Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The muscled planes of his chest were hard beneath her fingertips as she rode him.
She gave him everything she had. Every moment. Thought. Feeling.
He made her feel complete in a way she didn’t know was possible.
As she moved on top of him, he held her gaze, possessing her with his heated stare.
Her eyes. Her body. Her soul. He owned it all at that moment.
The tension that had built up for years exploded between them tonight like fireworks over the Hudson.
Her throat tightened with emotion as they moved together, and her heartbeat climbed while his remained slow but strong beneath her palm, giving her the energy she never knew she needed.
When Asher’s gaze narrowed briefly, and his finger twirled like the blades of a helo, Jessica’s lips split into a smile. She shifted off him, eager to follow his request.
He pressed up against the headboard, and she spun around and positioned herself with her back to him, then sank onto his hardened length.
His hands smoothed over her exposed backside, and she groaned and leaned forward. “I’ve been dreaming about you in this position for years.”
Her insides contracted and pulsed, an orgasm already impending. She squeezed as hard as she could and sighed in ecstasy when he reached around her body to touch her. His deft fingers somehow knew her trigger points. Hell, he seemed to know everything about her.
She dropped her head, and her fingertips continued to bite into his thighs—probably leaving marks—as she tried not to let loose yet.
He stretched her. Filled her completely.
And the anticipation for the climax built until she had nowhere higher to go.
He pressed his chest to her back as he held her tight while her body sputtered, and a hard, shaky tremble left her panting.
He palmed her breasts and squeezed her nipples, which were still tender since he’d spent time sucking and kissing every inch of her.
Tight in his arms, she could feel him come a moment later. She closed her eyes and waited for her breathing to calm down.
“That was incredible,” she said once she finally stood to allow him to discard his condom.
What she’d give to be skin-to-skin with him, though.
At the sound of the flush from the other room, followed by the shower water turning on, she padded into the en suite.
She froze, staring at his perfectly sculpted body—like someone from the Renaissance, and since he was half-Italian it was fitting. He managed to rob her of every last breath.
Seeing him in all his naked glory in her bathroom every day was something she could get used to.
“Shower?”
“Your shower is big enough for an orgy.” He propped a hand on the glass wall, and his brown eyes greedily took in the sight of her.
How had they held off for so long? Why hadn’t they done this sooner?
A million different reasons popped into her head, but when she stepped into his embrace inside the shower a moment later, and he pinned her to the wall, she forgot every last one of them.
“Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t—” Her body was on the verge of convulsing. “Don’t . . . fucking . . . stop.” She pressed her fingertips to his head as he went down on her.
Her legs were going to wilt like flower stems in a storm, and he’d have to carry her to the office. That’d be some shock and awe for the team.
“Mm. I love when you talk dirty to me.” He shifted to rest alongside her. “Some of the things you said to me.”
Yeah, she’d never been a saint. But with Asher, it’d felt right. Everything with him was utterly perfect.
Except for the fact they worked together.
And he was one of Luke’s best friends.
And he was also one of her best friends.
She caught him stroking his cock. The man was a machine. But was she surprised? Back at the base six years ago they’d gone crazy, too.
Tonight had been different, though. There was a friendship and trust between them that hadn’t existed six years ago.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you last night,” she said a beat later, and it had him releasing his hold of his shaft and turning on his side to better view her.
“What is it?”
“I, uh, saw Sarah and Angelo at the club. They left right before you and the team showed up.”
He shifted to his back and peered skyward.
“She told me about your dad and Valentine’s Day.”
He gripped the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “You didn’t know?”
“I never looked too deep into the details. I didn’t think it was my place.” She reached for the crumpled comforter at the bottom of the bed and pulled it up, feeling the need for a shield.
“If only I’d had an upstanding military dad like you and Luke.” He sat upright and pulled one knee to his chest, and she sat up with him but kept the bedding clutched to her body.
She didn’t know what to say, so she waited. Her heart rate climbing as she wondered if she should never have mentioned his dad.
