Page 19 of Save Me

“Ash.” Jamie smiles shakily. “Behave.”

“Jamie.” I drag my index finger down his throat slowly and hook it into the collar of his tee. His beautiful amber eyes are blown wide, and when I smirk at him, his fingers dig into my hips deliciously. I drop my voice to a seductive purr. “I am behaving. This?” I nibble at his jaw. “What I’m doing?” I brush my fingers across his chest. “It’s definitely a behavior.” I know exactly what he means, and fuck that. I’m so donebehaving. I’ve behaved for more than a year pining for him. Now that he’s exactly where I want him, well, one of the places that I want him, knowing he wants to be exactly here with me, I plan to misbehave with a vengeance.

I scrape my teeth over my lower lip and glance at him through my lashes. “You see, I took Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology classes in college.” I slip my other hand into his hair, wrapping his gorgeous curls around my fingers, tugging gently. “Each discipline very clearly defines what constitutes a behavior.” I pull Jamie’s head back, holding his gaze, and lean down to brush my lips against his. Electricity shoots through my body, and every inch of my skin tingles as his fingers dig into my hips again. I am beginning to think I’m developing athingfor that. I gasp against his mouth, enjoying the ache, then press my lips to his, kissing him slowly, thoroughly, lingering against his lips.

With a guttural groan, he opens his mouth to me, and I lose myself in the kiss, caressing the inside of his mouth with my tongue, tightening my grip in his hair, slowly grinding against his very hard cock pressed perfectly against mine. When the swing lurches beneath us, I end the kiss and smile down at him. “This, most definitely, is one.” When Jamie finally opens his eyes, his pupils are enormous, and I don’t even bother hiding my smirk. “Was there a particular type of behavior you wished me to avoid?”

He looks a bit muddled and blinks a few times like he’s trying to reset his brain. “I can see that conversations with you are going to be stimulating.”

I laugh out loud at that, then wiggle a bit in his lap, quite pleased with myself. “Yes.” I slide my hands down his chest and am about to lean in again when the phone rings and our gazes snap toward the kitchen. Jamie starts to stand, and I quickly scramble out of his lap, letting him up, worried about who would call here, and why. With a sense of dread, I follow after him as he hurries into the house.

6

Jamie

“Hey Duncan. What’s up?”

I’m expecting him to give me some news about Ash’s situation. What I get instead is typically Duncan. “I have news, but first, tell me you finally got off your moral high horse and fucked him silly.” The grin in his voice is clear, and the asshole is probably waggling his eyebrows too.

A warm blush creeps up my face. “Duncan, I certainly hope you don’t think I’m going to answer that.” I glance at Ash, worried about how he’s interpreting my half of the conversation, until I see the smirk on his face and the cocky way he’s leaning against the table. My blush must have given it away. Smug bastard.

“All I’m saying is that if you don’t take advantage of this opportunity, you’re an idiot. You two were so into each other it was sickening, and your celibate martyr act is tired. You have an opportunity, so take it.”

“I’m not talking to you about this, Duncan.” Mostly because he’s right, and also because Ash is standing right here. “And tell Mayhugh I’m taking two weeks of vacation effective immediately. She can complain all she wants. I have so much time racked up she should be grateful I’m finally taking some of it.”

“Good for you.” I can hear the pride in his voice, and I want to hug and punch him at the same time. “Now, be sure to hydrate, you’ll need to replace your fluids. Oh, and eat, and get some rest at some point or you’ll run out of stamina, and then won’t you be embarrassed.”

I laugh. “Fuck off, asshole.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, yeah. You’ll thank me later. I just called to give you a quick update. San Fran’s a no go. Compromised. We’ll pack things up and store them, do the usual cleanup. It’s not a definite no on a new identity, but they’re still arguing about it.”

“I see. Alright. I’ll let Ash know.” I glance at him again, trying to keep my voice and expression neutral.

I hear the snort from Duncan. “Oh, it’s Ash now?”

“Duncan.”

It must be the warning in my voice, because he backs off the teasing. “Okay, okay. Call me if you need anything, otherwise I’ll be back in touch as soon as I have info on Ashley’s new identity.”

I breathe a bit easier. “Alright. Thanks, Duncan.” I hang up and consider his advice. Yes, Ash and I have this opportunity, but we still don’t know a lot about each other. I suppress the little voice telling me it’s because we aren’t supposed to know a lot about each other, and walk toward him, holding out my hand. “Come on. Let’s take a walk.”

I can tell it’s probably the last thing Ashley wants to do, but he takes my offered hand and follows, anyway. “Alright. But the bedroom is that way.” He points at the stairs.

I pull him close and give him a quick peck on the lips, then tuck his hair behind his ear. “I was thinking it would be a good idea to talk.” The wariness in his eyes hurts my heart. “Oh no! Not that kind of talk.” His shoulders visibly relax, and I hug him again. We’ve shared a few things about ourselves before, but witness protection isn’t exactly where you want to go sharing a lot about yourself. It’s kind of the opposite of the point. I smile encouragingly because he looks like he’s not sold on the idea. “I want to get to know you better, Ash.”

Understanding lights his eyes, and he smiles brilliantly at me. “Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place? I love talking about myself.”

I can’t help it. I laugh. “You don’t say.” I take his hand and lead him out the back door and off the porch. We head in a northerly direction, sticking close to the lake, and even though I can tell he’s not an outdoorsy person, the scenery is gorgeous, and I think he appreciates it.

Without preamble he starts the questions. “You’re one of five children, right?”

I nod and grin. “I’m the oldest.”

“Obviously.”

I glance over at him with a grin. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re responsible to a fault, worried about everyone but yourself, and think all decisions are horrible, unless you’re the one making them.”

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