“Who is she?” Asher leans forward, elbows on his knees.
“No idea.” I flip it over. “Distant aunt? Third cousin twice removed?” I toss the photo back into the box. “Family tree’s got more dead branches than a winter storm.”
Not a lie. I have no idea who this woman is or why her estate ended up in my name. Leon handled the paperwork, said it was clean, but nothing in my world is ever clean.
“Mysterious inheritance from a mysterious relative on a mysterious island.” Asher sets his empty glass on the side table. “You sure you're not in a horror movie?”
“If I am, you're the first to die. The hot friend always goes first.”
“Hot?” He grins, but there's an edge to it. “Admitting you'd fuck me?”
I keep my expression neutral despite the heat crawling up my neck. “I have eyes, Asher. Doesn't mean I'm interested.”
“Hmmm…”
He stands, closing the distance between us in two strides. My body tenses, fight-or-flight instinct kicking in as he towers over me.
“You sure about that?”
My pulse stutters. He's so close the air thickens with his cologne, a sharp scent tangled with the winter chill still clingingto his clothes. I hate how my body reacts—the quickening breath, the flush spreading across my skin.
“Positive.” My voice comes out steadier than I feel, a small victory.
His hand finds the back of the couch, caging me in without touching. The leather creaks under his grip.
“Care to test that theory?” His eyes drop to my mouth, lingering there.
“Uh, no.” I roll my eyes, resting back against the couch and blinking lazily up at him. Playing bored when my heart hammers against my ribs.
His nose grazes mine. “Liar.”
The word hangs between us, hot against my lips.
He's right, of course.
“I'm married,” I say instead, as if that’ll put a block between the chemistry that never seems to die between us.
“To a man who sleeps in a different room.” His other hand comes up, fingers ghosting along my jaw without making contact. “To a man who doesn't see what I see when I look at you.”
I hold my breath. “And what's that?”
His eyes drop to my mouth. “Someone who doesn’t know what it’s like to be fucked and worshipped at the same time.”
My heart flat lines.He did not just say that!
His smirk cuts the tension in the air, but it's the first time I've seen even a smudge of something else. “I'm playing, Ivy. I'm not gonna try fuck you.”
I release a steady exhale, cussing at myself for being so easily bent. Asher is playful, and funny, and hot, sure. Do we have a connection? Undeniably, but that doesn’t mean I can act on it.
Ever. For so many reasons.
He settles beside me, close enough that our thighs brush, sending heat hotter than the flames that lick shadows over the walls.
Outside, the wind picks up, rattling the windows. There must be a storm rolling in.
“Tell me about Mount Crow,” I say, because I need words between us. Need something to break through this energy.
“What do you want to know?” He says, finger tapping against his thigh.
