Intervention

* * * *

Why am I so angry with him? He obviously didn't have any problems with what happened between me and his sister. Why did I kick him out of my bed? Ashley slowly pulled herself to her feet and took the few steps to her vanity. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, noting the puffiness of her eyes from crying.

She headed to the bathroom to splash a bit of cool water on her face. When she came out of the bathroom, she paused in the doorway when she heard Jack's voice.

"Ashley. God Ashley, you feel so good."

She felt a heated blush suffuse her cheeks as she listened to Jack dreaming about her. She wondered again exactly what was wrong with her. It was apparent by listening to him now that he did indeed want her, and she knew beyond all doubt she wanted him. She wanted him more than she wanted to breathe.

She turned and walked into the dark living room, stood beside the couch and looked down at his sleeping form. The blanket covered him from just below the waist down and she could clearly see the proof of his arousal in the tented blanket.

"Jack," she said softly. He stirred but didn't awaken.

"Jack," she said a bit louder, watching him shift slightly but still not waking up.

She leaned in and shook his shoulder gently. "Jack, wake up."

He grabbed her and pulled her down on top of him, finding her lips with his and devouring them in a heated kiss. She tangled her fingers in his hair and held herself close while her tongue explored his mouth. She felt his hands at the waistband of her sweats and lifted herself up so he could remove them. Kicking the sweats off once they reached her feet, she heard them hit the small lamp on the end table and knock it to the carpeted floor.

She giggled against his lips while his hands gathered up her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, dropping it to the floor in front of the couch. "Stop me now if you don't want this, Ash, because you stopped me once and I don't think I can stop again." He caressed her back and pulled her in for another passionate kiss before she could tell him no.

He groaned at the feeling of her soft, warm naked body against his. He wondered briefly if he was dreaming or if she was actually here. It didn't matter now, he wasn't about to wake up if it was a dream or let her go if it wasn't.

"I want to do this, Jack." She moved over him, feeling the hard length of him throbbing against her thigh. Reaching between them she guided him into her slick opening. Lowering herself slowly onto him, she heard him let out a groan from deep within his throat.

As she glided slowly up and down his shaft, Jack grabbed her hips, trying to plunge himself deeper into her. The small sofa was hampering his movements and he sat up, gripping her hips tighter and holding her so his cock was still planted deep within her.

She wrapped her legs tightly around him as he rose to his feet. He found it difficult to keep his footing as her hips moved with his while he carried her to her bedroom. Ashley clung to him, his cock still buried deep within her when he sat down on the bed and laid back. Before his head hit the pillow she began riding his rigid shaft once again.

"I'm not wearing protection," he groaned as she continued to grind down on his pulsating cock.

"I'm on the pill." She was amazed at the fullness she felt with his cock inside her.

He sat up and captured a nipple in his mouth, nibbling and sucking softly. She pushed him back on the bed, bringing her lips down to his for a quick, heated kiss. He bent his knees with his feet on the bed and she broke the kiss, leaning back against his legs to take him deeper.

"God, Jack." She could already feel her climax building deep within her.

"Yeah baby, let yourself go. Come on my cock."

He cupped a breast in each hand, kneading softly and rolling the hard tips between his fingers. She arched her back into his hands and he felt her muscles tighten around his cock. He told her to open her eyes while he plunged deeper, watching the expression on her beautiful face while her orgasm consumed her. She cried out his name as she came and his climax was only seconds behind. He grabbed her hips tightly, holding her on his cock while his body tensed and he let himself go, bathing her womb with his hot seed.

She collapsed on top of him, her body moist with perspiration, her breathing ragged. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent, a combination of his cologne, sweat, sex and an indistinguishable scent that was uniquely Jack.

Ashley slid off him and rested beside him on the bed, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm draped across his chest. She heard his rapidly beating heart and sighed contently, feeling her body still recover from the powerful orgasm he'd just given her. It was nothing like what she'd experienced with Paula. This was more intense, more passionate, more explosive than anything she'd ever felt before.

Jack wrapped his arm around her and held her close, breathing in the feminine scent that was uniquely Ashley. He knew at this moment that he loved her. He could never admit it to himself even though he knew it was true, but right now, at this moment, his mind was totally clear.

"Ash?" he asked, still trying to catch his breath.

"Mmm hmmm."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay, Jack. I didn't know it could be like this."

"I need to tell you something."

"Will it ruin the moment?"

He chuckled. "No."

