Look After Us (17 page)

“We better say goodnight to Mia and Tyler,” I say, earning myself a scowl from an aroused Ashton. His mouth twitches with amusement before responding in a frustrated growl, “Fine … but then I’m taking you to bed, to
ravish
the crap out of you.”

I giggle as he hurriedly drags me in the direction of where his brother and sister-in-law are on the dance floor. We approach and an excited Mia launches herself at me the moment she sets eyes on us.

“There’s my bride BFF!” she exclaims against my neck before pulling away, her smile beaming against the fairy light glow. I figure half of her happiness is because she married her soul mate today; the other half is definitely consumed with the numerous glasses of champagne she’s sipped throughout the night. Mia steps into Tyler’s arms and pins her happy gaze on Ashton. “Ashton! You romantic. I loved today so much. I’m so happy you and Ava got married today.”

“So you didn’t mind us crashing your wedding?” Ashton asks with his usual humor.

“Hell no! If anything I was relieved … after everything with Riley … I had no idea how you’d be able to fix it. And I swear I wanted to kill her this morning,” she says flitting her eyes between Ashton and me with a look of anger. Soon, the anger dissolves and it is replaced with a smile.

“But you guys showed the world you were made for each other and it was incredible to be a part of it. I couldn’t have asked for a better wedding day.” I feel myself choking up at her kind words and I clasp Ashton’s hand tighter into mine. He looks down at me with an adorning gaze, his eyes glistening. “It’s a day I’ll never forget.”

Silence grows as emotion seeps into the atmosphere around us. After he stares at me for what feels like hours, he finally breaks his gaze and looks back at the happy couple. “We just came over to say goodnight as I’m taking my wife to bed.” His eyes turn devilish. “There are certain things I want to do to her right now and well … you can catch my drift.” Both Mia and Tyler burst out laughing while I’m trying to fight off the pink that glows against my cheeks.

“Ashton!”

“What?” he chuckles, a look of innocence softening his features as he pulls me deeper into his side, his fingers caressing my arm.

“Well …” Tyler starts with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Since my brother is currently pitching one hell of a tent right now, I’ll let you lovebirds get down to business.”

My eyes travel down to Ashton’s crotch and I gasp when I see his erection straining against the seam of his slacks. “What?” he says smirking, his eyes beginning to darken with lust. “It’s you who wanted to say goodnight … I wanted to take you to bed five minutes ago.” I roll my eyes and drag my aroused husband in the direction of the house, still trying to fight the burning embarrassment against my cheeks. “Goodnight guys!”

Laughter can be heard behind us from Mia and Tyler, followed by a, “Goodnight,” as we make our way towards the house, my embarrassment quickly turning into desire to have my husband naked and making love to me.

A sudden whooshing sound escapes my lips as I’m suddenly lifted into Ashton’s arms and my arms instinctively wrap around Ashton’s neck.

“What are you doing?” I gasp with a giggle as he begins to carry me towards the house as if I weigh the size of a feather.

“I’m carrying my wife over the threshold,” he says matter-of-factly as he continues to take one step after the other. Whoops and hollers follow us, and I find myself burying my face into Ashton’s neck, embarrassed from all the attention. The music and the cheers fade into the distance as we approach the steps of the veranda. Once we’ve entered the house, my skin prickles with excitement as we both get close to the only place on this earth where I want to be right now. However, we only make it halfway through the kitchen before the sound of Ashton’s name being called out stills him in his steps. My hands immediately tighten into fists at the sound of Riley’s Barbie sweet-as-pie voice. Ashton hesitatingly turns into her direction, staring daggers at her.

“What do you want? Because as you can see I’m just about to take my
wife
to bed.” His burley voice makes me jolt, but not because he scared me … it’s because the sudden anger hits my hormones in a way that can make a person self-combust with pure unadulterated lust. I push away the heat I feel spreading throughout my body and focus my fierce gaze on a sheepish looking Riley. She seems a little uncertain as she looks down to her feet before looking up to meet our stares, and taking several steps closer.

