Burn(57)
“Yes,” he said, his eyes growing more intent. “But, Josie, you need to understand. You make it sound light. It’s not. I will be pissed if you flake. This isn’t an ‘oh sorry I completely forgot to tell you where I was going’ thing and laugh it off. I expect you to tell me everything.”
“Okay, Ash,” she said quietly. “I get it.”
He nodded. “Now, there are things you need to know about me. I don’t want this shit coming up later and surprising you or making you feel awkward. It’s better if you know everything from the start so you can deal and it doesn’t become an issue down the road.”
She lifted an eyebrow. He sounded so serious. Like he was about to drop some earth-shattering bomb on her. She wanted to joke and ask him if he was about to admit to being an ax murderer, but he was too serious and he wouldn’t appreciate her attempt at levity. So she remained silent, waiting for what he had to say.
He shifted upward, grimaced a moment and then leaned forward so he could shove a cushion between his back and the arm of the sofa. She sat forward so he had room but then he promptly snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her solidly back to him so she was once more nestled against his body.
“Any serious conversation we have is going to be with you in my arms so I’m touching you,” he said. “Never you across the room from me. That is not going to make me happy. Warning you now that if you get pissed and we’re having a discussion, you won’t be putting distance between us.”
She smiled against his chest and nodded. That sounded fine to her. One of the things she had disliked the most about Michael was his aloofness when it came to her. The distance—emotional distance—between them. Michael was more of a sit-down-across-the-room-from-each-other-and-discuss guy. For that matter, the only time he ever touched her was when they were having sex. He wasn’t demonstrative or affectionate. And Ash couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her for two seconds. She liked that. She liked it a lot.
“Is this going to be a serious discussion?” she asked, no longer able to keep the teasing note from her voice.
There was no doubt that Ash radiated seriousness today. And it was starting to feel suffocating. She needed to lighten the moment, even if for a brief second. It wasn’t in her nature to take everything so seriously. And Ash was an intense guy. Maybe he’d eventually lighten up around her, or maybe he’d always be this . . . broody . . . when it came to her.
His hold tightened around her. “Yeah. It’s serious. Everything about me and you is serious. I get that this seems heavy, especially today when we hash it all out. It won’t always be this . . . intense. But today, yeah. Need to get whatever out that has the potential to hurt you, because that I will not allow going forward.”
Her brow furrowed again and she pushed up so she could see his eyes. So serious and intent. On her. Watching her every reaction.
“What is it, Ash?” she asked. “What is it you think is going to hurt me?”
He sighed. “Don’t know if it will or not, but it could. If you don’t understand it from the start. I just don’t want you blindsided. If you’re prepared and you know everything, then it doesn’t have the power to catch you off guard.”
She reached up to touch his jaw, running her fingertips over the slight stubble. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and the dark blond formed a shadow on his jaw.
“Then tell me. I’ll understand.”
He caught her hand and kissed it, pressing his mouth into her palm.
“Jace Crestwell is my best friend. He and Gabe Hamilton. But Jace . . . We share a bond. Gabe is my best friend, no doubt. But Jace and I have always had a closer friendship. He’s my brother in every sense of the word. I trust him. He has my back and I have his. Always. We used to share everything, and by that I mean women. I’ve had a lot of threesomes over the years with Jace.”