rubbing her, barely holding it together as her cries filled the space around them.
Her body shook, ecstasy clear on her face and in the shivers running through her limbs. Her open response pushed him over the edge. He gripped her around the waist and thrust hard against her side. The orgasm shot through him in a rush, making his toes curl as all the tension he’d been carrying for weeks released with a guttural groan and a hot splash across her belly and hip.
Breathing hard, he set his head next to hers on the pillow and shut his eyes. Bliss washed through him in the wake of his climax, leaving him thoroughly sated and content for the first time in . . . he didn’t know how long.
Jasmine was so quiet, he opened his eyes to check if she was still awake, and found her staring at him from just a few inches away on the pillow. His arms were still banded tightly around her. He didn’t want to let go, but he was pretty sure she didn’t want his cum to dry on her.
He cleared his throat, which felt rough from all the sex groans he’d been making. “Are you okay?”
Her lips curved a fraction. “Better than okay.”
Well, that was a relief. He’d worried about how she’d respond to his directive that they not have penetrative sex, since it seemed like that’s where they’d been headed, not sure if she’d be angry, disappointed, or insulted that he’d assume she’d ever consider it. He’d probably have to explain himself later, but now . . .
“I’ll be right back.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, then went to retrieve a wet towel. She lay still while he wiped the mess off her, then she slipped from the bed and went to the bathroom. When she was done, he took his turn, wondering what to say when he went back out. Let’s do it again didn’t seem appropriate. And now that his mind was clear, regrets were trying to push their way in.
Déjame, he told them. Let me have this moment.
He still hadn’t figured out what to say by the time he left the bathroom. In the dark, he searched for his pants, when her voice stopped him.
“Please stay.”
He looked up to see Jasmine sitting in the middle of the bed, holding the sheet over her lap and gorgeous breasts. Jasmine, who’d shown no qualms about revealing her body only moments earlier, was now covering herself. Her eyes, usually so expressive, were guarded. She bit the corner of her lip, her eyebrows creasing the barest fraction.
He shouldn’t stay. This was a very, very bad idea, for so many reasons.
But he wanted to. And she wanted him to.
Wasn’t that enough? Could it be enough? At least for one night.
Ashton dropped his pants back to the floor and slid onto the bed next to her, taking her in his arms. “Sí, me quedaré.”
He realized a second too late that he’d said it in Spanish, but before he could repeat the words in English, her arms came around his neck. She snuggled her face into his shoulder, pressed her warm breasts against his chest, and tangled her legs with his.
It had been so long since he’d fallen asleep with a woman curled beside him like this. A warm, relaxed feeling spread over him, seeping into his bones. He pulled her closer, then drifted off into an easy, dreamless slumber.
Chapter 23
When Ashton’s alarm went off at five in the morning, he shifted to shut it off—then noticed a warm, citrus-scented weight on his chest. Jasmine.
That’s right. Last night, they’d—well, he hadn’t been inside her, but there’d been an exchange of fluids and . . . god, he’d come on her, after humping her hip like . . . he didn’t even know what. What had he been thinking? They’d had their first kiss—their first real kiss—and seconds later they’d been naked. Whatever this was between them, it was going too fast, getting too far out of control.
But it had also felt so damn good, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it.
His phone alarm was still beeping insistently.
Jasmine made a cute little whimper and lifted her head to look at him in the dark. “What time is it?”
“Cinco de la—I mean, it’s five.”
Groaning, she dropped her head back to his chest and cuddled closer. “Why?”
A laugh rumbled deep inside him. “Why what?”
“Why . . . five,” she answered sleepily. “And why . . . the alarm.”