Page 133 of Chasing Your Ghost

Knowing just what she needed, Asher increased the speed and pressure of his strokes, and Riley came after only two more swipes of his tongue. Her breath left her in a loud gasp that she couldn’t bite back even if she wanted to. Stars burst behind her eyes as waves of pleasure shot through her body, running through every limb, every nerve, every cell. Her back arched, and she ground up against Asher’s mouth, her hips moving as though they had a life of their own.

“Holy shit,” she gasped out when the tensed muscles in her body relaxed and the electricity shooting through her nerves had come to a stop, leaving her limbs feeling tired and heavy.

“Good?” Asher asked, moving up the bed until he was holding himself over her again. His eyes locked with hers.

“It was alright,” Riley replied with a shrug that lost any of its credibility when her voice came out breathless and husky.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Only alright?” he asked, lowering himself further against her until he was nestled between her thighs.

“Mhm,” she hummed, but she bit her lip and moaned when he slowly thrust forward, his hardness pressing against her through his boxers and unzipped jeans.

An amused grin lifted the corners of his lips. His eyes were bright, brighter than she thought she’d ever seen them. “Tell me the truth,” he ordered, repeating the movement.

Riley’s eyes fluttered closed. “It was decent,” she gasped out.

“Are you absolutely sure that’s how you’d describe it?” Another thrust of his hips.

Riley shook her head, a smile spreading across her face even as her feet locked together behind his back. “You know it was good.”

He put all of his weight on one arm and placed his free hand on her hip. He slowly slid it down her leg, stopping at the point between her hip and her knee. His fingers gently dug into her flesh. “True, but I want to hear you say it.” His next movement was harder, rougher. “I need to hear you say it.”

Riley opened her eyes. “Alright, if you really need the validation, I’ll tell you.”

Asher chuckled. “Then tell me.”

“It was amazing,” she told him, suppressing a moan as he rolled his hips. She ran her hands over his shoulders and dragged her fingernails over his back, hard enough that she might leave a mark but not hard enough for it to hurt. “It might have been the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she admitted.

Asher didn’t need to hear more. He slammed his mouth down on hers, the kiss rough and deep and dizzying. She could taste herself on him, and something about that had her groaning into his mouth.

One of her hands moved down to grip him under his boxers again. Then he was the one groaning into her mouth, his body tensing above her when she slid her hand up the velvety skin of his hardness. Asher muttered a swear and placed another hungry kiss on her lips.

“These need to come off,” she told him between kisses, tugging on his jeans with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around him.

He grunted out his agreement, making quick work of pulling his jeans and boxers off. Riley had to release her grip on him as he tugged them off, but as soon as he was done and she’d given herself a few seconds to look at him—every beautiful inch of him— her fingers were curling around him and he was devouring her mouth with his.

Without breaking the kiss, Asher flipped them over, rolling onto his back. He brought Riley with him so she was straddling him and he no longer had to keep himself lifted above her. Though she’d loved having the pressure of his body over hers, she found she liked being above him. There was power in it. She felt more in control, and considering it was her first time doing this, she loved that.

Something about the fact that they were both naked changed the energy in the room, making everything headier, warmer, more charged. Their kisses slowed, becoming less frantic but no less hungry. Riley’s hand slowed to match the pace, her fingers teasing him with languid strokes. But when Asher’s breathing became heavier and his body turned to stone, his muscles tight with restraint, she began working him faster.

He started moving his hips, helping her bring him over the edge. His hands clutched at her waist, his fingers pressing into her skin with just the right amount of pressure. She swallowed his groan when he twitched in her fingers but pulled away when he was too lost in what she was doing with her hand to kiss her properly.

His eyes opened, and his heavy-lidded gaze met hers. He only closed them again when he came with a panted curse, but Riley didn’t take her eyes off of him while he finished.

She watched his face go from the lined tension of holding back and falling over the edge to the uncreased and soft serenity of coming back down after the high.

“Good?” she asked when his eyes opened with the same lazy sluggishness as someone who’d just woken up.

“It was alright,” he replied in a raspy voice that betrayed him, his lips tugging up into a dazed smile.

“Liar,” she accused with a grin.

He leaned up to give her a kiss. “You’re right. I’m the biggest liar in the world because that was definitely the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Riley had to laugh, and neither of them could stop grinning after that. Not while they cleaned themselves up. Not while they drove to Pohick Bay Regional Park. And not when they joined up with Ella, Chris, and Noah, who were too happy to be spending time with the friend they’d thought they might never see again to be angry about their lack of punctuality.

“Promise you won’t laugh if I fall in?” Riley asked Asher once they were standing on their boards, the summer sun beating down on them mercilessly but the water surrounding them making it feel cooler.

Ella was ahead of them despite the tiredness that clung to her every movement and that was evident in the dark circles under her eyes.

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