Page 53 of Dirty Desires
I shook my head. “It was way more than just that, Duke. So much more than that.”
Artimus seemed surprised. “More than that? So just what did you two get up to on Friday night?”
“We went out and had a great dinner. Had some awesome conversations. And in the end, I walked her up to her apartment. I kissed her goodnight.” I sighed without meaning to.
Duke laughed again. “Your first kiss, right?”
“It was.” I could feel the tingle on my tongue the same way I had when I first kissed her.
Artimus pushed for more information. “And then you left?”
Shaking my head, I went on, “No. I did not leave just then.”
Duke howled like a wolf. “The dry spell is over. He’s finally gotten some rain.”
Artimus punched Duke in the arm. “Rogue!” He looked at me. “Never mind him. You know how athletes are. Did you stay the night with her?”
“I did.” My chest swelled with pride. “And the next morning, I took her home with me. Where I kept her until this very morning. We rode to work together.”
“Are you moving her in already?” Duke asked me with a surprised expression.
“Not yet.” My fingers tapped on top of my thigh as I thought about that. “But I want to move her in as soon as possible.”
“I don’t know,” Artimus mused, his hand moving over his chin. “I wouldn’t go rushing anything, Ashton. At the very least, confer with Dr. Patel on how you should take things. You don’t want to rush into things, then suffer a relapse.”
I didn’t like the way he talked about my grieving issues. “Artimus, I don’t have cancer. I’ve got some issues, but nothing more than that.”
“Still, don’t rush,” he cautioned me. “I know you two have waited a long time for this, but don’t make the mistake of moving too fast.”
I felt like it was far too late to stop the rollercoaster we had gotten on. “Easier said than done.”
Duke nodded. “Yeah, I know.” He punched Artimus in the arm. “You and I didn’t exactly follow that advice, Artimus. And we turned out just fine.”
With a stoic stare, Artimus informed him, “We also didn’t have the past that he has.” He looked at me. “Go slow, Ashton. Be cautious. I would hate for either you or Nina to get hurt because you rushed things.”
“I’ll try, Artimus. I will. But where she’s concerned, it doesn’t seem possible.” I thought back to how I’d imagined our first time would be. “I had this plan to make our first time special. I was going to go very slowly, take my time, you know.”
Duke laughed. “Bet you didn’t take your time at all!”
Shaking my head, I confessed, “No, I did not take my time at all.” Going further into the weekend, I added, “And I never thought I would be asking her to stay the weekend with me so soon either. But when her roommate decided to have a little sexy weekend of her own—with more than a few guests in attendance—I didn’t ask Nina to come home with me; I demanded she do so.”
“Her roommate did what?” Artimus asked.
My eyes trained on his to gauge his reaction. “She had an orgy.”
Duke guffawed. “No way!”
“I swear.” My hands went into the air. “We heard her in her room with two guys. Then I went to the bathroom, and there was one of them, standing in the hallway wearing nothing more than what looked like her panties to cover himself. He invited us to their orgy. So, I told Nina we were out of there.”
Duke and Artimus looked at me with stunned expressions. Then Artimus said, “Don’t let that be the reason you ask her to move in with you, Ashton.”
“Oh, that will be part of the reason I ask her to move in with me—I don’t want her living in a place that makes her uncomfortable. But the biggest part will be because I doubt I’ll be able to sleep well without her.” I scratched my head as I thought about how I would get by tonight. “I know it’s only been three nights, but I’m pretty sure I’m already addicted to holding her all night long.”
Duke got up and went to get something out of the fridge. “Okay, Artimus. It’s time to make some bets here. I give Romeo here one month before he asks her to marry him.”
“I’m not that impulsive, Duke. Give me some credit,” but even as I said the words, flashes of engagement rings went through my mind.
Artimus’ expression was stern. “I’m serious, Ashton. Don’t jump into anything permanent.”
