Southern Secrets (Southern 7)

"Are you okay?" Asher asks, pushing himself off the car and walking over to me.

"I’m fine, why?" I avoid looking at him as I duck my head. I feel him right beside me. His hand comes up, going under my chin. He lifts my head, and my eyes meet his. "What?" I ask, the sounds of my heart beating echoing so loud in my ears I can’t even hear myself talk.

"Ever since I walked into the house, you’ve become quiet," he says, his voice soft, and he steps in even closer as his hand falls from under my chin.

"I was just surprised to see you here," I answer honestly.

"Yeah, and why is that?" His voice goes low as he steps up even closer to me, and I feel the fridge against my back.

"I don’t know," I answer, frustrated. "You’re fucking everywhere I turn."

"And that bothers you?" His eyes go a deep brown to where they look almost black. "Why?" he whispers. He is so close I can feel his breath on me. His hand comes up as he takes a piece of my hair in his fingers. My whole body is on high alert, and my body braces itself. "Why does me being here bother you, Amelia?" He says my name, and I lick my lips as I feel his head get even close to me. I want to put my hands on his hips. I want to tilt my head back just a touch more and ask him for the kiss I’ve been dying for. "I’ve gotten under your skin," he says, and I want to tell him that he’s wrong. I want to tell him that he hasn’t gotten under anything. "Good," he says, and his head moves in close. "Because you’ve gotten under mine," he says, and I feel like I’m in a trance. The whole world could be crumbling around me, and I wouldn’t think twice. I also wouldn’t care. The only thing that I want is for him to kiss me.

"Asher," I say his name in a whisper, or a plea, even I don’t know anymore.

"What, baby?" he says, and my heart surges to my throat, and my hands are finally moving to his chest. His heart beats under my hand as much as mine is beating. I tilt my head to the side, and I can taste his lips on mine.

"Auntie Amelia!" Gabriel yells, and we both jump apart, the both of us panting. "Grandma wants you."

I look at Asher, who stands there, his eyes never leaving me. "Coming," I say, turning and walking away from him.

Chapter 17

Asher

I stare into the eyes of the woman who has haunted my dreams and thoughts for the last I don’t even know. But nothing can compare to looking into the real thing. Her eyes are a soft blue, a crystal blue that you can see right through her.

I can feel her heart beating just as fast as mine, as her chest rises and falls. The heat of her hands that were on my chest, like she branded me with her touch. "Coming," Amelia says and slips out from in front of me. She walks back up the stairs without a second glance back at me and goes into the house. The door slams shut, making me aware that what just happened now was a mistake. The guilt settles in my stomach as I think about how much over the line I just crossed.

I hang my head as my chest rises up and down as if I just chased off a wild pack of wolves. I can’t move from my spot, the smell of lavender still all around me. My body knows she was right here and refuses to move.

"What the fuck was I thinking?" I ask myself as I put my head back and look at the ceiling of the garage. "What the hell was I doing?" I shake my head. "In her parents’ house. With her brother and her father mere steps away from us." I wasn’t; that was the point of it. When I walked into the house and saw her laughing and smiling, it just … The answer was so blatant and so easy. Bottom line, I couldn’t fucking help myself.

Following Jacob into his house, the last thing I was surprised to see was her in the kitchen laughing. I had to get away from her as fast as I could, so I ducked out and came out to the garage. Trying to convince myself that whatever I was thinking about and whatever I was feeling was the worst idea I’ve ever had in my whole life. And I’ve had some stupid ideas that got me into hot water more than once, but this, with her, I’d be cut off at the knees.

I just couldn’t control myself with her standing there in front of me. Her eyes were changing right before my eyes. Pissed because I was everywhere she turned. Happy knowing that I got under her skin just as much. The information broke the little strength I had left in me. My head was yelling at me that it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life, yet my heart, my heart was telling me that this moment is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.