BEAST (16 page)

“I don’t normally take requests.” Each week he selected two songs to play at the
Madd
Crab each Friday and if someone really wanted to hear something special he’d do a third.

He
strummed,
nothing in particular but it still sounded really good. She tried to think of a song, but wasn’t sure of his ability.

“Did you play as a kid?” He nodded. “I bet it made you super popular.”

“Nobody heard me play but family. And I was not super popular. I was like that creepy kid in the movies. Remember that movie called My Bodyguard?”

She nodded. “I know every eighties movie ever made—well at least the ones with a teen cast.”

He gave her a half smile. “I was like the big kid that everybody avoided and was afraid to talk to. Only thing is that he wasn’t really all that scary in the end.” A brief frown passed his face before he chuckled. “I would have much rather been a character in a John Hughes film. At least the underdog always got the girl.”

Her heart leaped in her chest as her eyes grew big. “Ducky didn’t get the girl.”

“He did in the way that John Hughes had meant for it to be made. In actuality Molly
Ringwald
pushed him to change the ending because she said that no one w
anted to see Claire and Ducky get together.
She said that everyone would want to see Claire and Blaine
together
.”

Oh my god…he knew the characters. She was going to have a heart attack…she was going to die right here and now. He knew Pretty in Pink!!!!

“You like John Hughes movies?” She asked hopefully…please please
please
…

“Yep.
I like any movie where I could…” He stopped and blushed.

“Pretend to be the character that wins in the end?” She whispered.

He met her eyes.
“Yeah.”
He glanced down and his fingers began to strum The
Psychadelic
Furs tune; The Ghost in You, except his version was a gentle soothing croon. Ashleigh stared incredulously but she didn’t make a sound. He began to softly sing and his voice was amazing.

“…Inside you the times moves
and she don’t fad. The ghost in you…”

Ashleigh’s mouth turned as dry as the Sahara desert as she stared at Christopher.

“…she
don’t
fade…”

She was frozen and the world seemed to stop, and all there was
was
this man singing this particular song to her—this song of all songs; from a movie that defined her life.

“…
Ain't it just like rain. And love is only heaven away…”

Ashleigh leaned forward and placed her lips on his. This man was her soul mate. This was the man of her dreams. This is the man that she had been waiting for.

There was no doubt in her mind. She
wanted
Christopher
to be hers
.

His hand moved up to cup her face at the same time that he drew in a surprised breath. He returned her kiss but then leaned back slightly to look at her. Ashleigh’s eyes stared deeply into his and he saw nothing there but desire. He pulled the guitar strap from around his neck and placed it on the floor and then urgently pulled her back to his lips.

“Ashleigh…” He sighed. His heart felt like it would explode from his chest.

She drew back slightly and he died a little until he felt the warm tip of her tongue tracing his lips and his body surged! He didn’t move, just allowed her to explore his lips with her soft tongue. Finally he met her tongue with his own. She sighed and it was almost his undoing.

He was kissing Ashleigh.

He captured her lower lip and then released it long enough to slip his tongue between her lips. Gently but insistently he began to explore her warm mouth. He had never done this before. He had never done anything remotely close to this. But he allowed his instincts to take over, as well as his need to taste her.

Christopher’s mouth and lips against hers caused her body to warm, her skin ultra sensitive to his every move. Ashleigh’s arms went around his neck and she felt Christopher begin to tremble. He pulled away from her and pressed his forehead against hers as he tried to catch his breath. She kissed his face, her lips moving along each line, each ridge,
each
crevice. She kissed his eyelids and the tip of his nose and then she rose up to kiss his brow and the scar on his forehead.

Christopher could barely catch his breath. His big hands rested on her hips and each kiss of her lips felt like the healing touch of an Angel. When she finished kissing him she hugged him, her head falling to his shoulder.

Christopher’s arms went around her possessively, holding her tightly against him. He knew that he was holding her tightly, maybe even too tightly. But he couldn’t help himself. He just couldn’t let her go.

“Hmm.”
Ashleigh sighed in perfect contentment. “It feels so good with your arms around me like this.” She felt him shift his position and then he was looking down at her face where it was now against his chest. She felt his fingertips tracing her face, running along the bridge of her nose and then over the cleft in her lip.

“Your lips are so perfect.” He said softly. And then she felt his soft mouth kissing her lightly. “You are so damn beautiful…”

She opened her eyes and gave him a serious look. “Christopher…you are the one that’s beautiful.” She lifted her head.
“And not just on the inside.
You’re beautiful on the outside, too. To me…you’re perfect.”

She could see several emotions move across his face before his eyes half closed and his light eye lashes created a frame through which she could see the eyes that she loved so much. And they watched her with a little bit of trepidation.

“You say that to me…and if you’re not careful you might end up stuck with me.” It was a warning.

“You’re making this difficult.” Her eyes never moved from his face. “I think that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I want to be stuck with you.”

Christopher surprised her by sitting up and gently pushing her back, but he did place his hands carefully on her shoulder. His expression was very serious as he studied her eyes.

