Dylan continued to improve by leaps and bounds over the next few days. She woke up on a Friday, and by the next Wednesday the only machine she was attached to was the heart rate monitor clipped to her finger. She was eating, she was drinking, she was smiling and laughing. My Dylan, by almost every standard, was quickly returning to herself. She'd even begun her speech therapy and could say a few words at a time. Her voice was a soft and scratchy, like she had a bad case of laryngitis or something, and she couldn't yet hold a real conversation, but she was getting there. And getting there much more quickly than I think everyone had anticipated. Well, everyone but me. I never had a doubt my girl was made of something stronger (and more stubborn) than steel.
Exactly a week after she awoke, the doctors gave us the news we had all (especially Dylan) been waiting for: she was being released. Shayne and I spent a brief moment battling over who was going to watch over her, but even with few words, Dylan quickly made it clear that the choice was hers and hers alone. Even Stefan, who still wasn't entirely Team Asher, scolded his son and I for trying to make the decision without her. Dylan also made it clear that she wasn't ready to return to her house, which I think everyone more than understood. She elected to stay at the penthouse with me, at least for the time being, and I couldn't have been happier. After almost five weeks, I would finally have my love back beside me. Even Christmas mornings as a kid weren't this good.
I planned to get off work early that Friday so I could get the penthouse in time for her arrival. Noodle was already staying there, and I had a cleaning lady, so I wasn't even sure what I thought I needed to organize, but my brain told me there was definitely something. Or maybe it was my heart. I couldn't really differentiate. All I knew was, that for some reason, I was nervous as fuck. Maybe it was because I knew at some point, we'd probably have to discuss our fight before her attack. Or maybe...
Maybe it was because that in all of this, the main thing I realized was that I was one hundred percent, totally and completely all-in on Dylan and I. There wasn't a question or concern left in my brain, despite the fact we'd only been together a handful of months. This girl... this incredible, stubborn, gorgeous, silly, maddening woman was my forever. We had never once discussed marriage, so whether that meant she would be my wife or my lifelong girlfriend, I had no idea, but I didn't really care. As long as it was her and I, we could use whatever title she felt comfortable with.
Ace had elected to move his investigation hub to a hotel instead of remaining at my house. He didn't want Dylan to have to see everything he was digging through, nor did he want to overwhelm her, which I appreciated. I knew at some point he was going to have to talk to her, but he wanted her to get settled in first. He had more human decency than the detectives did, that was for damn sure. I knew Ace was following down a couple different trails, but he hadn't even given me much information. He was always very vague and general when discussing his findings, no matter how much I badgered him. Which, I guess made sense. If he found the culprit, but I was too involved, it would likely just look like me trying to cover my own ass. I'd given him the information for my PI and I knew he'd called in a few favors with friends, so I just mostly let it go. I had way more important things to focus my attention on anyway.
Shayne and Stefan busted Dylan out of the hospital at ten that morning. She wanted to get some of her belongings from her place, but she didn't want to go alone. I, unfortunately, had a meeting about a huge contract I'd been working on since I started my job, so Shayne and her father took her to gather her belongings. I did my damnedest to force the meeting to end as quickly as possible, but it was after one by the time everything wrapped up. As soon as I had the contracts signed, I packed up a few things from my office (as I'd informed the staff I'd be working from home for the next week) and hightailed it out the building.
By three o'clock, Dylan and I were rearranging my bachelor bedroom into one more fit for a couple. I'd cleaned out a few dresser drawers and made room in my closet, but if this was going to be the long-term plan, we'd likely have to get rid of more. Or transform the guest room into a walk-closet for this woman's massive amount of stuff. Or move. That was an option... Whatever. We'd figure it out.
As the sky outside started to glow with the colors of the setting sun, Dylan and I were laid out on my sofa, a snoring and content Noodle at our feet. She laid almost completely on top of me and had put on some tattooing competition reality show that I was paying absolutely zero attention to. I didn't care what we watched. I didn't care about anything other than her weight on top of me, feeling her breathe, seeing her smile, feeling the warmth of her skin or her hand brushing up and down my arm. We could've just been laying there in complete and total silence and it wouldn't have mattered.
