Chapter Twenty-Six
MERCURY
It’s another beautiful, sunny day in Scotland. Blackstone’s garden is bursting with blooms, and I tilt my head back, feeling the warmth soak into my skin, when I hear footsteps on the path behind me.
“You know, we might have to start thanking you for all this warm weather we’re getting,” Asher teases. “I think you brought a bit of LA with you when you came.”
I feel his arms wrap around my waist, and I melt into his embrace, grateful that Evie is no longer required to follow me every second of the day. Ash is right, Theodora does seem to have a soft spot for me. “Something else you’re going to miss when I’m gone.”
His body instantly tenses behind me.
“I’m sorry,” I say, turning to face him and studying his face. His expression is etched with pain. Shit. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “It’s okay. It’s actually why I asked you to meet me here.”
My pulse begins to race. “Is everything all right? Is your dad okay? Do you need me to—”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
My brows shoot up. “What?”
He takes my hand and pulls us over to a nearby stone bench.
We sit, our knees knocking together as he says, “I’ve already made a mess of this.
What I should have said from the start is this.
” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “I love you, Mercury. I love you, and I don’t want you to leave in a month or a year.
I want you to stay with me forever. And I know that’s a big ask, and I’m quite a lot to take on, but I promise I’ll try to make it worth the cost—”
I lunge forward, making him grunt as I silence him with a soul-searing kiss. His grunt turns into a heated groan as his hands find my waist and pull me into his lap.
“I love you too,” I say when we finally break apart.
He smirks. “I got that part when you attacked me mid-sentence. But it’s bloody good to hear. Does this mean you’re going to stay?”
I look at him so he knows I’m sincere. “I never wanted to leave.”
“But what about your job and your family? Will you be happy here?”
It’s something I’ve thought about for a while now. “I’ll miss my family like crazy,” I tell him. “But I’d miss you more. My life is here now. With you.”
“And your job?”
“I worked so hard to get where I am—”
“I know, and I don’t want you to lose that.”
I smile, loving how passionate he’s willing to fight for me. “I wasn’t finished yet.”
Chuckling, he kisses my forehead. “Continue.”
“But, like I said before, I missed so much along the way, and I think I forgot, in my quest to prove I could succeed, that life is more than just a career.”
He nods, understanding spreading across his face. “I think I forgot that too.”
“I want a whole life, and I want it here with you. I don’t want to lose that creative side of myself—I believe neither of us should—but I want it to be a part of me, not all of me. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, love. It does. And I’ll support you in whatever endeavors you choose to do in the future.”
“As will I.”
He kisses me again, but this time it’s intense and desperate. His hands grip my hair, and I let out a small moan of pleasure. Before long, we’re almost dry humping on the little stone bench in the middle of the garden, where anyone passing by could see.
“Lift your skirt, love, and slide those panties to the side,” he says against my ear.
I give him a scandalized look. “Here?”
“Aye.” His eyes darken. “Here.”
A thrill of excitement shoots up my spine at the thought of doing it here out in the open, and maybe just a little bit at the thought of getting caught.
I do as he asks and tug at my skirt until it’s no longer tucked under me. Then I slide my hand underneath and push the thin scrap of fabric between my legs aside.
His grin turns downright sinister. “That’s a good girl. Now unbutton my pants.”
Neither of us has changed since this morning, so we’re still dressed down in travel clothes. I’m in a comfortable maxi dress, and he’s in dark denim and a sweater.
It’s really unfair that this man can look good in practically anything, from leather pants to a preppy sweater to even a top hat and tails. But I’ve come to the conclusion that Asher Knight’s best look is when he’s in nothing at all.
Unfortunately, that will have to wait until later. Right now, all I have time for is a quick unzip of his jeans. Growing impatient, he takes over, tugs his boxer briefs down just enough to free himself, then lifts me up just enough to—
“Shit!” I cry out as he practically impales me with his dick.
His hand clamps over my mouth, a cocky grin tugging at his lips. “You’re going to get us caught.”
“Isn’t that half the fun?”
“Knowing we could be seen and actually having one of the staff members see us fucking are two wildly different things,” he says with a smirk. “I don’t want anyone to see you like this but me.”
I smile. “That’s awfully possessive of you.”
“Get used to it.”
