Soon, she was stripping away his clothes, having already stripped the walls away from his heart in a way no one else had ever been able to. And in the same way that he’d worshiped her with his body, she now worshiped him with hers.
She gave him untold pleasures with the touch of her lips on his skin, with the press of her breasts against his chest, with the slide of her tongue over his erection. She teased, tempted, and amazed him.
And when they finally came together, with her hands in his, drinking the breath from each other’s lips as they kissed, they became one in every possible way.
At last, Nash knew true love.
Love so sweet and true and wickedly hot that he gave himself completely over to Ashley—the bad and good, the dark and light, his past, present, and future. They were all hers now. And she gave him the same. Her mistakes and her triumphs. Her sadness and her joy. Her worries and her hopes.
From now until the end of time, they would always hold on to each other’s hearts.
EPILOGUE
Two months later…
Brandon, Turner, and Hudson sat around the fire ring in their parents’ backyard, nursing glasses of Irish whiskey. Beth had just served a delicious farewell dinner for Nash, Ashley, and Kevin, who would be hitting the road in the morning in their fully built-out camper van during summer vacation from school. Everyone else was inside the house, watching a movie in the TV room.
“I don’t know who’s more excited about their road trip,” Turner said. “Ashley or Kevin.”
“You’d think it would be the eleven-year-old boy,” Brandon said, “but I’m pretty sure Ashley is taking the cake on this one.”
Hudson nodded. “I sometimes forget the only time she’s ever really traveled was when she went to Vienna.”
“If I had known she’d hook up with Nash, I would have thought twice about insisting she come to the hotel launch,” Brandon grumbled.
Though they were all still getting used to the fact that their sister was in a serious relationship with one of the most famous bad-boy rock stars on the planet, Hudson pointed out, “She’s happy, and that’s what matters most.”
“You’re right,” Brandon agreed. “It’s good to see her so carefree and excited about going on an adventure in the van. And I suppose Nash has turned out to be a pretty good guy after all. A hell of a lot better than her ex, that’s for sure. I still can’t believe Josh threatened to take Kevin away from her.”
“Good thing the dirt bag apologized,” Turner said, scowling.
“I don’t buy that guy’s apology for a minute,” Brandon said, a cynical glint in his eyes. “I’m guessing he belatedly realized it’s a far better play to make nice with the zillionaire rock star than to be on Nash’s bad side. Plus, I’ll bet Josh is bragging to the women he wants to sleep with that he knows Nash.”
Sipping their drinks, they all silently wished their youngest sister could have had it easier over the past decade. It was only fair that she’d finally gotten the happy-ever-after she deserved.
“Did you guys know Nash was going to ask Dad to help him build a recording studio on the acreage he just bought?” Hudson asked his brothers.
“Nope,” Turner replied. “It’s a brilliant way to get his potential father-in-law on his side, though, since there’s nothing Dad likes more than building something. What do you bet he’s already on the Internet doing research for the new project?”
“Now we just need to find Mom a project,” Turner said with a raised eyebrow in Brandon’s direction. “Otherwise, I have a feeling she’s going to turn her attention to us two sad-sack sons of hers who haven’t been lucky in love yet.”
Brandon gave his brother a cheerfully evil grin. “I’m leaving the country at the end of the week, so that means you’re the only one with the target on his back.”
Before Turner could reply, their father opened the door of his backyard office and walked toward his sons, holding a piece of paper. His expression didn’t look quite right.
“Dad,” Hudson said as he got out of his seat to move to his father’s side, “is everything okay?”