Hearing the doctor talk about his injuries caused me to gasp loudly, and both of their eyes fell to mine.
“Come here, Ashy,” Josh said, his voice now clearer.
I moved across the room and sat on the edge of the bed, then he linked our fingers together.
“This one has been here all week,” the doctor said to Josh, while giving me a sweet smile.
“When can I take him home?” I asked, squeezing Josh’s hand.
“We have to monitor him for a while before I can give you a time frame, but as soon as Mr. Crawford can be discharged, I will let you know.” The doctor placed the charts back at the end of the bed and turned his attention to Josh. “All looks good here, but I’ll be back soon for more follow up. If you need anything, buzz the nurse’s station. You are a very lucky man.”
The doctor closed the door behind him and left Josh and I in the room on our own. I played with his fingers, which were linked with mine, and got lost in my thoughts. I had him back, and now our life together could truly begin. I wondered how he’d feel about never being out of my sight again.
“What exactly happened?” Josh asked, his eyes flashing to me. “I remember I was going to get a cab to take you home, and then I remember hearing you talking, but not being able to see you.”
I swallowed hard, and my hand froze.
“Climb up here, Ashy, and tell me.”
I did as he asked, and molded my body against his side. “It was Lachlan. Just as you had crossed the street, he came speeding down and hit you.”
His eyes flashed in anger. “Have they found him?”
“They are still looking. Austin and Ben are here, and they are working with the police. I just want them to find him.”
“They will find him.” He tucked my hair behind my ear before lowering his voice. “He failed, Ashy, because look at us. We are crazy in love, I’m going to be okay, and we are together. We have come out on top. He started this as some fucked up competition or vendetta, but we are the only winners. We start our forever right now. You and me forever, Ashy.”
My heart swelled to epic proportions, and my love for this man grew more than I ever thought possible. “Forever.”
Ten days later, I walked into Josh’s apartment, carrying his bag and refusing to allow him to do anything but walk. I had been at the hospital religiously, but yesterday he kicked me out for the day and told me that I had to go have a girly day with Eden. Seriously, could I love the man any more?
“It’s so good to be home,” he stated happily as he stood in the middle of the living room and looked around. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms gently around his stomach, then rested my cheek on his back. My need to be close to him was overwhelming, and thankfully he was just as touchy feely. We couldn’t get enough of each other. I had been so close to losing him, so close to experiencing a life without him, that I would forever tell and show him how I felt. There was nothing I wouldn’t say or do anymore. The person I knew always existed had become the reason for my existence, and that was Josh.
“I’ll take your bag into the bedroom,” I whispered, and untangled him from my grasp. I could feel my emotions getting the best of me, and I had to reel them in before he got wind of them. This no sleeping business was causing me to burst out crying at the most insane moments, and for the craziest of things. The bakery down the road had run out of chocolate chip muffins, and yep, there I was, starting to tear up. I was a hot mess of emotional distress.
“Ashy, come here.” His voice drew me back to reality, and he looked at me with complete compassion, though I couldn’t miss the hint of amusement that shot through his eyes. I placed his bag back on the couch and moved into his arms. “You have to stop crying, Ashy. I’m okay, and I promise you I’m not going anywhere. We have the rest of our lives together, so please, no more tears,” he said sternly, and I couldn’t help but smile as I wiped away my tears.
“So bossy.”
“My girl likes it that way,” he shot with a wink. “Now, can we please go and sleep. I need to have you in my arms, and I know you need to sleep. Don’t think I haven’t been told that you haven’t been sleeping.”
“I couldn’t sleep without you.”
“Knowing you were waiting for me was the one thing that got me through. You took care of me, Ashy, and now I get to take care of you. So let’s get some sleep, and then we will order some pasta and spend the night on the couch. Just you and me.”
“Sounds perfect to me.”
I tried desperately to stop the tear that was threatening to cascade over my cheek, but I failed miserably. When my man was being sweet, it deserved a tear.
FRIDAY NIGHTS WERE NOW spent eating take out and sitting on the couch watching movies with Ashlyn in my arms. Talk about a complete turnaround. My life before Ashlyn seemed like a crazy nightmare that I was finally able to wake from, and I didn’t miss a second of it. The women, the booze, and the random shit was pointless. Everything was pointless until she gave me a second chance.
A knocking on the front door interrupted the movie, and Ashlyn’s head shot up from my shoulder. Worry flashed over her face, and I knew her first thought was Lachlan. They still hadn’t found the fucker, and the longer he was out there, the more stressed out Ashlyn got.
I moved to the door and looked through the peephole, then turned back to Ashlyn. “It’s Austin and Ben.” After opening the door, I shook both of their hands, then they stepped into the living room and both gave Ashlyn a hug.
“How’s things?” Austin asked, turning to me and giving me the once over. Since I had come home from hospital, one of them would visit every day, even if it was for five minutes. Tomorrow they were due to fly back to Monroe.
“I’m feeling good. I have a pretty good nurse looking after me,” I replied and shot a wink at Ashlyn.