Then he kisses me, and we make love in the garden, surrounded by flowers and sunshine. It’s soft and slow, like we have all the time in the world.
Because now, finally…we do.
ASHER
You know those people who never run on treadmills because they swear it will never replace the kind of workout you get from the great outdoors.
It turns out they might be right.
That, or I’m just fucking out of shape.
My life in LA wasn’t exactly suited for a lot of outdoor running. I know a lot of celebrities make it work, but I just couldn’t fathom putting my bodyguards and security team through something like that just to get a bit of fresh air.
So when I needed to work out, I used my home gym.
Here in Scotland, I made do with the treadmill my mum reluctantly added to one of the spare bedrooms after her physician recommended some light walking to help with her high blood pressure.
But today, I choose to switch it up and go for a run outdoors, and Christ, am I regretting that decision. By the time I make it to the cottage, my lungs and calves are burning.
I push the creaky door open and enter the dreary space, needing a bit of rest and perhaps a glass of water before I can head back. I do not want to have to call Mac to ask for a ride.
That would be embarrassing.
I walk over to the small sink by the table and reach into the cabinet above it. There are a few glasses and mugs for tea. I fill one with water that is thankfully clean and cold. I chug down a couple of glasses, then clean the glass and put it back where I found it.
Then something catches my eye, and I turn to see my guitar case resting against the hearth of the fireplace. My fingers flex, longing to touch it. It’s been weeks since I held it, yet barely a day has passed that I haven’t longed to.
Singing is what I’m known for, but the guitar will always be my first love. Just seeing it takes me back to those early days when it was just the four of us in boarding school, thinking we were gods, but we sounded like shit.
It took years before people regarded us as gods. And then it all fell apart.
Before I can take a step toward it, my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. Wanting to ignore it, but knowing I can’t, I pull it out of my joggers and sigh.
I should have known this was coming…
“Hi, Hendrix,” I say in a slightly weary tone.
“You promised,” he snarls, not even bothering to greet me. I really hadn’t expected one anyway. “You promised you wouldn’t touch her, and yet there are pictures of the two of you all over the fucking internet. And before you try to claim it’s not real, do me a favor and don’t fucking lie to me.”
“Hen, I don’t see how any of this is your business—” I start to say.
“She’s my sister, Ash,” his voice booms. “My baby sister!”
“And she’s the woman I love,” I lash out. “So maybe take a step back, yeah?”
“What did you say?” His voice is barely a whisper, yet I hear it nonetheless.
“I’m in love with her, Hen. This isn’t some temporary fling. She’s it for me, and I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I’m not walking away.”
“You’re in love with my sister?”
“Yes,” I say simply, refusing to apologize. “I know you asked me to stay away from her, but—”
“Does this mean we’re, like, brothers-in-law now?”
My mouth drops open at his whiplash-inducing mood swing. “Uh, I think it’s a bit early for that, but…someday, sure?”
“Dude!” The jovial tone in his voice is back. “And here I thought I might be losing a friend today. Instead, I’m gaining a family member!”
I gape at his words. “You were that angry?”
“Kind of, yeah,” he replies, and I can almost picture his broad shoulders lifting in a casual shrug.
Hendrix isn’t the tallest of the band members—Darius is taller—but he’s a close second.
With his punk rock hair, tattoos, and goofy attitude, I always knew he would be perfect for the band.
What I didn’t realize was how close the two of us would become.
“After everything I told you about Merc, I thought you’d gone behind my back and taken advantage of her. ”
“I’d never do that…to either of you.”
“I know,” he agrees with me. “I just didn’t know what to make of it when I saw those pics. There is no way you two were faking it, and you’ve always made it clear you don’t want anything serious. With anyone.”
I cup the back of my neck, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.
I haven’t seen the pics the pap took of Merc and me in the woods, but given the position he caught us in, I doubt they leave much to the imagination.
I was so caught up in that kiss that I completely forgot about everything around us, including the cameras.
“It’s not that I’ve never thought of being in a relationship. It’s just that I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Why? Because of who you are?” He scoffs. “Ash, plenty of people in Hollywood date and get married.”
“And how many of them get divorced?” I challenge. “It’s a hard life. No one knows that better than you and Zander.”
“And you have it ten times worse.”