Ashley had no idea what she was doing. None whatsoever. But she couldn’t bring herself to stop.
She went to walk away, to get their lunch, but Phoenix had other ideas. He pressed her up against the outside of his home. He took hold of her hands, placing them above her head.
“I think I can handle it, I guess the real question is … can you handle me?” He slammed his lips down on hers, and Ashley didn’t realize how much she’d been craving his kisses. They’d not shared one in so long, and she missed them. Damn it. She didn’t want to crave any part of him, but here she was doing exactly that.
He held her hands trapped above her head, but she didn’t fight him or attempt to get away. All she wanted was to feel him. The moment he pressed his pelvis against her stomach and she felt the hard ridge of his cock, her whole body came to life. Her pussy went slick with arousal and her nipples tightened. She sunk her teeth against her lip as another moan escaped her.
“Oh, fuck, Ashley, what are you doing to me?” he asked.
“Please,” she said.
“You’ve got to tell me to stop. Do you have any idea what it’s like being with you and not being able to touch you?”
“Yes, I do.” Because she felt it too.
Not a moment went by that she didn’t feel this way about him. It was more than a need, more than anything she had ever felt. He let go of her hands, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in close. She held him tight to her, kissing him back. She did not want to let him go.
****
Phoenix didn’t want to be jealous of her friend. Daniel was a good man. When she had ventured out into the garden, he followed her covertly to make sure the place was safe. He did not like when she got electrocuted, and he was pissed. The electrician had known his wrath, and promised not to make the same mistake again.
Ashley’s interest in the garden had pleased him. Each day, he got her to help him build their home together. He planned for them both to live here, together. The moment he saw Daniel arrive, he got angry. He knew Daniel wanted Ashley. The man had told him as much, but something had changed, he couldn’t deny that. Now he knew Ashley was a virgin, and he didn’t care. She belonged to him and he would not give her up to anyone. He was going to stay.
He didn’t know how he was going to tell her parents that he was mated to their daughter. There would be a lot of questions and he could only imagine a great deal of anger, because he’d not been forthcoming from the start. He’d handle all of that in time.
The rest of the workers left the house, and he saw them off. The light had long since fallen. Daniel had also left, letting him know that Ashley had set up a couple of torches and was working in the bottom of the garden. With the house locked up and everyone gone, he made his way to the garden to find Ashley on her hands and knees, working the soil.
“Come on, babe, it’s time for us to go.”
Ashley lifted her head up and wiped her brow with the back of her arm. “Already?”
“Yeah, already. We’ve got to go.”
“Wow,” she said. “Time has flown by this afternoon.”
It seemed like forever since he last kissed her, and all he wanted to do was kiss her again.
Ashley got to her feet and picked up the flashlights she had aimed for the ground. She turned them off. He followed her to the shed, where she placed the flashlights, locked it up, and then they left the main house together.
“I’m starving,” Ashley said.
“Good. It’s good that you’re eating again.”
She sighed. “The whole starving myself thing never really worked. Didn’t lose much weight.”
“But you always looked exhausted. You don’t anymore.”
She chuckled. “Are you telling me that when you came back to town, I looked like crap?”
He held up his fingers with a tiny gap.
She shoved him in the arm. “Asshole.”
“Just being honest.”
He grabbed her arm and threaded it through his so they were close together. She smelled like the earth with the underlying Ashley scent.
“I need a bath. I’m covered in sweat and dirt.”