"You hungry?" I asked softly, my lips brushing the shell of her ear as my hand stroked up and down her back. She didn't say anything, but I felt her head move against my chest. "You need to eat, baby."
"Big... lunch," came the world's softest reply.
"What if I order from Ming's?" I asked with a smirk, knowing full well that the likelihood of her refusing Crab Rangoons was slim to none.
She lifted her head and looked into my eyes. "Okay."
I chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. "Knew that would work." I struggled a bit to work my phone out of my pocket. Could I have asked her to move? Sure, but I didn't want her to, so I made do. I clicked around and ordered a couple entrees and the weird tea I knew she liked, and of course copious amounts of Rangoons, and then settled back in to await our dinner's arrival.
I was actually starting to doze off when I felt Dylan heave a big sigh against me. I craned my neck a bit so I could look at her face, and found her brows furrowed with concern. "What's the matter?"
She just shook her head.
"What, baby?" I asked again. "What's going on?"
She took a deep breath and a deep swallow. "Do you think... they'll ever... find..."
"Hey, hey, hey," I interrupted, squeezing her tighter to my chest. She didn't need to finish. I knew exactly where that sentence had been headed. "We'll find who did this, baby. Ace won't give up til he does. My brother's stubbornness nearly rivals yours."
Dylan's mouth turned into a smirk, and she shook her head a bit. "I don't... like being... scared... of my own... home."
"I know, baby. I know," I soothed, pressing my lips to her hairline. "But we'll make this work, okay? Maybe... you just move in here for good, or maybe we eventually go back to your house... or who knows. Maybe we'll get a new place. A place that's ours, but we've got all the time in the world to figure it out, okay? There's no sense in laying here worrying over it now."
She just nodded and sighed again.
"Do we need to go back and get more of your stuff?"
I felt her head wave from side to side.
"Do we need to go shopping?"
Again, a wave of her head.
I sighed and swallowed down a lump in my throat. "I know everything feels unsettled right now, babe, but it WILL get better. I promise. I'll do anything in my power to help you feel normal again. Anything."
Dylan lifted her head from my chest and instead pressed her chin to my sternum, so she was looking right at me. Her lips turned into an easy, dreamy smile and her dark eyes glistened in the dimmed lighting of my living room. "I know you will," she stated, her eyes shimmering with sincerity. "I've never doubted that."
My lips pursed, her statement making me a bit emotional. I shifted her toward the back of the sofa and tipped my chin, my lips eager to be against hers. I felt her smile against me the second they made contact, her palm rising and planting against my scruffy cheek. I was still so wary of hurting her, that it was me that gasped in surprise as her tongue slid across the seam of my lips before dipping into my mouth. Her mouth was far more demanding than mine, and I didn't mind it one fucking bit. I'd been aching for her for over a month now, even though it felt almost wrong to say.
In the utter chaos of everything going on, it felt almost creepy to say I missed the physicality of us, but it was true. Dylan and I had always had an incredibly physical relationship, ever since the first kiss in Hawaii. And maybe, at first, it was a downfall. Maybe we let our intense attraction to each other do more of the talking than we should, but it was just how we were, and five weeks without it was almost painful. But now? Now it was taking every fiber of my quickly fraying self-control to not just ravish her there on the sofa.
I groaned in desperation as I forced myself to pluck my lips from hers. "You are not making this easy, lady..."
"I'm, in fact... incredibly... easy..." Dylan argued with her crackly voice as her mouth rained kisses along my jaw.
I let a laugh that quickly morphed into a moan as her luscious lips brushed against the skin beneath my ear. "That is not what I meant, and you know it," I stated, my breathing starting to grow a bit shallow. "You're supposed to be relaxing... healing..."
"I'm very relaxed."
