“How many times did you go down that hill?”
“Twice.” She blinked, keeping her eyes closed as she whispered, “And the second time was even better.”
My heart was fucking broken.
But I wouldn’t show her that. I wouldn’t even hint at it because Pearl would never want me to feel bad for her.
What I could do instead was fix it.
I reached across the table, holding out my hand for her to grab. “You want fun?”
She clasped her fingers in mine, the sweater falling to her sides, showing me her chest again. “Yes, and if it’s an escape, that’s even better.”
I smiled, feeling my bottom lip under my teeth as an idea came into my head. “Done … and it’s going to start right now.”
Twenty-Eight
Before
Pearl
Ashe stood from his chair and came around to my side of the table, clasping my fingers again and helping me to my feet. We’d come to the library to study, and we had so much work to do, but his expression told me nothing would be getting done today.
“Should we grab our things?” I asked as he weaved us through one of the large, tall stacks.
“They’ll be there when we get back.”
I stayed behind him, our hands locked, finding myself almost jogging to keep up. With Ashe’s legs so much longer than mine, I had to take two steps to his one.
In the back corner of the room, we entered a stairwell and went up two flights and through another door, where he led me down several aisles. I was so lost and had no sense of direction; I couldn’t imagine where he was taking me.
We were halfway down one of the stacks when he slowed and turned around, his hands finding their way to my face. I couldn’t stop smiling as he kissed me, panting a bit as we tried to catch our breath. When his hands moved down my sides and around to my ass, I knew exactly what he had in mind, my body instantly responding. I melted from his touch, his attention causing my skin to hum. Soft moans falling from my lips after each exhale.
He couldn’t wait for our date tomorrow night.
He needed to have me now.
That thought alone was enough for me to get completely lost in.
His mouth moved to my neck, kissing the spots that weren’t covered by my sweater, even pushing it aside so he could feast on more. His hand rose to my breast, pinching my nipple through my bra, the pleasure so sharp that my back arched.
“Ashe …” I tugged on the short strands of his hair, winded against his mouth. “Oh God.” I shuddered as he began unbuttoning my jeans, the pads of his fingers reaching under the top of my panties. “What if someone sees us?”
“They won’t.”
“You know that for sure?”
He backed me up until I was pressed against the rows of books, and I grasped one of the wooden shelves, squeezing it as his finger dipped inside me.
“I promise,” he growled, his sound vibrating through my chest. “This is where I usually study, and I’m always the only one here.”
“Fuuuck.”
I pushed his hand so it went further into my pants, and I spread my thighs to give him more room. My neck leaned back as he kissed across my throat.
While his thumb skimmed my clit, I fumbled with the button on his jeans, lowering the zipper and diving into his boxers. I surrounded his hardness with my palm, lifting and lowering it over his shaft.
“I need you,” he moaned. “Right fucking now.”
He was using his foot to pull down my jeans, and I slipped out of a boot to free up one of my legs. That was when he picked me up and straddled me across his waist, holding me against the bookshelf.
His lips were devouring mine when he said, “Can you reach my wallet? There’s a condom in there.”
“I’m on birth control.”
He pulled away to look into my eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Yes.”
Within a second, his mouth returned to my lips, and he moved my panties to the side to position himself. His grip shifted to my ass, and he slowly plunged inside me.
“Oh fuck, that feels good,” I breathed, the fullness taking ahold of my body.
The sensation of skin was entirely new—I’d only ever felt latex before.
“Damn it, Pearl,” he breathed as his speed increased, the power he was using causing my shoulders to bang into the hardcovers. “You’re so fucking wet.”
Holding on to the shelf with all the strength I had, I couldn’t focus on anything aside from the way he was making me feel. My orgasm was building, my breath gasping from my lungs, a tingling moving through me.
“Oh God,” I sighed.
I wrapped my arms around him, hugging his chest to mine, taking the pounding he was giving me, my wetness guiding him in.
“Kiss me, Pearl.”
My face had fallen into his neck, but I pulled it out to give him what he wanted. His mouth, as talented as the rest of him, owned me the moment his tongue slid in.
A sensation burst from between my legs, his dominance causing those pulses to increase.
“Mmm,” I groaned as his speed turned even faster, and in this position, I could do nothing but take it. Each plunge felt better, even when he gave it to me harder. “Just”—I breathed, my body heading toward the peak—“like … that.”
He bit down on my lip. “I can feel you getting close.”
His nipping set off another set of tingles, and I urged myself upward, meeting him at each thrust. My clit was rubbing against the top of him, the friction driving me there even quicker.
“So close,” I told him.
The intensity moved into my navel and then lowered, the sensitivity threatening to pound through me. His hips began to really rock, and his breathing deepened, telling me he was feeling just as good.
“Ashe …” His name was the last sound I made before the orgasm clutched me, my body going to a place I couldn’t return from.
Just when I thought it couldn’t feel any better, he changed again to hard, deep, relentless thrusts, the quivering now rattling through me.
“Pearl … fuck … me.”
His mouth slammed against mine, and I felt each buck of his hips shoot another stream into my body.
We moaned together.
And clung to each other until his movements stopped.
The feral look in his stare turned softer as he pecked my mouth. “Damn,” he exhaled. “That was …”
“So fucking sexy.”
He laughed, and the warmth of his breath heated my lips. “I want to have you on the stage.”
I thought about his statement, clarifying, “The one I perform on?”
“Mmhmm.”
As I gazed at him, I thought of the excuses I could come up with to gain access to the auditorium when no one would be there. “I think I can somehow make that happen.”
He kissed me again. “In the meantime, I have more ideas.”
“You mean, other places to have sex?”
“That …” He rubbed his nose over mine, his touch so gentle. “And ways to make you smile.”
Twenty-Nine
After