Page 41 of Merciless

ASHER

NIGHT 3 OF THE BET

The bottom of my sucker clacks against the backs of my front teeth as I wiggle it. I glare daggers at my twin. I know he can feel the scorn because he’s refusing to look at me.

When he’s around his friends, they’re his sole focus.

I’d like to say that I don’t understand why he brought her along for the meetup tonight. But I do. It’s all part of his plan to lure her in and make her trust him enough to spread her legs.

The sucker clacks against my teeth, and I tongue the inside of my cheek as my eyes wander to her. My gaze rakes over her body, drinking in the shorts that reach mid-thigh. The loose knot at the bottom of her band tee reveals a sliver of skin on her stomach. Enough to send heat through my veins and between my legs. I haven’t been able to shake the chub I’ve been sporting since setting eyes on her when she joined us by the car tonight.

I want to catch the bottom of her shirt between my teeth. Better yet, I want to lick the insides of her thighs and work my way closer to her pussy.

Her moans echo in my head, and the ghost of her fingers in my hair joins them.

I roll the sucker in my mouth.

Having her here gives me another chance to watch her. To learn everything about her reactions to what she’ll witness later if things go the way I think they will. I also want to see how she looks at Elijah.

Is she already falling for the act?

Eden lingers behind him. She’s put distance between herself and me, never once turning to look at me either.

The irony.

Elijah ignores her. She ignores me. I ignore the world for her.

It’s a full circle, isn’t it?

Derrick’s leery gaze shifts to Eden every so often, his smug smirk appearing before he catches himself and rubs his jaw. The others may not have caught it, but I did.

My fingers curl into tight fists, and I stuff my hands into my pockets to keep from doing something about it. He thrusts himself into things never meant for him. One of the many reasons I can’t stand him.

If there’s one thing Derrick deserves to win, it’s my brass knuckles to his jaw.

Will I do it? Probably not. However, I’d love to destroy his ability to eye-fuck her. I don’t care that he gives her a hard time; he can’t fool me. The asshole wants to fuck her. Why else would he give her shit all the time?

Derrick’s gaze slips to her again, the same look crossing his features.

My scowl deepens, and I clack the sucker against my teeth.

Feeling my stare, Derrick’s attention slips toward me, and his skin pales.

Good.

I’m glad he fears me. In fact, I’m happy that I scare everyone because that means no one will bother me. Except for the one person I wanted to be bothered by.

Elijah turns to Eden and settles his hand on the small of her back. “Are you ready for a little practice run, birdie?”

Birdie? That’s interesting. It’s a cute nickname for her, don’t get me wrong—she’s obsessed with birds—but there’s another name that suits her better.

She tilts her head back. “Practice run for what?”

Elijah peers at me, silently communicating what he wants to do. I already know he’s up to no good, so I don’t need to ask questions.

“A race.” Secrets fill his cunning smile. “Asher will ride with you, and he’ll show you what’s expected.”

Nothing is expected. It’s common to ride solo while street racing, but she doesn’t know that.