Page 113 of Slayer

“Stella!”

I froze when I heard him call my name.

Asher? I spun and my jaw unhinged.

He had cleaned up. Well. His blond hair was slicked back, and his body was encased in a dark gray silk suit that fit him perfectly, sharp and tailored. He walked slowly toward me with purpose in his step, like he’d already decided how this was going to go.

“I thought this wasn’t your style.” I couldn’t keep the anger from my voice.

Why was he here? Who was he here with?

“It’s not. I think dances and holidays like Valentine’s Day are cheesy and cliché,” he muttered as he reached me, stopping only when we were almost close enough for our toes to touch.

My heart pounded violently in my chest. “Then why are you here?”

He exhaled, green eyes frantic, starved, on the verge of freaking out.

“What’s wrong?” Was there another attack on campus? Things had been quiet but…

“I can’t take this anymore, Stella,” he said, “I lie awake at night thinking about the sound of your laugh, and I wake up wondering what you look like in the morning. Every time I see those lips… God help me. I want to kiss you.” He looked at my lips now, and it was like the breath had been stolen from my lungs. “I don’t know if you feel the same way,” he continued, and his expression changed to something shy and vulnerable, “but I’m not about to stay at home while Greyson Reed shoots his shot and gets the most amazing girl in Veil Haven. I was trying to wait so that Daphne wouldn’t be hurt, but at this point, I’m dying inside. So if there’s any chance you⁠—”

I popped up onto my toes and leaned forward, pressing my lips to his.

He froze, shock flickering for half a heartbeat, and then he was moving like something inside him had snapped tight. His hands came up to cup my face, firm and sure, thumbs brushing my jaw as our mouths met again, tongues stroking together, desperate and unrestrained. The kiss wasn’t gentle. It was needy, a heat curling low in my stomach as a deep hunger opened up inside me and was immediately, exquisitely met. This was what I’d been wanting since the night I met him, what my body had been quietly bracing for every time he looked at me too long. His raw confession only sharpened it, stripped away the hesitation.

He backed me up slowly until my shoulders met the wall, his body boxing me in, solid and unavoidable, and the sound he made when he kissed me again was a low, broken moan that went straight through me. I breathed it in, fingers curling into his shirt, as he dragged his mouth from mine just long enough to press a lingering, deliberate kiss to my bottom lip, like a promise that there would be more of these.

“I feel like I can finally breathe,” he rasped against my cheek, pressing his forehead to mine.

I smiled, completely taken with this turn of events.

“I’m shocked and pleasantly surprised,” I laughed. “I didn’t think you were into me.”

He pulled back, cupping my face and peering into my gaze. “I’m into you way more than I should admit.” He brushed his fingers over my lips. “Dance with me?” he asked.

Oh crap.

Greyson.

“You know how you didn’t want to hurt Daphne, so you didn’t tell me you liked me this whole time?” I hedged, my voice dropping as reality crashed back in.

He nodded, jaw tight, eyes never leaving mine.

“Yeah. Well, I don’t want to hurt Greyson,” I told him.

He frowned. “So no dance? You’re gonna go back out there and dance with him after that kiss?” He sounded like I’d just killed his dog.

“Is that okay?” I asked. “Greyson and I are just friends. He’s really nice, and I don’t want to damage him for the next girl.”

Asher blew air through his lips, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Man, this is not how I envisioned this going.” Then he laughed, low and rough. “Okay, yeah. Go dance with Greyson while I try not to plan his murder.”

I laughed, slapping his chest, but he caught my fingers in his hand before I could pull away, pressing a kiss to my knuckles that sent a shiver straight up my arm.

“I’m kidding. I think it’s incredibly sexy that you’re so kind. A woman with a heart of gold is a rare find.”

Heart of gold. The words lodged somewhere deep in my chest and stayed there.

“Thanks.”