“They got Lachlan,” Ben stated in his low, deep rumble, deciding to say what they came to say. “Picked him up about thirty minutes ago trying to board a plane back to Sydney. That fucker is in custody, and is looking at serving some serious time for attempted murder.”
Ashlyn’s gasp rang through the apartment, and she grabbed the back of the couch to steady herself. “So, he will never . . .”
“He will never get near you or Josh again, Ducky,” Austin said softly, offering his sister everything she wanted to hear.
“It’s been screwing with my head that he has been out there. I kept having these thoughts of him coming here or sneaking in while we were sleeping, or even getting you two,” she said, her gaze jumping from Austin to Ben.
“Sweetheart, do you really think he’d get anywhere near my alphaness?” Ben asked, and shot Ashlyn a wink.
What the fuck was alphaness? Ashlyn burst into a fit of giggles while Austin and I looked on completely in the dark.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Austin and Ben stayed for half an hour before announcing that they were heading back to Monroe that night instead of early the next morning. Ashlyn’s mood changed, and her eyes glistened with tears as she said goodbye to her brother and his best friend.
“You’ll see me before you know it, Ducky, but for now we have to head back to Monroe. There are criminals to catch, chicks to lay, and shit to mess up.” Austin smirked, and received a slap on the chest by Ashlyn. “Take care of this one, Josh.”
“You have my word.”
That night we both slept without a care in the world. I didn’t feel Ashlyn jump once in her sleep, and I didn’t have the need to get out of bed and check the apartment. Finally, it seemed like it was only Ashlyn and I in this relationship, and there wasn’t the tormenting shadow of Lachlan hanging over us. It felt fucking fantastic.
Ashlyn danced around the kitchen in just my shirt, her hair piled on the top of her head, and she clearly had no clue I was watching. A month had passed, and things were abso-fucking-lutely perfect. I didn’t think there was anything could make life better. I had my girl, work was going well, we were looking at a place
to buy in Lilac Cove, and we were getting ready to celebrate Ky and Eden’s wedding in just over a week.
The incident, as we were now referring to it, had pushed us closer than ever. For the first two weeks, Ashlyn and I were never out of each other’s sight. I worked from home, and if I needed to go to the office, she would come with me. She watched me like a hawk, and refused to let me do anything she considered strenuous. I got to see the bossy side of Ashlyn Hart, and I didn’t think there’d be anything she could do to make me love her more. Well, that was until I walked in to find her ass on display like it was now.
“Ashy, shake that little ass over here.”
She jumped at the sound of my voice and whipped around quickly to face me. “How long have you been standing there?” She cocked a brow and rested her hands on her hips.
“Long enough to get a hard on and develop a need to sink into you.” I placed my keys and phone on the bench and stepped into the kitchen.
“You want this?” she asked, twirling around and lifting the shirt up over her thighs, stopping just under her tits. “Sit down on that chair.”
My interest piqued, and I immediately followed her orders.
“It’s been so long since I’ve touched you,” she whispered seductively, her heated gaze falling to mine.
“Too fucking long,” I said with a groan.
“I’ve been a really bad girlfriend,” she whispered huskily as she circled the chair. “I haven’t given my guy what I should have given him long ago. The one thing I have wondered about for a long time. Could I be the first girl to make you come with my mouth?”
Holy shit.
Ashlyn lifted her leg and straddled my thighs, then slowly lowered herself onto my lap. With a featherlike touch, she traced my needy lips, while her gaze never broke from mine.
“I want you to lose yourself.” Her lips fell to my jaw, and her tongue traced a line to my ear in a soft, excruciatingly-seductive move. “But you aren’t allowed to touch me.”
“That’s not possible.” I sighed as her teeth softly grated against my neck.
“You touch me, and I stop.”
Her lips caressed my neck, while her hands traveled down my chest and reached for my belt buckle. She worked feverishly until cool air hit my heated skin. Her hand disappeared inside my pants and boxers, then snaked around and gripped hold of my now-throbbing cock. My head flew back under her tight grasp, and I cursed as she began slowly stroking me.
“Harder,” I pled for relief, and tried with all my strength to not touch her. With ferocious strokes, she worked my cock, only relenting to swirl my pre-come on the head.
As my stomach tightened and I felt the first signs of impending release, she stepped over my lap and dropped to her knees.
Seeing her on her knees, with her hand on my cock, was the best fucking sight in the world. My eyes found hers, and green pits of hot, lustful desire stared back at me. I licked my lips at the smirk she offered, and my cock throbbed in her hand.
She removed her hand, and I groaned in frustration at the loss of pressure and sensation that roared through me. Fuck me, I needed to come. My groan of torture caused her head to snap up and look at me. She was a vision of complete seduction, tempting and tormenting me in the process. She gripped the sides of my pants and tugged them over my hips, and my cock sprang to life.
The moment her lips hit the throbbing head, a satisfied growl climbed from deep within my chest. With slow, merciless strokes, her tongue licked and caressed my length, ending with a swirl on the head and lapping up the pre-come. She surged forward and took me completely into her hot, willing mouth. With a scrape of her teeth along my shaft, she moved frantically. She sucked, licked, and teased my cock with those delicious lips, before pulling my balls deep into the heat of her mouth. Fuck, I wanted to touch her, to pull her nipples into my mouth, and to play with her pussy, but I wouldn’t take the risk of her stopping this. With a pop of her lips, she released my heavy balls and went back my cock. Her mouth accepted my full length with an eagerness I couldn’t imagine possible.
