“But I don’t.” He took a piece of hair hanging over her eye and tucked it behind her ear. Her pulse screamed in her neck, but his focused stare never wavered. “You know what I’m talking about. You’ve always known. Now it’s your turn: What do you want?”

Her eyelashes fluttered; her stomach dropped. His voice was always low, but its vibrations washed over her, making her throb.

“I want…” You. That was the answer. It had always been the answer up until the opportunity presented itself. But she didn’t trust her feelings or his motivation. “Not to be confused.”

He shifted closer, evaporating their distance. His broad palms covered her cheeks, and his thumbs stroked slowly. Her bottom lip drifted open, and her eyelids sank. The quietest sigh fell from her mouth, and she hated how easy she was to manipulate.

“You are gorgeous.” His tone was deep and hungry, and he was close enough for her to register the rich aroma of his faded cologne. “And it shouldn’t have taken me this long to tell you that.”

Asher brushed his lips over hers. Like the intense roll of a summer storm, crackling lightning and thundering pulses ran their course, uncontrolled and unstoppable.

“Ash…” Her lips tickled against his, and her mind drew blank, focusing on the sparks that spread from her lips into the softest of kisses.

His fingers feathered into her hair, and she opened her mouth to him. He tasted like red wine, sweet and savory, and each velvet stroke of his tongue wicked away her hesitation. She struggled to stay in the moment, wanting to remember every amazing second, but the indulgent and delicate kiss was fading. Years of taunts and teases had lined up, urging their bodies together.

Jenny leaned into his embrace. He dropped a hand from her hair and wrapped it around her back, pulling her close to his chest, into his lap. Exactly where she wanted to be.

He ate at her mouth, lust pouring between them. He was all-powerful, all-consuming. He groaned against their lip lock. “God, Jenny.”

Her legs straddled his thighs, and she rocked her hips, flexing over him. His hand still buried in her hair knotted and tugged, exposing her neck. His teeth dragged over her bottom lip and scraped down her neck.

“Yes.” His teeth rasped again, and she arched into his strong embrace. “Please, Ash. Please.”

Please what? It didn’t matter, whatever he’d give her, she would give back. Jenny wouldn’t hide from him.

He suckled down to her collarbone. Harsh and surprising. The more he kissed, the more she needed. Pent-up frustration multiplied. Wild want pulsed between her legs. She was wet. He was erect. They still had their clothes on, and nothing about this first kiss said it was ending anytime soon.

“God, sweetheart, nothing better than you.”