Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
ASPEN
Waking up slowly, I smile as I feel him behind me, laying kisses from my neck to my shoulder. I don’t typically sleep in tank tops, but I’m glad I did last night.
I forgot how much I miss his touch, and finally feeling his lips on my skin?
Fucking life-changing.
I don’t know how else to describe it.
When he starts to pull away, I arch into his touch, seeking him out.
Asher chuckles. “Greedy little thing when you first wake up, aren’t you?”
“Lies,” I tease, making him laugh.
“How long have you been awake?” I ask.
“Long enough to check my phone and know that I need to go.”
“What? Why?”
“Because Trout covered for me last night. He started his shift early, so I need to go replace him so he can get some sleep.”
“Do you have to?” I whine.
Asher squeezes my hip. “Turn over.”
Without giving it a second thought, I do as he asks and wrap my arm over his hip. Asher is propped up on one hand, staring down at me. When he reaches out and brushes a piece of hair off my face, I can’t help but shut my eyes.
I don’t know if I’ve ever enjoyed someone’s touch the way I do his.
“You look beautiful all the time, but first thing in the morning…you take my breath away,” he murmurs.
I can’t help but smile. “Are you trying to seduce me?”
“Maybe. Is it working?” he jokes, making me laugh.
“Maybe. I guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself.”
He growls as he pulls me into him. “You’re making it hard to leave.”
“Then you should stay.”
“Fuck. Do you want me to call your brother and tell him you need me? Because if you really want me to stay, I will. Otherwise, we can pick back up later,” he groans.
I want to be selfish and tell him to stay, but I can’t. I love that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to please me, but I can’t be selfish. Not when some of the brothers are still leery where he’s concerned.
I don’t need to give them any more ammunition to use against him and claim that he isn’t in this for the right reasons.
He needs to prove himself, and I’m not going to be the reason he’s not invited to actually join.
“As much as I love the idea of you staying with me, you should probably go. I don’t want you jeopardizing your spot in the club for me.”
I feel him suck in a breath. “Are you saying you approve of me joining now?”
“Last I checked, you’re a grown man and you don’t need anyone’s approval.”
“Aspen…”
“Look, I don’t understand why you want to join, but if you really want to do this, then I’ll support you. If you want to walk away instead, I’ll understand. I just don’t want you staying here because of me.”
“Not everything is about you,” he teases.
“Are you sure about that?” I quip, making him laugh.
“No, seriously though, I’m not staying here because of you.
Yeah, you are part of the reason I came here to begin with, but that’s it.
Now that I’ve gotten to know everyone, I like the guys.
I like what your brother has worked his ass off building.
These guys are a family, and I want to be a part of that. ”
“But they break the law, and you are the law,” I say quietly.
Asher squeezes my hip. “I was the law, but I’m not anymore.”
“Are you okay with that? Truly? That’s a big jump.”
“Before I met you, I started questioning my job. I loved what I did, but I didn’t like all the red tape.
I hated being forced to invade some of the groups I did.
Don’t get me wrong. I had no problem building cases against assholes like Ragged Anarchy, but when I had to build cases against guys like your brother, I fucking hated it.
The guys here aren’t inherently bad. They just do some bad shit sometimes.
That’s it. They aren’t out there on the streets taking out rivals and shit. They are different.”
“They are the exception,” I say softly.
“Exactly. The club’s moral compass aligns with mine. They just deal justice out immediately instead of having to wait for it. I can get behind that.”
I touch his jaw lightly and make him look me in the eye. “You’re sure?”
His eyes soften. “Yes.”
“Okay.”
“Does that make you look at me differently?”
“No, not at all. Is that something you were worried about?”
“No, not really. Not with who your brother is, but it was something I needed to ask.”
“I would be a hypocrite if I had an issue with it.”
“No, you wouldn’t. It’s different being okay with a loved one doing something you don’t necessarily agree with than it is being okay with someone you want to be with.”
“True…”
On the nightstand, his phone vibrates.
“You should probably get dressed and head out there,” I tell him.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?”
“I’m sure.” I nod.
Asher leans down and kisses me softly. All too soon, he pulls away.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time,” he whispers against my lips.
Me too.
“Then you should do it more often.”
“Maybe I will.”
He leans down and kisses me three more times before he forces himself to get up. I sit up as I watch him slip his shirt from last night back on.
“You’re drooling,” he teases.
I shrug. “What can I say? I like what I see.”
When I go to move the covers off, he frowns.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting up for the day.”
“Songbird, it’s not even six a.m. yet. The sun is barely starting to come up. Do us both a favor and go back to sleep for a few hours.”
