not going to go home.”
A smile spread across his delicious mouth before he closed the distance between us and kissed me.
“Peanut butter,” he whispered, licking me off his bottom lip. “I knew it would taste so good on you, and I was right.”
As I stared at his mouth, his voice echoing in my ears, a hunger began to pulse inside me. One that increased as I looked at the dessert he’d had made for me and the vase of flowers he had bought me. The fridge full of leftover Chinese and another bottle of sparkling apple cider he’d purchased as a backup.
His thoughtfulness was everywhere.
The feeling inside my chest was what caused me to rise from my chair and move over to him, slowly taking a seat on his lap. As he gripped my waist, I hugged his neck, my arms eventually resting on his shoulders.
“One of”—I kissed his cheek—“the best”—my lips moved over his nose—“nights of”—I went across to his other cheek—“my life.” I pulled back when I reached the base of his neck.
“It’s not over, Pearl.”
Goose bumps covered my skin.
He reached behind me and returned with a flower, holding it to my nose. As I inhaled the soft rose scent, our eyes locked.
“We’re just getting started.”
I suddenly felt like those candles before I’d blown them out—my limbs lit, my body dripping with heat. My skin turned incredibly sensitive, every movement of his fingers causing tingles to explode. When he leaned his mouth closer, he lowered the flower, the soft petals brushing across my lips.
A wave of pleasure shot through me, and it happened immediately again as he ran the rose down my neck and over my throat, stopping at the collar of my shirt.
“Ashe.” I quivered.
He scanned my eyes back and forth, desire bursting from his stare. “Unless you tell me to stop … I’m about to carry you to my bed.”
Twenty-Three
Before
Ashe
There were times when Pearl didn’t need to speak—I could see the answer right in her eyes. That happened now as I told her I was going to carry her to my bed unless she stopped me. Desire was pooling in her stare, her breathing labored, her body responding to every shift of my fingers.
That was more than enough to tell me what she wanted.
The problem was that it would take me too long to bring her into my bedroom.
I needed to touch her now.
While she balanced on my lap, I found the bottom of her shirt and peeled it over her head. Underneath, she wore a black bra, her perfectly round tits tucked into the lace. I loved the way she had reacted to the flower, so as I kissed her neck, I trailed the rose behind me, letting her feel the heat from my mouth and the softness from the petals.
I moved my plate of cake out of the way and leaned her against the table, dragging the rose to the center of her tits and over the tops of them. When the bra became too restrictive, I unclasped the back, removing it from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.
“Gorgeous,” I whispered, eventually meeting her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”
Her breathing rapidly increased, and I traced the flower around her nipple, my mouth closing in on the peak, blowing on it after I sucked. Every inch I moved across produced a sound from her lips—a pleasure-filled gasp as I went quickly and a long-drawn-out exhale when I used my tongue.
I couldn’t get enough.
I needed more of her taste, more of her body, more of her sounds, knowing they were from the way I was making her feel.
Her fingers crawled through my hair, pulling the strands as I flicked the end of her nipple. Her chest was rising and falling so fast, goose bumps covering her flushed skin. When I used my teeth, her back arched off the table as she breathed, “Ashe.”
When our eyes connected, there was an intensity in hers, even more so when I said, “I want you. Now.”
I held her against me and wrapped her legs around my waist, lifting her and carrying her through the kitchen and down the short hallway to my room. I placed the flower next to her on my bed and unbuttoned her jeans, pulling them off with her shoes. Only a pair of sexy black panties were left. I wanted full access to her body, and they would only tease me if I left them on, so I yanked those down as well.
As