Truth or Dare Page 20

  “You were the only one that believed it. Soon I welcomed your hatred because it’s all I deserved from you. It became our only interaction, my only way of getting close to you. I tried to keep Lucinda off your case but it would only make it worse on you. You seemed so content with hating me and it was all I could do not to kiss you every time you were close. You were all I could think about. You were all I wanted and I couldn’t have you.” Ashton stopped talking and looked at her. He seemed vulnerable standing before her with his words in the air. It was the first time she had seen his cockiness stripped away and he let her see what was inside of him. He ran his hand though his wavy blonde hair. He was too beautiful to be real as he poured out his feelings. The shock of his words stilled her body. She didn’t know how to process what he was saying.

  “Do you how many blueberry turnovers I’ve eaten since I kissed you that day?” His words were soft and raw. “I just don’t know how to stop this cycle.”

  “Me either. I don’t know how to let my guard down around you. I’m scared of getting hurt.” Sophie shook her head slowly, and a tear fell down her cheek. Ashton brushed it away. He looked at her with his endless blue eyes, so much feeling stirred within them. “Truth or dare?” he whispered.

  “Truth,” she said softly. The word felt strange in her mouth as she tried to sort through the storm of emotions that raged through her.

  “Who did you give your heart to?” There was fear in his eyes as he looked at her. She realized that he was just as afraid of getting hurt as her and still he opened up, making himself susceptible to the pain.

  “You,” she whispered. “I have only ever wanted you.”

  Sophie ran her fingers down his chest, making sure he was really standing here in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She slid her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the ground, her legs wrapping around his narrow waist. He held her like she was weightless and she loved the fit of their bodies. She loved how he felt against her, all of her soft flesh molded against his hard body, and it made her yearn for more of him. Desire flourished within her and she wanted to taste him.

  Sophie sucked on his full bottom lip and his reaction was primal and urgent, demanding more. She pulled away and looked up at his expression that now reflected his lust and desire.

  “This thing that we’re doing, whatever it is…maybe we should stop. I work for your grandmother. What if it ends badly?” she whispered against his ear.

  “Can we stop?” he said breathlessly, his voice heavy with longing.

  “Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “What if I told you that I don’t want to stop…that I can’t stop?” He kissed along the sensitized skin of her neck.

  “I’m scared,” she admitted, looking back at him with the same intensity.

  “I am too, but I can’t stay away from you, I can’t stop thinking about you. Just the thought of never touching you again…I need you…I want you…I—”

  Sophie broke off his words as she kissed his lips. He growled into her mouth. Holding onto her he moved them into her apartment.

  Sophie felt the softness of her bed against her back as he laid her down. Leaning over her he trailed kisses down her neck and chest to the reveal of cleavage she had teased him with. His hand skimmed up her thigh and under the fabric of her dress, squeezing her flesh.

  “Wait.” Sophie pushed him up so she could look at his face. His hair looked tousled from her fingers and his incredible lips were swollen from their kiss.

  “You owe me a strip dance.” Sophie’s playful smile pulled her lips. Ashton’s grin made his eyes light up as he pushed off the bed. “I get to pick the song,” Sophie declared as she grabbed for her iPod. She scrolled through her list and laughed as she selected “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO.

  Ashton arched his brow as he recognized the song that started playing. As Sophie watched him start to move to the beat of the music she wondered if there was anything Ashton could not do well. He was so in control of his body, moved so confidently. Sophie laughed as he carried on with her. He was familiar with the song and knew exactly how to utilize it. He pulled his shirt off over his head and Sophie took in his strong, gorgeous body. When he flexed his muscles, Sophie’s mouth watered. Ashton pulled his belt from his pants and kicked them off.

  A gasp escaped her as Ashton jumped on the bed. “You stopped laughing.” He nipped her ear as he leaned in over her. “I love the sound of your laugh.”

  “I don’t feel like laughing anymore.” She was surprised how serious her tone sounded.

