15. Kayla

I’m in trouble. I’ve let myself go down the rabbit hole and enjoy every moment of bliss. Every touch, every kiss, it feels like I’m in a dream.

I used to make fun of girls for acting the way I am right now. I’m like a lovestruck teenager. It’s hard not to be around him.

It was like a switch was flipped, and Ash is suddenly this ray of sunshine. He’s been so positive about everything these past few days. It seems like he’s genuinely enjoying himself. His mood is infectious.

He’s gotten used to all the chores, and he’s been proactive with fixing up the cabins. We’ve been making a lot of progress with the cabins and the ranch.

I start cooking dinner wearing just his T-shirt, which I don’t plan on giving back. I think Ash puts the fire on just so I won’t wear pants. He’s told me more than once that pants are always optional around him.

He comes up behind me and kisses my neck, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. His body is pressed up against mine, and even though we did it in the shower not long ago, I can feel that he could go again.

He continues to kiss my neck, and I giggle. He leans his head around me to look at what I’m cooking.

“It’s just steak,” I tell him.

“It’s not just steak,” he scoffs. “You made an entire sauce from scratch.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s so basic. I promise it’s nothing special.”

Ash chuckles. His breath heats my neck, sending a tingle down my body. “You could make toast and I would be grateful.”

I’m enjoying playing house with him. We’ve been taking turns cooking each other breakfast and dinner. It’s become a bit of a competition. I’m not the greatest cook, but I do make a damn good sauce.

He sets out a blanket in front of the fireplace in the living room. We both hate how formal it feels at the table, so this has become our little tradition.

It’s crazy how quickly we’ve fallen into a rhythm. It feels like we’ve been doing this forever.

I’ve been actively trying not to overthink it and just enjoy myself. I know I’m catching feelings for him and that they’re growing stronger, but I do my best not to think about that either.

Ash is leaving soon; I’m well aware of that. The thought is like a vise around my heart, so I push it away anytime it tries to rear its ugly head.

I look at him and smile. I’m just going to stay in the moment. It’s the only way I’m going to get through this. I already know it’s going to be a lot harder than I first thought when he goes home.

I serve up our food and push down the thoughts. Right now, it’s just us two. Right now, I’m going to enjoy every second in our little bubble.

I watch his face as he takes a bite of the steak. He moans, and I feel my face lighting up. I’ve never been one to seek praise, but having him compliment me feels pretty damn good.

I feel like I’m floating on a cloud, and I don’t want to think about what happens when it inevitably rains.

We spend the rest of the night chatting and kissing until we eventually head upstairs and fall asleep.

Waking up the following morning in Ash’s arms, I snuggle in. I want to soak up every moment. He kisses my head and I sigh. I could stay like this forever.

“I don’t want to,” he groans.

“I don’t want to what?” I laugh.

He pulls me even closer to his body, and something is definitely hard. “I don’t want to do anything but lie here with you.”

“I had the same thought a minute ago.” I turn over to face him and my heart lurches. Why does he have to be so goddamn sexy? “Lucky for you, I have a surprise.”

He raises an eyebrow and lightly traces the bottom edge of the T-shirt I’m wearing. “Really?”

I roll my eyes. “Not that. That wouldn’t be a surprise.”

He continues to trail his finger up and down my thigh, making it hard for me to focus.

“We are having a day off.”

His finger stops trailing me, and his eyebrows fly up. “Really?”

I nod. “Yep. We’ve earned it — and there’s the Spring to Life Festival today. There’s a hay-bale maze, rides, and all the local stores sell bits and pieces. My mom used to take me and Jack when we were kids.”

Ash lightly caresses my face. We haven’t talked about my mom much. I don’t know how much Jack has told him, but I know he knows the basics.

He leans in. “That sounds good.”

His lips find mine. He slides his hand up my leg and up the shirt, sending tingles through my body. His kiss becomes ravenous as he pulls my body closer. Heat flushes my body as my hands explore the planes of his chest.

Just as things are heating up, there’s a knock at the door.

We both pause. It’s not Jack — he wouldn’t knock. I don’t know who it would be.

“Ignore it,” Ash growls. He kisses me hard, as if he needs me here and now.

There’s another knock. I groan and detach myself from him, smoothing down my hair as I head for the door.

I swing it open. Izzy is smiling ear to ear with a basket full of muffins. She eyes my bare legs. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.” She pushes past me and makes her way to the kitchen. If there’s two things Izzy knows how to do, it’s make good muffins and make herself at home.

She narrows her eyes at my questioning expression. “It’s Harvest Festival.”

I roll my eyes. “I think you mean Spring to Life.”

Izzy scrunches her face. “I refuse to call it that. The rebranding of it is ridiculous.” She bounces around the kitchen and makes herself a coffee. “I would never forget our tradition, though, even if there is a man around here somewhere.” She looks out the window and tries to see if she can spot him. Giving me a mischievous look, she continues, “Where is the man? Out in the barn? Or…?” She nods towards my room.

