Fighting Shadows (On the Ropes #2)(29)

That was pretty much exactly why I had done it though.

“I’m coming.” She turned sideways and tried to squeeze past me, her breasts brushing against my shoulder.

Just as she started to climb into the van in search of the nonexistent towels, I looped an arm around her hips and dragged her down. She squealed as she fell back, landing directly on my lap.

She looked up at me, surprised.

“Let’s go back to the part where you said you wanted to kiss me.”

A huge Ash Mabie smile spread across her face as if she had just won the lottery. It wasn’t sexy. It was better because it might have been the best gift anyone had ever given me.

She absolutely wanted me, and what that gave me was immeasurable.

I was a miserable * in a wheelchair. I had no money. Nothing to offer her. She certainly was not winning any lottery when it came to being with me. Yet when Ash fell onto my lap, she was genuinely affected by the contact. It wasn’t that sparks flew or our two souls bonded or any of that other shit people spout. It was a simple biological fact.

Her cheeks blushed.

Her eyes dropped to my mouth.

Her body responded to me.

In that moment, she reminded me that I was still a man.

And I had every single intention of showing her exactly how right she really was.

Without warning, I took her lips in a rough kiss. She bumbled it, opening her mouth too quickly, causing our teeth to clink, but I didn’t allow it to slow me. I took control, deepening it and coaxing her tongue into a smooth rhythm she met stroke for stroke.

That f*cking mouth would be the end of me. I loved it when she used it to smile—and even more when she used it to laugh—but it was so much better when it was moving against mine.

Her racing heart fueled me forward. After trailing a hand up her back and into her long hair, I gently fisted it just enough to urge her to move. She shifted to a better angle, and I groaned into her mouth when she settled against my straining cock.

At the noise, she pulled away. I tried to follow, but she stood.

“Hey hey hey. Where are you going?” I nabbed her hand and pulled her back toward me.

She rewarded me with a quiet giggle, but I took the back of her neck, silencing her with my lips. Our arms tangled as we both tried to find a way to get close without the separation my wheelchair required. It was tedious and entirely too time consuming for me.

“Get in the van,” I ordered, releasing her.

“I can do that,” she responded, licking her lips, but she didn’t move.

“Tonight?” I urged.

Fidgeting with her fingers, she asked, “Front seat or back?”

“Your call. Just do it fast.” I tossed her a wink, and she shyly looked away.

There was absolutely nothing shy about that crazy woman, so I figured the innocent act was for my benefit. I wasn’t complaining, either. I f*cking loved it.

When she looked back up, there wasn’t a smile in sight.

There was desire.

Desire I had put there.

Desire I owned.

Desire I was absolutely going to fulfill.





I could have lived the rest of my life under Flint’s dark and heated gaze. His lids were hooded, and I was relatively sure he had every intention of devouring me.

And I had every intention of letting him.

Sure, guys had checked me out over the years, but I was usually hustling them or groping them in order to swipe their wallets. But no one had ever looked at me the way Flint did.

I didn’t have a ton of experience with guys, and by that, I mean I didn’t have any—like none whatsoever. The kiss Flint had just pressed to my lips would actually go down as another “newsie” for the day. I was a chameleon though. I could fake it and make it so freaking believable that Flint would be none the wiser.

I had decided I wanted to be with him after he’d dived out of that van after me days ago. But right then, I wanted more.

I wanted him to look at me like that every day for the rest of my life.

“Come here, beautiful,” he said as he moved himself from his chair to the floorboard of the van.

I went willingly, stopping between his legs. My stomach was at his eye level, and even with as confident as I was, I wasn’t exactly sure what to do next. Thankfully, Flint was.

“You know, Ash, it’s suddenly occurred to me that there are a lot of places I want to taste on you.”

My eyes went wide before I could cover up the effect his words had had on me.

After pushing the edge of my shirt up, he placed a wet kiss on my stomach. His warm tongue snaked out, rolling against my skin the same way it had in my mouth. The combination of the memory and the feel of his touch forced a groan from my throat. Swaying, I became lost in the sensory overload.

Gripping my hips, Flint trailed his tongue along the low waistband of my jeans. I threaded a hand into his dark hair for balance, but as I gently tugged, he let out a loud growl that I swear traveled over every inch of my body.

“Fuck,” he hissed, trailing a hand up to my breast and squeezing hard enough to send the moan flying from my mouth. “Please, tell me you’re good with this?” he asked—even as I pressed my breast against his hand, pleading for more.

Oh, I was good with it.

I might not have respond with words, but I absolutely answered.

After gently guiding his head away, I crossed my arms and gripped the hem of my shirt. In one swift movement, the shirt was gone, and before he had the chance to react, my bra quickly followed.