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Back Afterlove Save as PDF
Chapters (86)
  1. Title Page
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Love
  4. Before
  5. One
  6. ONE
  7. Two
  8. TWO
  9. Three
  10. THREE
  11. Four
  12. FOUR
  13. Five
  14. FIVE
  15. Six
  16. SIX
  17. Seven
  18. SEVEN
  19. Eight
  20. EIGHT
  21. Nine
  22. NINE
  23. Ten
  24. TEN
  25. Eleven
  26. ELEVEN
  27. After
  28. One
  29. ONE
  30. Two
  31. TWO
  32. Three
  33. THREE
  34. Four
  35. FOUR
  36. Five
  37. FIVE
  38. Six
  39. SIX
  40. Seven
  41. SEVEN
  42. Eight
  43. EIGHT
  44. Nine
  45. NINE
  46. Ten
  47. TEN
  48. Eleven
  49. ELEVEN
  50. Twelve
  51. TWELVE
  52. Thirteen
  53. THIRTEEN
  54. Fourteen
  55. FOURTEEN
  56. Fifteen
  57. FIFTEEN
  58. Sixteen
  59. SIXTEEN
  60. Seventeen
  61. SEVENTEEN
  62. Eighteen
  63. EIGHTEEN
  64. Nineteen
  65. NINETEEN
  66. Twenty
  67. TWENTY
  68. Twenty-One
  69. TWENTY-ONE
  70. Twenty-Two
  71. TWENTY-TWO
  72. Twenty-Three
  73. TWENTY-THREE
  74. Twenty-Four
  75. TWENTY-FOUR
  76. Twenty-Five
  77. TWENTY-FIVE
  78. Twenty-Six
  79. TWENTY-SIX
  80. Twenty-Seven
  81. TWENTY-SEVEN
  82. Twenty-Eight
  83. TWENTY-EIGHT
  84. Eleven Months Later
  85. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  86. Copyright

She pulls away suddenly and I gasp at the absence of her, watching as she sits up and takes her jumper off. She gets her head stuck, though, and I can hear her laughing as I try to rescue her, her hair rising then falling like a red Hokusai wave when she does. I’m lying down so it’s harder to get mine off, which only makes us laugh more. I manage it eventually, then her hands are on the belt of her jeans and it’s all a bit clumsy as I follow her lead, the pair of us kicking each other as we try to get them off, which only prompts another shiver of giggles.

She kisses me again and that’s clumsy as well, our mouths not quite aligned and our noses knocking together as I reach up to undo her bra. I can’t see what I’m doing, though, so I snap the strap like a horny teenage boy in my haste to get it off, which makes her giggle against my mouth. Then I succeed, and when it falls open in my hands, it isn’t funny any more. I don’t care what underwear I’m wearing or that I haven’t shaved my legs because she’s breathing my name in a way she never has before.

In a way no one has before.

Ashana.

I’ve always liked my name, but I don’t truly love it until I hear her say it like that. And I love the way her breathing changes when I touch her, how her skin warms under my fingers and the bite of her silver rings against mine. I count each of the round bones up her back that connect like a string of pearls. When I feel her ribs fanning out like an angel’s wings beneath my hands, I rise off the bed to meet her, needing to be closer to her, wanting no space between us at all, not even a thread of light.

She breathes my name again, kissing me more urgently as I trace the lines of her collarbone with my fingers then curl my hand around her throat, the pad of my thumb seeking out her pulse. I feel it beating – strong and quick – and I just want to be inside her. Inside her in the truest sense of the word. I want to crawl inside her, swim in her warm blood then climb her ribs like a ladder and lick her heart. I want to bite her. I almost have to stop myself from sinking my teeth into her neck and drinking her up.

Devouring her.