Chapter 29
His fingers laced into mine as we walked slowly, very slowly through the parking lot toward my car.
It was parked beneath some trees on the edge, shaded and out of the way.
We didn’t speak, both of us dragging out the commute to my vehicle.
I hated how quickly it inched closer, how little time we had left with each step forward.
I wanted to stay lost in his smell, in his touch.
I wanted to stay lost in him. Nothing else satisfied me the way he did.
No matter how many times I got to see his handsome face, his sharp, wide-set jaw, his deep honey eyes, I would never get bored.
No matter how many times I heard him speak or sing, or felt his fingers run across my skin, I would never want it to end.
But here we were, taking the last step to my car. And then we stopped. Turning to my left, I glanced up at his face. “What about tomorrow?” he asked, and I took a deep breath in.
“Tell me where you are when I’m done teaching.” I offered him a smile, and he sighed, visibly relieved. “What were you so worried about?”
“That you’d do what you normally do and tell me we can’t keep doing this.”
I rolled my eyes and stepped into his body. He cupped my cheeks, tipping my head up to meet his gaze better. Pushing me gently, he bumped my backside against my car door and bent down.
His lips were against mine, all passion he could muster flowing with the kiss.
I fisted the sides of his cut-off T-shirt and pulled him against my body.
This time, I took the initiative to shove my tongue between his teeth.
I felt his lips lift in a smile as he slid his hands down the sides of my body and wrapped them tightly around my waist.
Lifting my own arms to throw them around his neck, I tipped on my toes, falling in tighter to his embrace. The kiss became a little more aggressive, and I began to pant, desperately wanting more.
But instead, he pulled away, breaking our intimate moment. Before he suddenly grabbed one boob and squeezed. I opened my eyes to find him grinning from ear to ear.
“Stop that,” I teased, swatting at his hand.
“Okay.” He let go and slapped both palms, hard, against my ass.
“Asher…”
“Fuck,” he growled and shifted his hips against me. His excitement stayed as hard as it had been the entire time we’d been making out.
I stared at him, waiting for my racing heart to calm back down.
All that pent-up arousal was going to feel uncomfortable for a bit, but I really did need to get home to Sydney.
And there was something I needed to pick up for Asher on the way.
I was genuinely excited to see it, hoping it turned out as pretty as I thought it would.
“I should let you go,” he muttered, slipping his hands back around my waist. I nodded, and the smile fell from his face.
I leaned forward and quickly pecked his mouth.
Simple. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” My lips brushed against his while I spoke.
The velvety feeling would be so hard to walk away from.
Even if just for a day. Everything in my body screamed to go home with him again.
To sleep next to him again. To let him hold me again.
“Oh, Asher?” I took a step back as he opened my car door.
“Yes, Princess?”
I sat down on the front seat, keeping my legs out of the vehicle. “Thank you.” I looked up at him and softened my eyes.
“For what?” He furrowed his brows, tipping his head as he leaned against the door.
“That was the first time since I can remember that I played music for nothing more than some fun,” I whispered. “I didn’t realize it was exactly what I needed. You are exactly what I needed.”
His brows twitched, but he didn’t say anything.
He didn’t need to. Reaching forward, I placed a hand against his cheek.
Asher leaned down, closing his eyes, and fell into my touch.
I don’t think he truly understood just how much he meant to me.
Just how much he’d helped me step out of the confining chains I’d been locked away in.
He let out a long, slow breath, then opened his eyes as I slid my hand from his face. After kicking my legs into the car, I dug through my purse and put the keys in the ignition.
Glancing back at Asher, I reached for the door to pull it closed, but he didn’t move.
I furrowed my brows, wondering what he was doing, but he just continued to stare at me. Then he shook his head, and his eyes darkened. “I think we need to finish what we started this morning.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise, as he shoved a hand down his pants and climb into the car. Literally crawling on top of me, he threw the seat back flat, made just enough room for himself, and then slammed the door shut.
His tongue was in my mouth, his hips between my legs, before I had a moment to process what was happening. But my body knew exactly what he wanted and was already prepared. Steam rose from our panting figures, clothes coming off as quickly as possible.