  “What do you feel like then?” He looked down at her hungrily.

  “I feel like…” Sophie reached down and grabbed the hem of her dress and wiggled it up her body, pulling it over her head.

  “I don’t feel like laughing either.” He took in her body beneath him, raking her with his gaze. “I feel like kissing you.”

  “Then kiss me.”

  Ashton pressed his lips against hers. “I also feel like taking off this.” Ashton slipped his finger under the strap of Sophie’s bra.

  “Then take it off.”

  Ashton unclasped her bra and threw it off the bed. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered between his kisses. His hands explored her body, raining kisses over her skin and leaving a trail of burning need. “And I want to take these off.” He ran his fingers down the curve of her hip and cupped his hand over her bottom as he grabbed the fabric of her underwear.

  “Then take them off.” Her voice was now harsh with desire as her hands memorized the lines of his shoulders and the solid curve of his back. The feel of his powerful body over her made her feel a pleasure like no other. The feel of his naked flesh upon hers made the whole world fade away and left her intoxicated with pure bliss.

  The realization that there was nothing between their bodies, skin on skin, made Sophie’s head reel with longing. Ashton’s desire pressed against her soft flesh and she arched her body off the bed to meet his. Her body hummed with pleasure but her mind was clear. She wanted and needed this with a fierceness she couldn’t even begin to understand.

  “I want you more than I ever wanted anything,” Ashton said against her lips.

  “I want you too, I want this…I want you inside me,” Sophie panted in response.

  Ashton tensed over her, his muscles hardened under her touch and his mouth claimed hers with a new vigor. “Are you sure?” He pulled away and looked into her eyes. Sophie looked at his handsome features, his strong jawline, full lips, perfectly straight nose, and endless blue eyes and she realized he was the only one she ever wanted to be with. His were the only lips she wanted to kiss. She reached up and ran her fingers along his cheek and traced his bottom lip.

  “I have never been more sure of anything,” she whispered before she pulled him against her to kiss him, to taste him. To breathe in his scent and feel everything that is him upon her. His song was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard and she wanted to play it forever, to live in this moment always.

  Ashton took care with her body as he slowly built her pleasure, his lips grazing her flesh, his tongue pulling warmth from her core as she reacted to his touch. He explored her like he was discovering her secrets. Sophie soon writhed for release from the frenzy of desire that took over her. Sounds of her bliss slipped freely from her lips, in turn causing Ashton’s own excitement to build. When Ashton pressed against Sophie’s slick heat as he entered her, Sophie gasped from the sensation of feeling too full as she stretched around him.

  “Are you all right?” He stilled, noticing her discomfort as he pushed slowly into her core. The heat of his breath tickled the sensitized skin of her neck.

  “Yes…don’t stop…” she panted.

  Ashton leaned down and took Sophie’s nipple in his mouth. The sensation made her melt around him, allowing his presence inside her to turn into another sensation. Pleasure erupted inside her as if the discomfort was pulled away, exposing the building of pure bliss. A
primal need took over as she thrust her hips against his. His growls of pleasure encouraged her as they both brought each other toward release.

  Ashton opened her eyes to sensations that left her soaring, a feeling that lingered as she leaned against his chest. Her fingers lazily traced the deep grooves of his stomach. He had been so gentle with her. The moment couldn’t have been more perfect and she would never forget giving herself to Ashton. “Wow…if I had known what I was missing…” Sophie smiled against his chest, surrounded by his scent and his heat as he held her close.

  Ashton chuckled. “Yeah, me too.” Sophie raised her head from his chest and looked up at his face. “It’s different with you,” he explained.

  “Good different?” Sophie asked, biting her lip nervously.

  “Yes, good different.” He kissed the top of her head. “Very good different…incredible.”

  “When did you get this?” Sophie read the words of his tattoo: ‘Life is what you make it’, as she traced the letters wrapping around the side of his chest.

  “When my grandfather died.” Ashton’s voice was low when he spoke.

