RUSH (Montgomery Men #1) - C.A. Harms Page 0,69

large windows with his back to the room. He held a small glass of something in his hand, and the lights that shown in from the city beyond highlighted his face. I took a few moments to just stand back and appreciate his beauty.

Ashton Montgomery was such a force of nature. He dominated every space he stood in, making everyone around him feel inferior. It was truly one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen and so different than anything I’d ever experienced.

No longer able to hold back, I moved into the room, and he turned to face me as if he felt my presence. The smile pulling at the edges of his lips filled me with calm as I stepped up to him and placed my hand against his chest.

“How did you sleep?” he asked as he caressed my cheek with his warm palm.

“Thank you,” I said without answering his question.

“For what?” He lowered his hand to my hip and looked at me with questioning eyes.

“For everything.” I was suddenly overflowing with gratitude and didn’t truly know where to begin. “For being so pushy in the beginning and giving me no choice but to accept there was something between us that we couldn’t ignore. For taking my sass and seeing it as another reason to love me.”

He smiled, but I didn’t pause long enough to allow him to say anything in return. I had to get this out.

“For being such an amazing man, even though you can be frustrating at times. You’ve given me confidence I didn’t know I had. And even though I lied and almost ruined everything between us, you still chose to love me. And that means more to me than I could ever express.” I was on the verge of breaking, but I held back my tears and pushed forward just as I always had.

“But you—”

I placed my finger to his lips. “Earlier today you told me you loved me.” He nodded. “I need you to know I’m so deeply in love with you that it terrifies me to think of my life without you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he spoke against my finger, and I couldn’t help but smile. He wrapped his hand around my wrist, and just before pulling my hand away from his mouth he kissed my fingertip.

“I’m in this with you, no matter what,” he assured me. “We’ll get through this, and in the end I can assure you that you will be free from that asshole.”

I wished Ashton had that power. Life would be so much simpler if he could bring down Jase and Bruce. But instead of arguing I left that thought alone.

“Nothing and no one will tear us apart, Kinsley,” he whispered as he leaned in a little closer. “It’s you and me, baby.”

I could see the seriousness in his eyes. He believed his words, and it was hard not to begin to believe them myself. Even if this was only another fantasy I was creating in my mind, I chose to live it. I wanted to feel as if Jase no longer had power over me.

The moment Ashton’s lips touched mine, I leaned into him for support. I could taste the scotch that lingered on his lips, and the touch of his tongue against mine made my knees weak.

From the beginning of our relationship, he’d been very physical, and we’d been apart for days. The lack of intimacy was affecting us both, and in this moment I knew we just needed to feel each other.

I moved with him as he stepped forward, leading me backward to the couch.

The clink of his glass against the glass tabletop was the only sound I heard before he knelt just enough to pick me up. We didn’t break our kiss as he sat down on the couch and I straddled him. The touch of his hands along my sides, my waist, and even my stomach as he reached just beneath the hem of my shirt made my body feel as if it were on fire. I took control of the moment and reached down to lift my shirt up and over my head.

Ashton’s eyes widened as he focused on my now-bare breasts. I’d removed my bra earlier when I lay down. He placed one large hand on either side of my waist as he leaned in and began to trail kisses along my cleavage. The moment his tongue traced the contour of my breast, I whimpered and thrust my chest