Tagged & Ashed (The Sterling Shore Series #2) (22 page)

She says it with a jokingly light air, but the fear in her touch proves she needs someone tonight.  I’m just glad it’s me.

“With the way things have gone lately, I wouldn’t sleep anywhere else.”

She smiles lightly, and I tuck her under my arm as we walk into the room
—together.

***

Ashiara

His cock is hard as a damn rock right now, and I can see it trying to break out of his pants as he sleeps peacefully beside me.  I can picture my lips on it, my hand on it, and me on it.  This is torture!

“Good morning,” he murmurs while turning over to hide his erection.

“Morning.  I was about to go check on Trip.  Anything in particular you want for breakfast?” I ask, hoping he didn’t catch my spying eyes and reddened cheeks.

“Um,” his cheeks flush for some reason, but he smirks and shakes his head.  “I’ll just have some fruit and go for a run.”

“What?” I ask with a goofy grin.

“Nothing,” he says smiling.

I climb out of bed and throw myself together as he walks through the house with his glorious upper body exposed for all to see.

“Damn,” I groan to myself.

***

Tag

Ash’s lips are in a pouting motion when I walk in from a run on the beach, and my cock instantly hardens, pulsating painfully.

“What’s that look for?” I ask while walking toward her.

She looks up, and her cheeks stain red as she stares at my body, her eyes raking me over.

Hurry up and get off those fucking painkillers.

“Oh… I was reading the stuff about me.”

“The gold digger stuff?” Wren chirps as he walks in guzzling a bottle, sweating just as much as me after our run.

Bity bursts out laughing as he overhears us, and Ash’s lips exaggerate her sexy pout.  Does she not know what she’s doing to me?

“I’m rich and you had my baby.  There’s going to be a lot of gossip for a while.  Don’t let it get to you,” I murmur softly while grabbing the bottle of water Erica proffers on her way to the chair.

“It’s not the gold digger stuff.  I know I’m not a gold digger.  It’s the pictures they dug up of me in high school.  They’re terrible.”

Amazing.

Those tabloids are trashing her and she’s not the least bit fazed by it.  Damn, I’m in love.  I understand what Melanie meant now when she said Ash was the only one strong enough to be with me.

“Let me see,” I say teasingly while walking toward her.

“Hell no,” she laughs
while tucking them under her body.

“Really?  You think I can’t lift you?”

“I know you can, but you won’t because you don’t want to see how terribly tragic your son’s mother once looked.”

“Let me see,” Bity says while jerking one out from under her ass.

She squeals when I try to peek, and he starts dying laughing as she jumps up to hold me back.  Her hands on my body halts my attack as I pretend to be subdued by her.

As long as she’s touching me, I don’t want to move.

“Damn,” he chuckles.  “A gold digger makeover.  That’s what they’re calling Ash’s look,” he says, laughing even harder.  “Frizz to Fab.  Dust to Ash… hey, that’s pretty good.”

She rolls her eyes, and I wrap my arms around her waist while lifting her up.

“Tag, please, please, please don’t look.”

“Why can Bity see but I can’t?” I pout.

“Because he went to school with me.  He knows what I looked like.  I’d prefer it you never did.”

“You’ve seen all the pictures they’ve put in there of me,” I counter playfully.

“Yeah, and it’s not fair that you’ve always looked good.”

“You think I’ve always looked good?” I ask with my cockiest tone while staring her in the eyes.

“Yes, and I haven’t always looked good.”

I smile bigger as I start toward Bity again, and she jumps up to wrap her legs around my waist while covering my eyes with her hand and giggling wildly.

Shit.

I’m worried everyone in the room will see my erection in these loose jogging shorts, so I flop down on the couch in forced surrender while she stays attached to me.

“We’re going out for lunch.  You guys joining?” Shannon asks with a smile.

“I’ve got some emails to send out,” I sigh as the unfinished mounds of work I have to do cloud my brain.

Ash’s body still straddling mine is very fucking distracting, and she turns to face the others, finally sliding out of my lap.  I lean forward to hide my erection now that her body isn’t covering it up.

“No.  Trip just went down for a nap, and to be honest, I could use some more sleep.”

