His hands went to my legs. “Hey.”

Yeah. Turnabout is fair play.

“Hi.” I moved forward and began tasting his throat.

“Jesus, Aspen.” He groaned.

I grinned, moving down his throat to his chest.

He took deep gulps of air, his hands kneaded my hips.

“You like this?” I asked.

He groaned.

Yes. He liked this. He liked this a whole lot. I could feel him between my legs, and I ground down on him.

I heard a swift intake of breath before he grabbed the back of my hair. “Woman,” he warned.

I ignored him. I lifted my head, my mouth finding his just on the end of that warning, and he was gone. He cradled my face in his hands and took over the kiss, commanding me. His tongue slid inside, and I met it with mine.

I loved when we kissed like this.

I loved it even more when I felt him inside of me in other ways, and grabbing his hands, I guided one between my legs. “I want you,” I whispered against his mouth.

He tensed, still cupping my cheek with his other hand.

He was trying to clear his head, trying to think clearly. I knew the signs by now, and I wasn’t having it. Pushing against his chest, rubbing over him, I reached down and unbuckled my jeans.

“Fuck, Aspen.”

He moaned, and his hand tunneled inside.

I lifted up, just slightly, and then his fingers were there.

I sank down, and we both paused at the feel of him inside of me.

Thank God his windows were tinted—a graduation gift from his mom. And that was a fleeting thought before I began to ride his hand.

This. Right here.

Blaise loved making me come. He loved kissing me, he loved moving down there, his tongue slipping inside, and every time I would shatter in his arms. But in the last two weeks, that was all he’d done for me.

I’d touched him as well, taking him in my mouth a few times, but it was driving me insane. He had avoided telling me what was going on with him, and tonight, I vowed as I moved over him, tonight was the last night I’d let that continue. I would get answers.

He tugged down my tank top and found my breast.

Yes. Oooh. That felt good

Yes. I would get answers. I would.

But—oh my God!

I was there.

Almost there.

He felt so good.

Oh!

Oh holy hell!

Then, with a different flick of his fingers, I almost screamed and erupted at the same time.

His mouth latched over mine, silencing me, and I shuddered in his arms.

Why had I waited so long to experience that?

I was addicted to Blaise. And his wonderful hands. And his cock. Yes, totally addicted. I’d go through withdrawals if he ever stopped touching me.

I rested against his chest, his hand smoothing through my hair, and fell asleep.

“Yeah, dude.”

Voices woke me up.

I blinked a few times, clearing the fog.

Still on Blaise’s lap, I now had a blanket over me. My head was turned toward the passenger seat, and he was talking to someone out the driver’s window. Zeke.

“The girls are waving the white flag,” he said. “We’ve not been hanging with them for the last two weeks, but now they’ve heard we’re going dune buggying, and they’re all about being ‘friendly bitches.’” Zeke started laughing. “So how ’bout it? You and the missus ready to brave the girls now? Pen promised they’d be nice, and you know she speaks for Ria and Deja. Kit’s too smart to mess with things. She’s going to Cain next year with us. So it’s just Daniels, and seriously, that girl’s been sexing it up between Conway and Ashlome. I don’t think she wants to admit that you don’t care she’s banging two of your buds.”

“We’re not really buds anymore.”

“Yeah.” Zeke got quiet. “I hear ya. So what do you think?”

Blaise stroked the back of my head.

“I’ll talk to her. I know you’re actually friends with Penny and Ria. This hasn’t been fair to you.”

Zeke snorted. “Screw that. Pen still hits me up on the phone, and it’s not like I haven’t had pussy for the last two weeks. That Monica girl has a big throat.” He laughed. “Though, she thinks we’re still dating. Might do good to let her see me with Penny again. Pen doesn’t let any girl think they own me.”

“Yeah. I’ll talk to Aspen.”

“I know she’ll be good about it. Your girl is a good one. She wants what you want.”

Blaise’s arm tightened around me. “Yeah. Maybe.”

