Burn (Breathless #3)(51)

“You got it,” she said. “I’ll be waiting, Ash.”

She already had in mind the way she wanted to greet him tonight. Granted, they did things his way. His control. His authority. He called the shots. But he hadn’t asked her to suck his c**k since that first night either, and she knew he enjoyed it. A lot.

Tonight, she wanted to do that for him. Take control just long enough to give him pleasure after a long, exhausting day. Somehow she didn’t think he’d mind giving her that tiny bit of control.

She shrugged out of her clothes, brushed her hair and then checked her appearance, just as she did every day when she expected him. Then she went into the living room to wait for him on the couch.

She didn’t seem to have as long to wait this time, which either meant he’d waited longer to call her or perhaps she’d relaxed enough in their routine that each minute didn’t feel as though an hour was passing.

As soon as she heard the elevator open, she swung her legs over the couch and slipped to her knees on the thick, fur rug in front of the sofa.

When hers and Ash’s gazes connected, she felt a jolt at the intensity in those brilliant green eyes. They were hard, but appreciative. Dark, so dark it made her shivery. If his expression was anything to go by, this hadn’t been the best day in the world, but he seemed very satisfied to find her waiting on her knees, even if he’d told her he didn’t expect her to kneel.

He stalked toward her, discarding his briefcase with a thump on the floor. He also pulled off his suit jacket and tossed it toward the armchair and immediately began unbuttoning his sleeves.

When he stopped in front of her, she put her hands up, sliding them to his fly, and his eyes flared in surprise.

“What are you up to?” he asked softly.

She smiled. “I’m welcoming you home. Just stand there and enjoy it.”

“Oh hell,” he breathed out.

She unzipped his pants and impatiently shoved them down over his hips and then dove into his boxers, gently pulling his rigid erection free of confinement. She licked her lips, anticipating that first taste of him. The feel of so much hard flesh over her tongue.

“Jesus, Josie. You licking your lips like that is about to drive me crazy.”

She smiled again just as she guided the broad head of his penis to her mouth. “That’s the idea.”

He sucked in his breath, a sharp inhalation that was audible in the quiet. She licked the head and then tucked it inside her mouth, sucking gently as she pulled him deeper inside.

“I’ve missed you today,” she whispered as she let his c**k slide free momentarily. “Been waiting all evening for you to come home. Wanted to make it special. Something you won’t forget.”

“Guaranteed I’m not forgetting this, darling. Never. Love coming home to you. This week has been the best week of my life.”

Again that giddy thrill attacked her, spreading warmth through her entire body. She loved that he was so open with her. There was no doubting how he felt, that he wanted her. No silly guessing games. No games period. But then, he’d told her that. That he didn’t play games. That they were real. What they did was real. Maybe she hadn’t fully appreciated that at first, but he’d proven to her that he meant those words.

Every day, he didn’t hesitate to tell her how beautiful she was, how much he wanted her, how much he liked having her in his apartment. That he adored her gift of submission and that he treasured the fact she’d given him her trust.

In a week’s time, this had surpassed any relationship she’d ever had in the past. In just one week, Ash had become more deeply entrenched than any other man had. With Michael, their times apart hadn’t felt interminable. She didn’t watch the clock, anxious for the next time she’d see him.

Her heart hadn’t been involved. And now it was. Ash didn’t just own her body. He owned her heart and soul and he’d conquered it in less than a week.

It sounded crazy. Things like this only happened in books or movies. Relationships were tricky things you had to work at. They didn’t just happen. Love didn’t just happen. Did it?

But it had.

She couldn’t love him so soon, could she? Not when they were still learning each other, exploring the boundaries of their relationship.

She was in lust. Definitely. She was definitely in “like” with him. She liked him a hell of a lot. But did she love him? Did she feel as though every minute apart was the most agonizing torture?

It made her crazy, because she knew she was falling hard for this man, but she fought the idea, knowing it was too soon. Knowing there was still too much she didn’t know about this man. She hadn’t even met his friends. His family. Though she doubted that would ever come. He hated them. He’d made no secret about that.

She couldn’t imagine hating her family. She’d adored her mother and mourned her after her passing. But she hated her father, so who was she to judge Ash? But then, she didn’t count her father as family. Because family didn’t bail on you. Not true family.

No, her father was a sperm donor and nothing else.

“Baby, you’re not here.”

Ash’s gentle reprimand brought her abruptly back to the present and out of her scattered thoughts. She glanced up to see him staring down at her, his brows drawn together as he slid his c**k from her mouth.

She flushed, guilty that she’d been caught out so easily. There was no hiding from Ash. He saw everything. He was in tune with her moods, her thoughts. It was scary to her that he read her so easily after only a week together.