Page 28 of Ashley
She pursed her lips and rocked back on her heels, hands tucked behind her back. "I don't believe that."
"Maybe I didn't want to fill my home with things that my little girl wouldn't like."
His answer made her freeze. She hadn't expected him to say that. Maybe that he didn't like decorating, or that he had no patience for collecting art, maybe he just didn't like clutter, but she had never expected him to say that.
"That's very," she paused and licked her lips, "considerate of you."
"I'm glad you think so, little girl." And this time when he said the pet name, there was something more to it, a weight that hadn't been present before, and her cheeks flamed. He had accepted his role as teacher, but right now, there was nothing teacher about him.
Every part of her was screamingDaddyas he shot her a smile and walked slowly toward her. But even with her heart doing that, she still took an unbidden half step back from him. There was something primal in the way James was staring at her, all hooded eyes and mouth parted. His step was light, and she wondered if he had ever danced. There was an athletic grace to him that was undeniable to anyone with eyes to see. She had envisioned something tamer than this when she had asked him to be her teacher. She hadn't quite realized how much she would want to fall to her knees just from one dark and hungry look from him, but to her credit, she managed to stay on her feet when he came to a stop in front of her.
"Gotta say," he drawled on, hand moving to twirl a lock of her hair, "my place has never looked better."
"Why is that?"
He leaned close to her, his lips brushing against her cheek as light as a butterfly kiss. "Because you're standing in it, baby. Now, it's perfect."
Ashley's eyes fluttered closed and she trembled when she felt his fingers brush the spot he had just kissed. "James," she whispered, leaning into his touch when he kissed her again, this time, her jaw, while his hands slid down her shoulders and sides, before finally coming to her waist. His fingers tensed slightly, just enough to prompt her to move forward, her body now flush against his as he continued to gently paint her skin with kisses.
"Say my name again like that, honey." His voice was low and gruff, resonating in a part of her, a hungry, lustful part of her, that she was still shocked by, but wanting to feed that new part of her as much as she could, she did what he asked with no hesitation.
"James."
He groaned and reached up, cupping her face in his big hands. "Can I take you to the bedroom, baby girl?"
She nodded, feeling like she was in a dream. All of this was perfect. The way he was looking at her, the gentle kisses and softly spoken words. The implication that the place was bare and empty because it was waiting for her.
"Yes, please," she told him, tilting her face up to look at him. "I want that so badly."
James' arms moved to pick her up, and in the next moment, she was being cradled against the big man's chest bridal-style. He kissed her temple; just a brush of his lips, really, but it set Ashley on fire as he carried her down the hallway and into his bedroom.
Once inside, he didn't hesitate in depositing her gently on the bed that was as soft as a cloud. She looked up at him, her eyes wanting and hands reaching before he had even let her go, and he chuckled at the searching feel of her fingertips on his shoulders.
"I'm not going anywhere," he told her when she made a whining sound in the back of her throat when he moved back. He pulled off his shirt and dropped it beside the bed before he moved back to kiss her, arms on either side of her, caging her in and making her feel safe and protected.
"No one to interrupt us here, princess," he whispered between kisses, his hands moving to undo the buttons of her shorts.
Ashley hummed in agreement, her mouth hungrily moving against his. "You won't stop, will you?" she asked, hands tightening on his shoulders. "I'll burst if you do. I need you."
James groaned and dropped his head, forehead brushing her collarbone. He let out a deep exhale and then lifted his stormy gray eyes to meet her searching gaze. "Baby, an act of God couldn't keep me from you. I'm not stopping."
Ashley could have wept at the outright desire she heard in his voice, made rough from lust. She surged forward, kissing him, fingers carding through his hair as she slanted her mouth to deepen the kiss, though she only had her way for a moment before his hands were coming up to hers. His fingers gently circled her wrists, and he pulled her hands down to her sides.
"Ah, ah, ah. Good girls are patient," he told her.
She pouted and rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'm tired of being good."
That earned her a smirk. He leaned back, moving his body away from hers an inch, not enough to put any real distance between them but enough so that she felt it. She let out a noise of frustration at his movement, but he shook his head and moved back another half step so that he could look her in the eye.
"Little girls like you are too greedy."
"I want you."
"And you'll have me. Just be patient."
She made to reach for him but his grip tightened on her wrists, keeping them where they were. She frowned when she realized that he wasn't going to allow her to touch him as she wanted.
"What do you want?" James asked, voice low and hypnotic.
