I turn to Asher. He still won’t look at me. The tension radiates off him in waves, his jaw locked so tight, it looks like it could break.
My chest tightens. I swallow hard, wrapping the sheet around me like armor. “If this was a mistake,” I say, voice barely above a whisper, “just say it.”
Zane’s gaze turns to me like he’s about to argue, but Asher’s the one who speaks first.
He exhales roughly, his fingers pressing into his temples. “It wasn’t—” He stops, inhales sharply. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
The words cut straight through me.
Zane’s expression darkens. “The fuck does that mean?” His voice is low, edged with something dangerous.
Asher finally meets my eyes, and regret is written all over his face. “I’m leaving,” he says, his voice quieter now. “This… complicates things.”
“Complicates things,” I repeat, my throat tight.
Zane sits up fully now, anger flashing across his face. “You think backing off is going to make it easier? For who?”
Asher doesn’t answer. He just looks away.
I feel like I’ve been gutted. This is exactly what I was afraid of, exactly why I told myself this was a bad idea. But I wanted to believe in this, in them. I pushed too hard, too fast.
I laugh bitterly, shaking my head. “You were all in when my legs were wrapped around you, Asher.”
His jaw tightens. “Don’t.”
“No, you don’t.” My voice wavers. “You don’t get to do this, to pull me in and then act like—” My breath catches. “Like it meant nothing.”
His eyes flash, and for a second, something unreadable crosses his face. But then he just shakes his head, stands, and grabs his clothes.
“I should go check the perimeter,” he mutters.
I let out a hollow laugh. “Right. Run away.”
He doesn’t argue. Just pulls on his shirt and walks out the door, leaving only silence in his wake.
CHAPTER 18
ASHER
The morning suncreeps through the blinds, but it does nothing to warm the ice lodged in my chest. My head pounds as I stare at the security feeds, the grainy footage looping mindlessly. I haven’t slept, haven’t stopped moving since I left that room.
Since I leftthem.
I roll my shoulders, trying to shake off the tension, but it lingers, pressing into my bones like a weight I can’t set down. My shift ended hours ago, but I didn’t hand it over. I needed something—anything—to keep me from thinking about what happened last night.
What I did.
What Iwant.
The perimeter’s secure. No sign of Whitmore’s men, no new threats, no excuse for me to still be here, but I don’t move. I stare at the monitors, watching nothing, letting the flickering screens drown out the thoughts clawing at the back of my mind.
But they creep in, anyway.
Mia is above me, her entire weight on me but she feels practically featherless. Her body writhing, her gasps, the way she gave in so easily, so willingly.
Zane, watching. Touching. Wanting.
I rub my hand over my jaw, exhaling sharply.Fucking hell.
