Chapter 41: Penny
Don’t cry or dos T
I state down at my tea like it’s personally triprouble for my entire coumbling erectional state,
Tyler told me he was home.
Home.
So why did Asher say he tell hours ago?
Why is he lying to me?
The questions twist inside me, low and sour, but I face myself to blink fast, to be the slow.
I am not crying over this
Not here.
Not now.
Not when Asher is sitting right there – quiet and still, staring straight ahead like he didn’t just save me from dying of hypothermia and bad decisions tonight
1 fish my tea, setting the mug carefully on the coffee table so I don’t accidentally shatter it with my shaky hands.
1 glance sideways at
Thank you” I say, voice a little rough.
He doesn’t look at me
“Nothing to thank me for
shifting
og to face him mone
I buff, sh
more fully.
“It’s not nothing.” I insist. That storm was awful. You didn’t have to come check on me
His jaw ticks — a tiny movement and then he turns, meeting my eyes. His eyes darken and for a second they hold a ston
Simple.
Certain.
I blink, feeling my cheeks heat, the flush creeping Ap my
my neck
before I can stop it
“Well, I mumble, awkward now, “thank you.”
He nods once, like that’s the end of it.
1 rub a hand over my face, trying to cool
And immediately lunch when my fingers brush the rut on my cheekbon/..
than the one outside.
1/4
Chapter 41: Penny
“Ow, I mutter, wincing. “Forgot thuit wa
Before I can say anything ehe, Asher shifts toward me
His band contes up – fast but qui nough–and his fingers catch my thin between them, tilting my face to the side.
His thumb bushes lightly along the edge of the scratch, inspecting.
like the stora maked all the heat out of the world and left it coiled under his skin instead.
The touch is careful
That it still feels like it sears right through me.
│You cleaned it he asks, voice low.
I pod. “In the shower. With water.
He exhales through his nose, unimpressed.
Not enough
Before I can protest, he’s standing jerking his head toward the kitchen.
“Come on.”
I hesitate because standing, moving, being closer to him feels dangerous right now
But he was there for me today.
Again..
So I push myself up and follow
I stumble after him, still catching at the waistband of his way–too–by pants like they’re personally trying to assassinate me
The hem drags against the floor, threatening to trip me with every step, and after a particularly aggressive stumble, I mutter a curse under my breath, yank them off, and kick them to the side.
The t–shirt I’m wearing his t–shirt is long enough to cover everything important anyway
—
Asher glances back at the sound, arching an eyebrow
“What are you doing?” he asks, vice hall serious, half amputed.
“Saving my life,” I multer. Those things are a hazard”
He smirks that rare, deadly one that always feels like a secret- and shakes his head, jerking his chin toward the kitchen counter.
“Come here.”
I move toward him and before I can brace myself, he steps forward, strong hands closing around my waist.
Without effort, he lifts me to the counter,
I gasp, clutching the edge for balance, heart hammering wildly in my chest.
Chapter 41: Penny
He steps in close between my knees, and suddenly the air between is in to tight, cos hot, ton heavy.
I can’t not notice him
the way his shat clings to the sharp cut of his shoulders and chest,
the way the muscles in his arms shift easily under his skin as he mines,
the way he smells- not just soap and clean laundry, but something darker underneath, like amber and smoke and rain.
I think of how he looked earlier–standing in my domway–grey sweatpants
| low on his hips, white shirt plastered against a body that locked cared
And standing here now, inches from him, breathing him in, Trealize something bone–deep:
This man could destroy ampone
at with
Not
violence.
With sheer gravity
With the way he pulls the air out of a room without even trying.
With the way he makes it impossible to look anywhere else,
And me!
I’d never stand a chance,
1 force melf to focus as he rummages through the first aid kit under the sink, pulling out supplies with quick, efficient movements.
“Hold stall,” he says, nice low enough to rattle loose something deep inside ne
He tears open an alcohol swab and dabs it against the cut on my cheek
I wince, sucking in a sharp breath.
He doesn’t apologize just steadies me with one brood hand at the base of my jaw, thumb skimming lightly under my chin, fingers warm and rough and careful
“Princess,” be mutters under his breath, shaking his head in that experated way that somehow don’t feel cold at all.
He spreads antibiotic cream gently along the scratch, his touch featherlight now, almost reverent
Trying to distract myself from the way my heart is trying to hammer its way through my ribs, I ask, “Did you learn this in the Navy?”
He nods once, concentrating on the tiny wound
“Basic first aids mandatory.”
I ham, not trusting my voice to do anything cobert.
The house groam under another blast of wind.
A second later, a thunderclap aloud it feels like it splits the sky in two crashes right overhead.
I flinch hard – involuntary, stupid and his hand athes out again, gripping my thigh just above the knee to steady me.
His palm prises against hare skin, rough and warm and solid, branding me with the tact
3/4
Penny
He pulls back almost immediately, but it’s too late.
The touch lingers – electric, searing, alive, I catch a glimpse of his dark eyes before he looks away.
I’m breathing too fast, pulse rabbiting in my throat.
“I can’t wait for this storm to be over, I mutter, forcing a shaky laugh.
He just nuds, packing away the first aid supplies like nothing happened
We move back to the living room a little too quickly, like we’re both pretending that didn’t happen,
Bedrog onto the couch again, sprawling back like how it
“You going to bed?” I ask, sinking onto the far end.
shakes his head
I pick up the remote, twirling it between my fingers.
“Wanna watch something?
I scroll through options and
Exactly what I need.
1 curl up at my enl
a hundred times before – safe, brainles, easy
dùng the hem of the 1–shirt over my ban
letting the dumb jokes and laugh tracks the silence.
Asher doesn’t say anything.
But he’s there
solid, warm, steady.
And slowly — slowly — the fear in my chest starts to loosen its claws.
om heavier a
( with each minute.
My eyelids germ
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