“I’m going to kiss the shit out of those lips of yours, Ash, because I need you to know that you’re worth fighting for.” I didn’t give her a moment to respond. I stole the distance between us and pulled her on my lap. Her arms went straight around my neck, and I shifted her body until she was straddling me. Her dress bunched up around the top of her thighs, and my eager hands disappeared under her ass to hold her in place. My lips dropped to hers, and tonight she tasted like a sweet combination of champagne and strawberries. My tongue ran the seam of her lips in silent need for access. Her lips parted, and my tongue slipped through and collided with hers. The harder I kissed her, the more she ground herself into my lap. Her soft moans fueled the fire burning within me, and I couldn’t get enough. Kissing this woman was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was like taking a deep breath after being trapped under water. It was a lifeline I desperately craved. I didn’t want to stop. I almost couldn’t stop. But I knew if I didn’t I’d be fucking her on the pier behind my parents’ house, while inside Ky and Eden celebrated their engagement party.

“Ashy, we need to stop. Otherwise I’ll be blowing my load, and I really don’t want to have to explain that to my parents.”

Her giggle was like music to my ears. She rested her face in the crook of my neck and I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

“Can we get ice for your hand now? If we stay out here, you’ll blow your load and I’ll want an orgasm.”

Ashlyn was too much. I burst out laughing, then grabbed her around the waist to hurl her off my lap. I stood and offered her a hand. In the moonlight as we stood on the pier, I could see her lips were slightly swollen, and her gloss, or lipstick, or whatever she was wearing, was smudged. I fucking loved it, and my tongue instantly ran over my lips where I could still taste her.

I didn’t hesitate. I pulled my phone out from my pocket, held it up, and snapped a photo. The flash lit up the space around us, and her gasp rang out through the night air.

“What the hell are you doing?” she shrieked, and started blinking rapidly, due to the effects of the intense flash. I started shoving my phone in my pocket, but her hand shot out and grabbed onto my arm. “You need to get blinded too. It’s selfie time.”

She yelped and grabbed hold of my arm as I pulled her in front of me. Her back molded with my chest, and my height allowed me to rest my chin on the top of her shoulder. Ashlyn shifted back until her head was resting just over my heart. I pulled my arm back and held my phone in front of us. Just as I was about to press the button, I shifted my face until my lips were able to kiss the side of her neck. The flash illuminated the space around us, and I felt my cock jerk as Ashlyn sighed in my arms.

We walked back to the house in silence. My phone felt like it was burning in my pocket, taunting me to look at the photo we had just taken. The lights that flooded the backyard came into view, and I glanced at Ashlyn from the corner of my eye. Fuck, her lips were still smudged. Before we moved through the gate, I grabbed her arm and halted her movements. I didn’t say a word, just lifted my thumb to her face and lightly brushed over the smudge of red, desperately trying to avoid her gaze. I couldn’t walk through the gates with a raging hard on, and that was where I was headed if my eyes found hers.

“You’re good,” I muttered, and pushed open the gate. The moment we appeared, it was like people came out of everywhere. Mom rushed toward us, then Eden dropped Ky’s hand and soon joined her.

“Are you okay? Show me your hand. We need to take care of this. Where did you disappear to?” Their questions swamped my mind, and I didn’t feel Ashlyn go until I saw her standing by Ky.

I answered Mom and Eden’s questions, then disappeared inside. I needed a moment, and I needed to take care of my now-throbbing hand. Standing in the kitchen, I leaned against the counter, clutching an ice pack, and holding a whiskey in the other hand. My mind kept swirling with memories of Ashlyn grinding against my cock on the pier. She had lost all her inhibitions, and it was almost as if she was silently telling me to take her. It wouldn’t have taken more than a second to slip her panties to the side and run my fingers through her soaked pussy before sinking inside her. Fuck, I craved her warmth. To have her again was something I’d been fantasizing about since our first night together. Yes, I’d had other pussy since that night, but nothing would compare to her.

The harsh liquor hit the back of my throat and brought me back to the present.

Ky slipped into the kitchen, and my eyes trailed him as he moved to Dad’s liquor cabinet and brought out the whiskey that I was devouring. He poured himself a glass, and his eyes flashed to mine to see if I needed a top up. “So, are you going to tell me what the hell that was?”

Fuck! Here we go.

I sucked back the entire thing and placed the empty glass on the counter. Ky’s face was impassive, though his body language made it obvious that he wouldn’t tolerate any bullshit.

“Lachlan is a motherfucker,” I growled, and narrowed my eyes at just the thought of him. “He was balls deep in some random chick when she turned up in Australia. She walked in on that shit happening.”

“When did you find out?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Two days after we learned she was home. Lachlan emailed me asking if I’d seen her. It didn’t seem legit, so I confronted her and she told me.”

“And you chose not to tell me?”

“It wasn’t my story to tell. I handled it.”

“She is my fucking best friend, Josh,” he scoffed.

He did not just use the best friend fucking card. “Yeah, and I took care of it.”

“This is fucked up. You should have told me. I could have done something.”

“What could you have done, Ky? A reason she didn’t admit what happened was because she was afraid of your reaction. She knew you didn’t accept that she went back to him. She was embarrassed and ashamed. She had people telling her what a bad idea it was, you included, and she didn’t want to face that, so she didn’t fucking tell you.”

Ky paced the kitchen, swigging his whiskey as a shadow covered his face. He was pissed off. Actually, that was an understatement, but I would not apologize for anything when it came to Ashlyn Hart.

Something grabbed my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I swung around to find Ashlyn standing just outside the kitchen. Her face was completely unreadable, but by her rigid body language I knew she had been standing there for a while. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and, when she averted her gaze from mine to Ky, I knew my time here was done.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to chat. I need some fresh air.”

“Josh.” Ashlyn’s soft voice halted my escape. I dropped my head and looked at the ground before turning to face her. She moved into the kitchen and stood before me, then offered me the slightest of smiles. “Thank you for tonight.”

“You never have to thank me for fighting for you, Ash,” I said so softly that only she and I would hear. Her eyes darted from mine and I took that as my cue to leave.

I WILL ALWAYS FIGHT for you, Ash.

Josh’s words were on repeat in my head, and I felt like I was floating in a daze. His ability to surprise me seemed to have gone up a notch, and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. As I watched him leave the kitchen, all I wanted to do was grab onto him and tell him how much I needed him to help me endure the conversation I was about to have with Ky. But I let him go. Knowing that Josh had to defend himself for something that wasn’t his fault pained me, and I hated myself for putting him in that position. It was my decision not to speak with Ky, and I was the only one that should deal with the consequences.