Fog rapidly clouded the windows, but we were alone in the middle of the parking lot. Nobody would know. But even if they did, I didn’t care. Not at this point.
And this time it was plain and simple lovemaking. Nothing fancy or kinky, which was fine by me. All I wanted at this moment was to feel his bare skin against my own. He slammed a hand against the window, breathless, and buried himself inside me with a moan.
I drove home with a satisfied ache between my legs.
His poster had finished only ten minutes before I’d arrived at the shop, and it now sat safely in my passenger seat.
Mmmmm, Asher. My amazing and delicious Asher.
Just thinking about him made me wet all over, and we’d just finished fucking less than an hour ago.
How was that even possible?
I was feeling good and high, and I wasn’t ready to go home. Dealing with whatever shit Sydney was about to throw my way didn’t sound exciting. So, I flipped a U-turn and cruised back down the road. Confidence boiled within me.
Tonight, I’d spend another night with Asher. I’d deal with whatever consequences that would bring tomorrow. But right now, I wanted to be with him. There was this odd feeling that the timer was slowly ticking toward an end that I wasn’t aware of.
Maybe it was because there were two concerts this weekend and then they would have to move on. Away from me. Maybe it was just my insecurities bubbling over at this point, but for whatever reason, I drove hastily toward the little house they were renting in the meantime.
Turning off the main road, I wound down the side street and then rounded the corner.
Only to quickly pull off to the side and stop.
Parked in circles around the house were reporters and press.
Fan girls with signs littered the lawn, screaming out front of the house, waiting for one simple sign of someone inside.
There was no way I was going to get in that house without being noticed.
Creeping slowly forward, I made another U-turn and headed away from the street.
Driving a couple blocks over, I turned down the new road and pulled off on the side.
Parking my car by an empty curb in front of a random house, I pulled out my phone.
So, I did something…
I quickly sent that text to Asher and then waited.
His reply was rapid, and I loved that he seemed to always be excited to hear from me.
What’d you do?
Pulling my lip in between my teeth, I typed my answer.
Tried to come to your place.
Bubbles and a rapid stream of texts came through almost immediately.
You did?
Where are you?
I’m just chilling in the living room.
Drake burned the food, so now we’re waiting on delivery while he cleans up.
Shit, I looked out the front window and know why you didn’t come.
Where are you now?
I giggled and then tried to reply as quickly as I could. Dropping a pin to my location, I added a few words.
Just a few blocks away, sitting in my car. I have something for you, too;)
Bubbles appeared and then disappeared. Except he didn’t respond with a single word.
Not even one letter. I furrowed my brows, staring at the screen.
Sighing, I locked my phone and leaned back against the headrest. What was that?
Maybe Drake almost burned the house down and that suddenly sidetracked him.
Maybe I came across as clingy. I mean, we only made things secretly official a couple days ago.
Was I being too much, too soon?
I should just go home. Whatever confidence brought me here was waning quickly. Throwing my car in drive, I glanced in the rearview mirror, ready to merge back on the road, when a familiar motorcycle turned down the street. I quickly put my car back into park and stared at the approaching bike.
Pulling directly behind me, I watched the rider dismount and grab a very familiar helmet. Smiling to myself, I killed the engine just as Asher rapped his gloved knuckles against my window.
Kicking the door open, he lifted his tinted visor and wiggled his brows. “Security won’t be able to hold them off for long, so hurry up, Princess.”
I grinned, snatched up the poster from my passenger seat, and jumped out.
“Is that for me?” He pointed at the delicately rolled up vinyl.
“Yes. But you can’t look at it until you’re absolutely alone,” I replied and tugged my glasses from my face. He shoved the helmet over my crazy hair and buckled it up while I put the glasses back on and flipped the visor down.
The moment the helmet was secure, I hustled over to the bike and climbed on.
He swung a leg over his motorcycle, covered his face with his visor, and I wrapped one arm tightly around his waist. Carefully, I placed the poster around his body, holding it as gently but securely as I could.
There was no worry within me as I settled behind him.
There was no way any paparazzi would be able to see my face, leaving me just another mystery woman like the night before.