Page 104 of Wilder

I huffed out a soft laugh, the sound getting lost in the crown of that thick, unruly hair of his.

“Mornin’,” I murmured.

All I got in return was another one of those drawn out groans.

I allowed the hand that wasn’t cupping the back of his head to wander down to his lower back, slipping it over the curve of his ass to give it a firm squeeze.

He finally peeled himself away from me, just enough to lift his head and blink around the room, squinting at the light over by the window. His face was flushed from sleep, eyes still heavy with it. His hair was mussed from my fingers combing through it while those soft lips of his were pursed and a little swollen from me sucking on them right before we’d both fallen asleep.

It hit me like a sucker punch right to the gut seeing him like this. He was so damn pretty.

“What time is it?” he mumbled, voice rough and scratchy.

“Still early,” I murmured, letting my thumb wander over the side of his cheek, tracing the faint dusting of freckles the sun had kissed across his skin. “We need to get moving soon, though.”

Asher gave me the tiniest nod, but instead of actually sitting up, he just let his head fall right back down onto my chest, settling in like he belonged there.

He does, that little voice in my head argued.

I let out another low laugh. “Laken told me once you were a nightmare to get up in the morning. Didn’t think it was possible with how many times I’d caught you out at the back paddock with Pelly before the sun came up.”

His lips quirked against my chest. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about...”

“I think I’m beginning to suspect that he actually might.”

A sharp burst of warm air tickled my chest when he laughed.

It was far too easy to imagine this being a permanent thing, waking up to him tangled around me every morning, rubbing the sleep from those big brown eyes before both us were forced to drag ourselves out of bed and part ways for the rest of the day.

Maybe that would come in time. I hoped it did, at least. For now, I, unfortunately, had to be practical.

Reluctantly, I squeezed his ass cheek again, shifting my hips up into his to move him. “Come on.”

When he refused, I rolled him over gently onto his back, easing myself up so I could slip the covers off of my body.

He made a quiet noise of protest at the loss when I stood, rolling onto his side with one arm stretching out to grab at the empty space. His cheek pressed into my pillow, eyes closing as he breathed me in deep.

The sight damn near killed me.

What would happen if I said ‘fuck it’ and let the chores pile up?

Let Sully and the others run the ranch without me for a day?

I knew the answer to that already, unfortunately.

Sully would start poking around, wondering why we’d both vanished without a word. He’d already been suspicious over Christmas, accusing me of having a tighter bond with Asher than I cared to admit.

I didn’t need to give him any more ammunition than he already had. Lectures were one thing when he had no idea what was going on. If he caught us getting too close, there was no doubt in my mind he’d try to force me to send Asher home.

Fucking our ranch hands isn’t how we run a business, Wilder, would be the exact words that would come spitting out of his mouth.

I stood at the edge of the bed watching him for a moment longer, my fingers itching to reach back out and smooth down his body one more time.

“I’ll give you five more minutes,” I said quietly.

He hummed something that sounded vaguely like agreement, his face relaxing the minute I leaned over and ran my finger gently between his brows, tracing down the ridge of his nose.

Before I could convince myself to actually follow through with that dark desire to shove off my responsibilities, I grabbed a pair of sweats from my dresser and pulled them on before slipping out of the room.