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“Asher!” His name left my lips on a shocked breath as my entire body sparked with a thousand different levels of electricity, each delicious crackle settling deep into my soul and sending me spiraling in the best possible way.
Asher groaned, pounding into me as he found his release, before he knelt over me, settling his head against my chest, our breathing matched as we came down.
I absently ran my fingers through his hair, content to never move again as his body settled atop mine, one of his arms bracing half his weight so he didn’t crush me.
After we caught our breath, Asher shifted us so we were on our sides, facing each other. He had this vulnerable yet content look on his face that had me smiling.
He pushed some of my still-wet hair out of my face. “So,” he said. “What do you want to eat tonight?”
My grin deepened. “I love you,” I said, then my eyes flared wide at the words that had left my tongue.
Asher went wholly still, almost as if he was afraid if he moved, it would be an acknowledgement of what I’d just confessed.
But, I couldn’t take it back now. I couldn’t cheapen it by saying it was a mistake, because I knew in my heart it wasn’t.
So I shrugged and looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“Sorry because you didn’t mean it?” he asked, his voice a whisper between us.
“No,” I admitted. “I’m sorry I let it slip. I know it’s fast, Asher. I’ve told myself a hundred times it’s too fast, and we’ve even talked about how on paper we shouldn’t work. You’re one type and I’m a totally different one. But I won’t lie to you.” I wet my lips, taking a deep breath. “I love you.”
A smile shaped his lips as he tugged me closer, kissing me and hooking my leg around his hip. “I love you too,” he said between my lips.
I pulled back just an inch. “Really?”
“I know it’s fast too,” he said. “But I can’t help loving you, Daisy. You’ve turned my world upside down in the best way.”
My heart expanded in my chest so much I could barely hold back a squeal. Luckily, Asher kissed me, saving me that embarrassment.
Love.
I was in love with Asher freaking Silas.
And by some miracle, he loved me back.
How in the hell did I ever get so lucky?
13
ASHER
The water was unpleasantly cold this time of year off the coast of Cabo, but it was the best place for shark diving in early November, so here we were, all decked out in cold weather scuba gear, surrounded by a cage as we were lowered into the Pacific Ocean.
This was one challenge I wish Daisy had sat out, but naturally, she was scuba certified. She’d said it had been for book research. I swore, the woman was scared of absolutely nothing.
It was all well and good until the guide threw out some chum into the water.
Then I nearly forgot to breathe through my mouth as the sharks swam up, their massive jaws opening the closer they got to us. I’d always been a predator in the business world, the biggest dick at the proverbial table.
But those teeth? Fuck that.
I looped my arm around Daisy’s waist and backed away from the edge of the cage, careful to put her smack in the middle, the safest place.
If the other guys had a problem—and Doyle apparently did, considering the air bubbles frantically exploding from his mouth as he let out a warbled scream—they could fuck themselves. Ethan, Crossland, and even Weston backed away from the massive sharks and their beady eyes.
But Gareth? That motherfucker stood against the steel cage, his arms folded across his chest like he wasn’t impressed, his breathing deep and even.
Daisy’s eyes met mine through our diving masks, but she didn’t seem scared. There was a flash of excitement before she ripped her gaze away, her head turning left, then right, watching every shark as they swam by, her eyebrows rising as one butted up against the cage.
Fine, it was exhilarating, but I’d finally realized the one line I wouldn’t cross when it came to these challenges—the one thing that would have me offering up an empty chip…Daisy’s safety. Logically, I knew we were fine. Our hands and feet were inside the cage. It was reinforced steel and not going anywhere.
But emotionally? Those were fucking sharks just feet away from my girlfriend, swishing their tails and opening their life-ending mouths. This was the woman I loved.
The first woman I’d ever loved.
The only woman I was going to love.
I eyed one shark straight on and fucking dared him to try and breach the cage. I’d beat him to death with my own hands if he got too close to her.
Then again, that was easy to say from behind a cage, but still…my bare fucking hands.