I don’t give her the satisfaction of an answer.

“As per our tradition, I brought my famous choc-chip homemade muffins, but I’m guessing you don’t need an escort to the festival.” She wiggles her eyebrows, but I stay quiet.

Don’t get me wrong — Izzy is my best friend, and I trust her with my life. But I’ve known her long enough to know that she won’t keep this a secret.

I feel stupid for forgetting our tradition. It was always me and my mom’s favorite festival of the year. Once she died, Izzy took over. She always made sure I had the best day, which always started with her delicious muffins.

My heart sinks as a wave of guilt hits me. I’ve been so consumed by Ash that for a moment I forgot about my mom.

I try to think of today as a celebration of her life, but it still hurts. I thought the more time that passed, the less it would hurt, but the pain is always there.

My grief rears its ugly head at the oddest of times. It’s not usually on the anniversary of her death or her birthday. It’s when I see a butterfly because we shared a love of them. It’s when I use a technique on a horse that she taught me.

There are times where I wish I could hug her or talk to her about what I’m going through. My heart will always ache when I think about her. I know she’s watching over me.

I wonder what she would say about my current recklessness with Ash.

I look at Izzy. I’m so grateful for her friendship. That doesn’t mean I’ll be spilling the details about Ash, though.

She acknowledges my silence and downs her coffee. “Okay, I’ll see you both there.”

I chuckle. “See you there, my little hurricane.”

She pauses on the porch and leans in. “I expect details later.”

Rolling my eyes, I shut the door and practically run back to my room. But Ash isn’t in the bed. I can hear the shower running, and I smile. Him in running water is my kryptonite.

I slip out of his T-shirt and quietly make my way into the shower. I eye his body and sigh. He is literally perfect. His sculpted abs, his bulging muscles, his perfectly sculpted butt.

I bite my lip as his gorgeous eyes meet mine. His drinks in my body, like I was just doing to him. He makes me feel so sexy. He grabs my face and kisses me passionately, the urgency from earlier returning. He lifts up my body, and I wrap my legs around him. He pushes me against the shower screen and kisses my neck, his cock pulsing against me.

My body ignites under his touch and I lose myself in him. His caress, his kiss, his hands, the jolts of pleasure rushing through me.

I moan loudly as his thumb finds my clit. His fingers gently push inside me and I feel him smile against my lips as I react to him. I ride his hand greedily, coating him with my juices. At this point, there’s no hiding what he does to me.

Just as I’m nearing the edge, Ash withdraws his hand. I mewl, frustrated, then gasp as he pushes his cock inside me, clinging tight to him as he begins to thrust.

“God, Kayla. You feel so good.”

I’m beyond words now; my whole body is shaking. All I can do is tighten my grip around his waist.

As Ash captures my nipple in his mouth and sucks, I cry out, finally going over the edge. My orgasm goes on and on as Ash buries himself inside me, my pussy clenching around him. He moans out long and low as his own climax hits.

Fuck. I can’t get enough of this.

Afterwards, he gently sets me down and washes me with soap, which feels oddly more intimate than what we just did. He lightly traces his hand down my cheek and looks into my eyes, then he leans in and lightly kisses me. We’re both gentle, as if the slightest jolt could shatter us. When he meets my gaze again, it feels like he’s looking into my soul.

There’s such an intensity between us that I feel like I might explode. Then he smiles, and it feels like I’m really seeing him — the raw, unfiltered version of him.

Reluctantly, we step out of the shower and get ready.

Ash sighs as I walk downstairs.

I raise an eyebrow. “What?”

He pouts. “I miss your bare legs.”

I chuckle. I’m only in jeans and a knitted sweater but it feels like a fortress between our bodies.

He runs his hands down my side and presses me against the wall of the hallway. “Do you know how hard it’s going to be to keep my hands to myself today?”

We agreed that we don’t want to make it too obvious that something is going on between us. I mean, it’s pretty goddamn obvious, but we don’t want there to be any confirmation — especially on the off chance that it gets leaked to the media and ruins his chances for next season.

I pinch at his shirt. “Did you pack a bunch of plaid shirts unironically?”

He looks down at his shirt. “This is Jack’s. I stole it.” He shrugs. “I wanted to fit in.”

I want to laugh but there’s such a look of sincerity on his face. I lean in and kiss him instead. I let my tongue trace his and lose myself in him for a moment.

He groans as I pull back. “That’s just mean.”

I grin. I like that I have this effect on him.

Ash keeps his hands on me as we leave the house and walk to the woods.

After some prodding, I tell him about the night a few years back when I thought Jack went missing. “I swear. It was like one moment he was there, and then he disappeared.”

He laughs. “Were you drunk?”

I bite my lip. “Maybe.”

We pause at the edge of the woods where a few trees block us from the rest of town. Ash pins me against a tree and kisses me like his life depends on it. By the time he pulls back, we’re both panting.

I reluctantly step away from him, smoothing down my outfit and fixing my hair.

He leans down for one last kiss before we walk through the trees and into the town square.