10 Scarlett
“When he touches me, it feels like my soul recognizes him before my mind ever could.”
It should feel too fast, but somehow it just feels right.
When Asher looks at me or touches me, it’s like every shattered piece inside me finally fits back together.
Like for the first time in my life I’m not just surviving…
I’m alive. I lie perfectly still beside him, trying not to wake him.
Over the last week it feels like he barely sleeps because of me.
Every time I woke from a nightmare, he was there instantly, pulling me against him, calming me down, whispering in Italian against my skin until I could breathe again.
Last night was the first time in a long time that I actually slept.
The nightmares still came, but this time he was there in them too.
Saving me. Just like he always does in real life.
Today is my first day of tutoring, and afterward Asher said he’s going to start teaching me how to handle a gun.
The thought alone makes my stomach twist nervously.
I want to protect myself. I want to stop feeling helpless all the time, but the idea of holding something that dangerous still scares me.
“What’re you thinking about that has your heart racing like that, Red?” His voice is rough with sleep behind me.
“Good morning,” I whisper softly. “Sorry if I woke you. I was trying to let you sleep.”
His arm tightens around my waist.
“You can’t hide shit from me,” he murmurs against my neck. “I feel everything about you. My body reacts to yours, so tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
I sigh quietly.
“Just today, I guess. I’m nervous about training. I’ve barely even seen a gun before, let alone used one.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of,” he says immediately. “We’ll start slow. Basics only. We can even start before tutoring if you want. We’ll grab breakfast first though. I’m sure Roman already cooked enough food to feed an army.”
I laugh softly.
“But first…” he murmurs.
Suddenly he rolls over on top of me, his mouth crashing against mine.
The kiss is deep and hungry, and I instantly feel how hard he already is against my thigh.
Heat floods through me embarrassingly fast.
How is it possible that after everything that happened between us, after finally being with him for the first time, I still can’t stop wanting him?
Every touch, every kiss, every glance has my body reacting.
It’s like my body constantly aches for him now.
He reaches toward the nightstand for a condom and suddenly I freeze.
Last night.
The shower.
The bed afterward.
Oh God. My entire body tenses, and of course he notices immediately.
“Red?” His forehead presses against mine. “What’s wrong?”
“Last night…” I whisper awkwardly. “We didn’t… use anything.”
His expression immediately shifts. “Shit.”
“I’m not on birth control.”
“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath, already pulling back slightly. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I got caught up in everything and—”
“It’s okay,” I interrupt quickly.
“No, it’s not. I should’ve been more careful.” His hand slides gently along my cheek. “I can run to the pharmacy and get you something if you want.”
He starts to move away, but I grab his arm.
“You don’t have to go right this second,” I whisper. “Can you just… finish what you started first?”
The look he gives me nearly melts my insides. I tug him back down by the back of his neck and kiss him hard. I try to climb on top of him, but he laughs softly and flips me back onto the mattress.
“Oh no, sweetheart,” he murmurs darkly. “Today’s about you.”
His fingers brush hair away from my face.
“But I need something from you first.”
“What?”
“Trust.”
His eyes lock onto mine.
“I need you to trust me today. Here… and later out on the range. I need you to trust that I’ve got you.”
“You know I trust you, Asher.”
Something soft flashes through his expression before it disappears again. He reaches into the nightstand and pulls out two strips of black silk and my breath catches.
“Asher…”
“You can stop me anytime, Red.”
His voice stays calm and steady while he gently lifts my wrists above my head and loosely secures the silk around them.
The blindfold comes next. The second darkness covers my eyes; every other sense sharpens.
I can hear his breathing, I can feel the heat rolling off his skin, the mattress dip as he moves between my legs.
Then his mouth is on my neck again. Slow kisses.
Teeth scraping lightly against sensitive skin.
Every touch feels amplified now that I can’t see him.
My entire body feels overheated and shaky with anticipation.
He spreads my legs carefully and I hear a faint buzzing sound. My breath hitches.
“Oh my God…”
A cool vibration suddenly presses lightly against my inner thigh before slowly teasing higher. My back arches instantly from the unexpected sensation and Asher groans softly like my reaction alone is enough to wreck him.
“Relax for me, Red,” he murmurs against my skin. “Just let me take care of you.”
He slowly pushes the vibrator in and out of me while his mouth trails up my stomach toward my breasts.
