“You’re welcome,” I say, even if she doesn’t have to thank me because I’m going to be there for her, always.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Autumn
I spend a few minutes going over Asher’s notes, discussing them with him a little, but then the essay work is done and we’re left staring across the coffee table at each other. Asher has my skin sizzling as he sits upright, his body seeming to swell and expand.
When he handed me the memory stick, I was sure I felt something, a tingle, a spark of chemistry. It was like energy was surging between us, and then that spot deep inside of me started to glow again, telling me this is it, the day we finally admit how much we care about each other.
But Asher is so difficult to read. He looked pissed when I opened the door, his eyes flitting down over my outfit, making me wonder if I should’ve put on some pants instead of remaining in my PJ shorts. He was probably grossed out by seeing my legs.
“Well, thank you,” I murmur.
He smirks. “Is that my cue to leave?”
“No,” I say, with way too much passion in my voice. “I just thought you’d have somewhere to be. But we can… hang if you want.”
Hang. The word comes out sounding so awkward. Like I’m trying to be one of the cool kids.
“Sure,” he says, with heavy irony in his voice. “Let’s hang. But first, you’ll have to explain to this old geezer what that means.”
“You’re not old.”
“I’m forty-two.”
“That’s not old,” I say fiercely. “You’re mature, fine, but that isn’t a bad thing. It means you’re experienced. It means you’re…”
Perfect for me.
What in the name of heck am I doing, exactly? I’m dangerously close to doing something very crazy like coming onto him, or jumping across the table and sliding into his lap.
“What, Autumn?” He lays his forearms on his knees, staring at me with his classic Asher intensity.
“It’s nothing.”
“It clearly isn’t nothing.”
“I just… I don’t know. I guess I don’t like you calling yourself old. Because forty-two really isn’t old. You’ve got enough time where, if you wanted, you could have a whole second life.”
“A family, you mean?”
His voice has gotten lower, his tone husky. Is he angry? Is he excited? I wish I would read his freaking thoughts. It would make this so much easier.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “Anything you wanted.”
“Anything I want,” he repeats, his tone getting even lower.
“Hmm-mm…”
“You know what I want, Autumn?”
He stands and walks slowly around the coffee table, seeming even bigger than usual. His hands are clenched at his sides and his jaw is tense. His eyes are like flames as he stares down at me, looming over me now.
“What?” I whisper.
His features tighten. “I want…”
He trails off, leaving my mind to dream up dozens of possibilities, each more tantalizing than the last.
“I want you to stand up,” he growls after a pause.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to,” he says fiercely.
Declan would often bark orders at me, but it’s funny, with Asher, I like when he talks to me in that commanding tone of his. With Declan, I could tell he was exercising power over me for his own personal sadistic reasons. But with Asher, it’s like there’s something else going on.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was lust in his eyes, lust in the tightness of his body, lust causing his massive hands to clench into fists.
I stand, still needing to crane my neck to look up at him. If any other six and a half foot man stood over me like this, maybe I’d feel intimidated. But with Asher, all I want is to sink into his embrace, the way we did in the alleyway, only this time…
A different part of my mind springs awake, telling me that he’s going to be disappointed, I can’t give him what he wants…
No, not what he wants. What I hope he wants.
“You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?” he says in a tone that sends a shiver down my spine.
I gasp as he takes a step forward, so close our bodies are almost touching. Searching his face for any sign of a joke, I find none, only that simmering intensity that makes him so captivating.
“Um.”
That's all I can say. I don’t know how to respond.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Autumn. And the sexiest. When you opened the door in those PJ shorts, those thick beautiful thighs on display, I almost lost it. I almost snapped. I’m trying to be good. I’m trying not to take advantage. But fuck…”
I let out a stunned moan as he leans down, crashing his lips into mine. His breath whispers over me for a moment, husky and hot, tickling around my cheeks and down my neck.
And then he snarls and pushes against me. I’m too shocked to react at first, my lips still as he growls and kisses me harder.