  “Margaret told me about him. He sounds like he was such a wonderful man.” Sophie smiled thoughtfully.

  “He was. He used to say it a lot. It reminds me of him.”

  Sophie sat up and slid her leg over his waist, straddling him. His smile was beautiful and his eyes were shining with emotion. She wanted to paint him like this, capture this moment on a canvas for her to always be able to gaze upon. Ashton ran his hands over her breasts and down her stomach. “You’re perfect.” He whispered.

  Sophie’s eyes widened when she felt him harden beneath her. The sound of the door opening caused them both to still.

  “Mel.” Sophie breathed against his neck. Ashton wrapped his arms around her and pulled the blanket over their heads.

  “Hey, Ashton,” Mel called.

  “Hey, Mel,” Ashton returned with a chuckle.

  “I’m glad you guys finally did it. The sexual tension between you two was unreal.”

  “Mel!” Sophie gasped from under the blanket.

  “What? It’s true and you know it.”

  Ashton’s laughter ruptured from his chest and Sophie loved the sound and feel of it as he lay under her. Her whole life Sophie tried to believe that she didn’t need love but Ashton had always made her doubt it from the first moment she met him. She could no longer deny that it had any hold on her. She had been swept up in the frenzy of emotions Ashton caused in her. She was in love with him. She wanted to listen to his song forever, remember all the words, and set her life to the beat.

  ***

  When Sophie opened her eyes the next morning she found herself alone in her bed. She sat up holding the sheets over her chest, Ashton was gone. She slid out of bed, retrieved a night shirt, and pulled it over her head. She walked into the living room separated only by a partial wall, allowing a couple of minimal archways to separate the apartment into designated rooms. Mel was still asleep on the sofa. She looked so innocent, not at all like the firecracker she was when she was awake. Sophie couldn’t help the ache that twisted her insides. Ashton had left her without saying goodbye. She picked up her phone, hoping he left a message explaining his departure. There was nothing.

  Last night she shared something with Ashton that she thought was truly the most beautiful thing she had ever experienced. She wondered if Ashton had meant the words he’d said to her last night. She wanted it to be real, wanted to believe every word that he said.

  Thoughts of Margaret began to trouble her. Fear that something happened made her fingers dial her number in a hurry. It rang twice before Charlotte answered. “Miss Sophie. How are you?”

  Sophie was washed with relief at Charlotte’s pleasant tone. “Hello, Charlotte, just making sure that Margaret doesn’t need me today.”

  “Her daughter, Bridgette, Ashton’s mother, is in town visiting her. She and Marcus are taking her out to lunch today,” Charlotte informed her.

  “Wonderful. Tell her to call me if she needs me.” Sophie was relieved that Margaret was well but it didn’t ease the sadness. She had always tried to convince herself that her attraction to Ashton was only physical but she knew she had been wrong. Last night only revealed how deep her affections for him ran. What if Ashton realized it was just sexual attraction for him? What if that’s all he wanted?

  Sophie turned her music on and tucked the iPod into her panties. She slipped onto her stool in front of her easel and set to work finishing her painting for Margaret. Painting always cleared her head and she needed it now more than ever. Before long the world faded and she was completely focused on her painting.

  Sophie startled when someone slid their hands around her waist. She relaxed when Ashton’s delectable scent suddenly enveloped her. She leaned back into him as his lips skimmed her neck. His hand reached down into her panties where her iPod was. Thank god! After taking his time retrieving it he pulled it out and turned it off. “You look so hot right now,” he whispered in her ear.

  “Where were you?” Sophie relaxed.

  “Getting breakfast.” He smiled against her neck. “What’s this?” he asked when he noticed what she was painting.

  “Oh…” Sophie suddenly felt guilty for having stolen Margaret’s photo. “I was going to surprise Margaret. To say thank you for letting me stay and for giving me a job…” Sophie trailed off.

