“I left a note for you inside Food For All because I didn’t know you were back,” Lexie said. “It just says the guys are home and I’m heading out for the weekend.”
“Slate surprised me,” Ashlyn told her friend. “Do you think the others know? Should we call them?”
“They know,” Slate assured her. “Mustang called Elodie from the airport, and Aleck and Jag did the same for their women. Pid’s going to pick up Monica at work.”
“All right then. Great,” Ashlyn said. She hadn’t thought much about how big a deal it was when the team returned from a mission, but after the tough week she’d had…she finally got it. Keeping the fact that they were home from her friends would have seemed cruel now.
“Have a good weekend,” Lexie said as she headed for her car. “I’d say to call me later, but I’m guessing none of us are gonna come up for air before Monday.”
Ashlyn felt Slate chuckling against her. “See you Monday!” she called to her friend.
Lexie waved and closed her car door and started up the engine.
Slate turned her and headed for his car, which Ashlyn hadn’t seen because she’d been too preoccupied talking with James when she’d parked. He opened the passenger door, but took Ashlyn into his arms for a long, heartfelt hug rather than letting her climb inside.
Ashlyn once more felt emotion clogging her throat, but she swallowed it down. She wanted to show Slate that she could be strong. That she hadn’t fallen apart while he was gone.
“Missed you,” he mumbled into her neck as he held her tightly.
“Same,” she returned.
Another twenty seconds or so passed as they simply embraced, before Slate finally took a deep breath and pulled back. “You hungry?” he asked.
Ashlyn shook her head. “No. You?”
“No. I need you, babe.”
“Then let go of me so we can get to your house and you can have me,” she quipped.
Slate smiled. “Right.” He gestured to the seat. “Your throne, my princess.”
He was joking, but Ashlyn couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy from his words.
“That’s queen to you,” she retorted.
Slate smirked, shutting the door once she was seated. Then he jogged around the front of the car—actually jogged, as if he couldn’t stand the five extra seconds it would take to walk to the driver’s side—and jerked open the door.
They didn’t speak on the way to his house, but Slate reached for her hand and held it tightly the entire drive.
Hours later, Slate lay with his elbow on the mattress and his head in his hand next to Ashlyn, watching her sleep. It was late, after midnight, but he couldn’t rest. He was still on Bahrain time and wasn’t very tired, even with the long hours of travel.
Ashlyn had been ravenous when they’d finally gotten home. She’d started to strip him even before he’d had the door closed and locked behind them. She went to her knees right in the entryway of his house and took his cock in her mouth. She hadn’t let him hold back either, keeping her mouth on him even when he’d warned her that he was going to come. She’d taken his load down her throat…then looked up at him with a satisfied smile, licking her lips.
He’d kind of lost it then, needing to taste her and return the favor. Eventually they’d made it to his bedroom, where he’d teased her, bringing her to the brink of orgasm over and over until she was both pleading and threatening his life if he didn’t let her come.
Afterward, he’d put her on her knees and taken her from behind.
Slate couldn’t remember a better homecoming than this one. He’d missed Ashlyn more than he thought he would. He hadn’t lied earlier, he’d spent most of his time thinking about her. But it wasn’t just sexual thoughts. He wondered how her deliveries were going, if the girls’ night at Kenna and Aleck’s place went all right, how the Turner family was doing, and if she had any new clients. He hoped she was eating enough and taking care of herself, because she had a tendency to forget about herself if someone else needed something.
Ashlyn sighed in her sleep and turned onto her side, snuggling into him. Slate shifted onto his back and pulled her closer. She didn’t wake up, as she was out hard, as usual, but she still wrapped her arm around him and hiked her leg on top of his. She clung to him even in her sleep.
With any other woman, he might’ve been annoyed. Ashlyn actually thought he was a cuddler, and he’d never corrected her. But in truth, before Ashlyn, he hadn’t liked anyone touching him when he slept. So much about this relationship was different. He’d missed the way she gravitated toward him in her sleep. His bunk had seemed empty over the last week.
After landing, he’d instantly pulled up the tracker app to see where she was. Instead of calling or texting to let her know he was back, Slate had decided to surprise her at Food For All. Her happiness at seeing him was exactly what he’d hoped for. It was his own joy at seeing Ashlyn that was somewhat surprising. He hadn’t realized exactly how much he’d missed her until she was back in his arms.
They hadn’t been able to take their hands, or lips, off each other long enough to even eat since getting home, which Slate needed to make sure he rectified in the morning. He didn’t know what he had in the house, but he’d figure something out. While sex was good, he didn’t want Ashlyn to go hungry.
“It’s good to be home,” he whispered.
It was. But it was even better to be home with Ashlyn in his arms.
She sighed in her sleep but didn’t loosen her hold on him.
Slate stared up at the ceiling, realizing he was completely content. Asking Ashlyn out had been one of the best decisions he’d made in a very long time. She was unlike any girlfriend he’d ever had. He loved to laugh with her, tease her…even their bickering turned him on. And she gave as good as she got. They were well-matched sexually, of course. Yeah, he didn’t know if he’d ever been this content. This…settled.
He thought back to their conversation before he’d gone to Bahrain, about whether or not they were exclusive. He hadn’t even thought about dating anyone else before she’d brought it up. He had no desire to seek out anyone either…not that he was in a position to do so. If he wasn’t on the base, he was hanging out with his teammates or Ashlyn. Frankly, he didn’t have time to give to someone else.
Slate could also admit—if only to himself—that knowing Aiden had asked her out made an uncomfortable feeling settle in his gut. He’d never been good at sharing, even as a kid. The thought of Ashlyn laughing and joking with another man like she did with him? The very idea made his jaw clench.
And the thought of her sleeping with another man, wrapping her gorgeous body around him, made Slate want to fucking hurt someone.
As far as he was concerned, they were exclusive. He’d asked her to let him know if she met someone else she was interested in, but Slate knew himself too well. If that happened, he’d have to let her go. He had no interest in half of Ashlyn’s time and attention.
Blinking in surprise, Slate felt his whole body flush as it occurred to him that he wanted Ashlyn all to himself. He couldn’t remember feeling this way before. If a woman got too clingy, he’d always found a way to gently back away and eventually break it off. Suddenly, it felt as if he was becoming the clingy one in the relationship.