Page 23 of College-Virgin & Dark Bully Next-Door

“Got you now, Sky,” he chuckles.

I try to kick him, but he changes our positions, so he’s between my legs, holding my arms under the water. I struggle, but his arms are iron, not moving, barely flexing. He chuckles but then softens, showing the real Ash that I remember.

I try to get my leg around him, and he adjusts my hands so only one is holding down both wrists as he grabs my thigh and pushes it down. “Don’t push it.”

I squirm and definitely feel something there. I blink a few times. “Do you have something in your pocket?”

“Nope.” His voice is low, husky. I swallow hard.

Now, I realize our position. He’s shirtless, his chest and abs all on display. I’ve tried to wrap my leg around him. He’s panting above me, and my chest heaves with every breath I take. We used to play around like this. It used to be fine, but now … A heat stirs low in my belly.

“Ash you’re …” He’ssohard.

“Ignore it,” he whispers.

His voice is so dangerous, he reminds me of a copperhead snake. They blend in so easily, then take you by surprise, biting and pumping in venom. I gulp down and feel the blush across my cheeks. This is stupid. Being here is stupid, all of this is wrong and … and I’m not even fighting him.

“Um, you’re …. Okay,” I whisper.

It happens, Bonnie told me that. It can be from the wind or from any kind of friction. It’s not because of me. There’s no way it’s because of me. Ash is older. He goes out with eights on the hot scale, I’m a four.

I shiver. And he looks down at me. “Fuck, you must be cold.”

He picks me up, tries twice to carry me up the steep drop off and fails. We sit there for a moment in the mud. My eyes flick to the hardness tenting his jeans a little, and I bite my bottom lip, forcing myself to look away.

“So …”

“So, you’re fine,” he nods.

The awkwardness makes me snicker. I try to control it, but when he gives me a face, I can’t stop myself from giving in to the giggles. He throws a clump of dirt at me. “You started this.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I climb up the embankment myself, and Ash clambers up after me. Once we’re back on dry land, I realize exactly how soaked I am.

Ash offers me his shirt. “Um, here.”

“Am I going to get cooties?” I tease.

“Only one way to find out.” He rubs my face with his shirt, taking care of the mud, then along my jaw.

I watch him the whole time. He hesitates before taking my hand. “I didn’t ask.”

“It’s okay,” my mouth says before my brain can process.

He cleans up my arms, slowly, surely. “I remember doing this after you got in a fight with that poor neighbor boy. He didn’t know what hit him. But then he went and broke your nose.”

“You did worse,” I remind. “I think you broke his arm.”

“Close,” he murmurs. “Not entirely, though.” He pauses and looks me over, really looks at me. “He wouldn’t have taken that fight if he could see you now.”

I blush and try to free my neck of my curls. I look Ash over. “You’re still … dirty.”

“My thoughts are, but you know that already, don’t you?”

“Please, I don’t need you all muddy to know that,” I huff.

“Because you can read minds, too, can’t you, little witch?” He chuckles. “Always know what I want to say.”

“Not hard when you wear it on your face.”

---