“Shit, watching you eat like that is incredibly fucking sexy.” He reached down to adjust himself. “I’m going to do my best to keep my hands to myself and let you eat, but I make no guarantees because right now I want to flip you over and fuck you until neither of us can move.”
The moan slipped out before I could pull it back. Images of all the things I’d like Ashton to do to me but was too shy to ask for ran through my head.
“Elena,” he said, his voice throaty. “I don’t want you to be late and I see the look in your eyes. I’m going to go take a really fucking cold shower, but tonight you’re mine.” He captured my lips, stealing my breath, and left through the door to the bathroom.
My eyes darted back and forth between the food in front of me and the door, where I could hear the shower running.
Squirming in the bed, I shoveled down the omelet and got up to make my way into the bathroom.
The outline of his body was visible through the frosted glass and my nipples hardened into tight little buds. With one arm up on the wall in front of him, he was the picture of raw sensuality. And I wanted to have a taste.
Stepping into the shower behind him I wrapped my arms around his waist. Taking him into one of my hands, I gave his hard length a few slow strokes. His head dropped forward for a second before he turned around. I didn’t want to give him a chance to stop me so, stealing myself, I dropped to my knees, taking him into my mouth.
“Elena,” he hissed. “You don’t—”
I sucked him deeper, effectively cutting off any argument he planned to make. It was my first time giving a blowjob where each stroke didn’t come with an insult. Dominic would tell me what a bad job I was doing. Strange that, considering he always managed to get off. The sounds of Ashton’s satisfied grunts and groans led me to believe I was doing something right.
When my tongue drew small circles around the tip, Ashton slid his hands into my hair, his fingers clenching, tugging. It stung, but not in a bad way. His skin was silky against my tongue as I sucked him deeper. His hips pistoned forward and he stopped suddenly.
“Elena, I’m sorry—”
Not wanting to let go, I grabbed his ass cheeks, pulling him to me. He took the hint and began to slide in out of my mouth. All the while, I cupped his balls, rolling them around in my hands. His movements sped up, becoming stuttered and without rhythm.
“I’m gonna come, Elena,” he panted.
I knew why he was warning me, but I wanted it. I drew him into the back of my throat, gripping his ass, making sure he couldn’t pull out as I brought him over, his essence spilling into my mouth and down my throat. The second he finished I was yanked up and his mouth was on mine, my lips covered and possessed by his.
Lips parted.
Tongues dueled.
It was sensational.
He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine. “You didn’t have to do that,” he whispered, his breathing still labored.
“I wanted to.”
“Mmm . . . feel free to do that anytime you want.”
Those simple words banished more of the fear and insecurity.
“I will.”
He caressed down my stomach. I knew what he had in mind. Taking hold of his hand, I brought his palm to my lips. “You can have me tonight. Otherwise we’ll both be late.”
He kissed me quickly. “I hate it when you’re right.”
We finished our shower and got ready to face the day. Ashton’s would be much longer than mine, but there was something I needed to take care of when I got home from rehearsal.
Rehearsal went better than I expected; the only problem being how quickly it flew by. Nerves hit me. Although probably the easiest of all my problems to deal with, I wasn’t sure if I was quite ready to face more demons.
After Lewis dropped me off at the house, I sat in the living room staring at the phone. Not dialing, or talking on. Simply staring at the phone in my hand. My fingers trembled as I pressed each button and my stomach churned up the contents of my lunch.
What would they say? I hadn’t talked to them in five years. Had they given up and disowned me? Would they even still have the same number? The call connected and I almost puked. A soft, female voice answered.
“Hello?”
I took a deep breath and spoke. “Mom?”
“Laney?”
Hearing her use the name I’d grown up with made my throat close and I couldn’t breathe.
“Laney, is that you?”
“It’s me,” I croaked.
“Oh my God.” This was a muffled scraping and then Mom was yelling. “Lance. Lance. Our Laney is on the phone.”
There was more shouting.
“Put her on speaker,” my dad said.
“Laney, are you still there?”
I had to laugh at their antics. In five years, nothing about them had changed. “Yeah, I’m still here.”
“Where are you?” Mom asked the same time Dad said, “Are you still with that asshole?”
I sighed. “I’m still in Colorado and technically yes, but I’m going to start divorce proceedings.”
“Oh thank God,” my mother chanted. “What changed?”
I fiddled with the edge of the pillow. “I met a man—”
“You met someone?” Her voice was a little giddy. “Are you and Dominic separated?”
She had never been a fan of Dominic. When I’d called to tell her we’d eloped, she cried, but they hadn’t been tears of joy. That was when Dominic began whispering in my ear, telling me my mother didn’t want me to be happy; saying that if she did, she would have been as excited as I was. It was the first step down a very treacherous path that left me alone in the world, except for Dominic.
If I’d only known.
“Yes, we’ve been living apart for the last month or so.” My parents didn’t need any more information than that. “And I did. He’s charming and handsome.”
“Oh, honey,” her voice held a hint of sadness. “You thought Dominic was all of those things too.”
“Yes, but . . . ” Just the thought of Ashton brightened my day. “He’s so different. He cares about what I want, and what I need. He listens when I talk and refuses to let me help with dishes when we have dinner together. And you’ll never guess what else he did?”
She sniffed down the line.
“He helped me get an audition for an off Broadway show and I got one of the lead roles.”
My mother didn’t answer, but I could hear her sobbing when my father did. “Oh, Laney, that’s wonderful.”
“Mom, are you okay?” Why was she crying? She knew when I went to college this was what I wanted to do.
“I—” She drew in a sharp breath. “I . . . just never th-thought we’d hear from . . . you again,” she sobbed.
Tears sprang to my eyes faster than I could stop them and I let them run, unchecked, down my face. “Oh, Mom, I’m so sorry.”
“Baby girl, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Mom argued. “He warped all of your views.”
“That’s one thing I’m learning. Ashton is a good teacher.”
“When do we get to meet this mysterious man?” Mom asked, and I could almost hear her smile.
Shit.
That was something I hadn’t thought about. Obviously, I could explain to my parents that the situation was temporary—how I ended up here in the first place—but that was something I’d rather they not know. But Ashton had already done so much for me. Could I really ask more and ask him to meet them?
“I don’t know. But I’ll work on finding time to come and see you both. I miss you so much,” I cried.
“We miss you too, sweetheart.”
The conversation continued. My parents asked questions about what I’d been doing but, afraid of their reaction to just how bad my life had been, I left out many of the details. They, in turn, filled me in on what was going on with my family back East. Eventually, I noticed the time and knew Ashton would be home from work soon. As a surprise I wanted to have dinner ready when he got here. He might be annoyed that I was cooking but tough, it was my choice. Something I wanted to do.