"You're the fucking devil incarnate, I swear." I growled a bit as I moved her again, this time directly on top of me so that our faces were mere millimeters apart. "My self-control is hanging by one very frayed thread lady, so be careful."
"Maybe you... should just... let it break..." Dylan smirked.
"I've got a feeling your doctors would not approve."
"What they don't know... won't hurt them..."
"Goddammit, Dylan," I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her shoulders, and squeezing. "You are going to be the death of me."
"Promise I'll make it... worth it."
"Oh, I am more than aware of your talents, but..."
At that moment the intercom near my door buzzed, signaling the arrival of our dinner. The buzz sent Noodle into a sleepy, barking tailspin, which (thankfully because I was about to snap) shifted the mood of the room. Dylan sank against the back of the sofa, and I stood, somewhat grateful for the moment to cool down. "Saved by the intercom," I stated with a chuckle as I headed for the door.
"Oh... we're not done here."
I chuckled as I heard the elevator in the hallway bing. "I had a suspicion it was a momentary reprieve."
"I'll show you reprieve."
I just laughed and shook my head. It was incredible how normal things finally felt again and I was going to do everything in my power to keep it that way.
A few hours later, we were tucked into bed, watching a movie, Noodle on the floor and Dylan in my arms. She was nuzzling her face against my throat, and I could tell she was once again trying to tempt me into action, literal action.
I groaned as she left tiny kisses along my neck. "And here I thought the Rangoons would encourage good behavior."
"You prefer when I'm bad..." Dylan insisted. Her voice had progressively gotten stronger throughout the day. It was still a whisper, but she was saying more full sentences at a time than she had been.
I whimpered a bit, nearing the end of my rope. "I don't want to hurt you."
"I'm fine, Asher."
"You got out of the hospital not even twenty-four hours ago."
"I was fine all week."
"Yes, well, I wasn't going to fuck you in the hospital, now was I?"
"Why not?"
I laughed and took her face in my hands. "This is not the physical therapy your doctors were talking about."
In return I got an exaggerated pout. "Do you not want me anymore?"
"What?!" I cried. "You're insane. Of course I want you."
"Then what?"
I groaned. "Baby, it has been... almost six LONG weeks since we've... been together. I don't have the self-control to take things easy right now."
"So don't."
"Dylan. I don't want to hurt you," I repeated.
"Who says you will?" she asked softly, once again trailing kisses down my neck. She covered every inch of skin on the left side of my neck before moving to my throat. "If you're waiting for me to be one hundred percent me again... I'm not sure when that will happen."
"Baby, I know, okay? I just..."
"Asher."
"What?" I asked, brushing a hand against her cheek as I lost myself in those dark chocolate eyes.
"Make love to me," she whispered. "I need you."
Last thread of self-control: snapped.
I groaned, an odd combination of resigned and excited as I moved, laying her beneath me, one arm on either side of her frame. "You're not allowed to do any of the work."
"What?" she asked with a giggle.
"I'm serious. Just... lay there."
"You want me to dead fish you?"
I shook my head, laughing as I pressed my forehead to hers. "I don't think you could dead fish if you tried."
"Was Bridget a dead fish?"
I lifted my head and looked into her eyes. "You know, if you want me to stay hard, bringing up my ex is probably not the best idea."
Dylan grinned devilishly. "You're hard already?"
I sucked in a breath as I felt her palm graze across my, yes, hard cock behind my boxer briefs. "I've been fucking hard since you walked in here."
"You're a pinnacle of self-control."
"You have no fucking idea."
She giggled as I turned the tables and brushed my lips along her throat, slowly moving my way down to her collarbone. I kissed every bit of skin I could see, every shade of ink. I was going to worship this woman like never before. She wanted to make love? I was going to make her melt first.
I gently pulled her torso up from the bed, removing the thin, flimsy Tshirt she wore as pajamas and tossing it into a darkened corner of the room. I sighed in awe, my eyes roaming her skin. "Fucking immaculate."