“Ashleigh, Sweetheart, I
can see myself falling head over heels in l
ove with you. And if you don’t think that you can feel the same way for me than please tell me now because I absolutely cannot be the only one that feels this way—”

“I absolutely feel the same way.”

He stopped the smile that was about to spread across his face and his brow gathered.
“And your ex?
What about him? Because a week ago you said you still loved him…and if you do, I get that-”

“But he came over the other day.” Christopher’s jaw clenched tensely. Already he felt protective of her. “I thought about it, about getting back with him. But when he touched me I finally realized that I was just in love with…the memory of loving him. I don’t feel anything for him anymore; not love, not even anger.” Ashleigh frowned slightly. “I never told you this because…it would make me seem really stupid. But my ex married another woman while we were dating.” She looked down at her hands feeling her face flame. She felt Christopher’s fingers beneath her chin and he made her look at him.

“Why would that make me think less of you? He was the fool.”

She met his eyes sincerely. “I was the fool. I thought that because I was fat, that I couldn’t ever have the man of my dreams. And I let him cheat on me…and every time he did, it picked away at something in me and made me feel less. And then I felt like I needed someone like him to make me feel good enough.” She placed her hand on his.
“
But y
ou make me feel good enough no matter how I look.”

“I think you’re beautiful, even before you lost weight I thought that.” He finally smiled. “And I don’t care about the stupid people in the world! Sweetheart, you are all mine.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. My girl, he thought.
My baby.
Mine.

Christopher and Ashleigh kissed and when they got tired or out of breath they would stare at each other and talk in whispers about matters of the soul; whether it was youth, movies, or soft words of love, whatever was in their souls. Then they would kiss again until Christopher pulled back, cleared his throat and looked suddenly nervous.

“Ashleigh, will you stay with me tonight?”

She ran her fingers along the back of his massive hand and felt him shiver.
Oh, I’m such a slut…

“Yes.”

His heart was pounding when he pulled her into his arms and hugged her…a bit more gently this time. He placed a kiss on her forehead and then took her hand and led her to his bedroom.

“I need to use the bathroom.” She paused when they reached the bathroom.

“You can use the one in my room.” She followed him not realizing that he had an ensuite bath. Christopher turned on the light in the bedroom now that it was night. And then he led her to the closed door of the private bath.

She looked around in awe. The large bathroom was masculine with brown marble counters, gold fixtures and chocolate and tan walls. There was a stand-alone shower and another huge bathtub, this one a Jacuzzi tub. Again his counter was bare of anything except in this case, a soap dispenser and a matching tooth brush holder containing one toothbrush. She already had plans to add her own.

While she used the bathroom, Christopher used the other. Maggie had come out from hiding and followed at his feet back to the bedroom. He stopped at the door and picked her up, giving her a quick rub under her chin.

“No, you can’t come in tonight,
Mags
. And you’re going to have to warm up to my girlfriend.” He whispered the last before letting her back down to the floor and closing the bedroom door. Ashleigh came out of the bathroom then and met Christopher’s eyes shyly. She’d taken her insulin before leaving the house and was okay until morning when she would need her first dose of the day.

He came forward and took her hand. “I have…a condom in my wallet. But it’s probably so old-”

“I’m on the pill.”

He looked deeply into her eyes at the trust she was showing him.
“
I’m regularly tested because of the military so I’m about as clean as clean can be
.”
She nodded, satisfied.

He led her to the bed and began pulling down the covers. She helped. They were on opposite sides of the bed watching each other when it was all done. Christopher reached down and swept off his shirt. Ashleigh’s lips parted. She’d never seen him without a shirt. The pale skin of his chest was dotted with freckles and a sparse covering of red hair. She’d never seen red chest hair before and felt an urge to reach out and run the palms of her hands over it.

She pulled off her polo shirt and carefully placed it on the end of the bed. She was wearing the black nylon bra that she’d just bought and the sheer material tinted the image of her nipples and
aureolas
. Christopher’s eyes moved from one breast to the other and she felt her nipples harden beneath his gaze. He groaned softly and hesitantly began to undo his jeans. When he pulled them off his boxer briefs outlined a magnificently thick and hard penis that curved across his body.

Ashleigh could hardly breathe. She had never seen a man built so perfectly! An auburn trail ran from his belly button down to his briefs, a bit darker than the hair on his chest. She swallowed and unbuttoned her jeans. She had never liked this part; when she had to get undressed in front of DeAngelo and she would imagine that he wished she was someone else…

Christopher’s cock jumped when Ashleigh came out of her jeans. She; with her toasty brown skin and the black see-through nylon underwear that showed her hardened nipples. And when she was just down to panties and he could see that she was hairless and the slight impression of her slit, he could honestly wait no longer. He moved to the bed and she followed, about to reach behind
herself
to undo the bra but he stopped her hand. He didn’t want her to remove the enticing material. The two of them knelt on the bed facing each other and Christopher ran his hands up her sides until his thumb was level with her breasts. He allowed them to gently stroke her dark, raised flesh and then he gave in to his desire and leaned down and kissed each hardened nylon covered tip.