, seemingly not embarrassed in the least that she’d marked him. He kissed her once more, hard and fast, then scooted out from under the covers.

Ashlyn admired his ass for a moment as he walked around the room gathering up the clothes he’d taken off earlier. It was muscular and round, and Ashlyn wanted to put her hands on him once more.

“Up,” Slate ordered. “Before it gets any later. Not thrilled about you driving around this time of night, but I know if I say anything about it, you’d lose your shit on me and tell me I was being ridiculous and a Neanderthal.”

“Um, you just did say something about it,” Ashlyn informed him.

Slate ignored her as he pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants…without putting on any underwear. When he turned to face her, she had to swallow at the sight of him. She’d never understood women on the Internet going all ga-ga over pictures of men in sweatpants, but right then, she got it. She could clearly see the outline of his cock, and the suggestiveness of it seemed even hotter than seeing him bare somehow.

“Eyes up here, Ashlyn,” Slate said, the humor easy to hear in his tone.

She forced her gaze from his mouthwatering cock up to his face.

“Get up. Get dressed. I’ll get your tea,” Slate said.

Ashlyn nodded.

“Fuck. So cute,” he muttered, before turning and heading out of the bedroom.