  “It’s incredible.” Ashton looked at the painting. “I was there that day when this picture was taken. My grandmother arranged us all to get together to have a family portrait done. The photographer took this picture when they were wrapping up. I guess she saw something…”

  “Beautiful,” Sophie finished.

  “Yeah. She’ll love the painting, Sophie.” Ashton kissed her on the cheek. A sad smile graced his lips and she wondered if it was painful looking at the picture of his grandfather. It was obvious they had been close before he passed.

  “Something smells delicious,” Mel moaned from the sofa. Ashton and Sophie smiled at each other. Mel tumbled off the sofa and dragged her feet to the kitchen.

  “I went to the bakery around the corner. I didn’t know what you ladies would want so I got some of everything.” Ashton said, rubbing the back of his neck.

  Mel opened up one of the bags sitting on the counter. “Holy fucking shit, that smells like heaven.” Mel reached in the bag and pulled out a croissant. “Still warm,” she squeaked. Taking a big bite, she looked in the other bag. “Oh Sophie, there are blueberry turnovers. Your favorite,” Mel said with her mouth full. She grabbed one out of the bag and passed it to Sophie.

  Sophie and Ashton both looked at each other before they laughed. “I had one a few years back that was the best thing I had ever tasted and since then I can’t get enough.”

  A crooked smile pulled at Ashton’s lips before he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips, pulling gently on her bottom lip. “I know what you mean.”

  When all three of them had their fill and were sipping on their tea, Mel announced anxiously that she had some news. “I just want to say that last night was my last night as a stripper and today is my first day—well, technically unemployed, because I haven’t actually gotten a new job yet—but it’s a start, right?”

  Sophie smiled. “Cheers.” They all toasted Mel’s announcement with their tea. “We should celebrate.”

  “Let’s go to the beach!” Mel suggested excitedly.

  Sophie looked at Ashton. “Do you want to go to the beach with us today?”

  “I can’t think of a better way to spend the day.” Ashton said, putting his arm around Sophie’s shoulder. A smile spread across her face that she couldn’t undo. She was ridiculously happy and Ashton was the cause of it.

  Chapter

  Twenty-One

  The sun was gloriously hot as its rays spilled heat down upon them. Not a cloud was brave enough to occupy the same sky on the bright beautiful day. The beach was full of bodies soaking up
the heat and cooling themselves off in the waves that splashed upon the shoreline. The beach was massive and stretched as far as Sophie could see. She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed the ocean and the beautiful sand of its shores.

  Ashton stuck his surfboard into the sand near the water before pulling his shirt off over his head. Sophie couldn’t help but stare at his sinful body. She noticed she wasn’t the only one enjoying the view. Mel gave her a nudge. “Good god.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Sophie said.

  Dustin joined them for their adventure to the beach. He dropped Mel’s bag on the sand. He noticed the girls watching Ashton and decided to pull off his own shirt. Mel and Sophie smiled at each other. “Dustin, you are definitely the hottest guy on this beach.” Mel patted him on his muscled arm. Dustin was fit and obviously no stranger to the gym.

  It was the first time Sophie had actually seen Mel and Dustin together for any amount of time. She could see the romantic relationship developing between them despite the fact that Mel claimed them still to be only friends. They had known each other for a long time and it showed in the way they trusted each other. He grabbed Mel into a hug, picking her off the ground. “I love this girl.” He squeezed her playfully. Mel screamed in delight before settling in a fit of giggles.

  Ashton looked over at Sophie from under his blonde waves of hair and dark lashes. He looked mischievous and sexy when a smile formed on his lips. “Come here.” Sophie pulled off her sun dress and laid it on her bag, revealing her mismatched bikini. The top was a pink and white floral halter style and the bottoms were pink with mint green stripes. It was her favorite bathing suit and she hoped Ashton would like it. It wasn’t as sexy as Mel’s deep red barely there bikini, but she loved the way it played her curves. He stared at her as she approached, making her feel a little self-conscious. His eyes followed her every move.