I haven’t completely understood where Asher’s feelings for me stand, but when I pull my mouth away from his, I see it in his eyes. I see the love he once felt for me, the pain that ripped us apart, and fear of what this all means.

Our desire to feel one another, totouchone another overrides all logic.

Ten years ago, Asher and I thought we had explored every inch of one another. I’d seen his soul inside and out, but being with him now is different, and I’m feeling him in an entirely different way. He’s stronger, his presence surrounding me, consuming me.

I quickly unbutton his shirt. The wet fabric peels away from his sculpted muscles and hard abdomen. I move to his belt, and with one quick move, I’ve unbuckled it and am shoving his pants and boxer briefs down enough to free his cock. He’s hard and ready. It springs to life, and I swallow when looking at it. I don’t remember it being this big. Maybe it’s grown in the last ten years, or maybe this is another unreliable memory. Asher and I only slept together the one time when we were teenagers, so my memory is mostly likely fuzzy and blurred.

“Are you ready for me, Little Flower?” His voice deepens, and my body hums in anticipation.

I suck in my bottom lip, pinching it under my teeth, nodding.

Asher grabs his length and centers it in front of me before he grips my shoulder and drives himself into me.

He sinks farther, and my head falls back. His mouth finds my nipple as he pulls it in. He laps his tongue, licking up the trail of honey he left earlier. He continues to drive his cock inside me, and with each thrust he buries himself deeper. Harder.

Asher moves his hand from my shoulder to the back of my head, forcing me to look at him. “Watch us. I want you to watch what I can do to you and this sweet pussy of yours. I want you to watch me make you come.”

He starts off with slower movements, eventually picking up his pace, and I watch him bury himself inside me over and over again.

“Asher.” I say his name on a breath, dizzy from him everywhere. We’re a sticky, wet mess, but I don’t care. “Don’t stop. I’m going to come again.”

My insides tighten and my walls squeeze around him. I’m so wet, and when I reach my orgasm, it feels as if I’m suddenly weightless.

I’m living in this moment. For this moment. Feeling Asher for the first time in a way I’ve never felt.

He’s different. He’s older. He’s more in command. And while I’m angry with the way he was last week, I can’t deny the feelings he’s stirred inside me. I was right when I said Asher wasn’t the man I remember at eighteen. This version is stronger, bolder, commanding, and in charge.

Asher pumps himself in and out of me, faster and deeper until his eyes squeeze shut and his body quakes. His thrusts slow as his cum spills inside me. The muscles in his shoulders contract as he struggles to catch his breath. His head falls to my chest for a few seconds before I feel his lips gently press against my skin, and he leaves a trail of kisses up my chest until they land against mine.

When he pulls away, he’s smiling.

“What?” I ask, laughing.

“I think my question was answered.”

“What question?”

“You’re still just as sweet as I remember.”

SIXTEEN

CHARLEIGH

February 10, 2015

“I have to go.” I smile against Asher’s mouth, dreading having to break away from him.

“No.” He grips the back of my head, keeping my lips pressed against his. He tastes like mint and smells like his favorite body spray.

I kiss Asher again, allowing him to slide his tongue across mine. We’re standing in the middle of the street, several houses down from mine in the bitter February air, and although it’s nearing midnight, I don’t want to leave.

I press my palm against his chest, his heart thrashing beneath blood, bone, and muscle. I moan, feeling my thighs tense, warming as his hands slides down my back. His fingers gingerly lift the edge of my shirt, and goosebumps prickle across my skin.

“Asher,” I mumble. “I really should go. I don’t want my parents to find out that I snuck out. They might come looking for me.”

He pulls back with a heavy sigh. His golden eyes are half closed, and he’s humming with electricity. “Fine.” He curls thecorner of his mouth into a smirk, and it takes all my willpower to keep myself from leaning forward and kissing him again.

If I give in, I won’t be able to stop.