12. Lennie

12

LENNIE

“ I won’t be but a few minutes. Make yourself at home.” I’m left in the middle of Asher’s house while he changes into his bathing suit. We ate dinner together, we talked, had an honest to goodness conversation. When I talked, he listened, he asked questions, and he wasn’t on the phone between conversations, either. A breath of fresh air is what it is, especially after I dumped on him after he fixed the smoke detector, taking on a problem that isn’t his. Namely me, but I didn’t feel like a burden or that someone was taking more from me than they were giving back. I told him about my new job, he mentioned his friend Luke is the doctor I work for and, well, I had to laugh. This is life in a small town, but what are the chances that you travel to the bigger city, and it still follows you?

“Alright.” My eyes scour the room, looking at the framed pictures he has spread around his house. I’m tempted to poke and prod, be the nosey girl I am, yet I refrain. Instead, I think back on our conversation when it was Asher’s time to talk. He spoke about how this week is the first time in a long time he’s getting back to normal shift-wise at work. They’ve been short staffed, and when the men who are married with kids have school sports to attend, he has no problem picking up an extra one. Now that I think about it, he reminds me a lot of the Johnson brothers with a big dash of Clay Garcia. The hard part will be trying not to get ahead of myself because I could really see myself falling for Asher Fontaine, more than ever have before.

“Ready?” Asher comes out a few minutes later. I barely made it through the living room, and there’s still a den, kitchen, and dining room, not to mention the bedroom.

“Yep, I sure am.” His hand reaches for mine, and he laces our fingers together then pulls me through the back of the house. My gaze is everywhere, and in between, I count the doors as we pass them by. Three doors are closed; the last is wide open.

“There are two ways to go out to the backyard, the kitchen or my room. Figured this would be easier in case you need to use the restroom.” Asher leads me through his bedroom, tossing a look over his shoulder. One full of promises that’s causing me to shiver. There’s a king-size bed, a deep gray quilt covering it with a lighter shade peeking beneath it and also carrying through the pillows. The furniture is a deep wood tone, and the walls are warm in color. The pile of clothes on the foot of his bed is the only mess I can see in the short window I’m here. His scent, though, it lingers well into the bathroom. A quick flick of a lock and a twist of the knob, then we’re out on his back patio .

I lose Asher’s hand when he moves to switch the patio lights on. A soft glow illuminates the covered area as well as a light in the pool. “Wow,” I breathe out. “This is incredible. I mean, I saw a bit before when you were out here with your niece, but that was literally a sliver. You have an oasis out here, and it’s beautiful.”

“Thanks. The pool was the selling feature. Of course, I had no idea the amount of work it needed. Now that it’s done, I’m no longer cussing the cost.” Asher sets two towels out on a lounge chair and then moves back toward me. I had no idea I’ve been glued to just outside the door until my feet are moving, following his lead heading near the chairs.

“I’d bet. Kind of how I feel about this electrical nonsense.” This time, it’s me disengaging in order to pull off my cover-up. No way would you ever see me walk out of the house in just a two-piece. I lift the gauzy dress over my head. I chose the black bikini with a floral design, V-neck, scalloped trim, and adjustable straps for the top. This style allows me to tighten it with the ties in the center of my back and helps hold the girls up and in place. The matching bottoms are high-rise with a slight cheekiness to them. When I look up, my gaze meets Asher’s. He's taking me in, completely, and while he’s seen me in a towel, this is a whole lot different.

“Jesus, Lennon, you’re fucking gorgeous.” There’s a hunger in his voice and look in his eyes that tells me deep down in my soul is him stating the truth.

“Well, thank you, but, umm… You’re not so bad yourself.” Ugh, I’m such an idiot. That sounds way worse than describing how hot I think he is. “What I meant to say is, we ll, you’re really handsome.” Get it together, Lennon Sinclair. You’re thirty-five years old, not a bumbling, stumbling teenager.

“Babe, come here.” Butterflies swirl in my stomach as I take a hesitant step, worried I’ve made an absolute fool of myself. Once I’m within reaching distance, Asher pulls me close to his body yet again. I’m noticing he’s a physical touch kind of man, which I’m finding I like more than I ever thought possible. “You got nothing to be nervous about with me. Like you exactly the way you are, and everything else we’ll figure out. Okay?”

