He stroked her beautiful face and the glossy lips that had just given him such intense pleasure.
Mine, he told himself, even though he knew it he had no right to wish it.
He lowered his head and kissed her deeply, until they both were desperate for air. Then he let his fingers trail down her soft cheek and along her graceful jaw line, until he paused on the diminutive scarlet symbol that rode just above the fluttering pulse that hammered in her throat.
“Mine,” he said, his fangs bared and aching.
But before he gave in to the one mistake he could never undo, he flipped Naomi over onto her knees, spread her legs wide, then buried himself to the hilt inside her, letting her know she was his in the only way she ever could be.
CHAPTER 16
“Well, what do you think?” Naomi stood in the living room and gestured to the pair of side tables Asher had made. “Didn’t I tell you they’d be great in here?”
He shrugged noncommittally, but damn if she hadn’t been right about the change being a good one. “It’ll do, I guess.”
“You guess?” She gaped at him, a broad smile breaking over her pretty face. “This looks a thousand times better and you know it.”
To him, the room’s biggest improvement was the petite spitfire standing in the center of it. She had her sleek black hair swept back in a ponytail, which only accentuated the beauty of her skin and unusual eyes. Dark jeans and a white T-shirt should have been mundane, but on Naomi it was as enticing as lingerie.
Or maybe that was just Asher’s insatiable libido talking—at least where she was concerned.
He’d finally let her out of bed around noon, primarily because they both needed to shower and she needed to eat. He had opted to keep his distance, best as he could, if only to avoid the temptation of her delicious body . . . and the equally tempting notion of her carotid.
After she had lunch, she had fallen asleep with Sam on the sofa while Asher had holed up in the workshop, alone with his guilt and indecision.
The confrontation with Cain still weighed heavily on his mind. The other Hunter was right about one thing. If Slater were to get wise about Naomi and link the string of suspicious wins to her, he’d be gunning for her with both barrels loaded. And if the bastard should clue in to the fact that she had something to do with Michael’s big win the other night?
Asher didn’t even want to consider it.
He didn’t worry that he couldn’t handle Slater or a truckload of his human goons. Hell, he would even take care of Cain if it came to that, or take the male down with him. But, more and more, the very real possibility that Naomi might get hurt in the process—physically or otherwise—was becoming a risk he was loath to take.
And he knew why, too.
That deepening, unquenchable ache behind his sternum was to blame.
He cared about her. Not the way he had in the beginning, as an obligation to shield a female who might one day bear another Breed male’s offspring, but as the woman he desired above any other.
As the mate he would never be worthy of, even if his hands weren’t stained with countless spent lives.
And caring meant he was liable to make mistakes.
To truly keep her safe, he would need every weapon at his disposal, chief among them his ability to think, act, and react with the emotionless logic of his former life. Allowing Naomi past those walls had changed everything.
She had changed him.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing his hand. “Let’s go get that armoire for the bedroom. You’ll thank me later.”
She gave him a little tug, only to draw up short when her phone’s text chime went off in her back pocket. “It’s Michael.”
Asher tensed as she tapped the display and read for a second. “The casino funds couldn’t have cleared so soon, could they?”
“No,” she said, but when she glanced at him, her face was lit with excitement. “It’s not about the money. It’s even better news. Penny’s back.”
“Penny?” Asher shook his head, confused.
“She’s one of the kids at the house, a ten-year-old girl who’s had a really shitty life so far. She’s been gone for nearly two weeks this time, the longest since she first came around. But now she’s back.”
Asher grunted. “I can see you’re relieved.”