"Ash," she whispered.
"I fucking missed this so much," I mumbled as my lips once again moved across her collarbone. "I missed you... your skin... your sighs..."
That earned me one of those coveted sounds, her hand cupping the back of my head as I kissed down the curve of her chest. She released a soft moan as my lips attached themselves to her left nipple, my tongue swirling over the hardened tip. I could feel her start to squirm under my attentive mouth. Even more so when I raised a hand to massage her other breast.
"Ash..." she gasped, her back arching the slightest bit off the mattress.
"Shhh..." I soothed; my tongue still focused on teasing her nipple. My fingers pinched softly around the other nub, making her moan a bit louder. "I'm doing the work, remember?"
"Fuck...." she groaned, tipping her head against the down pillow beneath.
I moved my mouth to the other side, taking her right nipple and giving it the same treatment that I had given its counterpart. My left hand began a trek down her body, toying with the edge of the boy shorts she had on. I felt her tremble as I ran my finger under the waistband. She was as weak for me as I was for her. I could practically feel the desire seeping from her pores. I reached my hand down her panties, only coming into contact with the front of her mound, but she still whimpered.
"Ash..."
"Shh, baby. Let me take care of you." I released her nipple, now a darker pink and erect and kissed my way down her stomach, both hands now curling around the band of her underwear.
"Asher, just..."
I reached up one hand and covered her mouth. "I'm giving you what you want, but we're doing it my way."
She whined a bit but nodded her head, so I moved my hand back to its original placement and worked her panties down her legs. I could already see the sheen of wetness that had built between her legs as I pressed a soft kiss to the top of her mound. My eyes rolled into my head as I inhaled the scent of her excitement. "So needy, baby."
Her teeth gritted together. "Mhmm."
"It's okay, baby," I almost purred, sliding the knuckle of my index finger along her slit. "I'll make you feel better."
"Please."
I drug my knuckle between her lower lips, just barely grazing against her clit and she nearly jumped a foot off the bed. "Oooh, you are on edge, girl..."
"Stop... teasing... me... Ash..."
I gave her a taunting scowl and growled a bit. "You're no fun."
"I swear..."
Her words morphed into a low moan as I closed my lips around her clit and sucked. Instantaneously, her fingers wove into my hair, and I set to task, flicking my tongue against her swollen bud.
"Oh fuck..." she moaned, her voice creaking a bit.
I moaned against her pussy: sucking and nibbling at her clit as she writhed beneath me. She was already so close; I could feel her ready to burst. I slowly moved a hand down, sliding my index finger inside and causing her to groan much louder than before.
"Fuck!"
I lifted my face from her core. "Shhh, baby. Don't stress your vocal cords."
"If you don't shut up..."
I interrupted her scolding by flicking my tongue rapidly against her clit and dissolving her words into inaudible sounds of pleasure.
"Ash... Ash..."
I lifted my face just enough that my eyes met hers. "What, baby?" I asked, still licking through her wetness.
She moaned and shakily met my eyes. "I don't wanna cum yet..."
"Dylan..."
"I want you inside me."
"You can cum more than once, baby..."
"Ash, please. Please just fuck me."
Well, that was a hard request to deny. I snarled a bit as I sat back on my knees and worked down my boxers, my cock springing out hard and free as the day is long.
Dylan's eyes widened as she watched me give my shaft a couple long strokes.
"What?" I asked, an eyebrow arched in confusion.
"I think I forgot how big you are."
I bit my lip to stave off laughter. "You can't say things like that if I'm supposed to go easy..."
"You're the only one here that wants easy."
I lifted my knees just enough to kick off my underwear before I leaned over her, bringing my eyes to align with hers. "I'm not sending you back to the hospital because I couldn't hold back, Dylan."
"You won't."
"You don't know that," I stated, kissing her cheekbone softly. "You wanna explain to your doctors how we re-broke your ribs because I couldn't keep it in my pants?"
"No..."
