Page 83 of Wicked Temptations
I made a wounded sound, part whine, part whimper, as I tried to sit up.
“Don’t move, Jude.” I heard his voice but couldn’t see him. But then I heard running water in the bathroom, and the fog from my brain started to lift. A minute later, Ash returned with a warm washcloth and, after placing a kiss on my right knee, started cleaning me up with surprising gentleness.
“You don’t have to do that.” Of course, I finally found my voice, and the first thing I said was an attempt at pushing him away.
“Shut up and let me.” He wiped my stomach, then moved lower. “Someone’s gotta take care of you.”
My heart did something weird in response; a warm and fluttery feeling that left me flustered. I wasn’t used to it, so I stayed quiet and let him work.
He tossed the washcloth aside when he finished, then maneuvered me properly up the bed. Got me settled against the pillows with my injured ankle elevated on a spare one.
“Better?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed his boxers from the floor and pulled them on.
Right. He’s leaving.
But then Ash hesitated. He looked at the bed and at me, and I was asking him to stay before I could overthink it.
The smile that lit up his face was beautiful.
Ash turned the main light off, plunging the room into near darkness. Only the dim glow from the hallway remained, casting shadows across the walls.
He moved back to the bed and carefully wiggled the blanket out from under me, which should have been embarrassing but somehow wasn’t. Then he climbed in beside me, settling onto his back with his hands behind his head.
We didn’t cuddle. Didn’t snuggle up against each other like couples in movies. We just lay there side by side in the dark, not touching except for where his shoulder brushed against mine.
We’d never done the staying-after thing before. Cum and go was our specialty. I didn’t know what to do with my hands. Or where to look. Or how to act like this was normal when nothing about this situation felt normal. My entire body was rigid, muscles locked tight despite the post-orgasm haze.
“Are you always this tense after sex?”
“I’m not tense.”
“You’re wound tighter than a spring.” Ash shifted to his side, facing me, and his fingers walked up my arm to my shoulder, pressed into the muscle there. I hissed. “See? Tense.”
“Maybe I just don’t know what we’re doing or how to...”
“We’re lying in bed.” His hand moved to my neck, kneading gently. “Not exactly complicated, Jude.”
“We’ve just... never done this before.”
“Done what? Stayed in the same room after fucking?” He found a knot and worked at it until I groaned. The massage was intimate in a way sex hadn’t been. Gentle and caring, like he actually wanted to take care of me instead of just getting off.
I could get used to this.
“Yeah.” I couldn’t look at him. “That.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.” His thumb pressed into a particularly tight spot, and I couldn’t stop the low groan that escaped. “Besides, I figured you could use the company. You’ve been stuck in this place alone for days.”
“I was fine.”
“Sure you were.” His hand moved to the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair. “Is that why you looked half feral when I showed up?”
“I was mad at you.”
“You’re always mad at me.” But there was affection in his voice now instead of antagonism. “It’s kind of your thing.”
Despite everything, I felt my lips twitch. “Asshole.”
