Running a hand up her stomach, I toyed with the lacy shell of her bra before yanking it down. I licked her hungrily, before drawing her nipple into my mouth, sucking gently.
“Oh god... Ash...”
I released the dusky bud with a pop, moving to the curve of her breast. This time I sucked harder until blood rushed to the surface, bruising her skin.
“Did you just bite me?” Mya asked breathlessly, beads of sweat forming on her smooth silky skin as I continued to rock into her.
“Are you complaining?” My brow arched, the familiar tingle at the bottom of my spine building.
“God, Asher,” she moaned my name. “Why does this feel so right?”
“Because it is right.” I lowered my head to hers, every inch of me pressed up against every inch of her. “You can’t tell me you don’t feel this.” Pulling one of Mya’s hands off my shoulder, I slid my fingers through hers, pinning it at the side of her head. I rocked slower... harder... deeper, pushing us both toward the edge.
“Fall with me, Mya. Fall with me.”
Her walls clenched around me, making us both cry out, as she came. Another thrust and I followed, jerking inside her.
“That was...” she tried to catch her breath.
“Epic… Earth shattering… The best you ever had,” I said around an arrogant smile.
Mya chuckled, brushing the damp hair out of my face. “I was going to say intense.”
“Not quite what I was going for, but we can practice.” I pecked her lips. “Lots and lots of practice.” My dick stirred to life again, but I ignored him, focusing on the girl beneath me.
My girl.
“I wish you could stay the night.”
“Asher...”
“I know, I know. But this, us, it means something to me, Mya.” It means everything. My thumb brushed over her lips as the unspoken words played on repeat in my head.
“It means something to me too.” Her eyes burned with possessiveness.
“So we’re really going to do this?”
She already knew I was in, but I needed to hear her say the words too.
“Yeah, we’re doing this.”
“You know I’m never going to let you go, right?”
“Asher...” Mya gazed up at me, letting out a resigned sigh. “It’s senior year. College is right around the corner...”
“So? We have time, babe.” I kissed her softly, letting my lips linger on hers. Mya didn’t say anything else on the matter and I didn’t want to taint what had been one of the best moments of my life.
Untangling myself from her, I held out my hand. Mya stared at it, confusion clouding her eyes. “The night isn’t over yet,” I said.
She slid her palm against mine and I led her further into the boathouse to where the stairs led to the mezzanine. “Watch your step.”
“You could have at least let me put on some clothes.”
“Wait here.” I left Mya at the top step and located the box of matches I had left out here earlier. Once I’d lit the candles, I beckoned her over to the makeshift bed.
“You did all this?”
“If you’re impressed by a few blankets and candles, I really need to up my game. Come lie with me?”
“Asher, if we fall asleep...”
“We won’t, I promise. I’m just not ready to say goodbye yet.”
I pulled the blanket over us and wrapped an arm around Mya’s waist, snuggling as close as possible. It was perfect; our legs tangled, our slick bodies meshed together like two pieces of a puzzle.
“You know,” Mya broke the silence, her voice barely a whisper. “When I first got to Rixon and learned how football obsessed the town was, I was dreading it. I’d left my home, my mom, my friends and...” she trailed off.
“It’s okay, you can say his name.” As much as I hated it, Jermaine was a part of her past. A part of what made her who she was in this moment. I didn’t ever want to imagine them together. Him loving her, hurting her. But I couldn’t pretend he didn’t exist either.
It helped knowing I was the one here with her now. Lying beside her, my kisses on her lips, my touch all over her skin.
“I felt like an outsider. Part of me still does. But right from first moment I met you, you made me feel a part of something.”
My chest tightened at her words, emotion clogging my throat. I was falling ass over elbow in love with her, but I didn’t want to say the three little words I knew would be too much for her to hear yet. So I swallowed them down, storing them away for another day.
“Will your parents wonder where you’ve gotten to?” Mya asked, changing the subject.
“Dad will be slumped over a glass of whisky by now, wondering where he went wrong in life to end up with me for his son, and Mom will be crying over the family albums.”
She turned in my arms to face me, her hands pressed against my chest as she gazed up at me. “I hate that you’ve carried this for so long.
“It is what it is.”
“You deserve more though, Asher. You deserve a father who loves you and sees you for what you are. Not for what he wants you to be.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t always get what we want.”
“Sometimes we do.” She smiled, pressing a kiss to my lips. “Sometimes we get given exactly what we need when we didn’t even know it.”
“Are you saying you need me, Hernandez?”
“Maybe, just a little.”
I tucked her against me, determined to make the most of every second we had together. But reality was a cruel bitch and all too soon, Mya was telling me to wake up.
“I really should go,” she said.
I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. But everything was so quiet with her. So peaceful.
Around Mya I could breathe. I could forget about all the other bullshit and imagine a future where I got to choose my own path.
Reluctantly, I got up, helping Mya to her feet. Dropping a kiss on the end of her nose I told her to wait while I went back downstairs and gathered up our clothes, yanking on my slacks before helping Mya back into her dress. When we were both dressed, I pulled her into my arms. “Best. Christmas. Ever.”
“I should probably go...”
“Wait, I have something for you.” I’d almost forgotten the small velvet pouch in my pocket. I dug it out and dropped it into her hand. “Merry Christmas, Mya.”
Eyeing me carefully, her brows pulled tight, she pulled open the pouch, tipping the contents into the palm of her hand.
“It’s a bracelet,” I added, nervous energy radiating through me.
“It’s beautiful.” Delicate leather strands weaved together loosely to create a braid that held in place an oval silver charm. “What does it say?” Mya lifted it to her face to get a better look at the tiny engraving.
“Forty-two.” We said in unison, our eyes colliding.
“It’s your number.”
“You didn’t like the idea of wearing my jersey, so I thought maybe this was a good compromise.” When she didn’t say anything, my chest grew tight. I ran a hand down my face and added, “It was supposed to be an inside joke.”
“It’s…”
Fuck. It was too soon.