“I’m trying to be good right now.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Ashley, you look tempting to me.”
“My being a virgin hasn’t put you off?” she asked.
“No, it hasn’t. I don’t like that you’re still so young but I’m not letting you go. I told you, baby, I’m here to stay and you’re not getting rid of me.”
“Good,” Ashley said.
She finished her food and then stared at him.
“I’ll do the dishes,” she said.
“No.” He took her plate from her. “I’ll do the dishes. Go have a shower or a bath.”
“Are you trying to tell me I stink?” she asked.
“No, I’m trying to take care of you. You’ve worked hard today. You don’t need to work in the garden.”
“I’m not going to stand around doing nothing. That’s not who I am.”
“Then let me take care of the dishes so you can clean up.”
She nodded her head, getting to her feet.
His cock was so fucking hard. It was so tempting to follow her upstairs, but he didn’t want to scare her off. They were still so new at this—learning each other, knowing what the other wanted. He couldn’t fuck it up. His whole future depended on him not screwing this up with Ashley.
He loved her.
Even after everything that had happened between them, he knew how he felt and he knew it wasn’t going to change. His love for her was what kept them both going. If he had to wait a lifetime to finally win her, he would, but at least they would be together.
Chapter Eight
They were alone in her parents’ house.
Alone.
And together.
Ashley tried not to think about what that meant. She licked her lips and tilted her head back to allow the spray of the water to wash down her body. She’d already turned the bottom of the shower brown from all the mud washing off . It was messy work in the garden and she had a whole lot of digging to get done. She wanted it to look amazing for him.
You want him to stay.
Ashley paused as she ran the water over her body. Did she want him to stay?
Yes, you do. You don’t want him to ever think about leaving.
Why?
Because you want your mate.
You don’t want to be alone anymore.
You want … him.
Ashley closed her eyes, spun around, and tilted her head back. This was not the time to think about the future. Phoenix would leave one day and then she’d have to deal with that rejection again.