“I … um … I just wanted to apologize for last night. Today made me realize how serious you guys are …”

“Just today?” Ashton angrily asks. I try to get down from his arms but he just holds me tighter making it impossible for me to remove myself from his grasp. “You knew she was my fiancée … that in itself told you how serious we were, yet that didn’t stop you, did it?”

She heavily exhales. “I know … I’m sorry. I just … I saw the way you looked at her, as if she was the only person in the world who mattered and I wanted to feel like that, just for a little while.”

“That’s because
she
is
the only person in the world that matters to me, her and Lily. They’re my family.” He clutches me even tighter to his chest, his arms not trembling in the slightest as he continues to bear my weight. Usually I’d feel incredibly awkward in a situation like this, but since it’s Riley, I kind of relish in the feeling of his strong arms keeping me in place, that not a single person or situation would ever be enough to let me go. His subtle action of holding me close to him is almost like a metaphor of his feelings for me.

To sink or swim, to fail or succeed, to do or die … I know he will always be at my side. As my anchor, my hero … and
my husband
.

“I know that now … I get it. You made a pretty good point earlier today …” Riley says, causing the muscles in Ashton’s shoulders to ripple and his jaw to tick at the impact of her words.

“That wasn’t proving a point to you, it was proving it to my
wife
, proving to her that she’s my life, the only person I see living my future with. I married Ava today because I love her, and you or anybody else will never take that love away from me, or Ava for that matter. You may have tried to break us up, but it didn’t work because nobody compares to Ava. She’s my forever. Now … if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to enjoy the rest of our wedding night.”

At this point Riley has become non-existent, and I find myself completely spellbound at the words that speak so passionately yet fluently from Ashton’s beautiful mouth. I see his mouth exchange a few more words, but I’m unable to register exactly what he says as the world seemingly disappears around us. All I can see is Ashton, and I find myself wanting to crawl deep inside him, deeper than humanly possible and lose myself within him forever.

Through my lust-filled haze, I can feel movement as he carries me through the house. As we reach the stairs, he begins to carry me to the top. He looks down at my dazed expression with a furrowing frown.

“Are you okay, baby?”

I blink at his question and find myself smiling as I look into his magnificent green eyes that look down at me with sheer love. “I’m perfect … well, I will be once you’ve taken me to bed.” His eyes widen excitedly and his steps get a little quicker, keen to reach our destination.

In seconds we’re outside Ashton’s childhood bedroom, and the moment he comes to a standstill, his eyes pierce into mine, a shade darker. “Are you ready, Mrs. Bailey?” He doesn’t need to elaborate on what he means because the blaze in his eyes tells me everything.

I clutch my arms even tighter around his neck, bringing him close to me until his lips are a mere inch away from mine. “I’ve never been more ready,” I say before I gingerly press my lips to his. Without wasting another second, we pull away and he opens the door and carries me over the threshold. It’s incredibly romantic … until my head collides with the doorframe. I groan out loud and my hand automatically goes to my head, rubbing the sore spot with my hand.

“Shit baby, are you okay?” Ashton asks seriously, worry flitting across his face, but I can still see the distinctive slanted smile forming at the corner of his mouth. I’d be incredibly pissed off if I didn’t find the situation amusing myself.

“Oh my God! That couldn’t have been less romantic if we tried!” I say through hysterical laughter, as I continuously rub my throbbing head.

“I’m sorry,” he says with a chuckle. “But with all laughing aside, are you okay?”

My laughter subsides and I let my hand fall loose from my head, smiling. “I’m fine. It was just a little bump to the head. We definitely aren’t destined for a Hollywood happy ending, that’s for sure.”

“I told you before, fuck the Hollywood happy ending. We have our own happily ever after happening as we speak.”

“Do we?” I ask with an intrigued smile etched along my face.

“Yeah, baby, we do. I’d prefer it to continue with that pretty dress on my bedroom floor though.” And with that, he successfully walks me over the threshold without causing me any bodily harm and shuts the door behind him with a kick of his foot. I, on the other hand, am struggling to catch a steady breath, my insides clenching with a sexual need that feels almost explosive right about now. He heads towards the end of the bed and gently places me on my feet, where I quickly dispose of my shoes.

