He stares at me for a long moment. The barn around us is quiet and I swear I almost start to sweat under his gaze. “You can’t drain your cup to fill others’.”
“Deep,” I joke in an attempt to cut the thick air between us. His eyes remain on mine. “Truth is, I’m sort of a mess. I’ve always had a plan for everything, yet lately I feel stuck. Like I’m behind on starting my life—”
“Fuck that,” he says so passionately I flinch. “Everyone’s journey looks different. Besides, you have a habit of tripping into things. Your time will come.”
I can’t help it, I laugh, and damn it feels good. I raise my glass.
“I’ll drink tofuck that.Who needs a husband anyway? At this point I’d settle for some good sex,” I blurt out, then instantly regret it. “Hypothetically. I mean.”
I anxiously slide forward off my stool, hoping for breezy, but instead my heel jams in the rung and I almost fall. My palms slap to the bar top as I brace myself. I look up to see Asher’s plush lips curve into a half smile as he shakes his head. Thankfully, he doesn’t say anything as I round the bar to help him finish stocking. I watch with surprise as he adds one more swallow of whiskey to each of our glasses. He picks his up and slides mine to me. The sound of glass clinking fills the air as he knocks them together, swallowing his whiskey before leaning in so close, I swear my heart stops.
“Don’t settle for good sex, Livi girl. Make sure it’s fucking incredible, yeah?”
CHAPTER 14
Asher
“Not easy to find …” Olivia mutters back, licking her lips, completely unaware of how fucking perfect she is.
Her gaze is stunned, needy, in a way that instantly makes my dick stand to attention. A shallow inhale through her rosebud lips has me ready to bend her heart-shaped ass right over this bar and drive my cock deep while I fist those thick coppery waves.
It’s been too long for me because, aside from Olivia, no one has interested me. I had my share of women before I came here, too many. All too willing to be with James Donovan’s son, heir to the throne, a promise of wealth and power. But those women never realized they’d be selling their soul to the devil. They’d live at his beck and call only to escape when he was done with them.
“Asher?” Olivia whispers my name, her blue eyes simmering. The desire to make her scream it overwhelms me as my eyes drift to those pouty red lips. “How much time do we have before people start showing up?”
“Not long.”
Olivia’s pupils are blown wide as she takes a step toward me, forcing my cock to throb against my suit pants. Her ocean eyes trail my face, landing on my mouth.
“We’re friends, right?” Her voice is raspy and full of want, enough to obliterate a man’s resolve.
“Yes, friends,” I agree, bringing my thumb up to test her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. I’m transfixed by this needy but somehow bold side of her. The side thatbegsfor ruin.
“Friends … have each other’s backs?” She fists the vest of my suit in her hands, inching me closer. I have no idea what is happening here, but if this is an invitation, I’m nowhere near strong enough to turn it down. Her eyes drift to my mouth.
“And maybe friends could have incredible sex. Just once. No strings attached?” Her voice is a whisper as her lashes flutter. The sexiest goddamn thing about Olivia is that she has no idea how she affects me. Hell, she doesn’t even have to try. “And, Asher?”
“Hmm?” is all I can manage.
“I’mverysober right now,” she says softly. “Just this once …?” she pleads, looking up at me. Goddamn, she’s asking so nicely, and the moment her tongue wets those pretty lips, I’m done for.
“Fuck it—” I barely get the words out before I’m crushing her curves to me as I claim those plush lips for my own. The electricity crackling between us has all my muscles rigid and pulsing. She pulls back, staring up at me, a question in her eyes I can’t wait to answer as I pull her closer again.
“You asked for it, woman.”
I growl as a desperate sort of hunger takes over; there’s not a hope in hell of stopping now. Olivia surrenders to me as my tongue meets hers and everything else fades away. It’s just us, this moment, and the taste of possibility. The feel of her plush lips on mine destroys any semblance of willpower I have, and Ican’t seem to get enough. In return, she’s a little fireball, all-consuming as she pulls me flush to her. As always, she surprises me, kissing me in a way that has me trying to keep pace withher,and the little sounds she makes have me so damn hard. My hands roam across her back, then up through her hair, and I don’t know how the fuck we move together so effortlessly but we do. I pull back slightly, just as breathless as she is, tipping my forehead to hers, my thumbs grazing her jaw. I’m out of my fucking mind.
“This is the only time I’ll offer. Tell me to stop, Livi girl.” I grip her face. “Tell me I shouldn’t take you to my truck and make you scream my fucking name.”
“Okay …” she breathes out. “Don’t take me to your truck, Asher,” she whispers in an almost breathless pant. My stomach drops.
“It’s way too far away. Take me righthere.”
Olivia
“Christ, you smell so fucking good,” Asher growls into my neck as he plants hungry open-mouthed kisses down it. I grip his strong shoulders as he grabs my ass tight through my satin dress, my curves spilling between his big palms.
“Asher,please,” I beg. I need this: one hookup, no strings attached. And he knows it. Right now, it feels like he knowseverythingas he’s hiking my skirt up and lifting my legs to wrap around his waist. I have no idea where we’re going. Hell, I don’t care where we’re going. I only care that Asher doesn’t stop kissing me as I feel him push us through a door and into the ladies’ room.
