Owen dried every inch of my body with a towel, which only left me panting.

“I want you again, Owen.”

“You’re sore, cricket,” he replied, tucking a damp strand of my hair behind my ear.

Slipping my arms around his neck, I silenced him with a heated kiss that quickly turned us into a tangled mess of limbs on the bed.

Owen and I only caught spurts of sleep between my greediness to feel the pleasure only he could provide and his unquenchable desire to feast on every part of my body.

By the time the sun began to rise, I’d had the best night of my life. Not a single spec of my mind went to the farm or to the fact that I should have been there hours ago. My sole thought was of Owen and how we seemed to fit perfectly together.

How quickly things change.

Chapter Eighteen – Owen

Waking up with Aspen in my arms wasn’t something I’d ever get tired of. Something about holding her tiny body against mine was a soothing talisman keeping the nightmares of my past at bay.

Aspen wasn’t a quiet sleeper, constantly moaning, groaning, whispering, but not in a way I found annoying. If anything, the sounds made her even more adorable.

The moonlight shimmered on her skin, the reflection in the mirror casting a blue hue across the room. My fingers ran back and forth along her bare back, drawing different shapes on her skin.

I was going to miss this when I left. A call from my coach yesterday changed how long I was able to stay. The advertising company for the sports drink I contracted with wanted to begin shooting photos and a commercial in two weeks.

And worse, I knew it was going to break my mom’s heart. We’d been working on our strained relationship, and it seemed things were getting better.

“Mmm. What are you doing awake?” a sleep-filled voice asked from beside me.

“Nothing, cricket. I just got a lot on my mind.”

“Anything I can help with?” Her finger swirled over my chest, and it left a trail of fire in its wake.

“Well, there is one thing,” I said in jest, surprised when Aspen crawled under the sheets and placed my cock in her warm, eager mouth.

We woke later when the sun was high in the sky. A quick glance at my phone and I realized it was approaching noon. In all the days I’d been back in Ashfield, I hadn’t slept in, and I was sure Aspen hadn’t either. Beside me, she stretched out her body. The sheet slipped off her chest, showcasing some love marks I’d left on her breasts.

“Morning,” she said with a smile.

Chuckling, I replied, “Afternoon.”

“Really?” She grinned as she sat up and gathered the sheets around her chest.

“Yeah. It’s lunchtime. You feel rested?”

“Surprisingly.”

My phone pinged with a message from a number I didn’t recognize asking if I’d seen Aspen.

“Hey, I think someone is looking for you,” I told her as I showed her the screen.

“That’s Andrew. Um… where’s my phone?” She looked around, finding it nowhere. “Oh, it’s probably still in my pants pocket.”

Offering to grab the device, I rolled off the bed and headed toward the living room.

With a quick glance, I noticed she had eighteen missed messages and six calls. All within the last three hours. Her sated smile slid off her face as she inspected the notifications.

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no,” she mumbled repeatedly, tears welling up in her eyes. Aspen’s face had taken on a pasty hue as she moved off the bed, spinning around in circles as she searched for her clothes.

“Aspen,” I called out, but she ignored me as she frantically tugged on her pants.

Reaching out, I gripped her arm and garnered her attention. “Aspen, tell me what’s going on.”

Sniffling, she shook her head.

“Please. Let me help.”

“There’s nothing you can do. I… I should have been home. This is all my fault.”

Her top got caught on her arm while attempting to put it on, and I reached out to right the material. Swatting at me, she connected with my chin in a weak effort to push me away.

“Cricket, stop. Let me help you.”

Thankfully, she let me adjust her shirt, and when I pulled it into place, she collapsed into a heap against my body. Waves of tears spilled onto my chest, and all I could do was hold her close.

I felt helpless, and it was the absolute worst feeling.

After five full minutes, the blonde beauty lifted her tear-soaked face toward mine. “I… I should have been home.”

“What happened, baby?”

“My dad. He had a heart attack surveying the fields this morning. That’s normally my job. I should have been there.”

Placing both hands on her cheeks, I ran my thumbs back and forth under her eyes.

“None of this is your fault. These things happen, and it could have happened anywhere.”

She nodded, but I knew she didn’t believe me. Her eyes held that hint of skepticism.

“I need to go to him. They flew him to Knoxville.”

“We’ll take my car. It will get us there faster.”

She tried to argue, but there was absolutely no way in hell I was allowing her to drive. Not when she couldn’t stop breaking down into tears.

Thankfully, she had spare clothes in her car, and I convinced her to change before we left. She called her mom, and they spoke about the incident. Apparently, Nash Easterly had been suffering from a clogged artery that hadn’t been treated yet. He’d hoped a diet change would help, but clearly, it hadn’t been enough.

Thankfully, Marisol assured Aspen that her father was all right and would make a full recovery.

Aspen wouldn’t believe any of it until she saw her dad herself. She nearly tucked and rolled out of the car in her attempt to get inside the hospital faster. I dropped her off at the front of the hospital and went to park.