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He laughed, thinking I was kidding, but stopped when I didn’t crack a smile. It was an obsolete idea of birth control, but he agreed to it to be with me. Asher didn’t try to talk me out of it, and we slept the whole night cradled together. Once upon a time, having him so close would have freaked me out, but now, I need him. Nothing happened overnight—no messages on my phone or slipped under my door.
“You have to get up.” My voice cracks with sleep. “How are you getting home again?”
He moans, covering his eyes with his forearm. “I’m getting a ride from Hudson.”
“Aren’t you worried about when he drops you off?” I ask, frowning. “He’ll see where you live.”
Asher’s eyes blink open. “No, I’m not having him drop me off at my home. I told him I had to pick up the food first. Besides, he knows I’ve been lying, but he’s been lying, too, so we’ve backed off.”
“He believed you when you told him you were going to get a turkey on Thanksgiving?”
Asher grins. “We never eat turkey, not even on holidays. We get takeout instead.” His gaze softens when he looks into my eyes. “You could come home with me, Charlotte. It’s not fancy, but you’re welcome.”
I stare into his blue eyes while his finger traces the edge of my chin. I never thought he’d be the one I would turn to, but he is. Now when he looks at me, I don’t cringe, because the hatred is gone. That questioning look he used to give me is no longer there.
“You used to give me the oddest looks,” I whisper. “Why was that?”
He frowns a little as he looks away. “Honestly, I used to wonder if you were for real or a fake. I didn’t trust you when you would look at me that way.”
“What way?” I ask.
“Like you could love me,” he answers.
Embarrassed, I scoff. “That wasn’t love. It was raging lust.”
I lean in and press my lips to his cheek. His stubble is thick on his jaw, and I rub my chin against it. The heat starts between my legs, knowing that he’s here to watch over me. I want this. I want a man who’s not afraid to fight for me. I touch his lips with the tip of my tongue, and he moans, pushing his fingers through my hair.
But I don’t want to share how I feel about him now. Maybe this isn’t love, but it’s something else, convenience until we find something else.
“Charlotte, if you start messing with me...” His words trail off as he looks at the locked door. “Aren’t you afraid of a bad reputation?”
I shrug, nuzzling closer. “I already have one. I don’t want to disappoint my fans.”
Smiling, Asher pulls me closer and presses his lips against mine, and I feel that intense kiss all the way down to my soul. He pulls back, and his expression is searching again, but it has to be for another reason. He knows I’m not faking my desire to have him.
“What if we don’t make any noise?” I whisper. “Besides, who’s around?”
He grins, knowing he wants to be up to no good, but then his grin fades. “If we do this,” he says, “we’ll be a couple.”
I bite my lip. “I wouldn’t mind that.”
“You can’t be with anyone else.”
I hold his piercing gaze. “I don’t want to be with anyone else.”
It’s the truth, and I’ve known it since Monarch. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t feel the same way. I might have understood if I hadn’t felt the electricity between us when we stood too close to one another.
He kisses my forehead. “I have to go back to my room for a second.”
“For what?”
“A condom.” He notices my shocked look. “I bought a pack just in case. For us,” he explains.
Asher climbs out of bed, and his barely clothed body makes me fidget. His defined chest appears more sculpted than in high school, and his hips are narrower below etched-out abs. And I can’t stop looking at his large cock, outlined against the thin fabric of his shorts.
He leans over and kisses my messy hair. “I’ll be right back.”
The second he’s out of the door, I leap up and do something with my morning breath. I rake my fingers through my hair, and I debate taking off these ridiculous flannel pajamas and putting something lacy on instead.
