Happily Enemy After (Hawthorne Brothers 2)

“Some,” he answers.

“Like?”

He pauses and scratches the back of his head. “You know what? I think I’ll just start over.”

“Okay, but you can skip the part about Farrah.”

His eyes narrow. “I told you about Farrah?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Asher draws a deep breath. “I’ve been doing some thinking and I’ve realized I don’t want to let you go. I’m still not sure how to do this, but I want to try and figure it out. And I know you expect a lot of me, so—”

“I don’t,” I tell him.

He looks confused, so I go on.

“I was expecting too much of you. I know that now. So I’m not going to anymore. I’m not going to rush you and I’m not going to force you to feel things. I’m just going to be here.” I hold his hand. “As long as you’re here.”

“I intend to be.” He grips my hand firmly as he looks into my eyes. “Because I’m in love with you, Violet Cleary.”

The words take my breath away. My heart stops.

He is? But I thought Stella said he didn’t know how to love.

He touches my cheek. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

I place my hand over his. “Actually, I do.”

And it’s true. In spite of all my fears, I believe him with all my heart, which is pounding so hard right now it might just fly out of my chest.

And I feel the same way.

“I love you, too,” I tell Asher. “I think I have for a long time.”

He smiles as he strokes my cheek. “Then I’m glad we met again.”

Me too. Fate may play tricks, but when it brings people together, it sure brings people together.

Asher closes his eyes as he brings his face close to mine. I almost lean forward to meet him halfway, but I remember something. I place my finger over his lips.

He opens his eyes. I see confusion written all over them.

“Is something wrong?” he asks.

“Actually, yes,” I tell him.

He still looks confused, so I blurt it out.

“Before we do anything, you need to brush your teeth.” I give him a sniff. “And maybe take a shower.”

~

I scrub Asher’s back as the water trickles down on us. As I do, I notice the tattoo just above his waist. I recognize the symbol.

“You have a tattoo of the symbol for a subset that doesn’t belong?” I ask him.

Asher grins over his shoulder. “I knew you’d recognize that.”

“But what does it mean?”

He shrugs. “Maybe that I don’t want to belong to anyone. But that was before I met you.”

He turns to face me. I smile.

“In that case, maybe you need a new tattoo.”

“Maybe,” he agrees.

Then he just stares at me.

I put my hands on my hips. “What?”

“Can I kiss you now?” he asks, his gaze on my lips.

I hang my sponge back on the peg.

“Sure.”

Asher gives me a wide grin. Then he grabs my arms and pulls me even closer to him, close enough that our faces are almost touching. For a moment, he just looks into my eyes as if he’s trying to commit them to memory. Then he leans forward and kisses me.

He’s kissed me many times before, but this—this is different. This time, as our lips press firmly against each other, I feel like our entire bodies are connected. Our hearts, too. This kiss feels like the beginning of something new.

Because it is.

He deepens the kiss and I respond by kissing him with all the passion I can muster. My hands run over the muscles of his chest. His caress my back and clutch my ass.

“You love my ass, don’t you?” I observe out loud.

“I love every bit of you,” he answers, but he squeezes my ass just the same.

I chuckle.

“For instance, I love your hair.”

He runs his fingers through it.

“Your breasts.”

He kisses each one and they grow ripe with heat.

“Your ass.”

He squeezes it again and I laugh.

“Your legs.”

He runs his hands over them.

“And this.”

He presses a kiss on the triangle between my legs. I hold my breath.

Asher pushes me towards the back of the bathtub and makes me sit on the edge. Then he kneels between my legs, lifts them on his shoulders and starts to press his tongue against me. The breath I’m holding leaves me in a gasp.

“Oh God.”

He licks the entrance to my most secret part and I start to tremble. His tongue rubs against my sensitive nub and I moan as I grip his hair.

He teases that bud of flesh over and over, each swipe of his tongue sending ripples of pleasure beneath my skin. I throw my head back against the wall. My moans spill and bounce off the bathroom walls.

Somehow, my body is more excited than usual. Maybe it’s because of Asher’s bold declaration. Maybe it’s because I’ve missed him. Whatever the reason, I can already feel myself teetering over the edge.