Burn(55)

            He’d dried her, brushed out her hair and then wrapped one of his robes around her before taking her into the living room where they’d been on the couch ever since.

            Ash stared intently at her as if gauging her response. His gaze flickered over her face and then back up to hold her eyes.

            “Know you wore Michael’s. Also know it didn’t mean a damn thing. It means something to me, Josie. I want it to mean something to you too.”

            “Okay,” she whispered.

            “I want to choose it especially for you. I don’t have it yet, but I will. And when I get it, I want you to wear it. Will you do that for me?”

            She nodded, already imagining wearing his jewelry, the knowledge of what it would mean to him alive in her mind.

            “Got a lot of other things to talk about today,” he continued. “A lot we need to work out. I’d rather get it all out today so we can move on, knowing what we need to know. And you’ll know what you need to know.”

            “Okay, Ash. I’m ready.”

            He squeezed her arms, satisfaction brimming in his eyes. “Means a lot for you to trust me. Especially after what happened with that prick. I won’t ever hurt you like that, Josie. You may not know it right now, but you’ll know it soon.”

            “I know you won’t hurt me,” she said, lowering her mouth to his. “I trust you, Ash. I do. I’m not just saying that. You have to know how hard this is for me. But I’m good with my decision. I know it’s the right one. You don’t have to prove that to me.”

            “Yeah, I do,” he refuted. “Every day. I have to show you every day what you’ll mean to me. That’s on me. And we’ll get there. This—you—are important to me. I’m going to make sure you know that at all times.”

            She leaned in, laying her head on his shoulder, her body settling over his. He felt so good. So solid and strong. He didn’t have to work at making her feel safe. She did feel safe. Just being close to him.

            “First thing we need to talk about is medical exams and birth control.”

            She lifted her head back up, one eyebrow raised in question.

            “I don’t want to use condoms. Not with you. I want to be able to come inside you, on you. In order for us to do that, you need to have an alternate method of birth control and we also both need tests so we know we’re both clean, although I’ll tell you now, Josie. Not sure what you did with Michael, but I use condoms. Never haven’t. And it’s been a while for me. Not since . . .”

            He broke off and shook his head. “That will come in a bit.”

            She cocked her head to the side. “What will come?”

            “The circumstance surrounding the last time I had sex with a woman,” Ash said in a serious tone. “I’ll get to that. But right now there are other things we need to get settled.”

            The way he said it made her concerned. Her brow furrowed and he reached up, curling his hand around her nape to pull her down so his lips settled against her forehead.

            “Michael and I used condoms,” she said quietly. “He’s the only man I’ve been with in two years. And I’m already on birth control.”

            “You good with my word or you want a copy of my last medical exam?” he asked.

            She frowned, wondering if this was some kind of a test. If she said she wanted a copy of his medical report, would it seem that she didn’t trust him? Was he asking her if she trusted him this far? But if she didn’t ask for it, if she said his word was good enough, that was taking a huge leap. And her life was too important to take those kinds of risks.