After she got off the phone, she couldn’t bring herself to look at Asher or speak to him. If he was anything like her, he was wondering what had happened.
She had no idea if he did things like that regularly, but she’d never experienced anything like it before. Just thinking about him doing something like that with someone else made her blood boil.
She drummed her fingers on the table and tried not to think about him with other women. Of course he had a past, so did she, but he’d made her forget about all of them. Had she done the same for him?
Questioning made her feel like an insecure idiot, which she wasnotgoing to become. Even if they’d only shared a one-and-done moment, so be it. She would thoroughly enjoy screwing him again, but she had more important things to focus on.
She rested her fingers against the stone tucked into her pocket. It was securely nestled away, and soon, it would be locked in the safe where it belonged.
“How far are Cabo and Zina from here?” he asked.
He should have asked and broken the silence sooner, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk on the walk here or after they finished earlier. With awkward movements so out of sync with her natural grace, she’d jerked on her clothes and gathered the stone.
He tried talking to her then, but her clipped replies ended further attempts at communication as she wiped the hood down for any prints or DNA they might have left behind. He didn’t know if she regretted what passed between them, but he certainly hoped not. Because he didn’t regret one second of it. It was the best moment of his life, and he wanted more of her.
“They should be here in an hour,” she replied.
Before he could ask another question, the waitress arrived and placed some menus in front of them. Asher ordered a coffee and some water while Brie asked for water.
After the woman walked away, Asher opened the menu. His stomach rumbled as the tantalizing scent of food sizzling on the grill tormented his nose. It had been too long since he last ate, and it hadn’t exactly been the best meal.
He was starving, exhausted, and he didn’t exactly smell the best. He rubbed absently at the bloodstain on the front of his shirt; most would think it was dirt, but he knew the truth.
When the waitress returned, he released his shirt and ordered a stack of pancakes, bacon, sausage, toast, and hash browns. He still wasn’t sure it would be enough, but he closed the menu and handed it to her.
When the young, pretty waitress gave him a sweet smile, Brie tried not to scowl as she batted her lashes at Asher before turning to ask what her order was. “I’ll have some toast,” Brie told her as she handed the menu over.
She had no intention of eating the food, but she couldn’t sit there and draw attention to herself by not ordering. When the woman left, Asher sat back in the booth and folded his arms across his chest. Brie felt him studying her, but she kept her attention on the battered tabletop.
“What happened between us earlier—”
Before Asher could say anything more, Brie interrupted him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Asher frowned at her. Normally, he wouldn’t push her, but he wasn’t going to let this go.
“It was one of the best things that haseverhappened to me,” he said. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it, but you’re not going to shut me out.”
When Brie’s eyes flicked to his, vulnerability radiated from their beautiful, ochre deaths. Now that he wasn’t completely lost in his mindless need to possess her, he wondered about the scars covering her body.
What was done to her, and who did it? She wouldn’t tell him about it now, but she would when she was ready, and he would be here to hear it.
“I don’t do things like that… ever,” he told her. “I’ve never been like that with a woman before, but I had no control when it came to you, and I’m going to make this clear, I want more.”
Despite Brie’s determination to keep him at a distance, his words melted some of her steely resolve. They also awakened a passion she’d been sure he doused with the multiple orgasms he gave her. She tried not to squirm in the seat as she recalled the forceful way he’d taken her, owned her, and accepted everything about her.
Brie bit her lip and attempted to focus her attention on the here and now. She wasn’t going to discuss this, so she shifted her attention to the window and stared at the cars driving down the small road.
On the other side of the street, a row of brick buildings housed many small businesses. There was a hardware store, a salon, a barbershop, and a pizzeria. She studied the people entering and exiting them as they went about their normal lives.
They knew nothing about the monsters lurking in their world, would never think a creature from one of their legends was sitting by the window of a restaurant they probably frequented, watching them right now.
“Here you go,” the waitress said and set three platters of food in front of Asher. A small plate with four pieces of toast landed before Brie.
“Thank you,” she and Asher said.
“Would you like anything else?” the waitress asked.
“No,” Asher said, picking up his fork and knife. “I think we’re all set. Thank you.”
