Page 51 of Puck to the Heart
“I should’ve seen it coming.”
“Olivia, it’s not a crime to trust someone you love. You’re not supposed to have to second guess every move they make.” Still, Ash’s voice sounded off, restrained but soft.
“I shouldn’t have let it happen.”
“How could you have known?” The gentleness in Ash’s voice hurt worse because he was right.
“Anyway.” I had to keep the conversation flowing, or I’d implode. “I don’t like power imbalances. So, if this isreal, I don’t want to be the only one getting anything from…us.”
“Again, Olivia, what about this makes you think I’m not getting anything from what’s between us? From where I stand, or lie, I guess,” with a laugh, he leaned back against the headboard. “I’m having fun. Ilikespending time with you. I likeyou. And whatever you might think, I had as much fun as you did last night. You’re funny and smart, and yeah, you’re a little snarky, but it’s half the fun. You see past the muscles and the pretty face.” He flashed his “Asher the Basher” grin, the one that didn’t reach his eyes. “I mean you see the muscles, obviously.”
He flexed all of them at once, and suddenly I forgot what we were talking about. My hand reached out, resting on an obscene number of ridges along his abdomen but slid up to trace along his cheekbones. I stroked the smooth, warm skin, learning the contours of his face, enjoying the rumbly purring sound he made. Something about the sound made me want to be closer to him, so I nestled in the space beside him, tucking beneath his outstretched arm.
I brought the blanket with me, holding it high to keep my bits covered.
“And then you do that. Do you know how long it’s been since someone other than Nana touched me without trying to grab my ass? And hugging my grandma doesnotcount. I’m a dick on skates to most of the people I encounter.”
“Hell of an image, Wilder.” But my heart ached for him.
“I’m serious.” The full force of his dark gaze turned on me. “This,” he threaded his fingers through mine, “is what I get out of us.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“I know. So don’t think we’re uneven in anything.”
“We’re uneven in orgas?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence or you’re going to have more. And then you’ll never catch up.” His grin was evil in the early morning light.
“I thought you said it’s not a competition.”
“It’s not. But I willalwayswin.”
I snorted.
“Ah-ah. I play games for a living. Iwingames for a living. I have an overdeveloped sense of competitiveness.”
“Is competitiveness a word?”
“I say it is.” He grasped my chin and tipped my face closer to his, the length of his body parallel to mine, the sheet dangerously low on his?—
“Oh my God, you’re naked.” Warmth spread along every nerve ending as I wrenched my eyes away.
“I amnot. I wouldn’t climb into bed naked like some Neanderthal unless I asked first.” He pulled the sheet down further, and I wanted to stare and hide my eyes at the same time until he revealed an even lower pair of sweatpants barely concealing…anything.
It hit me that he’d kept his clothes on last night, and while I’d felt the shape of him against my back, I hadn’t gotten the full Ash experience. And damn, did I want it. The vee of muscle over his hips tantalized me, drawing my eyes to the trail of dark hair leading beneath the pants, where a rather impressive tent formed.
“Oh, shit, sorry.” He tugged the blanket back up.
Was he blushing?
“Ash.”
“Yep?”
“Ash. Are you?—”
“Nope.” He seemed resolved not to say anything else.