“Okay, well, we’ll see you later,” Shannon chirps as they all start filtering out.

Wren throws a shirt on and offers me a devious wink before escaping through the door.

“Wow.  It’s so quiet in here now,” she murmurs with an adorable giggle.

I can’t help myself.  I brush her hair free from her face as I stare into her eyes.

“How do you feel today?”

“Well, my side barely hurts.”

I rein in a groan as I stare at her chest for a second too long.

“I want you to know I’m not like my dad.  I’m going to be a good father to Trip.  You won’t regret putting my name on the birth certificate.”

She lets an endearing grin free while staring down at her hands.

“That’s the first time you’ve mentioned it.”

“The birth certificate?” I ask in surprise.  “Ash, I’m so sorry.  That meant the world to me.”

She looks up, smiling bigger, making me dissolve, and then she leans over to me.

“You’re already a better father to Trip than Damon was to you.  Don’t ever, ever put yourself in the same low league as him.  Trip’s a lucky little boy.”

I can’t stop myself.  I jerk her to me, pulling her astride my hips and crush my lips to hers.  She moans into my mouth, and I damn near come right then and there.  Damn, it’s been so long.

“Fuck,” I murmur while pulling her back.  “I’m sorry.”

She looks at me
, frustrated, possibly pissed—adorably so.

“What the hell, Tag?  I’m sick of your mixed signals,” she gripes.

***

Ashiara

“I’m sorry, it’s just… painkillers.”

I’m sick of his excuses, and I jerk him back to my lips, refusing to go silently into the night this time.  His hands clutch my ass as his erection digs in, and I slide my hand down the front of his shorts to feel that perfect piece of heaven that has evaded me for too damn long.

“Ash, stop, please,” he mumbles against my mouth, and I pull back with tears in my eyes.

“Why?  Why do you keep fucking with me if you don’t want me?”

“Ash, I want you more than you’ll ever know, but right now you’ve been taking those damn strong-ass things that cloud your judgment.  I don’t want to fuck you on painkillers, and then worry I took advantage of you.”

Oh no.

“Tag, I haven’t taken a damn painkiller since my second day in the hospital.”

Suddenly his lips are on mine as he rips my shorts off and carries me to the bedroom on the far side of the house.

“Why the hell didn’t you say so sooner?” he murmurs against my lips, making me all the giddier as he carries me to a room I haven’t even seen.

“Trip,” I murmur softly, reminding him we’re too far away.

“I’ve got it,” he says with an incredibly salacious grin before jogging out of the room.

I quickly check my hair, and then I slip out of the rest of my clothes and slide between th
e sheets, ready to be ravaged—finally.

He'd better not change his mind.

***

Tag

My feet feel like feathers as I swish through the house and check on our son.  He looks sweet enough to kiss, but I don’t want to risk waking him up.  I’ve waited too long for this.

I grab the monitor before rushing back to the guest bedroom where I left her, praying her mind hasn’t changed.  When my eyes fall upon her barely covered by the black satin sheet, my pants try to burst open.

“Fuck,” I breathe, and her cheeks blush as I slowly crawl over her body and press my lips to hers with a hunger only she can sate.

She moans into my mouth, and I’m worried I’m about to explode just from her sexy sounds and lips.

“You’ve got to stop making those sounds if
you
want to get anything out of this,” I grumble, and she giggles against my lips as her hands tangle in my hair.

I jerk her legs open, and then I drop my head to her chest as I let out an exasperated groan.

“What?” she panics.  “Please don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind… again.”

The frustration in her voice makes me do something incredibly foolish as I pull out my pulsating cock and brush the sheet away, revealing her glorious body to me.  Without giving her time to object, I surge in - skin on skin - and she gasps while dropping her head back and parting her perfectly modeled lips.

“I don’t have a condom, but I can’t stop,” I say as I thrust in deeper, forcing a grunt from deep in my throat.

“I wouldn’t let you,” she breathes, and then my lips cover hers as I surge in again, harder each time.

Everything about her feels so fucking incredible, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to make it up to her later because there’s no way I’m going to last long.

“Harder,” her rasp, needy voice releases, and then a cry exudes from her throat as I slam into her.