He takes a step back and his appreciative eyes roam over my entire body, almost as if he’s trying to savor this moment for the rest of his life. Slowly, he takes a step closer and shivers explode across my skin as the tips of his fingers gently graze against the tops of my arms before turning me around, so my back is facing him. His lips find my neck as his chest presses against my back, his erection pushing up against my ass, showing me exactly how much he wants me. I feel a heavy pressure between my thighs, and with every moment that passes by, the heat only becomes more prominent. “This dress …” he huskily murmurs against the pulse of my neck as his lips suck against my sensitive skin. “I love it … you’re so fucking sexy.” A moan catches at the back of my throat at the sound of his cave-man growl.

His hand firmly slides over my shoulder down to my chest, until he begins to trace my plunging neckline with the tips of his fingers. I let my head fall back to his shoulder as his fingertips caress the edge of my breasts, and I swear there isn’t a single inch of me that isn’t covered with goose bumps. His touch is all around me even though he’s only touching a small part of me … God, he drives me insane.

“I’ve been dying to do this all night … touch you like this in this sexy dress of yours.”

My ass involuntarily thrusts back, feeling his hardness even more through his pants. His fingers push down further until he’s brushing over my hardened nipple. “Ashton,” I breathe as he circles my nipple with his fingers.

“What, baby? What is it?” he whispers roughly against my ear.

“I want you.” My eyes flicker closed at the intense pleasure that’s floating through my bloodstream. I almost groan with frustration when the warmth of his fingers pulls away, but that feeling is quickly replaced as I hear the sound of my zipper being pulled down.

“We need to get you out of this dress then …” he whispers seductively in my ear as he continues to make slow work of the zipper at the back of my dress. “It’s beautiful … but not as beautiful as you.” My lips form into a dreamy smile as his crafted fingers caress along my exposed back the further the zipper slides towards the edge of my ass until my dress falls around my feet. I hear a hiss expel from his lips as his fingers lightly travel down towards my laced underwear, teasing the skin just beneath the waistband.

“How did I get so lucky to find you?” I ask as my lungs become short of breath at the way he sets my body alight with his touch. I can feel his eyes burn into the back of my head and it’s seconds until I feel his intoxicating breath along my cheek. Unbearable heat swirls around me. I begin to feel dizzy with desire.

“It wasn’t luck, it was destiny …”

My heart doubles in rhythm, and I pivot my neck to allow my eyes to take in his handsome face. The hooded emeralds that I’m met with is all it takes before I’m turning into his arms and slamming my lips onto his, gripping hold of his tuxedo vest for dear life. Our tongues collide and he meets me for every eager sweep. His masculine hands make their way down my back until they’re clutched tightly against my bare ass. In one smooth move he lifts me into his arms and I wrap my legs around his waist, my hands ripping open his vest before making a quick start on his shirt. I can feel his rock hard cock through the thin lace of my thong, and the feel of him against my throbbing clit has me groaning into his mouth and clawing at his bare shoulders through the gap of his half-unbuttoned shirt. My body moves along with his as he takes a few steps forward until his legs hit the end of the bed. Without moving his lips from mine, he gently lays me on my back against the cool sheets and settles effortlessly between my legs. My legs find their way back around his waist and I roll my hips against his, rubbing myself against his hardness. The growl that vibrates against my mouth has me furiously tearing at his clothes, desperate to discard them for good. I don’t know where this raw sexuality has come from, but right now all I care about is making love to my husband. I need him like the air I breathe. The fiery heat I feel running through my veins, the all-consuming yearning I have for him, only clarifies my need for him.

“Ashton,” I pant as I manage to break away from his lips for a split second before they connect again, his intoxicating taste engulfing my senses.

His hands leisurely wander over my half-naked body, a sensual touch that has lust-filled tingles erupting along every part of my body. “Ashton,” I whimper a second time as my fingers caress along his shoulders, making their way down to his waist until they come to a satisfying stop against his zipper. His hazy eyes meet mine and I have to bite back the moan at how incredibly sexy he looks right now; all flushed, out of breath and turned on.

“Yes, baby?” he asks, his eyes deepening with a darkness that has my fingers working his zipper.