"Okay, so stop fighting me on this," I stated. The space between her legs widened as I settled on my knees between them. "Slow and easy."
She met my eyes and bit her lip. "Okay."
I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against hers and dragging the tip of my cock between her folds. In all honesty, a few minutes of this likely would've made me cum, but I think I would've gotten smacked if I didn't give her what she craved. "I love you," I whispered, my lips brushing hers as I spoke.
"I love you, too."
This was it. The first time I'd actually heard those words out loud from her mouth. Maybe her voice sounded a bit different, maybe it was no louder than a whisper, but none of that mattered. Those words from her lips changed everything. I pressed my mouth to hers, hard and firm as I poised my cock at her entrance. My body was practically vibrating with restraint. However, as her tongue slipped into my mouth and wound with mine, I pressed my hips forward, her opening stretching around my cock. I groaned against her mouth as I continued to push myself into her until I was seated deep within her walls.
Dylan groaned as she pulled back and took a breath. "Yes."
"Kiss me," I commanded, slowly dragging my cock out, just to press it back in. "Don't ever stop kissing me."
She listened, crushing her mouth against mine. There were no other words as I thrusted myself in and out of her, slow and steady, our tongues dueling the entire time. Her arms wound around my neck and her hips began to lift to meet my thrusts, driving me even deeper into her.
"Oh my god..." she gasped, peppering kisses over my face. "Yes, baby."
"Fuck, I missed this," I groaned as I clenched my eyes shut. "I missed the way you feel around me."
"Me, too," she gasped, her back arching off the bed. "Oh my god..."
"You feel so fucking good," I moaned, the veins in my arms protruding as I held myself above her. "Too fucking good. I can't..."
"It's okay," she whimpered. "I'm close."
"So fucking close, baby."
I watched as she snaked a hand between us, her index and middle finger meeting her clit and rubbing slow circles. Instantly I felt her walls closing around me. "Oh fuck, Dylan."
"Yes! Right there!"
I kept my speed and motions even, steady, though I was dying to unleash the weeks of pent-up frustration. Now was not the time. Besides, I was going to cum either way. "Shit, baby. I'm about..."
"ASH!" Dylan shrieked, every muscle in her body tightening as her pussy squeezed my shaft so hard it was nearly impossible for me to keep moving. I tried to, I tried to stave off my own end, but it wasn't working. Slow glide to slow glide, my hold was waning fast.
"Oh FUCK!" My jaw went tense as it opened on a silent groan, and I emptied myself inside her. Her pussy milked my cock, squeezing out every last bit of cum until I collapsed against her, both of our chests heaving with rapid breaths. "Holy god," I mumbled against her shoulder.
I felt Dylan shake with silent laughter. "Slow and easy worked..."
I chuckled and moved my weight (and my cock) from her, dropping into the bed at her side and tugging her into my arms. "Told you."
"I still like rough Asher better."
"Rough Asher can cool his jets until you're healed."
"I'm okay with that," Dylan stated with a yawn as she buried her face against my still heaving chest. "I love you."
I bit back a cheesy grin and squeezed her against me a bit tighter. "I cannot tell you how long I've wanted to hear that."
"I said it before."
"On the phone. Barely counts."
"Picky, picky."
I chuckled softly and dipped my chin to kiss the top of her head. "Sleep, baby. We've got all the time in the world."
"I've got forever free."
"Me, too."
Sometime in the middle of the night, I awoke to the faint ringing of my phone. I groaned as I unwound my body from Dylan's, trying my best to not disturb her. On any normal occasion, I would've just let it ring, but considering everything that had brought us to this moment, a phone call at nearly two AM probably didn't mean good things.
I didn't even bother to dress myself as I stumbled my way into the living room, my phone still on the coffee table. I barely even noticed Noodle trotting behind me before heading toward his water bowl.
Before even looking at the screen, I answered as I yawned. "Hello?"
"Ash..."
It was Ace. And something about the tone of his voice instantly woke me up. "Ace? What is it?"
"I know who it was."