***

Ashiara

“Tag,” I cry out, as his hand curls around my ass to jerk me into his next, gloriously sublime thrust.

“Please come for me,” he murmurs against my ear, and my nails slide up his back as my legs wrap around his waist.

His incredible rhythm forces me to the brink, and I cry out louder as real tears fall free from my eyes and my body goes stiff before raggedly limp.

I feel his rhythm slowing, his life rushing through me, and his breath heavy and panting as he collapses to my side.  He wraps me up, and then he lets out a chuckle as he wipes away one of my bizarre tears.

“That good?” he breathily teases, his cocky persona in full play.

I blush feverishly, and then I curl up against him while kissing his chest.

“That great.”

“Sorry, about not having a condom.  I didn’t think I’d get lucky so soon,” he jokes.

“So
soon? 
Well, it hasn’t be
so soon
for me,” I mumble, and he lets out another laugh.

“That’s not what I meant.”

I don’t want to think about how many girls he has been with this past year.  Right now, I don’t want my few seconds of bliss to be tainted.  I know this is as far as this goes, but it’s enough for me.

“Well, the doctor put me on birth control after I had a baby without meaning to, so you’re in the clear.”

His eyes brighten as they become alight with mischief.

“You wait until you stop having sex to get on birth control?” he teases.

“No, I waited until after I had a child—hindsight and all,” I laugh lightly.  “It is aggravating to take that damn pill everyday and not have any real reason for doing so.”

“Give me a second, and I’ll give you one hell of a reason,” he says while acting as though he needs to catch his breath.

I giggle, and then I curl my leg around him.

“Fine, your second is over.”

He grins happily, and then he pulls me to his body while bringing my lips to meet his.  For right now, I can pretend everything is okay.  For right now, he’s mine.  I’ll worry about what happens later—later.

Chapter Sixteen

Gifts

Tag

I almost laugh as I stare at the mermaid tattoo on her back with the letter
T
dressing the center.  I’ve heard about girls getting
Tagged
my whole life, but Ash literally got tagged.

It makes me love her that much more.  She’s going to kick my ass when she finds out I’ve seen it and the damn ridiculous high school pictures.  I believe she stayed a virgin for that long now.  That hair was every-damn-where.

I let a laugh escape, and Trip squirms in my arms as Ash rolls over and hugs the pillow where I was.  I can’t help but wonder if she thinks it’s me she’s hugging.

I hear the door to the front open, and I walk away from the bed to go meet the others as Trip finishes the last of his bottle.  Silently shutting the door, I swish away from the room where we had one hell of a morning.

“Did you get a lot of work done?” Wren asks as I lower myself to the couch.

Nothing business related.

“I’ve still got some catching up to do.  How was town?”

“Not bad.  W
here’s Ash?”

“Sleeping,” I say vaguely, my lips twitching up in a wry smile.

I love knowing I exhausted her.  Sadly, I’m so sexually out of shape, I’m also exhausted now.

“Still?  It’s five,” he murmurs in disbelief.

“She’s had a rough few days.  Cut her some slack,” I say with a shrug.

She’s only been asleep for an hour.

Other than the occasional interruption by Trip, our day has been solely focused on getting back to good.

“Why are you smiling like that?” he laughs.

“No reason.”

Shannon
walks in with Bity before Wren can interrogate me further, and then Erica comes over to pull Trip from my arms.

“You can get some work done, Ash can sleep, and Wren can get some practice, since we’re planning on having a baby sometime in the near future.”

I can’t help but delight in the way Wren’s eyes widen, seeming horrified.  Apparently this is the first he’s heard about a baby.

“That sounds good.  I’ll see you guys in a bit.”

“You’re going to the bedroom with Ash?” Wren asks suspiciously just before I walk in.

“Yeah.  It’ll be quieter in here since she’s asleep.”

He narrows his eyes, knowing damn well I’m holding out on him, but he’ll have to wait.  I’m not talking to him about us until I talk to Ash about us.

***

Ashiara

My eyes flutter open to see I’m curled around Tag as he stares at his laptop I’m crowding.

“What time is it?” I mumble, and he smiles as he removes his computer and places it on the table so he can wrap me up in his arms.

“Just after eight.”

