A/N: Here we are! Back at it again. This chapter is dedicated to all of you! Thank you for being patient, whenever I fall off the wagon and not update for a little while.
Things are happening irl, and sometimes I'm just not in the right frame of mind to sit down and write. It's totally cyclical. But, I'm back! So please enjoy:
***
*Gia*
I was floating on cloud nine, my blissful dreams eliminating all worries from my mind. I dreamed of a scratchy beard, and long, soft locks tickling the inside of my thighs. Large, strong hands spreading my legs further apart while I struggled to catch my breath.
My dreams were filled with lust and passion - the kind that made my head swim. And because I was dreaming, I let it go. I moaned as I rode out my pleasure, allowed my body to wither from side to side, from my hips to rise and demand to get closer to the source of this mindblowing feeling.
"Fucking insatiable, aren't you?" A deep voice chuckled near me, raspy from a short night of sleep.
My eyes flew open and locked on a grinning Ash between my thighs. His lips glistened with the evidence of my pleasure, the sight so hot, I nearly begged him to do it again.
Nearly!
"Who knew you were so much fun to wake up next to?" I panted, too satiated to think of a snappy comeback. "I thought you'd be gone."
"And miss out on a beautiful, eager girl, with a needy little cunt?" Ash lifted a brow at me, raising himself up on his elbows as he crawled up over my body, his muscles bulging under that tan, smooth skin. "I have a reputation to maintain, red."
I smiled up at him, my fingers tangling in his hair as I held onto the back of his neck. "How noble of you. But you know, I thought only nice guys finished last. And yet..." I trailed off, my lips parting as I waited for him to kiss me. "I didn't take you for such a nice guy."
To that, Ash burst out laughing. "I'm not a nice guy at all, Gia! The only reason I'm not stuffing my dick inside you right now is because I can't even get it hard." A quick glance between our naked bodies proved that statement wrong, but I didn't have a chance to correct him. "I'm fucking starving!"
"I have some-"
Ash shook his head. "You have fruits and vegetables. And fucking yogurt, Gia!" His voice took on a nearly whining tone. "I need real food to keep up with you. Bacon, eggs, more bacon..."
He sat up, moving away from me, leaving my body feeling cold, but my eyes in for a treat. Ash Wolfhart naked was what my wild fantasies would have looked like - if I was brave enough to dream that big. All dark, tall, wide, and impossibly beautiful, decorated in exquisite art and my favorite of all - a pair of nipple rings.
"Eyes up here, red." He pointed at those black orbs, but the glint in them told me that he didn't mind me at all checking him out. "I'm going to get something to eat. Is there a store nearby?"
I cocked a brow at him. "You're going to walk into a store?! You?!"
Ash grinned. "Good point. I'd never get out of there in one piece." Grabbing his phone from my nightstand, he typed up a quick message. "I'll just make one of the assistants get it, and I'll be on standby."
Still, he got up from the bed and began looking around for his clothes, pulling them on one by one. I bit down on my lower lip while I watched those tight muscles disappear until all was left were his thick, dark arms. There was something different about him today, and it took my foggy, dream-induced brain a minute to realize what.
It was morning. And we were still together.
In all the times I've sneaked around with Ash, it was never the morning. It was late at night or even late afternoon. We were what went bump in the dark, behind closed doors. And even yesterday, when he sneaked in to wake me up the most delicious way possible for my birthday, by the time I was ready to get out of bed, he was gone.
Now, he was here. And he while he planned on stepping out for a while, Ash was going to come back.
We were together in broad daylight, neither of us under the influence of alcohol or the pressure of a party. This wasn't a casual hookup anymore - I couldn't deny that anymore.
This morning, as my blind cat rubbed himself up on Ash's ankle, begging him for food and attention - something shifted in the air. Something that I wasn't comfortable admitting.
"What would you like for breakfast, Gia?" He asked while lacing up his black boots, and looking up at me from under his black lashes.
"A parfait." I replied, narrowing my eyes at him, distracted as I tried to figure out if he felt that anything was off.
But Ash acted as if everything was business as usual as he nodded, grabbed his valet, and after a soft lick over my lips, he left.
"Holy fuck," I told Neuro, who meowed in agreement. "What did I get us into, handsome boy?"
***
I barely had time to pour some cat food into Neuro's bowl, when there was a soft rap at the door. Frowning, I padded across the living room, pulling a robe on as I headed to the front door. Knowing this wouldn't be Ash - because, well he never knocked - I peered out the peephole before throwing it open in surprise. "Dad! You're here! I thought you were heading out of town today."
My father stepped in, his light eyes taking in the empty room. Was he expecting to find someone else here?
"I needed to come see you, Gianna. We have to talk." His voice was serious, his gaze stern as he looked at me. "Do you want to go somewhere?"
I bit down on my lower lip. "I'm kinda having..." I was out of words, which was very unlike me. I never had trouble articulating my thoughts, not even as a child. Yet right now, I was stuttering - and my father noticed. "I'm having breakfast delivered."
My father glanced down at his clock. "It's half to noon."
"I've had a long night and an even longer day. You don't even want to know!" I chuckled, trying to play it off. "Let me just get my phone and tell the delivery driver-"
But of course, before I could finish my sentence, my front door swung open, revealing Ash's tall figure and two bags full of food.
"Shit!" I cursed under my breath as both Ash and my father came to a halt, eyeing each other across the room. "Ash, you remember my dad, Mick. Dad, this is Ash."
My father nodded at the giant man. "Rockstaring must not pay as much as I thought if you take up food delivery on the side."
