3 Scarlett #2
“I’m driving you today, remember, Red?” Asher says smoothly before Barry can question anything else. “You wanted Barry to take Harper home, and I need to get to school early to pick up my class schedule.” Then he flashes Barry a charming smile.
“Thanks again for offering to show me around the area.” Barry still looks unsure, but he nods politely anyway.
The second we step inside the house, I practically sprint for the staircase and head toward the west wing where Harper’s guest room is located. I pound on the door impatiently.
“Jesus Christ, Scarlett, did you have to knock so damn….” Harper stops mid-sentence the second she notices Asher standing behind me. Her entire expression changes instantly.
“Oh my God,” she says dramatically, eyes widening. “Scarlett Vale, you did not tell me Mr. Saved-My-Life was this fucking hot.”
I groan.
“Harper…”
“No seriously,” she continues while openly staring at him. “This man looks like he walked straight out of a mafia romance novel.”
Asher smirks beside me.
Traitor.
“Please tell me you got some of that last night,” Harper says with absolutely zero shame.
“Oh my God,” I hiss, mortified. “Harper, are you physically incapable of not being inappropriate for five minutes?” She grins unapologetically.
“And before you ask again, no,” I say quickly, shooting her a pointed look she instantly understands. “Nothing happened.”
Her eyes soften slightly at the unspoken meaning behind my words.
Good. Because after last night, the fact that Asher hadn’t tried to take advantage of me somehow mattered more than it probably should.
I take her hand and drag her through the door and down the hall to my room.
Before Asher can follow us in, I slam and lock the door, leaving him standing outside.
“I can’t believe you spent all night with that hot piece of ass and didn’t at least take advantage of him in some shape or form.”
“I was a little preoccupied, Harp. I had just been almost raped and chased through the woods.” I love her, but sometimes she has a one-track mind, and sex is it.
I go over to my closet, grab a change of clothes, and head toward the bathroom. I take a quick shower and get dressed. When I come out, Harper is on the phone with her dad.
“Look, I’m fine. Scarlett is here, and Mr. Hottie from next door too. I don’t need Barry to escort me home. I’m fully capable of driving my own car. In fact, I’ll just borrow some clothes from Scarlett and leave for school from here. I have all my shit in my car anyway,
so there’s no reason to come home at all.” She rolls her eyes before hanging up.
Sometimes I wish I was as brazen as she was.
She just has this no-care, take-no-prisoners attitude, and I envy her for it.
She gets up, goes into my closet, grabs a change of clothes for herself, and heads into the bathroom.
While she showers, I sit down at my vanity and fix my hair and makeup.
It takes a little more time than normal to cover some of the scratches and bruises from last night, but by the time I’m done, they’re barely noticeable.
Harper comes out and takes my place at the vanity.
“I’m gonna go downstairs and grab something to eat. When you’re done, come meet us there, okay?” I tell her as I open the door to see Asher leaning against the wall, talking on his phone. He hangs up as soon as I walk out and follows me downstairs.
“I was talking to my brother Declan, and he agrees with me. He thinks you should stay with us. We don’t like what happened, especially knowing your stepsister was behind it. We can have all your stuff transferred over by the end of the day if you want.”
“Look, I really appreciate the offer. I’m beyond grateful for what you did last night, but I just met you. Picking up and moving all my shit in with you seems a little crazy.” I walk into the kitchen and stop dead in my tracks, causing Asher to slam lightly into my back.
My dad, Clara, and Celeste are sitting in the breakfast nook, eating from the massive spread the staff prepared. I was hoping they’d all be gone by now, but I guess everyone started moving a little later after the party last night.
“Good morning, Scarlett. Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join us? And may I ask who your guest is?” my dad asks, barely glancing up from the morning paper.
“Um… no, we won’t be joining you. I’m just grabbing something quickly before we head out. This is our new neighbor, Asher. Him and his brothers just moved in, and he’s starting at Raven Hill. I’m supposed to show him around.”
I stumble through the explanation while grabbing three muffins off the table and a few bottles of juice from the fridge.
“You’re going to show him around? Don’t they usually assign someone to do that?” Celeste asks, her tone sharp enough to make it obvious she thinks I’m lying.
“They did,” Asher answers smoothly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as he takes a muffin and juice from my hands. “They assigned Scarlett. Since I’m starting late in the year, the school put us in touch before I arrived.”
We turn to leave just as Harper comes around the corner.
I shrug out of Ashers hold and grab her arm, pulling her along with us, and hand her a muffin and a bottle of juice as we head out the door.
Harper walks toward her car, and I’m about to follow her when Asher catches my hand and tugs me toward the path leading to his house.
“What are you doing? I could’ve just ridden with Harper,” I say.
“Yeah, well, your driver Barry was giving me the evil eye again, so I figured we should stick with the story,” he says as we walk into his garage.
“Wait… I can’t ride that. Where’s your car?” I ask, staring at the sleek black sports bike that looks like it was built to hit over two hundred miles an hour.
“My car hasn’t been delivered yet. This right here is my baby.” He pats the motorcycle with a grin. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she? Don’t be scared, Red. She doesn’t bite.”
“I’ve never ridden a bike before. What do I do?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly.
He chuckles softly before lifting me onto the back of the bike like I weigh nothing at all.
“First, swing your leg over this side. Then you’re gonna put this helmet on.” He hands it to me and waits until I secure it properly. “Once I get on, wrap your arms around my waist and hold on tight. Let your body move with the bike. Just lean when it does.”
He swings his leg over and settles in front of me before starting the engine.
The motorcycle roars to life beneath us, the deep vibration rumbling through every inch of my body.
I suck in a breath as he reaches back, grabbing my wrists and pulling me closer until my chest is pressed firmly against his back.
“Relax, Red,” he murmurs.
Easy for him to say.
The scent of his cologne mixed with leather and gasoline completely surrounds me, and with the vibrations of the bike thrumming between my thighs and his body pressed against mine, heat curls low in my stomach, my panties soaking right through with my want for him.
My grip tightens around his waist as he glances back at me over his shoulder, a cocky smirk tugging at his lips like he already knows exactly what he’s doing to me.
And honestly?
This man might actually be the death of me.