Page 108 of For Better or Hearse
Can’t get enough ofher.
There’s nothing about her that’s a passing interest anymore. Or a fling. The awareness is undeniable every time he sees Ash. This is about feelings.
Fucking feelings. He promised he’d steer clear, and look where he is. So obsessed he can’t even see straight.
He wishes he could say the same for Ash. Her walls are up. Every time he gets close, she pulls back.
It’s Maui. It’s obvious. She’s been agitated since they got here. The defeated look on her face when he saw her on the balcony yesterday. Unspoken pain in her eyes.
What has this girl survived? That’s what he wants to know.Why does Hawaii make her flinch? And goddamn does that lipstick ever come off?
Whatever the problem, he wants to fix it. But she won’t let him.
His father drops his cloth napkin, checks his watch. “Let’s wrap this up soon. The boys have things to do.”
“The boys,” Ash murmurs, popping a piece of croissant into her mouth. “Is that a secret syndicate that fights billionaire crime?”
Delaney, three mimosas deep, looks up from her plate. “That should be a TV show.”
Nathaniel’s silent as he leans back in his chair. The idea of splitting up from Ash makes his skin itch. They have such little time left together. At that, he frowns. How many days is it again? Four?
At the thought, it’s hard to get air.
Needing to touch her, a reassurance he still has time, he slides his hand along her thigh beneath the table. Squeezes.
Ash keeps a straight face. Only the curled edge of her blood-red lips gives anything away.
He slides his hand higher. Over the blooming iris tattoo she got after crowd surfing at Bonnaroo. The tattoo he traced with his lips, his tongue last night, before reaching the apex of her thighs and going in for a taste of her.
Touching her is a necessity. Another way—a better way—to live.
Fantastically beautiful. Like the dangerous allure of the sea. Only it’s everywhere he wants to be. Riding those waves, dipping into every deep, dark, secret part of her.
She spreads her thighs, the subtle invite making his pulse quicken.
Jesus.
His cock could punch through drywall.
He’s pressing a finger against the wet seam of her panties when his father says, “Our tee time’s at noon. You think you can swing it, Augustus?” Don smirks. “It’s right around your mid-day nap.”
Augustus sips his coffee easily. Smiles. “Never too tired to kick your ass in a round of golf, Don.”
His grandfather’s a good liar. Nathaniel will give him that. The dark circles under his eyes give away the truth. He’s fading. Slow, but soon. Although the man could probably muster the strength to take a swing at his father with a golf club. Nathaniel wouldn’t blame him. His father is acting like an ass.
“You take breaks if you need to, Dad,” Claire says, squeezing Augustus’s arm.
In his periphery, Ash’s lashes flutter. He sweeps a thumb over the bud of her clit. Her thighs tremble. Through the thin silk of her tank top, her nipples are pinched. He rotates his rhythm.
Ash gasps. Her dark head falls forward. She grips her silverware with white knuckles.
“Enjoying that croissant?” he asks, voice devoid of emotion.
She whips her head in his direction, gives him a deadly glare.
“Ash?” his mother asks, concerned. “Are you okay?” To his surprise, his mother’s been cordial to Ash since they got to Maui.
“I’m fine.” She huffs out a breath. “All good.”