As Jasmine came apart in his arms again, Ashton lost the battle. With his face pressed into the curve of her neck, breathing in the sweet citrus scent of her hair, he drove into her one last time. The orgasm ripped through him. He shuddered hard, heart pounding, breath heaving.
In the aftermath, his mind emptied and his body went numb. They were a joined tangle of sweaty limbs, and he couldn’t even begin to figure out how to separate himself, so he didn’t. He just listened to the sound of her breathing, counting the rise and fall of her chest under his cheek.
And in the pure clarity following a climax, he knew, finally, what he wanted.
This. He wantedthis. To come home to this woman, to be with her, to love her, and to let her love him back.
But the world returned to him in bits and pieces, along with all the reminders of why this would never work between them.
His career.
Her fame.
Hisson.
He didn’t want to move from this sofa. If he didn’t move, he didn’t have to face the consequences of his actions, and he could pretend, for just a little longer, that this was possible.
But it wasn’t. And he was softening inside her. In a second he was going to have to dispose of the condom and—
She shifted, breaking the spell. He climbed off her and grabbed the box of tissues on the end table. As he was cleaning up, she pulled the blanket off the cushions and wrapped it around herself.
It pained him to see her cover herself, as if shielding herself fromhim, the way she had their first night together before she’d asked him to stay. He shouldn’t have come here. He was just getting in deeper, starting something he couldn’t finish.
“I didn’t think I’d see you tonight,” she said softly.
The postcoital quiet called for truth. “I was trying to stay away.”
She sighed. “And I was trying to let you.”
He blinked in surprise. “You were?”
She nodded and gave him a little smile. “I was doing a pretty good job of it, too, but then you came to my trailer tonight looking ten kinds of delicious, and it took all my self-control not to run after you.”
“You—really?”
This pleased him to no end, even though it shouldn’t.
He’d told Jasmine about the Incident, and she’d understood. What would happen if he told her about Yadiel? She valued family as much as he did. He thought—hoped—she’d understand about that too.
The full truth burned on the tip of his tongue, but by now he was so used to keeping secrets, it was easy to swallow it down.
There was still time.
Jasmine picked up the wineglass and drained it. Then she turned off the TV and stood.
“Are you... going to stay?” she asked.
He caught the slight, hopeful lilt in her voice, the way she chewed at her bottom lip, like she expected him to leave.
He should leave. But he didn’t want to.
“I’ll stay.”
She nodded, then reached out her hand to him. “Good.”
He took her hand and let her lead him into the bedroom.
Chapter 31
