Page 24 of Craving Her Cowboy
Asha considered. “Didn’t think you’d invite me.”
He snorted, a dry, one-sided laugh.
The silence was thick, but not the kind that demanded filling. It was still, but not uncomfortable. It felt like both of them were waiting for a green light.
Asha crossed to the couch and sat down, not at the opposite end, but right next to him. Their thighs didn’t touch, but they could have if either shifted an inch. She felt his body heat, the faint tremor in his leg where it bounced, the measured way he breathed.
She leaned back, letting her shoulders sink into the cracked leather. Her head tipped up, eyes on the ceiling, where a single brown stain tracked the line of an old leak.
They sat like that, side by side, the only light coming from the lamp in the corner. It cast long shadows across the floor, pooling at their feet.
After a while, Gavin’s hand drifted to his thigh, fingers drumming out a staccato pattern. It was the same three-and-two rhythm she’d clocked him doing at the mess hall. She watched it for a second, then placed her own hand over his, stilling it.
He flinched but didn’t pull away.
“You want me to go?” Asha would not stay anywhere she wasn’t welcomed.
He shook his head, a slow, negative. More than anything he wanted her to stay, but still had no idea how to make thewords leave his lips. He was a man who commanded large boardrooms and multi-million dollar deals, but couldn’t tell the woman next to him that he didn’t want her to leave.
She turned his hand over, palm up. Scarred, calloused, but steady. She traced a line from wrist to the base of his thumb, then let her own hand settle there, fingers lacing with his. For a long moment, they just breathed together. Her thumb stroked the ridge of his knuckle. His hand tightened, then loosened.
“I want you so fucking much,” he said in a low tone.
She smiled, barely. “The feeling’s mutual.”
He looked up, eyes hooded. “No, baby. I mean it.”
Asha nodded and smiled at him. “So do I.”
She shifted, angled her body toward him. Her leg pressed into his now, solid contact, no retreat. She felt his breath quicken, the electric buzz in the air ramp up two notches.
He stared at her mouth, then her eyes, then back again. His hand came up, brushing a finger along her cheek.
Asha let it happen, didn’t move or flinch. The touch was light, almost reverent.
He couldn’t help but ask. “You sure about this? Being here, with me?”
Asha nodded. “Yes.” There was no need to say more than that.
He leaned in, the distance closing in a heartbeat. Their lips met, tentative, both of them holding back at first. He pulled back half an inch, as if to check her reaction. She answered by pulling him in again, harder this time, her hand curling behind his neck.
The kiss deepened, no hesitation now. She opened for him, let him in, the heat blooming in her chest and rolling down her spine. His hands found her shoulders, her jaw, then drifted to her waist, pulling her closer. She shifted, knees touching, bodies angled toward each other, the space between them collapsing.
The couch groaned under their weight, but neither cared. They broke only when breathing demanded it, both panting, faces close.
“I should’ve done that a long time ago. I was being an ass. I never should have denied what we both felt that night,” Gavin was willing to admit when he had fucked up.
She grinned, feral. “Yeah, you were too busy pretending you didn’t want the same thing I did.”
He laughed, for real this time, and the sound vibrated through her skin.
They kissed again, slower now, savoring it. Her hands slid under his shirt, fingers running along the hard line of his back, tracing every ridge and scar. He let her, didn’t tense or shy away. She felt the old burns along his ribs, the rough patch above his hip. She pressed her lips against his neck, kissing the skin, then met his eyes.
“You want to go slow, or…” Asha knew what she wanted, but this moment was for both of them.
“I want you,” he leaned in and said against her lips. “Doesn’t matter how it happens. Neither of us are going anywhere tonight.”
She pushed him back into the couch, straddling his lap, her hands on either side of his face. The kiss this time was all heat and hunger. They lost track of time. Nothing mattered but the two of them in this moment. Fuck the world outside.
