Chapter 15 #2
I took a deep breath, steadying myself before leaving the bathroom.
Each step toward the room felt like walking a tightrope, my pulse hammering against my ribs.
When I pushed the door open, Asher stood with his back to me, adjusting the camera on its tripod.
He turned at the sound, and our eyes locked.
His gaze traveled slowly down my body and back up, taking in every inch of me in just my boxers.
Something in his expression made my skin prickle with a new awareness of how little I was wearing and how much I was about to reveal.
The shock on his face told me my plan had worked.
We mirrored each other in nothing but boxers—the unspoken ritual we’d developed to skip the awkward fumbling with clothes while the camera rolled.
Usually, we’d hit record and dive right in.
But tonight was different. Tonight, I wasn’t just going through the motions.
My body hummed with anticipation, every nerve ending alive with what was about to happen.
Asher’s jaw tightened as he looked at me.
“You sure about this without Theo? I mean, you came here planning to top him, not…” His eyes flickered down my body before meeting mine again.
“And just so we’re clear, I don’t bottom.
Ever.” He ran a hand through his hair, shoulders tense.
“Plus, I’m in a shit mood right now. Got a lot of anger I’m trying not to bring into this. ”
Something in his eyes looked sincere, catching me off guard. Just weeks earlier he would’ve jumped at the chance to unleash his frustrations on me. But now I found myself wanting exactly that—the raw intensity I’d glimpsed when he was with Theo.
I exhaled slowly, gathering my nerve. No one else could make my confidence waver like Asher did. He saw through my bullshit in a way that terrified me, made his approval matter when it shouldn’t.
“Turn on the camera,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
His eyebrow arched, but he reached for the power button without argument.
I moved toward him, my palm hovering for a moment before pressing against his stomach.
The ridges of muscle beneath my fingers were firm, undeniably real.
My eyes traced the contours of his body—the same body I’d secretly admired for longer than I cared to admit.
Not bulky like an athlete’s, but lean and defined in all the right places.
Theo’s body was nothing like Asher’s—softer lines where Asher had angles, gentle curves where Asher had definition—and I craved both in entirely different ways. For years I’d convinced myself I just wanted Asher’s physique for myself. What an idiot I’d been.
“Let me show you exactly what I want,” I said, my voice dropping to a register I barely recognized as my own.
I stepped out of my boxers, leaving me naked as Asher’s gaze roamed over my body. I stepped past him and crawled onto the bed, my ass in the air while I leaned on my forearms. I turned my head back to watch Asher as he looked at me with rapt fascination, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped.
I did it. I did something that shocked Asher Montgomery. Threw him off guard.
Asher’s eyes widened as he stepped closer. “Is that what I think it is?”
The vulnerability should have made me shrink, but instead I arched my back further, letting him see exactly what I’d done to prepare for him.
“I can take whatever you’ve got,” I said, my voice lower than intended. “All that anger you’re holding back? Give it to me.” I threw him a wink that felt more desperate than confident.
His jaw tightened, that familiar tension between us humming in the air. He’d wanted to postpone filming, but something in his eyes told me what I needed to know—whatever this thing between us was becoming, it wasn’t hatred anymore.
Asher’s voice dropped to a growl. “Christ, Harrington. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to bend you over and fuck you hard.
So fucking long.” His eyes locked on the plug nestled between my cheeks as he stood at the foot of the bed.
I shifted, the unfamiliar pressure inside me strange but not unpleasant.
“Better check if you’ve prepared enough. I’m not exactly small.”
My stomach knotted as he leaned forward, thumbs spreading me open with clinical precision.
The intensity of his gaze made me want to squirm away and push back simultaneously.
After what felt like forever, his fingers found the base of the plug, working it gently in small circles before easing it in and out, each movement pulling involuntary sounds from my throat until he finally removed it completely.
He clicked his tongue, eyeing the small plug.
“Typical Harrington. Half measures, as always. Small plug to prepare for a big cock.” He shook his head, and my stomach dropped.
“Don’t think you’re ready.” I let out an involuntary sound when I thought he was walking away, but then his hands were back, spreading me open.