“Eight?” I gasp in shock.  “Trip.  Oh my gosh.  I have to-”

“He’s fine.  Believe me, everyone out there wants their turn to feed him, change his diaper… you get the point.  You needed to rest, especially after the day we had.”

I blush as his scandalous grin comes to surface, and I kiss his chest as he pulls me even tighter to him.

“So how is it a girl with such dreadful hair became such a swan?” he teases.

“Damn you, Tag Masters,” I laugh while burying my face in his chest.

He laughs hard, and then his hand slides down my back, almost to my side as he traces the lines of
—o
h shit!

My body stiffens, and he laughs the second he feels my rigid terror.

“That’s right, baby.  I saw it, too.”

“Shit,” I growl, jerking the sheet back over my bare body.

“I happen to find it rather endearing.  I mean, after all, you really went and got tagged.”

I let a laugh escape while covering my head, and then he pulls down the sheet to force me back to his body.

“Why’d you get that, specifically?”

“Tequila made me do it.”

He laughs ferociously hard, and I smile against the vibrations of his chest.

“Seriously.”

I take a deep breath, and then I shrug.  I didn't know I was pregnant when I left that wedding.  A few drinks and a clouded mind will make you act crazy.

“I don’t know.  I guess I thought I’d never see you again, and it was one of the best weekends I’ve ever had.  I wanted to remember it.  And come on, you fell in a mermaid fountain because you were staring at me.  It seemed to represent the weekend pretty well.”

He snickers lightly.  “That I did."  His laughter tapers off, and a look of seriousness cloaks his face.  "I’m curious about something.  How did your birthmother pass away?”

I look up, frowning a little.  “Are
we playing the truth game again?”

He pulls my hand in his as his fingers trace over mine.

“No.  No more games.”

I smile a little, and then I shrug.

“A car crash.  She was on her way home from work, and she collided with the side of a mountain after having a seizure.  She hadn’t had them in years, but she and my dad had been fighting, and it’s possible the stress provoked it.  My dad blamed himself for a while, but then he moved on—just as everyone in life does.  I don’t even remember her.”

I hate talking about this.  I love my mom even though I don’t remember her, simply because of the way she loved me through the pictures.

We sit there in a comfortable silence for a while as he just holds me, making me feel as though this is more than it ever will be.  It’s comforting and depressing at the same time, but I try to push it out of my mind.

“So, I have a question,” he murmurs softly while kissing the top of my head.

“Mm?”

“Since Kinset has an incredible website now, I’m not far from launching the business.  That being said, I also need a date to the launch party.  Will you go with me?”

I smile, unable to hide the girly side of me as I giggle a little.

“Well, it would look bad for you to be living with your child’s mother and yet take another girl to the launch, so… hmm… I guess I’ll go.”

I expect him to laugh, but he’s silent as his fingers continue to play with mine.  I look up to see a faint smile on his lips as he stares at my hand.

“I want you to go as more than just my child’s mother, Ash.”

My heart stops.  I knew this would happen. 
Shit.  No.

“What do you mean?” I ask, swallowing hard.

His eyes move to mine, and he leans back to better stare at me.

“I want this to be more.  I want a real, committed relationship.”

I want to cry, but I hold back the fierce flood.  Why is he doing this to me?

“No,” I say casually while rolling out of bed to find my clothes.

“No?” he repeats, a little wounded and stunned.

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

***

Tag

I’m not giving up this time.  I’m sick of the games, the push and shove, and the bullshit.  I love her, and I want her
, damn it.  I know she wants to be with me, so why is she being like this?

“Because you’re not that guy, Tag.  You don’t even understand what a committed relationship is.”

That stings a little.

“I understand perfectly well what it means or I wouldn’t be asking you to be with me.”

“No,” she says again, tears swelling in her eyes as she pulls on her shirt quickly before tugging her shorts into place.  “You’re doing this because you think you have to.  I don’t want you to feel obligated to be with me because of your son.”

“Ash I don’t feel obligated, I-”

“Tag, you do.  I knew you would.  I’m not going to take Trip away from you—ever.  Eventually this stalker thing will be resolved, and we’ll move out, but you’ll have just as many rights as I do.  Even on my weeks with him, you’ll be welcome to come over whenever you want.  We can be the way you want to be when you want to be.  You don’t have to do this.  I won’t let you do this."  She says it so calmly, but I can see the pain brewing behind her eyes.

