“Couldn’t find anything good?” I chuckled.

Her body moved in a hypnotic dance, and I watched as she moved to the beat, moved to the sounds. It wasn’t long before it appeared that the music was a part of Ashlyn. She balled up the bottom of her t-shirt and pulled it up, showing me her perfect skin.

I went to turn off the lights and she shook her head. “Lights on.”

Lights on.

“Shakes game play?” she questioned.

I laughed, my head falling to the ground. “Really? Right now?”

She grinned wide, nodding her head.

I frowned. “Because really I just want to rip off your clothes and make love to you over and over again.”

She smirked at my comment. I could see her considering the idea by the way her eyes sparkled. Her tongue wiped across her bottom lip and she shook her head. “Shakes game play.”

Shakes game play was a game Ashlyn had come up with on her own. It only had a few rules. Rule number one: One person quotes something from a William Shakespeare play. Rule number two: The other person must guess what play it was from. If player two guessed right, player one removed an article of clothing. If they didn’t, the clothes stayed on until the next round.

We faced one another, her body still swaying back and forth, a beautiful grin on her full lips. She seductively heightened her shirt, pulling it past her belly button.

“'Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.’”

I grinned, rubbing my hand under my chin. “Julius Caesar.”

Her shirt heightened, moving across her beautiful br**sts and over her head. The shirt landed between us on the floor. Her eyebrow arched in my direction as she stood in her pink bra.

For a moment, I stared at her stunning curves. Ashlyn Jennings was a Goddess. And I was just a man, completely overtaken by my beautiful Goddess. There was no doubt in my mind—my only job in this lifetime was to love her.

“Daniel,” she giggled, blushing at my eyes on her.

“'If music be the food of love, play on.’”

She ran her hands up and down her sides in thought. I felt my jeans twitch from watching her touch her fingers across her body.

“Twelfth Night,” she said matter-of-factly.

My shirt came off next. I tossed it into the pile. I listened to her moan lightly, staring at me. Her eyes were thirsty, and I promised myself I would fulfill her desire. She bit her bottom lip, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap her body against mine, but I was patient.

“‘Speak low if you speak of love,’” she quoted from Much Ado About Nothing.

When I told her the answer, she nodded twice. Her fingers slipped into the sides of her shorts and she wiggled her hips, sliding them down to the ground. She used her toes to kick them to our ever-growing pile of clothing.

“‘My bounty is as boundless as the sea. My love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have. For both are infinite.’” I said the quote and meant it more than she could ever know. Her eyes watered over and she placed her hands over her heart. “Don’t cry,” I smiled.

She laughed, shrugging as a tear fell down her cheek. “I cry a lot. Just learn to accept that fact about me.” I accept. Her lips parted again and she released an exhale. “Romeo and Juliet.”

I unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans, and she held a finger up, stopping me. I narrowed my eyes. Her feet tiptoed toward me and her hands moved to my jeans. She slid them down my legs, bending lower and lower with every inch that the jeans fell. Her lips lay against the edge of my boxers and she gave me small kisses.

I felt her hot breaths exhaling against my skin. My body reacted to her small contact. It responded even more when her tongue slipped out of her mouth and she lowered my boxers slightly. Her tongue danced around my hips, running up and down, making my desire for her expand. Only for her.

“I do that to you?” she whispered against me, her hand gliding over the fabric of my boxers, her fingers gently touching. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. You do that to me. She studied my body, sliding her hand inside my boxers.

“Ash…” I muttered, loving how she knew me. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her up to me. I stared down into her green eyes and moved my lips to hers. My tongue slipped inside of her mouth and her tongue danced with mine.

Taking my hands around her waist, I moved her to the wall. She moaned as I pressed my body to hers. Her panties slightly touched my boxers and she cried out when I pushed my h*ps against her. Her h*ps moved back and forth against me, forcing me to groan into her mouth.

“Do you love me?” she exhaled heavily.

“Yes,” I sighed against her neck, my teeth gliding against her skin.

“Show me.” Her hands slid her panties down. Then she removed my boxers, allowing me to step out of them. “Show me how you love me.”

I reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, allowing it to fall to the ground. My hand wrapped under her right thigh, lifting her leg from the ground. I placed her leg against my waist, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. My hardness pressed against her, and I listened to her cry out in pleasure.

“I love you slowly,” I said, clasping my hands under her thighs. I thrust into her tightness, loving the way she invited me in. Her mouth gaped open and I paused, allowing her to become comfortable with me inside. “I love you deeply.” I lifted her other leg up around my waist, supporting her completely. My mouth moved to her earlobe, and I whispered as I sucked it slowly, “I love you quietly.” My h*ps rolled against her, my breaths heavy, hungry. “I love you powerfully.” Her head fell against the wall, her breaths mere pants. “I love you unconditionally.”

My lips roamed to her breasts, kissing them, licking them, sucking them. My teeth glazed against her left nipple and then my tongue flicked it over and over again before I sucked it, loving the way she moaned my name. She increased her movements as I pounded into her.