His lips move back and forth between them, sucking and teasing each nipple until my entire body is trembling beneath him.
At the same time, he gradually increases the pace of the vibrator, pushing me closer and closer to the edge.
I’m right there, one more second and I’m going to explode.
Then suddenly he pulls the vibrator away completely.
I whimper at the loss before he slides down my body and replaces it with his mouth instead.
The second his tongue drags through me, I shatter.
My back arches violently off the bed while my hands tug uselessly against the silk restraints.
The sensation is overwhelming, wave after wave crashing through me so hard, I can barely breathe.
“Asher—” I gasp out desperately. “Stop, I can’t— God… please… it’s too much…”
My begging only seems to encourage him. He grips my hips harder and pulls me closer to his mouth like a starving man, devouring me while I shake uncontrollably beneath him.
By the time he finally stops, I’m pretty sure I almost blacked out.
He drags one finger teasingly across my oversensitive skin and I nearly jump off the bed. A dark chuckle leaves him.
“Next time,” he murmurs, “I might have to tie your ankles down too, baby.”
I hear the rip of a condom wrapper before suddenly he grabs my ankles and flips me over onto my stomach. I barely have time to process what’s happening before his hand slides along my spine.
“Up on all fours for me, sweetheart.”
He unties the silk from my wrists before removing the blindfold from my eyes.
The second I can see again, he thrusts inside me, hard and deep.
I cry out immediately as he starts thrusting into me fast and rough enough to make the headboard slam softly against the wall.
One hand grips my hip while the other tangles in my hair, pulling my head back just enough for him to crash his mouth against mine.
The kiss is messy and desperate and completely consuming.
The angle mixed with how sensitive I already am becomes too much almost instantly.
“Asher—”
“That’s it,” he growls against my mouth. “Cum for me, Red.”
The way he says it completely destroys me and I fall apart around him with a cry while he keeps thrusting through my orgasm until he finally groans against my throat and finds his release too.
For a few moments neither of us moves. We just stay tangled together trying to catch our breath.
Eventually he kisses the back of my shoulder softly before picking me up and carrying me into the shower.
We get cleaned up and eventually make our way downstairs for breakfast, though my legs are still shaky enough that Asher keeps smirking every time I nearly miss a step. Roman is already in the kitchen making espresso while Harper sits dramatically slumped across one of the stools at the island.
“This is abuse,” she groans. “Nobody should be expected to function before noon.”
“You don’t function after noon either, baby,” Roman says without even glancing up from the stove.
Harper flips him off immediately.
“Such a healthy relationship,” Declan mutters from behind his laptop.
“We have no relationship” Harper says as she steals a piece of bacon off of Roman’s plate while he is at the expresso machine.
“Keep telling yourself that Tempesta.” Roman says and grabs the bacon out of her mouth and plops it in his.
Asher slides a plate in front of me before taking the seat beside mine, his thigh pressing against mine under the island.
“You eat,” he says firmly. “Then we start training.” My stomach twists instantly.
“Relax, Sorellina,” Roman says while sipping his espresso. “Nobody’s dropping you into combat today.”
“That sounds exactly like something people say right before dropping someone into combat,” Harper says suspiciously.
Roman points his mug at her.
“See? She gets it.”
Before anyone can respond, Declan’s phone buzzes against the counter. His expression immediately sharpens when he sees the screen.
“Zariah,” he says while answering. The entire room quiets. I watch Asher’s posture instantly tense beside me. Declan listens silently for almost a minute before finally speaking.
“You’re sure? Did Thomas say anything else? Okay. Don’t push too hard yet. Keep playing the corporate security angle.” He hangs up and closes the laptop slowly.
“Well?” Roman asks.
Declan leans back slightly in his chair.
“Zariah thinks Thomas is hiding something major inside Vale Enterprises. She gained partial access to some executive files last night during the dinner event.”
“Anything useful?” Asher asks sharply.
“She found multiple missing financial transfers tied to offshore shell accounts. Large amounts. Millions.”
Roman whistles low.
“That’s not suspicious at all.”
Declan ignores him.
“She also confirmed something else. Thomas has been privately meeting with a group of investors that aren’t officially tied to the company.”
“Illegal?” I ask quietly.
“Potentially worse,” Declan says grimly.
A chill runs through me.
“She thinks they may be connected to the bounty.” The room goes completely silent.