In all my life, I’ve never known anyone to want to completely sacrifice everything for my happiness.  She’s willing to bend over backwards.

“Ash,” I murmur while tugging at her arm.  “I want this—us.  I can and want to do this.  I can be in a very committed relationship with you.”

Her eyes glaze over with tears, and then she shakes her head.

“Tag, you can’t.  Being committed means being only with me.  It means you can’t bring two dates to a wedding, pick up some random girl whose name you can’t remember five minutes later, or disappear into a dark room with a blond at a party.  It means I’m it.  I’m all you get.  If we go down this road, it’ll ruin any friendship between us the second you forget.”

***

Ashiara

He can’t understand how badly this will crush me if it all goes to hell.  He doesn’t know how to be committed.

“Ash, is it not rather obvious I’m
already
committed to you?  I haven’t so much as kissed someone else since the day I met you.  I had two dates when I saw you, and I sent them away because I had to have you.  I brought some random chick to the benefit try to distract me, and I got slapped when I couldn’t stay away from
you
.  The damn crazy bitch who drug me into the dark room was completely rebuffed.  I fired my secretary for trying to seduce me because I can’t be with anyone but you.  I hired a guy.  A guy, Ash.”

Tears fall out as a small giggle escapes through my lips.  He takes a step toward me and pulls my hands in his before backing back
up to the bed and pulling me onto his lap.

“For the record, even my dick is committed.  It won’t do anything for anyone but you, and I don’t mean that figuratively,” he jokes, and I laugh a little more while wiping tears from my eyes.

“Tag, this is such a big step.  I don’t want you doing it for all the wrong reasons.”

His hand slides around my waist, and then he kisses me lightly before pulling back and putting his forehead against mine.

“Before I knew you were pregnant, I wanted to be with you, but I was too scared to face it.  I’ve never been in a situation where I wanted more than a casual fling, but with you I did.  While you were pregnant, I wanted to be with you, but I was trying to swallow the fact you were having another man’s baby.  Ironically enough, I was also trying to stay out of his way because I thought you truly cared about him.  After you had Trip, I wanted to be with you.

“The night I found out Trip was my son, I had originally planned on asking you to stay with me on a more permanent basis.  I wanted you in my life, and I wanted Trip in my life without even knowing he was my own flesh and blood.  Ash, I love you.”

My heart stops beating, my ears ring and burn in disbelief, and I’m too scared this is a dream to try to speak right away.

***

Tag

I didn’t mean to blurt that out.  There were supposed to be roses here for this.  I wanted a grand, beautifully romantic scene for all of this.

I don’t know if she heard me or not.  She’s not speaking, and I’m worried I’ve just made a fool out of myself.

Suddenly, her lips are on mine, claiming my heart as she throws her arms around my neck.  I fall back on the bed, pulling her with me.  Her sweet tears slip down her cheeks as she kisses me harder, and then she pulls back just barely so she can look me in the eyes.

“I love you, and I have for so, so long.”

Jerking her tighter is my only response.  I need her as close to me as she can be
.  I’ve heard girls tell me they loved me before, but it’s never meant anything because it wasn’t real.  She’s the first one I’ve ever said it to, and I’ve never been happier than I am right now.

***

Ashiara

“
So, this dress is a little showier
than I thought,” I murmur nervously as I stare in the mirror.

“Can I see it yet?” Tag chuckles from the other side of the door.

“Only if you promise not to laugh.”

“I swear I won’t laugh.”

I smile, completely lost in love.  I can’t believe he loves me.  It doesn’t seem real.

Taking a deep breath, my eyes return to the mirror to see the black dress that falls to the floor in the back, but rises high in the front to show my thighs.  The low dip of the neckline offers a hefty view of my cleavage, and the thin straps glisten under the light.

My hair cascades in elegant curls over my shoulders, and I tremble lightly while turning back to face the door.

“Fine.  Come in.”

The door opens slowly, and Tag steps through with a devilish grin before it fades into… shock?