There was a thump on the door, and Zeke said, “Okay. Get back to your woman. Get her home; she looks tired. I’ll hit you up with time and details tomorrow.”

The window whirred up. “You think your parents will freak if you sleep at my place?” Blaise asked.

I lifted my head, still feeling drowsy. “Nate flew back to Boston. My parents are deep in edits for the docu-series, so no. But we should stop at my house so I can grab some clothes and make it look like I slept there when Miss Sandy checks my room tomorrow.”

I tipped back and smiled up at him. “How’d I get so lucky to have you care about me?”

His eyes darkened. He traced every inch of my face with his eyes, and my body warmed, tingling with each second that passed. “How about we go to my place and I’ll further explain how much I care about you?”

I sat up, my mouth just over his. “That sounds perfect.”

As we kissed, I renewed my vow: answers. I was going to get them. Plus, I knew he had condoms there, though I’d been on birth control since I was fifteen to regulate my periods. We’d had a whole conversation about that. He wasn’t a guy that looked queasy when talking about that stuff. I liked that a whole lot.

“When’s the trip?” I asked as I slid back over to my seat.

He glanced sideways at me as he pulled out of the drive-in lot. “I knew you were awake that whole time.”

“It’s Mara, right? Her friends too?”

He was silent for a beat, then shrugged. “Yeah.”

“What are you worried about exactly?”

He grunted. “Them being assholes to you. Isn’t that enough? They’re catty bitches.”

I angled my body toward him and rested my head against the seat. “But isn’t that my problem to deal with?”

His hand flexed over the steering wheel. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a girl thing. You can’t take that on for me.”

“They’re bitches.”

I hid a grin. “That’s my problem to handle. You can’t control everything.”

He swore under his breath. “I can damn sure try. Those girls aren’t nice. They’re mean. I’ve seen how they tear into someone. They’re vicious.”

“Like you have?”

Another jaw clench. “It’s not the same.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not you. I don’t care about anyone else. What are you doing here? You want me to let those girls go at you? You nuts?”

“No.” I laughed. “And I brought you up because no one could control what you say or do to people. And those people either fight back or they don’t.”

“Babe, I annihilate people. I don’t ever want you to be on the end of that from anyone.”

“Well, while that makes me feel good, you know people are going to be mean. It’s the world out there. And if you think I haven’t had to deal with mean girls, you’ve got your head in the sand.”

“The fuck?” He shot me a look. “Who was mean to you?”

“Girls at Hillcrest. They didn’t like that I started setting the curve in our classes, especially when I wasn’t supposed to be in their grade. Some girls targeted me when Owen didn’t want to date them. He was like you, you know.” My smile turned sly. “Not promising anything and actually sticking to that, even if the girl got mad, thinking she could trick him into dating her. He wasn’t as blunt as you are, but he was honest.” I thought a moment. “I think that’s why I like when you’re blunt.”

“Aspen.” He took my hand and pulled it back to his leg. He entwined our fingers. “I’m never bluntly honest with you.”

My throat tightened at that. “I wish you were, and you were in the beginning.”

He glanced over, slowing for a stoplight. “You want me to be a blunt dick to you?”

“Not a blunt dick, but you can be honest. Bluntly honest. I respect that. You have no idea how many people say nothing through lies and pretty words. I hate that stuff. Loathe it.”

His gaze dipped to my mouth. “Noted. Does that shit turn you on?”

I barked out a laugh, my throat loosening again. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Jesus.” He leaned over. “I think we need to further explore this conversation at my house.”

“Yes, please.” My lips grazed his, and he applied pressure, starting the swirl of goodness and pleasure in me even as he pulled away.

The light turned green, and he eased forward.

We didn’t talk the rest of the drive.

We pulled up at his house after a stop at mine, and his mom’s car was parked outside. She never used the garage. There was another vehicle there, and I had learned over the last two weeks that it was Stephen’s car.