I took a deep breath and divulged my tormented thoughts. “He was in here, Josh. He came into my safe place, and that freaks me out. All I can think about was that this might not have been the first time. When did he become this person? Was he always like this and I just had no clue, or was I that oblivious with the thought of having a boyfriend that I didn’t see his true colors? I’ll be okay, though. I have new locks, thanks to you. You are just down the hall, and I’m going to call Austin and chat with him about it to see what he says.”

His face was impassive, as his eyes ran over my features. With light fingertips, Josh tucked a loose piece of my hair behind my ear and traced my jaw with his thumb. The slightest of movements set my heart a flutter.

“I think calling Austin would be a great idea. As for tonight, I’m going to stay here. We will stay up all night, or we can sleep. Whatever you like. I know you won’t want to hear this, but I am going to find Lachlan and tell him to fuck off. He doesn’t get away with this shit.”

No! No! No! Not again.

“Josh, pl—”

“Ashlyn, this isn’t up for discussion. He fucked with something that is important to me, and I will not tolerate that, especially when it comes to you. He put fear in your eyes, and that pisses me off. I am barely containing how fucking angry I am, because you don’t need to witness that, but I will be having words with him.”

“Okay, Tarzan,” I whispered, deciding that there was no point in arguing with him. He had his mind set, and I was quickly learning that when Josh decided on something, nothing or no one had the ability to change his mind.

Eight hours later, I woke to the sound of thunder and the feeling of comforting warmth against my back. With heavy eyes, I looked around the space and found my bedroom. I had no recollection of coming to bed. When my senses shot to life, I felt a pressure over my stomach. My hand was resting over Josh’s arm, which lay over my stomach. His fingertips had crept up the bottom of my tank top and caressed my skin. We were officially spooning, and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at that thought.

Josh’s arm tightened around my waist and pulled me closer to his body, and I gasped as his morning erection dug into my ass.

“Morning, Ashy,” he mumbled against the back of my head, his voice thick with sleep. “Fuck, you are the best spooning partner.”

“I have no clue how I got to bed,” I whispered, trying desperately to ignore his cock, which was making itself very well-known, and my needy heat.

“I carried you.”

“What?” I shrieked, and attempted to roll to my back, but my efforts were halted. My concentration was entirely on his fingers that were now tracing the top of my panties. Holy shit, did he undress me? “Why am I only wearing my panties?”

“You passed out on the couch just after midnight, so I brought you to bed. I took off your sweat pants, and then we went to sleep. I didn’t touch you, if that’s what you are wondering.”

“I wasn’t thinking you did.”

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t want too, though.”

My eyes fluttered shut as his fingers traced over my now highly-alert skin. My breathing changed from calm to completely ragged. All he was doing sweeping my stomach with soft strokes, and I was on the brink of panting. His effect on me was out of this world, and I was like his unsuspecting prey.

“So these rules you have stipulated . . . you said no sex?” he asked, and his breath danced over my ear as he spoke.

“Hmm.”

“What about touching? Kissing? Are they included in your silly rules?”

“They aren’t sil—” My ability to put two words together disappeared, and my need to remind him why I came up with the rules to begin with was nowhere to be found. That’s what his tongue hitting the skin near my ear did. It caused me to lose all sense of reason. Having Josh in my bed and it being so intimate did something to my body that I couldn’t explain. I wanted more of this. Waking up beside him was irresistible. Having his hands on my body and his lips devouring me was exceptionally delightful.

I twisted in his arms until we were almost chest to chest. His hand moved to rest just near my ass.

“I can’t stop thinking about the other night,” he whispered heatedly. His eyes were like pools of chocolate delight gazing longingly back at me, and I felt myself slipping under at a fast rate. “I’m trying really fucking hard to behave, but you make it incredibly hard, Ashy.”

“Are you calling me a tease, Joshua Crawford?” I asked softly, knowing full well that I was encouraging him.

Josh’s eyes darkened, and he bit that perfect bottom lip. I knew that look. I had witnessed it just a few nights ago, and I knew what it meant and where it would lead if I didn’t get control of it.

“It would be so easy for me to push your panties aside and slide into your pussy.”

Please do. Forget the rules. Fuck the rules. Shut up, Ashlyn. Keep your god damn legs closed.

The battle between my brain and my body had officially begun.

“And you call me impossible,” I said with a short laugh. My eyes found his mouth, and all I wanted to do was lean in and nibble on his bottom lip.

“If you don’t stop looking at my mouth, I’m going to start kissing you.”

I wanted him to kiss me. I’d have to make a change to the rules. No sex, but kissing was allowed. His threat of kissing me only encouraged me. My tongue darted out and moistened my lips, and the groan of frustration I heard from Josh hauled me closer to his body. My arms went over his waist, and I sighed in delight as his erection pressed against my needy heat.

“Ashy, I swear to fuc—”

My desperate mouth smashed to his, and his reaction was immediate. He hurled my body flush against his. Our lips simultaneously parted, and our tongues frantically caressed one another. This was perfection, like getting lost in a wondrous fantasy. His hands slipped into the back of my panties, and his fingers dug into my flesh as he rolled onto his back until I lay on top of him.

“That’s better,” he murmured against my swollen lips. “What about your rules?”

Stupid rules!

“Sshhh, I need to kiss you,” I whispered.

Breathlessly, he pulled his mouth from mine, and the smile that covered his face was like looking at a newly-discovered diamond: awe-inspiring, precious, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We lay there, me on top of him, our legs in a twisted mess, both breathing heavily, and I could have stayed there forever.

Silence fell between us, although I had so much I wanted to say to him. I wanted to tell him that he could do whatever he wanted to me. That my body was his, but I had to keep my heart. My fears were lessoning when it came to Josh, because now they revolved entirely around the thought of losing control of my heart. My mind was no longer screaming at me to stay away, there were no more warnings. My heart was slowly showing itself to him, and that’s where my fear lived. There was no way I’d survive heartbreak at the hands of Josh Crawford.

“Kiss me,” I begged in a whisper. The invitation was received, and his lips pressed into mine. There was a featherlike softness to his kiss, as if he was testing the waters to make sure I wasn’t about to turn around and tell him to stop. With a soft sweep of his tongue, I opened my mouth as a shiver of delight shot down my spine. My body was immediately swamped with intimate heat.

“It’s your turn to lead, Ashy. Use me how you want,” he said, while leaving delicate kisses.

Heat flooded my panties at the thought of Josh being any form of submissive. There was no way he would relent for long, so I needed to use it to my advantage. I leaned down and tugged his bottom lip between my teeth. As he groaned my name under the sensation, his fingers dug possessively into my ass in a blatant sign of ownership.