28
Ava knewthat she was overanalyzing things. The man of her dreams, the man that had saved her life, the man who she’d been fantasizing about for the past seven years had just told her that he loved her.
But did he really?
Did he even really know her?
As amazing as those words were to hear, were they real?
She should just be happy and tell him she loved him back. But instead, she’d asked if he was sure. Twice.
“Fuck, you are adorable,” he rasped.
Ava had no clue what had prompted that as his response. Even though he hadn’t answered her question, she felt her entire body tingle with awareness. She’d never thought that being called adorable would turn her on so much, but Asher had a way of complimenting her and making her feel his words.
But she was not about to let that distract her. Or at least she was going to try very hard not to let it.
“I’m serious.” She stood up, hoping that not being so close to him would help keep her head clear, or as clear as it could be with the lust fog that was clouding it. “You don’t know me. I forget my toothpaste on the counter. And I want to keep my birth control in my nightstand not the medicine cabinet and…and I know there are other things but I just can’t think of them right now with you looking at me like that. But whatever they are, they’re not going to change. I’m not going to change and I just don’t want you to say that you love me when you don’t know everything about me.”
Asher didn’t seem at all fazed by her outburst. He just looked up at her and grinned the same grin she’d seen all those years ago in the chip aisle. The one that revealed his deep dimple and had her stomach doing flips.
Slowly, as if he was in no rush at all, he stood and lifted his hands so that he was cupping her face. Gently, he tilted her head back until her eyes met his. “You’re right. I don’t know your toothpaste or birth control habits, but I know you. I know that you love reality TV, romance novels, and that you work out before you eat junk food. I know that you are kind, generous, nurturing, talented, funny, and smart. I know that you make a difference in everyone’s life who is lucky enough to know you.
“I know that you are my best friend. I know that I’ve told you things I’ve never told anyone else. I know that being with you has healed parts of me that I didn’t even know were broken. I know that I’ve already become a better father because of you. I know that you are going to be an incredible mother someday and I know that I want to be the man you have your baby with.
“And I know that I don’t need to know everything about you to know that I love you. I need to know me, and I do. I love you, Ava. It’s a fact like the sky is blue and the earth is round. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same —”
“I love you.” Ava interrupted him, not able to hold it in any longer. “I wanted to tell you after you said that you knew I loved reality TV and romance novels, but I didn’t because I wanted to hear what else you had to say.”
Asher chuckled as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She grinned against his mouth and whispered, “I love you, Asher.”
“I love you, Ava,” he whispered back and in a flash the kiss went from sweet and innocent to steamy and R-rated.
His hands roamed her entire body and within seconds he managed to strip them both naked. He truly was a sex ninja.
He began to kiss her neck as his hands gripped her backside.
“You said that before you even knew me, you had fantasies about me.” There was a gritty quality to Asher’s voice that sent a shudder rippling through her as his lips brushed against her neck.
“Uh huh.” Ava nodded.
“Did you ever touch yourself when you were having those fantasies?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
A moan of male appreciation rumbled in his chest as he picked her up, carried her into the bedroom, and lowered her down onto the bed. As soon as her back hit the mattress he began peppering a trail of soft, barely-there kisses across her collarbone and down the center of her chest. He continued his path down her belly until he reached her pelvis. Then he lifted his head and raised up on his elbows as he maneuvered himself so that he was between her legs, spreading her thighs wider apart and roughly instructed, “Show me.”
Ava’s eyes shot to his and when she saw the predatory look in his stare, any sort of self-consciousness disappeared. Her sex throbbed as she was consumed by desperate desire to do exactly what he’d asked and show him.
She slid her hands over her belly but instead of moving south between her legs, she went north and cupped her breasts. Asher’s gaze was fixated on her fingers as she teased her nipples, using just her nails to circle around them and then pinching her hardened nubs between her fingers with just enough pressure to make the tingle between her legs increase.
When she heard his breathing become more labored, she grew even more emboldened and lifted her hand to her mouth and sucked her entire forefinger into her mouth, covering it in saliva before once again tracing her areolas. She repeated the processes until both of her nipples were sufficiently coated, then she rolled them between her fingers. The slickness only adding to the pleasure she was experiencing.
“Fuck, you are so hot,” Asher growled and his breath fanned over her exposed sex causing her to tingle from the inside out. She could feel that she was getting wetter by the second and neither she nor Asher had even touched her yet.
She continued playing with her breasts and she wasn’t sure who she was teasing more, herself or Asher. But either way, she loved it. She loved the power she felt in her sexuality.
When the seam of the entrance to her sex began pulsing, she heard Asher groan and she knew that he could see just how turned on she was. It was only then that she moved one of her hands between her legs and began to pleasure herself.