I don’t use my words. Instead, I nod, probably looking like a bobble head, but it works. He drops another kiss to my lips. This time, it’s too fast for more. I’d be on the tips of my toes, hands diving into his hair or holding on to his waist like I did earlier and trying my hardest to deepen the kiss into a full-on make-out session.

He leads me into the pool and walks us into the water. There are no steps, and I have no idea what the real name of this pool style is, but it’s freaking cool. I assume the other side would be the deep end, and there are steps off to the side. There’s also a ledge along the back wall where you can rest. He sits down, the water coming up to his chest, spreads his legs, and pulls me down until I’m between his thighs. My ass cushions near his lap, causing me to feel him, all of him.

“Asher,” I whimper when he presses his hips upward.

“That’s what you do to me, Lennon. Every morning, I wake up with my hand wrapped around my cock. I get so much of a thrill of seeing you during the day, and I have to refrain from doing the same. At night, it’s a whole lot of the same. I get you might have reservations. I’ll go as slow as you want or as fast you want. The ball is in your court.” He moves my hair off to the other shoulder. The scruff on his chin and cheeks abrades the skin on my neck. The sensation sends me into a quivering needy mess. My legs squeeze together, my core pulses with need, and I drop my hands to Asher’s thighs, holding him as tightly as possible. I’m waffling about what I should do and how to respond.

Instead of talking, I do the complete opposite. Actions speak louder than words anyways. I’m up and on my feet, turning around, hearing the sharp intake of breath when my ass is basically planted in his face. Whoops! Guess I should have thought about that beforehand, and when I turn around, I’m greeted with Asher’s fist to his mouth, and he looks like he’s barely holding on by a thread.

“Motherfuck.” I place either foot on the outside of his thighs and get reacquainted with his lap. My core meets his cock, and I swivel my hips, getting the feel of him I so desperately need.

“I can tell you what I don’t want. I don’t want to take things so slow when it’s my fingers, my toy, or the showerhead getting me off when it could be us, together. My past isn’t going to define me. I’m not going to let it. I may have some hiccups that try and creep in, but I promise I’ll work through them, and I can tell you’re a man of your word.”

“Damn straight, I am. What I said holds true. You need me, I’m there. You need to deal with things your way, I’ll be there, holding you the entire time.” Asher’s hands move to my hips, fingers sliding toward my ass, cupping my cheeks beneath my bathing suit, then he slides me along his thick and heavy length .

“God.” My eyes close as I rock my body, one hand holding his shoulder, the other running through his hair, gripping the longer strands.

“Mouth. Need your mouth, gorgeous.” I’m so lost to his touch, I’m unaware that he’s doing that thing he does. A hand tightens in my hair, pulling me to his lips, and I feel his tongue slide along my lower lip, tugging at it with his teeth, and then he’s kissing me. It’s not short and sweet. There’s nothing chaste about it. He’s taking me with his mouth, devouring me whole, dominating my mind, my body, and my heart. A new sensation rocks me through my core, one that I’ve never experienced before.

“Ash,” I moan against his lips when he hits that spot. The underside of his cock grinds on my clit, and the sensation is otherworldly.

“Fuck, watching you rock your body, using me to get off, hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Get there, Lennon, come for me, gorgeous. Fall apart, fall to pieces, so I can put you back together.” His words, his body, the way he’s surrounding me, I’ve never had anything like this before in my life.

“So close. Oh god, I’m so close.” My hands tighten their hold. Asher’s fingers surround me further, digging in and spreading my cheeks wider. I swear I can feel the heat of his fingertips getting closer and closer to my center.

“You’re gonna take me with you, Lennon.” I’m getting him off too. His teeth grazing my throat sets me off. I exhale his name on a long and deep moan, eyes closing, body shattering, my insides quivering, and I think this is the hardest I’ve ever come in my life .

“Asher.” I drop my head to his chest, feeling him continuing rolling his hips.

“Lennon,” he grunts. His body tightens, and I realize we both just came with our clothes on. When the time comes when there’s not a stitch of fabric between us, I’m not sure we’ll last much longer than what we just did. I settle into his chest, arms tucking into myself, and he holds me. God, does he hold me, like he’s afraid I’ll get up and run away. When in all reality, I don’t think I’ll ever leave this man. You’d have to pry him away from me first.