“Times got tough for my parents when we were kids. The family restaurant was on the brink of closing. And next thing we knew, my dad was acting like Santa Claus every day. Tripping in piles of money.”
“What changed?” she softly asked.
He took a sobering breath. “Angelo’s dad offered my old man some side gigs to make money.”
“Angelo wasn’t mob, though. The crew he ran was—”
“Angelo was an angel compared to the circles our dads ran in.” He raked a hand over the top of his head.
“How’d a side gig turn into murder?” Maybe she should’ve read the details of the case so Asher wouldn’t have had to explain.
He inhaled through his nose and released the breath through barely parted lips.
“Feds had an inside man on some job my dad and Angelo’s father took; and the next thing we knew, they were getting pinched on Valentine’s Day.
My dad murdered the undercover officer. Angelo’s dad went along for the ride by accessory.
He claims it was an accident, but . . .”
“I’m sorry.” She hooked her arm around his and rested her head against his shoulder.
“My mom married Dad’s lawyer. Crazy, right?
” He faked a laugh. “He wasn’t anything like Pops.
Did a few tours in the military when he was younger.
” He shifted out of her reach and maneuvered off the bed to stand.
“He used his connections to help get me out of jail for that bogus assault charge, but only if I promised to serve. I owe him for getting me out of that life.” He looked her straight in the eyes.
“But now Sarah’s being roped into that scene, and it’s hard for me to believe Angelo is walking some righteous path. ”
She allowed his admission to stretch between them.
Asher was opening up, doing something she wasn’t capable of doing. And she felt a touch of jealousy at his ability to do it.
Why couldn’t she do the same? Share her feelings.
He lifted his hand and eyed the sleeve of tattoos, then pointed to the Spartan figures holding swords and weapons on his forearm.
The ink spiraled up and merged with his SEAL tattoo: a trident crossing over a lightning bolt with the head of a horse above them—representing his time on Black Squadron, the elite group he’d once been part of before joining their team.
A battle between the past and present raged on his arm.
“We got the ink after our dads were sentenced. Kind of like a promise we’d always be brothers—warriors—and not fuck up our lives like they had.” He half-smiled. “Well, not as badly, I should say.”
She stood. “But Angelo didn’t stick to that.”
He slowly nodded. “Fighting started as our way to deal with the upside-down world we were living in. But he took it to another level and started getting involved in other shit.”
She took tentative steps his way. “Does fighting still help you feel in control?”
“Maybe, but I’ve been a good boy until—”
“Berlin,” she interrupted, her stomach dropping.
“Don’t blame what happened to you for my need to hit someone.” He half-grinned. “But, what we did tonight is a much better alternative to release tension.”
“Oh, is it?”
He reached for her and braced her hips and held her eyes. “Absolutely.”
And as much as she wanted to switch the conversation back to sex—or actually have it, again—she needed to tell him one more thing. “You should know I looked into Angelo while you were in Mexico.”
“What?”
A puff of air left her lips. “I made some calls.”
“Why?” His brow creased as he crossed his arms.
“Because I’m worried about you and—”
“The fighting?”
“Not just that.” Her body tensed, worried he was angry at her for possibly crossing the line. “I don’t want anything happening to you. But from what I can tell, Angelo told you the truth. He’s trying to get his life back on track.”
He blinked a few times and smoothed a hand down his jaw. “Even if that’s true—”
“You still don’t want him with your sister.” She forced a small smile. “Brothers.” Speaking of brothers . . .
His arms fell to his sides. “What are we telling Luke?” he asked, reading her thoughts.
“I need time to think about it.”
“Yeah, sure.” A touch of frustration blew through his tone, though.
“Asher.” She reached for his chest. “There are still reasons why you and I—”
“Yeah, I know them.” He tapped at the side of his skull. “And that’s why I’ve been a choir boy for three years.” His hands landed on his hips now. “But guess what, I don’t give a fuck about the reasons anymore.”