"Then what is it?"

"I love you." He closed his eyes and waited for her to either lash out at him or tell him she loved him too. When there was silence he worried maybe he'd said it too soon.

"Ash?" Still silence. He shifted in the bed and looked down at her, she'd fallen asleep. "Perfect," he grumbled, pulling her close and placing a soft kiss on her forehead. He closed his eyes and joined her in slumber.

* * * *

"My, my, isn't this cozy?" an angry male voice said from the doorway of Ashley's room.

Ashley shot bolt upright out of bed at the sound of Mark's voice. She glanced over and saw him standing in her doorway. "What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped, pulling the quilt up to cover herself. "I thought I told you to get out and never come back!"

"Oh you did, but I wanted to come and apologize. I see now I was right in my assumption, but I see it's not just with Paula, you're screwin' this guy as well. You didn't waste any time did you?" He eyed Jack slowly sitting up in bed.

"You bastard! Get the hell out of here!"

Mark ignored Ashley as he entered the room and approached the bed. "Hi, I'm Mark Connors, Ashley's fiancée, and you are?" he asked arrogantly, extending his hand to a very confused looking Jack.

"Um—Jack Hammond." Jack shook Mark's hand quickly and loosely. He eyed Ashley curiously.

"You're not my fiancé. Get that through your head right now, Mark. I never said I would marry you. Quite the opposite in fact. I threw you out of here when you said some very rude and hateful things. We're no longer a couple."

Ashley quickly rose to her feet and found her robe while Jack and Mark stared each other down. She stormed toward Mark and pushed him out the door, pulling it closed behind her.

"What the hell gives you the right to just come barging in here?" she barked, pulling him by the arm toward the door.

"I came to apologize and say good-bye. What's that all about in there?"

"None of your business."

"I'm sorry it came to this, Ashley."

"I'm sorry, too, Mark, but you know as well as I do our relationship wouldn't have lasted long the way it was."

"That's why I wanted you to come to L.A. with me." He took a seat at the table in her kitchen, ignoring her glare.

Ashley flashed forward to her life with Mark in L.A. and pictured him out with some hot young girl while she waited home for him. When she returned to realit,y she knew then she'd made the right choice.

"I think you need to go." She crossed her arms under her breasts and continued to glare at him.

"No, I want to talk about this. Who is that guy?"

"If you must know, he's Paula's brother. He came by after you left yesterday to fix the computer and well, things just happened."

"Having sex with someone you just met doesn't just happen, Ashley."

"I've known Jack for almost ten years, Mark and it wasn't just sex with him either."

"Is he as good as I was?" Mark asked with that same arrogant tone from earlier.

"Not that it's any of your business, but he was leaps and bounds better than you. I never had an orgasm with you. You never brought me pleasure. You never seemed to notice that though, you were always more focused on your pleasure than mine. Jack's very different from you. He made me feel loved, he put my pleasure above his own. Even a woman, my roommate, Jack's sister, gave me an orgasm, you arrogant prick." She raised her hand to silence him and ignored the hurt and anger in his eyes. "Although why I'm telling you all this, I don't know. I refuse to further discuss my sex life with you." She sighed and kept her gaze fixed on his, not backing down from him when she could now see how angry and hurt he was. "Now, was there something else you wanted?"

Mark rose to his feet and took the few steps to where Ashley was standing. He pulled her against him and lowered his lips to hers in a crushing kiss. The rush of adrenalin gave her strength enough to push him off and broke the embrace, stumbling backwards slightly when he released his grip.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ashley yelled in anger, her hands trembling and her heart pounding.

"Reminding you of your place." He reached for her again. Ashley took a few steps away from him, feeling herself getting cornered between his body and the door.

"My place?" she asked, her voice firm and unwavering despite her nerves.

"By my side as my wife, or have you forgotten my proposal since yesterday?"

"Have you forgotten I threw your ass out of here?"

Ashley glanced over Mark's shoulder to see Jack standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She felt an ache in her chest at the look in his eyes. She turned her gaze back to Mark.

"There's no future between us, Mark."

"So one night in the sack with pretty boy and you're willing to throw away everything we had?"

"What did we have exactly Mark? Huh? Tell me, 'cause I'd sure as hell like to know what you think I'm throwing away."

"I love you, Ashley. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Well, you sure got a funny way of showing it. Up until yesterday, I often wondered how you felt. You never said it and you treated me as simply a prize for you to parade around in front of all your friends."

