Chapter 190, Asher
We say goodbye not long after the incident,
Rooster’s had his share of drinks too, and Anna is holding his hand, trying to steer him toward the door while he waves to everyone like he’s the main
the bar.
Text me tomorrow, brother,” he calls, clapping me on the back.
“And t
tell
your girl she’s got one hell of a left hook,”
I smirk. “You think I could’ve stopped her?”
Anna winks at Penny. “My new hero.”
Penny giggles as she waves, still tipsy, cheeks flushed, hair a little wild from the whole thing.
God help me. I can’t stop staring at her.
I get her to the car, slide her into the passenger seat, buckle her in becau heels off and tucks her feet up in the seat like a damn kitten.
She looks over at me with those too–bright eyes and says, “What.”
I chuckle. “I still can’t believe you stood up to three guys twice
your size.”
She throws her hands up. “They were being mean!”
“That they were
“I wasn’t scared.”
“You should’ve been.”
she’s squirmy and distracted. The second I pull onto the road, she kicks her
She scowls. “I had backup.”
“You didn’t wait for backup.”
She sticks out her tongue. “I’m small but mighty.”
That makes me laugh harder than it should. “Yeah, well. Remind me to take you on my next op. We’ll just set you loose on the bad guys.”
She beams. “I’d be the best distraction: They’d be like–oh look, a tiny ballerina. And then BAM!”
She throws a fake punch that almost knocks her own head back and dissolves into giggles.
Christ. I’ve never been this gone for anyone in my life.
“Hey, Asher?”
“Yeah?”
She blinks seriously. “Would you rather… have fingers made of uncooked spaghetti, or legs that squeak when you walk?”
I almost choke. “That’s the question you’re gonna ask me after tonight?”
She nods solemnly.
I pretend to consider. “Spaghetti fingers sound dangerous on a mission.”
Very Impractical the agrees.
Squeaky legs it 1.
She snickers, “Imagine sneaking around like squeak squeak sqúrák-
1 shake my hond, laughing under my breath. “You’re a menace.”
She grins, leaning her head back on the seat, eyes fluttering shut for a second,
I glance at her. Hair mussed, dress riding up just enough to show a long stretch of thigh, the curve of her neck exposed.
I want her.
I want to drive straight to my place, lock the door behind us, and keep her there all night.
But that wasn’t the plan. And I told her
” take
care of her.
Trust is hard–earned, and I won’t lose it.
Still.
1 park a few houses down from hers, engine off. I need one more moment with her–just one–before I turn her over to her parents like the good fucking man I’m trying to be.
I unbuckle her, lean across, and before she can blink, I slide her out of the passenger seat and into my lap.
She lets out a soft gasp, her little hands flying to my shoulders, eyes wide and sparkling.
“Asher…”
I grip her waist, pulling her flush against me. No space between us. No air. Only heat.
“You know what I love?” I murmur against her ear.
She swallows hard. “W–what?”
“When you hang out with my friends. How they’re your friends
now,
I lean in, mouth grazing the soft curve of her neck, right where her pulse is fluttering beneath her skin.
She shudders.
“God, Penny,” I breathe against her. “You have no fucking idea what you do to me.”
She arches into me, instinctively, her breath catching.
“I think I do,” she whispers, voice wrecked.
Fuck.
I slide one hand up her bare back, fingers splaying wide, pressing her tighter to me. The zipper of her dress taunts me beneath my fingertips. One tug and it would be gone. One tug and I could have her here, now–spread over me, under me, against this seat-
I groan against her throat, fighting every last shred of control I’ve got.
“You’re not making this easy, princess.”
She tilts her head, giving me more skin, eyes dark and knowing. “I’m not trying to.”
I chuckle–dark, low–then capture her mouth with mise
Not soft this time. Not restrained.
I kiss her like I’ve been starving for it all night. Like I need her more than air.
She gasps into me, fingers twisting in my shirt, hips shifting against mine and fuck me, if she keeps moving like that I’m going to lose it.
I drag my mouth down her throat, teeth grazing skin, tongue tasting every inch I can reach
She’s panting now, clutching at me. “Asher…”
“Say the word,” I rasp against her mouth. “One word, and I take you home with me right now. You sleep in my bed. On me. Under me. Wrapped in my fucking arms all night.”
She whimpers. “I-”
But then her phone buzzes in her purse, a sharp reminder of where we are, who’s waiting inside.
Fuck.
I curse under my breath, forehead pressed to her collarbone, trying to cool the fire raging through me.
When I can breathe again, I pull back just enough to
meet her eyes.
“You need to go inside,” I say, voice wrecked. “Before I forget every promise I made to your parents.”
She pouts–fuck, that pout–then brushes her lips
“Soon,” she whispers.
over mine one last time.
“Soon,” I vow.
I finally drive her up to her driveway, blood still boiling, hands gripping the wheel too tight.
She hops out, turns, and winks at me over her shoulder–innocent and wicked all at once.
Yeah. I’m fucking ruined.
And she knows it.
