Page 58 of Off the Rim
"That doesn't sound like it was your fault at all," I say, twisting my head to look at him. He palms the side of my head and pushes it back down on his chest. It'd be funny if not for the reason he can't look me in the eyes.
"Bianca was my girlfriend. Or so everyone thought. It was a ruse for us both to avoid the predatory dating game that rich peoplelike to play with their children." He blows out a heavy breath. "Sebastian wanted Bianca. Their fathers were working on some kind of business deal that had to do with drilling, and he thought he could gain favor by dating the oil tycoon's daughter. He pursued her so aggressively that I considered marrying her just to keep her safe. It would have worked. My parents would have been happy, hers would have been placated enough with the connections to my family’s company."
Ashton is silent other than his slow, heavy breaths for long enough that I think he won't say more, or that maybe he's too sleepy to have this conversation.
"Sebastian had apparently walked in on me and the guy. I was too drunk to notice. I remember hearing yelling, but I didn't know what it was about until I walked out and everyone was staring. Sebastian had gone on a tirade about me cheating on Bianca with a twink from the Lambda house, outing me to the entire frat and party. Then he decided that since I was cheating on Bianca anyway, she should cheat on me, too. And that entitled prick wouldn't take no for an answer."
"That's still not your fault."
He doesn't answer me, just continues. "I found them in his bedroom. He was zipping up his pants and she was crying. I knew immediately what he'd done. After that I kind of blacked out, or saw red, or whatever you want to call it. I was still really out of it, barely standing on my own.”
There’s a long pause where I’m not sure he’s going to continue. But after some deep breaths, he keeps going.
“He was in intensive care for a week, and the GSU chapter of Alpha Omega Psi got shut down when other allegations of sexualassault, drug use, and other stuff came out. My dad, of course, came to save the day and wipe my involvement from all of it, just like he did before. And, once again, he refused to do anything to help the real victim."
"What happened to her? To Bianca," I say, making sure to say her name. I read somewhere that people tend to avoid saying the names of people who have been victimized, but using their names is a way to show respect and give them some of their power back. Even if she isn't here with us, acknowledging her is a way to show Ashton that I care about his friend and what happened to them.
I can feel a tremble in his muscles as he clenches them tight, his fury and grief still so raw I hurt for him. My chest aches with worry for his friend and all of this anguish he's been holding in.
"She's okay. Or at least, she's safe. I don't know how okay she is. We don't talk anymore."
"I'm sorry you went through all that."
"It was my fault," he says, turning on his side away from me.
When I reach for him, wanting to comfort him, I worry that he'll flinch away from me, but he doesn't. Instead, he pulls my hand around to his chest and holds it there.
Pressing my forehead between his shoulder blades, I curve my body around his back.
"It wasn't your fault. You aren't responsible for what happened. You defended your friend in any way you could."
There's no response. I press a kiss to his back and press my cheek to his skin. I stay that way until his breaths even out and I know for sure he's asleep.
I should get up. I know I should. No matter how much I feel for him, and even with the admission that I don't hate him anymore, I know I should keep some distance.
But I don't move to get up. Instead, I let myself melt into him, sighing deeply as I drift off to sleep.
What the fuck am I doing with Ashton James?
I’ll figure it out tomorrow.
When I wake up the next morning, he’s gone.
CHAPTER 28
ASHTON
An odd feeling of foreboding pulls me out of what is probably the most restful sleep I've ever had. Marcus is sprawled out beside me on his stomach, arms tucked under the pillow he's cradling to his head. I watch the soft rise and fall of his breaths, my eyes trailing over every inch of exposed flesh, which is a lot. Only a corner of the blanket is still on him, covering less than half of his muscular bubble butt. The urge to sink my teeth into the firm globes makes my mouth fill up with saliva. The only thing holding me back is how fucking gorgeous he is right now.
I've never seen him so peaceful. I feel pretty peaceful too, considering the heavy topic of conversation last night. What happened at GSU isn't something I like to think about, but it haunts me. Losing Bianca as a friend after I wasn't there to protect her will haunt me for the rest of my life.
I'm a little surprised I'm up before he is, considering I know he's an early riser. A glance at the bits of dark sky peeking around the blinds tells me it's still before dawn. I stretch, and the mostly dried cum on the sheets beneath me sticks to my skin. Last night, laying in the wet spot seemed the chivalrous thing to do, considering there was no part of me that wanted to get up andchange the sheets. But now it's a bit itchy and uncomfortable, and I can feel that my ass is still wet with cum and lube. Not wanting to wake Marcus with my restlessness, I carefully climb out of bed, wincing when I first sit up. I frown in disappointment as I cover Marc's perfect body with the comforter. I grab my phone on the way to the bathroom, powering it on and letting the bombardment of notifications load while I take a quick shower.
While I'm under the warm spray, I take inventory of my body and how I'm feeling. Emotionally, I’m a little raw. Not just from spilling my guts about Bianca, but also because last night meant something to me, even if it wasn’t meant to. Physically, there's a dull ache in my ass, but other than that initial twinge of pain when I first sat up, it doesn't hurt much. As I wash, I drag my fingers over my hole, growing hard with the memory of what it felt like to be stretched and filled by Marcus' big cock. I'd worried that something that felt so small and tight when I probed myself wouldn't be able to accommodate him, but I was blissfully wrong.
Tempted as I am to jerk off to the memory of getting fucked by Marcus Vell, I remember he's still here, sleeping in my bed. Maybe I can wake him up with my mouth and then we can go again. Maybe this time he'll unleash and really give it to me, so the next time I'm in the shower, it'll hurt to wash the cum from my ass.
Fucking hell, his cum wasinsideme. Probably still is.The thought alone is enough to make me jump out of the shower like the hot water went out, and I hurry to dry off, thinking about how to best wake him up so he'll fuck me again. Maybe I’ll wake him up with his cock in my mouth. I’ll get to feel it fill with blood and grow harder on my tongue.