"You can't tell me you don't still love me."

"Oh, can't I?" She took a step closer to him. "Listen and listen carefully because I'm only going to say this once. I. Don't. Love. You." She grabbed his arm and pushed him toward the door. "Now, I've said all I have to say to you. Get out before I have Jack literally throw you out."

"You don't know what you're missing."

"Yes, I do. Now, get the fuck out of my apartment!"

As Mark made his way down the hall Ashley continued to rip at him. "I do know what I'm missing, shithead. That's why I broke up with you. You're an egotistical, self-centered asshole who wouldn't know the first thing about pleasing a woman in bed!"

Mark glared at her, unable to believe what she was saying. Her words were biting, cutting him to the core. It actually rendered him speechless.

"Got nothing to say for yourself now, huh?" She fought back more tears while she watched Mark walk down the hall toward the main entrance of her building. "Keep in mind, Jack gave me what you never could. Kinda fitting since I'm in love with the guy." She watched Mark slowly open the door and head for his car.

"You're in love with who?" Paula asked as she came around the corner carrying a laundry basket, stopping her roommate from slamming the door in her face.

"Your brother," Ashley admitted quietly. "When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago." Paula pushed past Ashley and into their apartment.

"That was a quick trip." Ashley followed Paula into the kitchen.

"Yeah, Eric's car was giving us grief so we decided to come home early before we got stranded."

"Getting stranded could've been fun."

"Yeah. So what's this about you being in love with my brother and who were you telling that to?"

"Mark. He came by yesterday and we broke up. Jack came by after Mark left and fixed our computer. One thing led to another and—well, now I know I love him."

Paula glanced over Ashley's shoulder at her brother who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, grinning broadly at what he'd just overheard. "So have you told him?"

"No. He saw Mark try to kiss me and heard me arguing with him. I think he thinks I still love Mark."

"Do you?"

"I can't just turn off my feelings if that's what you mean, but it's over between us. I love Jack and I want to be with him."

Paula smiled at her roommate then turned her around to face Jack. Ashley, blushing profusely, rushed to Jack, closing the gap between them. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"I love you too, Ash," Jack said against her lips, pulling her closer and taking the kiss deeper.

"Get a room you two!" Eric said from behind Jack.

Jack and Ashley broke their kiss, but held their intense gaze while Jack held her against him. Ashley rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his embrace tighten as he caressed her hair. He looked at his sister and smiled softly just before Ashley pulled away and caressed his cheek.

"Paula and I have a few things to discuss, Jack. Can you take Eric outside for a few minutes?"

"But—"

"Please," Ashley said softly, placing a finger to his lips.

"Okay." He leaned in to kiss her then turned to Eric. "The ladies want some privacy. Let's step outside a minute."

Eric followed Jack to the patio after he opened the sliding door as Ashley took a seat at the kitchen table. "Sit down, Paula. I wanna talk to you."

Paula eyed Ashley curiously but did as she asked. "What's up?"

"I'm very upset with you right now. Why did you tell Jack about what we did?"

"I don't know, Ash. It just slipped out."

"That's what he said, Paula. But how could you?"

"I said I don't know. He was asking how he would go about asking you out and the conversation ended up being about you and Mark and how you'd never had an orgasm."

"For the love of God, Paula! Did you have to tell him that too? What else did you tell him about me that I should know about?"

"It didn't change how he feels about you, Ashley."

"But that should have been something for me to tell him Paula!"

"I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I told him about what we did."

Ashley sighed heavily. It didn't matter now what she'd told Jack, he obviously wasn't going anywhere. "It's okay, Paula."

"So you forgive me?"

"Yes. Did you tell Eric?"

"Yeah."

"And? What did he say?"

"He thought it was the hottest thing he'd ever heard, but then he told me never to do it again!"

Ashley laughed and Paula joined her. When Jack peeked around the blinds and saw the girls laughing he opened the door. "Everything okay now?" Eric asked through the open door, eyeing Paula curiously.

"Yeah, everything's perfect!" Paula replied, getting to her feet and hugging her fiancé.

Ashley launched herself into Jack's arms. She planted kisses all over his face before pulling away and glancing at her roommate.

"No more interventions, Paula."

Paula nodded.

Jack cupped Ashley's chin and turned her to face him. "Oh, there'll be one more intervention," he said. When Ashley began to respond, Jack put a finger to her lips. "Because I intend to intervene in every aspect of your life—as your husband."

END