He wanted something for me that he didn’t think he was capable of having himself.
Ever.
“Don’t close yourself off from the possibility completely,” Asher advised.
“You do,” I reminded him.
“I have my specific reasons for that,” he replied grimly. “A relationship would never work for me, and I’ve always been okay with that.”
I wanted to ask him why.
I wanted to know those specific reasons.
But I knew I’d get the same damn vague answers I always got.
I’d been abused as a kid, but my asshole father had never sexually abused me.
I wasn’t entirely sure that I could say the same for Asher, even though he’d never admitted that our father had sexually abused him at some point in our childhood.
Asher and I didn’t bullshit each other, but for some reason, I wasn’t sure that he’d told me everything about our early childhood. He was exceptionally vague on our younger years.
We both liked our personal space because of our past abuse, but Asher took that need for personal space to a whole different level.
He managed to shake hands with business associates when necessary, but in general, he didn’t like to be touched.
That had to make getting laid incredibly…difficult.
I knew my brother wasn’t a virgin, but I had to wonder if he’d ever really had good, down-and-dirty sex.
We were close, but we’d always drawn the line at discussing our sex lives in detail.
“Yeah, well, maybe I have my reasons for wanting to avoid relationships, too,” I grumbled. “It’s too complicated and it’s too damn risky.”
“Until a woman comes along who’s worth taking that risk,” Asher commented. “You’ve never impulsively done anything in your entire life, but you asked Lauren out even though you think she’s off-limits. I know you, Cole. It was out of character for you.”
“I think I’m safe from that lapse in judgment,” I scoffed. “I don’t think Lauren even realized that I was asking her out on a date. I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m just trying to pay her back for taking care of me when I was sick. She offered to just meet me at Charlie’s, like it would be two acquaintances getting together for dinner and a drink. She’s drop-dead gorgeous, but she doesn’t think she’s attractive. She’s not the kind of woman who would throw herself at me simply because she wants a billionaire.”
Hell, I was almost positive that Lauren hadn’t even realized that she got my dick hard yet.
My mind went back to those moments when she’d wrapped her arms around me right before she’d left my house.
There had been absolutely no sexual meaning in her actions.
She’d been trying to comfort me.
Comfort me.
Cole Remington.
Billionaire asshole extraordinaire.
That would have been laughable if it hadn’t been so damn…sweet.
Those fleeting moments had meantsomethingthat had nothing to do with carnal desire.
Asher stroked his fingers over the faded burn scar on his face, a subconscious action that happened every so often.
The mark wasn’t completely disfiguring, but it was noticeable if someone got close enough to Asher to really see it.