“Look at me,” I demanded hoarsely.
The way her lips glistened with my pre-release was pure fantasy, and I swear I could have come on that sight alone.
“You are fucking perfection,” I said, my voice hoarse and needy.
Ashlyn smiled and shook her head slightly, dismissing my praise. “I don’t deserve those accolades yet. Now, can I please get back to giving you perfection?”
How the fuck had I gotten so lucky?
With one final scrape of her teeth, I felt myself soaring to new heights. The moment she swallowed and her throat constricted around my length, I felt the tightening in my stomach and heat climb through my body. The familiar feeling I experienced when I knew I was going to come overcame me, and it was definitely a feeling I had never experienced when a woman was giving me head. She unleashed everything she had on me. Her teeth, lips, and tongue worked their magic in perfect sync, like a melody so beautifully written the notes stayed in one’s heart forever. The sense of tightness overwhelmed me.
“I’m going to come,” I managed while groaning.
Ashlyn didn’t stop. If anything, she went harder. With a moan of her name, I spilled deep inside her mouth. She continued, and didn’t stop until I was completely spent. When she pulled her mouth away, her tongue darted out and ran the seam of her lips as if she had just tasted the best thing ever. She pushed back onto her heels and sat on the floor in front of me, her eyes dark with lust and satisfaction.
“Now, I hope that was perfection,” she said with a seductive tone.
“Panties off now,” I said, growling like a starving animal.
“So bossy.”
“Ashlyn, get your panties off now and get on my lap. I need to be inside of your pussy within the next ten seconds, and you are going to ride me until you are screaming my name and begging me to come inside of you. It’s been too fucking long.”
Ashlyn shimmied out of her panties and removed the shirt she was wearing, then stood naked before me. The space between her thighs glistened with her arousal, and I knew my girl was ready for me. She lowered herself onto my cock, and her head fell back, exposing her neck to me. I licked from her collarbone, up her neck, until I reached her lips.
“This is going to be quick. Take what you want, Ashlyn, and don’t leave anything behind.”
After fucking Ashlyn to within an inch of her life, I carried her to what was now our bedroom, and we both collapsed onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. She curled up beside me and rested her head on my chest, as I ran my fingers through her hair.
“Did you know it was in this room that I realized I was in love with you? When you suggested I move in with you while my apartment got renovated, I had no clue what I would be walking into. I didn’t realize I would be walking into a brand new life, one that I never could have imagined.” Ashlyn rolled onto her stomach, rested her chin on my chest, and looked up at me with wide eyes. “Can I tell you something?” she asked softly.
“Babe, you can tell me anything.”
Her cheeks flushed as they did every time I called her babe. “When I first saw you in college, I thought you were the hottest guy I’d ever seen. I had heard all about you from some of the girls around campus, and I knew you were completely out of my league. When you started smiling at me in the halls, I thought you must have been put up to it, because a guy like you would never notice a girl like me.”
“Ash,” I whispered at the intensity of her words.
“Please, let me finish.”
“That night we shared was the beginning of my fairy tale. You gave me everything that night. You gave me confidence, assurance, and you made me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. Something I had never felt before. Yes, I wished we had those five years, but now that I think back, it led us to this moment. I needed those five years to find who I truly was and to become the kind of woman a man like you deserved. You protected me when I didn’t even know you
were doing it. It was you that was always there to help me pick up the pieces. It was you and your wicked, naughty ways that made me feel desirable. It was you, Josh. It’s always been you. I am who I am today because of the hurdles I have faced. You have made me realize that I would rather live with regrets than live in a world of what-ifs. You may think you are a cliffhanger, but you have always been my happily-ever-after, and now you’ve given me the most precious gift in the world.”
I looked at her longingly, and watched as tears swam through her green eyes. This beautiful girl, who always found it so hard to talk about her feelings, was laying it all out in front of me, and I couldn’t be more proud. She inched over closer, and the sweetest smile swept over her lips.
“I’m pregnant.”
With two words, the life I knew ceased to exist, and a new life was born.
Pregnant?
“What did you just say?” I asked, as my own eyes began glistening with tears.
“You’re going to be a daddy. I’m eight weeks pregnant.”
“I’m going to be a dad?” I stammered, scared that this was some kind of fucked up dream and that I was going to wake up at any moment. “You’re carrying my baby?”
She nodded, and a single tear ran over her cheek.
Without a second thought, I lifted her shirt until it was resting just below her breasts. The thought that I would be seeing her belly swell with my child consumed me. She was officially carrying the most precious cargo in the world. I placed my hand gently over her flat stomach, and her gasp rang throughout the room. I laid my head beside her waist, and my eyes locked onto my hand.
“Are you happy?” she whispered, raking her fingers through my hair.
“We made a baby, Ashy. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”
“Team Joslyn,” she whispered, and my heart just about jumped out of my chest.