A SHAFT OF moonlight beamed its way through our bedroom window, casting a white glow across Ash's arm as he pulled me closer to his body. "What's wrong, Catelyn? Is there something going on you haven't told me?"
My back faced him, so he couldn't see me bite my lip. He couldn't see the downturned lines of my frown or the worry etched on my face. I tried to keep all of that from my voice. "I'm tired. And worried. Someone's coming after you. And I'm sad about Jon."
Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. His arm left me, and I shivered when the cool night air hit my skin where his warm flesh had just been.
"You seem more upset about his death than Bridgette, and she was sleeping with him." Was there a hint of an accusation in his voice?
It had been a week since our non-wedding. Since the murder of Jon. Since the threat against the life that mattered more to me than my own. Since our lives had fallen apart. The level of disruption a situation like this can cause is unimaginable until you're living through it. "Of course I'm upset. He was my friend and about to become my brother-in-law. But Bridgette is devastated. She can't sleep and I'm sure she's lost weight. She doesn't look healthy."
I turned to face him, pushing my naked body up against his as he stared at the ceiling. I ran my fingers through the hair on his sculpted chest and rested my head against his shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about with me and Jon,” I said soothingly. “I was only spending time with him to get to know my new family. I’ve missed having one since my parents died."
The tension in his body drained away and he wrapped his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just know that Jon would have done almost anything to have you, and I didn't like seeing you spend so much time with him. But now… I guess it doesn't matter. I can't believe he's dead. I may not have always liked the bastard, but he was my brother. And now that he's gone, I miss him. Or at least I miss the brother I grew up with. The good memories, you know?"
"I do know. I feel it. I hurt when you hurt. We may not have gotten married last week, but you're still the husband of my heart and I love you. We are one," I said, linking our hands together. "I feel what you feel." And you feel what I feel.
"We'll get married, I promise you that. As soon as we get through the funeral and figure out who did this, as soon as the shadow of Jon's death can't threaten our happiness, we'll get married. But nothing changes how I feel about you. You're mine, no matter what. And I'm yours. And no one is going to hurt me, I promise."
He kissed me softly, with a tenderness that almost broke me with its sweetness. When his tongue flicked against mine, a flare of fire awakened in my belly and I moaned.
His cock hardened instantly, pressing against my stomach with an urgent need that had lain dormant since Jon's death.
I took him in my hand and stroked as our mouths played with each other, kisses getting harder and deeper, bodies pushing closer, hands exploring with desperate hunger.
With one hand he played with my breasts, squeezing my nipples alternately, sending shivers of desire that woke up all the nerves in my body. With the other, he moved between my legs, teasing the sensitive skin there, oh-so-lightly connecting with my swelling clit, sending tingles of pleasure through my body.
He worked his way down my body with his lips, kissing, licking and biting like a man starving. And maybe he was. We'd been ignoring the elephant in the room for a week, trying to pretend life was normal when it was anything but. A distance had grown between us that we couldn't seem to scale through with words alone. But now, now our bodies did what our minds couldn't. Our bodies brought us back together, back into the space of oneness and completeness.
My back arched as he flicked my nipple with his tongue while plunging two fingers into my wet and swollen pussy. He used his thumb to rub at my clit and my orgasm took us both by surprise, both in how fast I came and how hard. My body rocked against his as he took me higher and higher, making me scream his name in pleasure that was almost painful to bear.
Before I could come down from that high, while my muscles still spasmed with contractions, he thrust his cock into me, hard and fast and deep, striking at all the right places, rubbing my clit with his body as he penetrated me, and I came again, even harder.
He grabbed my hair, pulling my head back as his teeth sunk into my neck. He growled and I groaned and our bodies collided into each other like a wave crashing to the rocky shore.