“Can you move?”

“What do you say?” he asked in a teasing tone, his face twisting with arrogance.

“Please, Joshua. Move your lard of a body out of the way.”

His eyes flashed with playfulness and he moved. Way too quickly. One minute I was trying to push past him, and the next I was lifted and put over his shoulder. My verbal protests and demands to be put down bounced off the walls as he took off out of the room.

“What the fuck are you doing? Let me down,” I screeched as I bobbled up and down with each step he took down the hall.

“Quiet,” he said.

I went to object and call him out for being a caveman, but again but my words were stolen when his hand connected sharply with my ass.

My body flushed in delight as the sweetest kind of pain shot through me. “You did not just spank me,” I shot in a voice that was a little too high pitched.

He carried me through the apartment as if I was a featherweight. My hair swayed, and my shirt bunched under my arms, allowing the cool air to kiss my skin. The living room floor came into view, and soon I was flying once again through the air. When my back hit the cushion of the couch, my hair sprayed over my face and took my ability to see, though I couldn’t ignore the heat of Josh’s body hovering over mine. His forearms rested on either side of my head, and his face was barely an inch from mine.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” I whispered as he swiped my hair from my face.

“Did I hurt you?”

I sucked in a breath as his gaze locked onto my lips. “No.”

“Now are you going to tell me what is going on?” he asked, and his eyes finally met mine.

For a brief moment, I had forgotten all about Lachlan’s text messages, and it took me a second to work out what Josh was talking about. Being this close to him was the best kind of diversion. The idea of Lachlan tainting my time with Josh caused me to swallow the words I should have said. In my selfishness, I just wanted Josh. I didn’t want to share our time with anyone else . . . especially Lachlan. But the more Lachlan tried to reach me, the more he infiltrated my plans.

“It’s been a big week. I’m just tired,” I stated without any conviction.

“Bullshit.”

My breathing stilled, and I watched in slow motion as his face dropped closer to mine. What was he doing? All sense of reason disappeared when I felt the curve of his bottom lip enticingly graze mine as he spoke. “I’ve known you a long time, Ash. I know what pushes your buttons, I know what you like, and I certainly know when you’re lying.”

The deep growl and promise in his voice inundated me with thoughts of lifting my mouth to his. I wanted the calm of a breathtaking kiss and the shudder of a body in need of relief. As Josh hovered over me, the warmth of his body caressing mine, I knew I wanted to feel the softness of his lips. I wanted nothing more than to relive those feelings and emotions that I felt when I was nineteen, completely carefree, and living in a vortex of innocence. Could he be the one to inhale all of the lies and taunts that Lachlan had fed me? Did I truly want it to be Josh that breathed life back into me? Time seemed to stop. Our breathing collided, and my heart thundered in my chest.

“When you’re ready, I am going to have your mouth again and devour those lips of yours, but I need to learn patience with you.”

“Why do you need to learn patience?” I whispered. My gaze dropped to his lips and I shifted my body under his, desperate for any friction I could get.

“Don’t look at my mouth, Ashy,” he said with a groan, and his eyes slammed shut.

“Why not?”

“Because I’ll lose my patience and I won’t be able to stop myself.”

I don’t want you to stop yourself. “Have you been talking to Lachlan?”

What the hell was wrong with me?

The moment the words fell from my lips, he froze. It was a question that I needed answered, but I could have chosen a better time to ask. Josh on top of me and talking about kissing me was not the best time. The look of need in his eyes diminished, and was replaced by a look of frustration and utter confusion.

“Why would you bring him up when I was about to kiss you?”

“I . . . uh, he . . . messaged,” I stammered, realizing what he had just said.

I was about to kiss you.

Shit.

Josh hauled himself from my body, and the feeling of loss was immediate. After years of nothing, he was going to kiss me. I had the potential to feel the softness of his lips again, but of course I sabotaged it. How could I have been stupid enough to bring up Lachlan?

I watched wide eyed and in silence as Josh left the living room without saying a word to me. I pulled my legs up against my chest, rested my head on my knees, and followed his every step with my eyes. He avoided meeting my gaze, and busied himself in the kitchen doing mindless things, like wiping the counter tops, and opening and closing the fridge without removing a thing.

“Are you going to say anything?” I finally broke and stood from the couch.

His eyes, completely void of emotion, finally met mine, and focused on me as I walked toward him.

“It was a simple question, Josh. I don’t know why you’re reacting like this.”

“Why am I reacting like this?” he scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You just don’t get it, do you, Ashlyn. You just don’t fucking get it.”

He used my full name. He never called me Ashlyn. I was always Ashy, and every time he called me Ashy, I felt a bond between us that I would never share with anyone else. It was our thing. I called him Josh, and he called me Ashy. With a shake of his head, he stormed through the living room without giving me another glance and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Three hours later, I was still confused at how abruptly Josh left. To kill time, I called Eden and heard all about her plans for the engagement party, finished some work on the blog, and had an overly-long shower. Now, the only thing left to do was settle in for a night on the couch with my kindle and a pint of cookies and cream ice cream, and wait for him to come back.

Four chapters, half a pint of ice-cream, and getting lost in the story of my latest book boyfriend were shattered by the sound of the door opening. Josh stepped into the living room, and his eyes fell to mine. My eyes ran over his body on instinct, to make sure he was okay.

“Stand up, Ashlyn.” There he goes with my full name again.

I placed my kindle on the couch beside me, while never breaking his stern gaze. “Josh, wh—”

“Stand up.” The tone of his voice told me he didn’t have time for arguments. It would seem that stubborn-ass Josh had returned to the apartment.

With an exaggerated sigh, I stood from the couch and waited. Unpredictability and Josh Crawford walked hand in hand, so whatever he was about to say would be a surprise. He placed his keys on the coffee table and then turned to me, but I took the cue to talk first.

“Where have you been?”

“Why did you ask if I’d spoken to Lachlan?” he asked, completely ignoring my question.

“It was just a question.”

Josh’s jaw tensed, and his gaze shot to the ceiling in a sign that he was pissed off. My breathing stilled, and it was only a matter of time before he called bullshit. Why I ever thought I could hide something from him truly baffled me. The only arguments I ever had with him were in jest. They were resolved within minutes, and neither of us ever left. This one felt so different and it unnerved me.

“Why do you lie for him? What right does that motherfucker have for you to lie for him?”

I sighed in defeat as we continued going around in circles. “Can we please just forget I said anything?”

“I was about to kiss the life out of you, Ashlyn. Ever since you’ve been here I’ve wanted a taste, to feel your lips against mine again, but I’ve held back because I know he messed you up. But there comes a time when I lose my patience and I don’t give a fuck about some asshole that missed his shot. So tell me, why do you lie for him?”