“I love you gently and hard, slow and fast. Before time and after.” My hand moved to the back of her head and I traveled her to the bed, laying her down with me still inside. “I love you because I was born to do so.” Our h*ps moved in harmony, our bodies becoming one. Her love was breathing life into my entire being.

Before her, I never knew life. After her, I’d never know death.

Our bodies reached true bliss that night over and over again. We made love with our toes curling against the mattress, our hearts pounding against our chests.

Nothing else mattered in the world. All the problems were silenced within the bedroom that one, cold December night. We blocked out all loud noise, all hurts.

I continued loving Ms. Jennings until our eyes faded to rest.

And then I loved her in my dreams.

Chapter 29

I’ll write to you when you’re lonely,

If you’ll write to me when I’m scared.

And I’ll love you even after the world’s left with only its despair.

Our love lives.

Never dies.

Always flies, always flies.

~ Romeo’s Quest

I was depressed by the sun. The daylight stood for facing reality. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that. My na**d body slightly moved in the covers and I shut my eyes one last time. I allowed my mind to remember the night before with Daniel. How safe he’d made me feel, how freeing it had been when he’d loved me.

The sound of my cell phone going off from a text message made my eyes reappear. Sitting up in the bed, I rubbed the palms of my hands against my face. My eyes shifted to the spot next to me. He’s still here. It felt good to know that he was still there sleeping peacefully. For a while I just watched his breaths, the way they rose and fell against the sheets.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

I sat up more in bed at the sound of my phone going off three more times in a row. Reaching to the dresser next to the bed, I gasped.

Ryan’s fake cigarette box.

It was sitting next to my phone. I picked it up carefully, as if something terrible would happen if it were to break in my fingers.

I opened it, and inside was a note. The world began to spin. I couldn’t bring myself to read it.

My phone dinged again. My throat tightened. “Daniel, wake up.” I whispered it too softly and he hardly moved. “Daniel,” I hissed louder, unable to move. “Wake up!”

Ding.

Daniel turned over to find me shaking with the box in my hands. I knew I should’ve checked the phone for the incoming messages. But I couldn’t. I was afraid. His body shot up when he saw the worry in my eyes.

“What is it?”

“Something’s wrong,” I muttered. The shaking grew, and the fear deepened.

“Sweets…” He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Talk to me.”

“Check my phone,” I begged.

He reached across my body, his hand grazing across my stomach, and he grabbed my phone. When he flipped it opened, I saw his eyes studying the words. “They’re from Henry and Rebecca.”

“Read them to me please.”

“Ash, Rebecca wants you both to come home,” he said. “’Ash, where are you?’” He paused. “‘Ashlyn it’s Rebecca. Please, tell Ryan to come home…’” Paused. “‘Why are you two not answering? Please. Please. I’ve called fifteen times. Bring my baby boy home, please…’” Paused. “‘Ashlyn, are you two okay? We’re worried…’”

The messages went on and on. Rebecca wanted him to come home. She’d slept on it, realizing her mistakes.

But what if she realized them too late?

“He’s gone,” I cried, the box shaking in my fingers.

Daniel stared at me, lost by my reaction. “Ash…it’s okay. They want him to come back.” He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my forehead, but I knew better than to be optimistic.

“No, it’s not.”

I continued sobbing, knowing something was wrong, feeling the same way I’d felt when Gabby…

I blinked hard. I couldn’t think about that.

“We need to get dressed,” Daniel ordered. He left the room and came back with my outfit from the day before. I couldn’t move from the bed. He started to dress me, adding on each article of clothing, one by one. Each time he added a piece, the heavier the situation felt.

We walked across the hall and of course Daniel’s bed was empty. “He’s gone, Daniel, I know he is.” He didn’t reply. When we looked out the front yard and saw that Hailey’s car was gone, I swore I heard him choke on air. He picked up a backpack that was lying open on the front porch.

“Did he have any money?” Daniel hissed.

My mind froze, confused. He repeated himself, this time harsher.

“Henry gave him three hundred dollars—”

“Jace…” he muttered before he ran off to the boat shed.

I hurried right behind him. The doors flew opened and Daniel marched onto the boat, never pausing to breathe. He picked up the money that was sitting on the deck. Three hundred bucks. His brother was laid out sleeping and Daniel began shaking him.

“Jace! I swear to God, if you did this…”

Jace opened his eyes, stirring. “What the hell are you doing?”

“You sold to a kid! My student, Jace!” He threw the empty backpack into his brother’s face. My face burned. My legs were numb. My stomach knotted. “Sarah’s accident wasn’t on you. Mom’s death wasn’t your fault. But I swear to God, if anything happens to that boy, it’s on you! It’s on you, Jace!”

Jace sat up, confused about his whereabouts at first. “What the hell are you talking about? Danny, I didn’t do anything—”

“We gotta go,” Daniel said, grabbing my arm to drag me out of the shed. “If he dies, Jace… If he dies, that’s on you! That’s on you!”