“We need to get up and shower,” I remind her as the heels of her feet dig into my thighs in a silent demand.
“We do,” she agrees, swiveling her hips, making me groan and my cock start to slowly come back to life.
“Fuck,” I grumble against her mouth as the alarm goes off, breaking into the moment between us. “We need a vacation.”
“What time is it?” I don’t answer. I’m too caught up in the way her body is reacting to my touch. Arching her back, her head presses into the pillow then her eyes widen. “Oh shit, we have to get ready!” she shouts, catching me off-guard, rolling me to my back, leaving me lying there half-hard and stunned as she quickly rolls off me and out of the bed.
“What the fuck?” I do an ab crunch and try to catch her, but before I can get my arms around her she jumps back a foot, the movement making her breasts bounce enticingly.
“Sorry.” She shakes her head then looks at my cock, which is now rock-hard and pointing at the ceiling. “Sorry,” she says again, apologizing this time to my cock that twitches in reply.
“Christ,” I groan, falling to my back and covering my face with my hands in frustration. “You owe me.” I don’t even look at her. I can hear her opening her closet, so I know she’s close and can hear me loud and clear.
“I swear I’ll make it up to you when we get home.” Dropping my hands from my face, I turn and glare at her.
“Damn straight you will.”
Her eyes roam over me, and she half apologizes through a soft giggle before turning and rushing off to the bathroom, where I hear the shower turn on a minute later. Looking down at my cock I fall back into bed with an aggravated sigh. It’s going to be a long fucking day.
“Coffee, black, one sugar.”
“And you?” the girl behind the counter pulls her eyes from me to ask Ashlyn. She must be new, since everyone else who works here knows Ashlyn by name and knows her coffee order by heart.
“I’ll take a large iced coffee with cream and two sugars,” she says, and the girl types it into the register before looking at her once more.
“Is that all?”
“No… um…” She scans the display case. “Two chocolate cake pops, one birthday cake pop, and one blueberry muffin. Oh, and one of those chocolate chip cookies.” Ashlyn points out each item as the girl smiles, placing the items she asked for in a paper bag.
“Hungry?” I question quietly, tugging her into my side, and her head tips back to look up at me.
“A little.” She shrugs, smiling sheepishly, making me laugh. Without a thought, I dip my face and touch my mouth to hers, not able to help myself.
“Will you share?” I ask against her lips, and she shakes her head.
“Probably not.”
“Not even with your husband you left high and dry this morning? We could have stayed in bed another twenty minutes. I had no idea this,” I jerk my head toward the display, “is why you were in such a rush.”
“Okay, since you put it that way, I guess I can share a few bites with you,” she grumbles, making me smile and kiss her again. With my hand against her lower back, I lead her to the end of the counter where I pick up our drinks and get straws, watching as Ash opens the bag the girl hands her then pulling out a chocolate cake pop, eating the whole thing in one giant bite.
“So I guess you’re not sharing.” I laugh, and she shrugs, chewing like crazy then swallowing hard. She then leans over, without taking her cup from me, and takes a huge gulp through the straw.
“There’s one chocolate one left.” She smiles, and I shake my head.
“You’ve got chocolate all over your teeth.”
“Do I?” She grins, showing off her chocolate-coated mouth, and I toss back my head and laugh.
“You’re a nut.” I wrap my hand holding her drink around her back and tug her into me.
“I’m not a nut.” She leans up, giving me a chocolaty kiss, then freezes when someone whimpers behind us.
Peeking around me, her eyes widen. “Mom,” she whispers, pulling from me. “Are you okay?”
“Fine, I’m fine. I have to go.” She rushes out of the coffee shop with Ashlyn hot on her heels. I follow close, but not too close, and wait a few feet away, watching Lilly pull her daughter in for a hug, closing her eyes. I can’t hear what she says to her, but I can see her mouth move. Then she leans back, kisses Ashlyn’s cheek, and sends me a wave before getting into her car. Standing on the curb, Ashlyn wraps her arms around her waist while her mom backs out and drives off.
“Baby,” I murmur, seeing tears in her eyes when she starts toward me. Holding my arms out, she comes right to me and drops her face to my chest while wrapping her arms around my middle. “I hate the tears. Please stop crying.” I do hate them; they are something I have no control over, something that makes me feel helpless when it comes to her.
“She… she saw us.”
“I know,” I confirm, and her forehead bobs up and down against my chest.
“Let’s get into the office where I can put this shit down and hold you.” I kiss the top of her head.
“’Kay,” she agrees, taking her drink from my hand in the one still holding the paper bag full of her treats, and twining my fingers with her free ones.
Walking the few feet to the office, I let her go to unlock the door then let her in before me, only stopping briefly to shut off the alarm. “We have patients coming in soon,” she reminds me as I wrap my hand around hers and lead her to the back, without doing the normal routine of turning on the lights and starting up the computers.
“Matt can do it when he gets in,” I say softly, once we’re in my office and the door’s closed. Taking her drink and the paper bag from her grasp, I drop both to the top of my desk, along with my coffee. “C’mere.” I take a seat in my chair then maneuver her into my lap, with her legs over my thighs, and wrap one arm around her back. “Now tell me what she said,” I say as I push a large hunk of hair over her shoulder so I can see her face completely.
“She told me she loves me, that she’s still angry.” She pulls in a deep breath, and I can see a fresh wave of tears swimming in her eyes. “Then she said she’s happy for us.” A single tear falls down her cheek, and I catch it with my thumb while my teeth clench shut.
I knew her parents would both be happy for us. I knew if I could ever make Ashlyn see me for more than her boss and a dick we would have something beautiful. Something like what my parents had before they died. Something her parents have now. I know I shouldn’t have married her in Vegas. I knew when she suggested we get married as a joke, I should have taken her back to the hotel and put her to bed so she could sober up. I didn’t do what I should have done. Instead, I took her directly to the nearest wedding chapel, where I bought us each a ring from a cheep plastic display case, and then stood in front of a guy who looked a lot like the Hulk.
She laughed herself silly up until it was time for us to say our vows to each other. During that part of the ceremony, I would have laid down money she was sober. Her words were clear, her eyes too; she was in that moment with me, completely conscious of what was taking place. I know I took advantage of her, but I regret nothing. I wanted her to admit there was something between us, and I got my way in the end. I just hate that the relationship between her and her parents was collateral damage.