The warm wetness of his spit made me jolt. “Guess we’ll have to fix that.”
My body tensed, then relaxed. For all our history, I knew Asher wouldn’t actually hurt me. He might push my limits, might enjoy seeing me squirm, but there was care in how he handled Theo. That same care would extend to me.
Something fluttered in my chest that had nothing to do with the physical sensations.
Shit. Not now. I couldn’t be catching feelings while bent over waiting for him to fuck me. I needed to compartmentalize, be the guy who could keep sex and emotions in separate boxes. Whatever future I was building, it couldn’t include Asher Montgomery as anything more than this moment.
I glanced back at him with a smirk. “What? They looked about the same size to me.” The familiar rhythm of our banter felt safer than the truth—that somewhere in my chest, a dangerous hope was taking root.
A hope that whatever this was between us might survive beyond these walls, even though I knew better.
Asher would always be a chapter in my story, not the whole book.
The sharp crack of his palm against my skin interrupted my thoughts.
“Fuck!” I gasped, the sting radiating outward.
“That’s what happens to mouthy brats,” Asher said, voice low and steady.
I twisted to look at him. “I’m not being a brat.”
The word “brat” stung more than his hand had, but I couldn’t stop myself from pushing back. “Prove it,” I muttered. My reward was another sharp smack that bloomed across my other cheek.
“That’s what happens when you lie,” he said, voice dropping to a growl. “You’ve been nothing but a privileged pain in my ass since day one. Now I finally get to return the favor.” Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.
I laughed, the sound hollow even to my own ears. “If that’s your best, I’m disappointed.” The words were reckless, deliberate. I needed his anger, needed the reminder of our mutual disdain to keep my walls intact.
“Don’t worry,” he promised. “I’m just getting started.”
Whatever comeback I had evaporated when his finger pushed inside me without warning. The intrusion was less substantial than the plug but somehow more intense—warm, deliberate, alive. The plug had been mechanical preparation, just enough to test if my body could accept what was coming.
I did, but this was better. So much better.
It was as if something was awakening inside me.
My hips betrayed me, arching backward to meet his touch before my brain could intervene.
The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth as my teeth dug into my lower lip, trapping the sound building in my throat.
His breathing changed—a slight hitch followed by a knowing exhale that crawled across my skin.
“Look at you,” he whispered, his voice rough as sandpaper. His free hand gripped my hip, thumb pressing into the dimple above my ass. “Can’t even stay still. Your body is begging for it, no matter how quiet you try to be.”
I twisted my neck to glare at him over my shoulder. “Maybe if you knew what you were doing, I wouldn’t have to do all the work.”
His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. “Been dreaming of this moment—the day I finally shut that smart mouth of yours. Gonna make sure you feel me tomorrow, and the day after. Every step you take, you’ll remember who put that ache there.
” His fingers dug into my hips possessively.
“The scholarship kid you never thought twice about.”
Something twisted in my chest. The assumption in his words stung worse than his grip. He’d built a version of me in his head that wasn’t real—never had been. All this time, he’d been looking down at me while convinced I was the one doing the looking.
“I—mm, fuck,” I said, gasping as he worked another finger inside me, stretching me wider.
“I never thought I was better than you, Asher. From day one, you decided I was some entitled trust fund brat without even giving me a chance. Decided I was an arrogant, pompous prick,” I managed between ragged breaths.
He let me know why he had treated me that way, but it still felt unwarranted.
“Because you were.” His voice hardened. Past tense—not present; I didn’t miss that detail. “The campus golden boy who had it all—the parties, the hookups, the grades, the charm. I watched you float through life while the rest of us struggled. I saw right through you, Harrington.”
The bottle cap clicked open with a plastic snap.
I couldn’t stop the needy sound that escaped me when his fingers withdrew, leaving me empty and wanting.
Cool liquid dripped between my cheeks before his hand returned—three fingers this time, working me open with deliberate patience.
The burning stretch made me gasp, pain and pleasure twisting together into something that felt inevitable. Perfect.
“You looked at me like I was beneath you, but now you’re the one beneath me.”