Ash's black gaze turned to me, his brow cocking in question. "Don't mind him. He came over to talk before heading back to Silicon Valley."
He nodded. "Don't mind me, then. We can have breakfast another time." Ash said in his deep, throaty voice as he walked toward my kitchen. "I'll just drop the parfaits off."
"Wait here!" I told my dad as I rushed after Ash. "You don't have to leave. He should know better than to just-"
Ash turned to me with a crooked smile. "I can come back tonight. I have a few things I should get done today anyway." He stepped closer, one think finger reaching out to caress my jaw as I craned my neck to look up at him. "You look worried, red. Will you miss me?"
"Only with a bullet," I whispered, enjoying the way his pink lips twitched into a wider grin.
"If school doesn't pan out, you could always take up writing romantic poetry."
"Hilarious," I said in a flat tone, making sure he could see my exaggerated eye roll as he leaned closer, our lips are now only an inch apart. "What time?"
"What time what, red?" Ash questioned, but the playful glint in his eyes told me he knew exactly what I was asking.
"What time should I expect you back?" I asked, giving him the satisfaction - just this once. "It's not like I'm going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs, waiting for you to show up. I need to know so I could arrange my plans accordingly."
He let out a low whistle. "A girl in charge - I like it. I'll be here at eight."
"Great." My hand tightened around the back of his neck. "Now give a proper kiss and get out of here."
***
It took me a good five minutes to collect myself after the mindblowing makeup session in the middle of my kitchen. The only thing holding my clothes on was the fact that my father was waiting for us, just on the other side of the wall.
"Who the hell does he think he is?!" I groaned in a low voice to myself, long after Ash was gone and my father and I were seated at a nearby restaurant.
"What was that, Gianna?" Dad asked, looking at me over the menu with a strange expression on his face.
I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. Just talking to myself."
Dad nodded. "How is school? Are you still a top student within the program?"
Fuck. I began chewing on the inside of my cheek as I lifted the menu higher. The goal was to cover my blushing face - I already knew what I wanted to eat. "It's always up and down. You know how it is." I said finally when the uncomfortable silence grew too unbearable.
The truth was, I wasn't within the top students anymore. In fact, I wasn't even above the curve. My grades started dwindling a few weeks ago when I stopped spending every waking moment at the lab or bent over books.
"I'm afraid I don't." My father said sternly. "You've had never had trouble staying in the top one percent of your class, at worst. Usually, you were number one."
Thankfully, our waiter chose that time to appear at our table, and I was saved from the interrogation for a couple minutes while he took our orders. "Is this what you wanted to talk about? School?"
My dad sighed, folding his hands on the table in front of him. "No, actually. There's been something I've been meaning to tell you."
He smoothed a stray strand of red hair out of his face before his light eyes focused on mine again. "Go on!" I encouraged, leaning back against my chair.
"I'm getting married."
My mouth opened - but no sound came out. Married?! Was this some kind of a sick joke?!
"I'm getting married, Gianna. And I want you to be my witness - our maid of honor, actually."
"To who?!" I asked quietly, even though I wanted to scream.
My father wasn't engaged. He wasn't even dating! Mick Walsh was madly in love with my mother, and after her death, he was so devastated, he gave me up and buried himself into work. He didn't find someone to replace her - that would've surely been impossible. This had to be some experiment he was conducting - I just couldn't figure out why.
"Her name is Julie - Julianna, actually. But I call her Julie."
A humorless laugh broke out of me. "And you've suddenly decided you wanted to marry Julie?"
My father stared into my eyes, his gaze unwavering as he responded. "We've been seeing each other for nearly six years."
"That's just grand. And you haven't had a chance to tell me about Julie for six fucking years?!" My voice was low as I leaned over the table, hoping not to make a scene, but not sure how much longer I could hold it in. "You've allowed me to believe you were this lonely, lovesick, loving husband, heartbroken over his dead wife, and all this time, you've been out there dating!"
My father's eyes narrowed. "I was that loving husband. And then I was a heartbroken widow, who lost everything along with your mother! I didn't only lose my partner, but the one person, the only person who was teaching me how to love! I didn't know how to be a good dad, Gianna." He took a deep breath. "But time passed and I've met Julie, and-"
I rolled my eyes. "Please don't give me the 'it just happened' line. It doesn't just happen."
"I think you're not one to preach about hidden relationships, Gianna." My father said sternly, and I swallowed.
"I'm not in a relationship."
"Of course not." But I could tell he didn't believe me. "What did you expect from me, though? To stay by myself until I die?"
"Fuck..." I breathed. "No, of course not. I don't want you to be lonely, dad. But... You could've fucking said something sooner."
He sat back against his chair. "I knew you would react like this." He motioned between us. "Besides, we've never had the kind of relationship where we discussed our feelings. That was your mom, Gianna. You and I talk about school - we talk about projects, competition, classes, innovation... We talk about the fucking news and the world of science. Not our personal lives."
He was right, of course. But that didn't mean that the hurt his confession sparked inside me just disappeared.
"So when do I get to meet this Julie?" I asked, my tone flat. "Perhaps before the wedding? Or will I only be able to cast my eyes upon her when she's walking down the aisle to my dad?"
He snorted, not hurt by my dry sarcasm. "Come up in two weeks. We'll fit you for the dress, and we can all have dinner together. Get to know each other. You can even bring that rockstar of yours."
I rolled my eyes. "I am not bringing Ash to meet your future wife for the first time."
Dad laughed. "Probably for the best." And just when I was going to jump to Ash's defense, my father added. "Julie's a big fan."
I smiled. "Clearly, she has a refined taste."
***
A/N: Twitter - cb_milady