Page 17 of Liar
I sunk into her, my hips pushing against hers. Her body took me in completely, every inch of me disappearing into her slick, hungry sex. I leaned into her, practically smothering her body with mine as I began to thrust. Every time I filled her up to the brink, she cried out. Her hands found their way to my back, nails digging in.
Leaning my cheek against hers, I focused on the growing pleasure within me, how her body milked mine for everything it was worth, and then still asked for more. Being with her was ecstasy, pure and simple. She jumpstarted my heart and gave me a purpose to keep living.
Over and over I pumped into her, her body melding against mine beneath my chest. Our noses grazed each other’s, and our mouths came together. This kiss was unlike the other. This kiss was hard and fast, hungry and desperate. I gave her everything in this kiss, and she reciprocated by running her tongue over my bottom lip.
Pleasure exploded inside me, and I let it happen, breaking the kiss to lean my forehead against hers and groan. I pumped into her quickly, emptying myself inside of her, giving her everything. And then, once the high of the orgasm faded, I kissed her mouth again, back to my gentle, unhurried self.
Keeping my arms around her, I withdrew myself from her and pulled her into my chest. I couldn’t imagine not holding her, not having her with me. Things certainly had come a far way from last semester.
“I love you,” I murmured, watching as her eyelids sluggishly lifted, her grey eyes glimmering in the evening light seeping in through the windows.
She drew a hand along my chest, one of her fingers circling a nipple and sending a jolt of pleasure into my chest. “I love you, too,” Ash whispered, giving me a smile. Our heads lay on my pillow, and I reached for her hair, tucking its pink lengths behind her ear.
I couldn’t say how much time passed, Ash and I laying together with not a care in the world, but I eventually broke the silence, saying, “I’m meeting with Sawyer tomorrow.”
Ash had to sit up at that news, pulling herself from my arms as she blinked down at me. “Really?” Shock dwelled within her face and her tone, as if me meeting with Sawyer was the last thing she expected.
Couldn’t blame her, because it was the last thing I expected, too.
“Yeah,” I said, sitting up beside her. “He texted me earlier, said he needs to talk to me.”
Ash bit her lip, the gesture oddly entrancing. “What time? Do you need me there with you?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. Having Ash there would only make things harder, I knew. I needed to put all of my focus on Sawyer, not worry about things like I did when I was with Ash. Just me and him…which it hadn’t been for so long. Sawyer Salvatore was like a stranger to me; I didn’t need Ash in the form of a mediator. “I’ll be fine. I want to talk to Sawyer alone.”
She grew quiet, nodding once. “Okay, but if you change your mind, know that I will skip class just to be there.”
Grinning, I pulled her into my chest. “I thought we weren’t supposed to skip any more classes this semester?”
Ash giggled. “Yeah, yeah. Being a good student is hard,” she whined.
We spent the rest of the night being just that: good students, with our clothes on, of course. We worked on our papers and our homework, and she tried to get the hang of whatever it was she was learning in her statistics course. I was never quite good at math, so it wasn’t like I could offer her any help.
Travis swung by once night fell, and we ate a late dinner together. Will didn’t like coming over when Travis was over, so he kept to his apartment. I loved my brother, I did, and I hated that he felt like an outsider here, but I knew I had to give him time to adjust.
And he had to. Adjust, I meant. He would. I had faith in him.
I had more faith in my older brother than I did myself. For most of my life, he’d always been there. My rock, protecting me. And now Will was all I had, other than Ash. We were family; we would endure any stormy weather that surfaced.
My brother, along with Ash, were the two most important people in my life. Without them, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.
I couldn’t sleep that night. I was pretty sure it was because I had a meeting with Sawyer, and I was nervous. Anxious, above all else. Talking to him—it was only as I lay there, wide awake in the darkness, that I let my anger surface—I didn’t want to talk to him. I wanted to hurt him, to shout at him, to somehow show him how much he’d made me hurt this last year.
Trying to take Ash…hurting Ash—there was no forgiveness for something like that.
My anger made my heart beat faster and the blood pump through my veins harder. I didn’t often let my anger get the best of me, because I knew I was better than that. I’d let it slip that night all those months ago, when Travis had texted me and I’d seen Ash and Sawyer together. The rage I’d felt that night…I didn’t think I’d ever been so mad.
Was it better to be angry or sad? Probably neither.
Yes, neither, so I had to swallow it down and face the music. Things were changing around here, and I had to deal with it. If I wanted Will to come around and get acclimated to Hillcrest and our relationship with Ash, I needed to show him how to do it. I needed to be the model, the one he could look up to, for once.
No anger.
No annoyance.
No revenge.
I had to let things go, for Will and for Ash.