As soon as he mentions sleep, I yawn.
“See, you need more rest.”
“Fine. I’ll go back to sleep for a few hours. Happy?”
“Ecstatic.” He smirks, making me roll my eyes.
He lightly pushes my shoulder, and I fall back into bed. I watch as he readjusts the covers on me and covers me up. He leans down and kisses my forehead.
“Sweet dreams, my little songbird,” he murmurs against my skin.
Before he’s even out of the room, sleep reclaims me, and for the second time since I’ve been here, the nightmares stay away.
ASHER
After a quick stop in my room and changing, I head out to the gate. As I walk, I can’t help but replay last night over in my mind. I never expected it to go the way it did. Never in a million years did I think she would ever apologize for how things went down back with Ragged Anarchy.
Sure, I could have seen her apologizing for being a brat, but not for taking advantage of me.
I scoff at the thought.
I wanted her then as much as I do now. Fucking her wasn’t a hardship, and I’d love to do it again. Just on our terms. When we’re ready, and not because someone tells us to.
Whistling cuts through the air, pulling me back to the present.
“Look at you,” Yak teases.
“A pep in your step,” Trout adds.
“Fuck you guys.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m not the one who left last night to go get some,” Yak quips.
“It wasn’t like that,” I tell them with an edge in my voice.
Typically, I don’t care what they say about me, but when it comes to Aspen? That’s an entirely different story.
“We’re just teasing, man. No harm, no foul. What happens between you and Aspen is between the two of you,” Yak says.
“And maybe Panther,” Trout adds.
“What about Panther?” a voice calls from behind me.
I look over my shoulder and see Ridge walking our way, still looking like he’s half asleep.
“You good, brother?” I ask.
Ridge grunts. “Rough night.”
“That’s what happens when you take a sweetbutt to bed,” Trout says, not reading the room.
Ridge glares at him as he comes to a stop next to me. “I was in bed, alone. My mind just wouldn’t shut off. Now give us the report and get the fuck out of here before the prospect and I here decide you should stay on gate duty.”
Trout raises his hands and steps back.
“It was a quiet night. Nothing happened at all. Everyone stayed the night, and no one gave us any issues,” Yak tells us.
“Cool. Get out of here,” Ridge tells them.
Yak slaps my shoulder as he passes by me.
“Have fun,” he says under his breath.
With them gone, Ridge and I take a seat.
He sighs, shutting his eyes.
I don’t know him well, but even I can tell something’s on his mind. For a moment, I contemplate keeping my mouth shut and not asking if he’s okay. It’s none of my business.
I should try, though.
“You good?”
“I’m fine. Just tired. I don’t sleep well,” he mutters.
I nod. “I get that. If you want, you can nap. I won’t say shit.”
He sighs. “Nah, I appreciate it, but sleep won’t come.”
I want to ask him if he’s seen a doctor, but that’s not my business.
“How’s Aspen?” he asks after a minute.
“She’s good. Has good days and bad days, but that’s pretty normal.”
He nods. “I’m glad. I can’t even imagine what she went through.”
“It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure.”
“I need to apologize to her,” he says, catching me off guard.
“For what?” I ask, looking at him with confusion.
“For setting her off.”
My teeth grind. What did he do to her? I will risk my position in the club to kick his ass.
“What are you talking about?” I ground out between gritted teeth.
“That fight you broke up…” He says as if it is obvious.
Shit, he’s talking about the panic attack she had the night he got into a fight with Caterpillar.
“Dude, that’s not on you.”
“Still, it triggered her.” He shrugs.
I hum. “Can I ask what sparked that fight?”
“That asshole said some shit about Rain, and it set me off. I hate when some of the guys talk about the girls like they are a piece of meat, and usually I can tune it out and not let it get to me, but with Rain…” He shakes his head.
I hide my smile.
The only reason a guy gets bent out of shape about the way someone talks about a woman is if the woman is his.
“When I told him to knock it off, he doubled down. I swear to Christ he was egging me on, trying to get a rise out of me.”
“Well, he succeeded,” I muse.
Ridge smirks. “That he did. It felt good, though. It’s been a while since I’ve had to get my knuckles bloody. Probably won’t be the last either.”
I smirk at him. “You know what would solve that issue?”
“What?”
“Claiming her as your old lady,” I say nonchalantly.
Ridge tenses. “It’s not like that with us. She’s one of our brother’s daughters. She’s off limits and should be treated with respect. Not talked about like she’s ripe for the taking.”
“Are you sure that’s all?” I ask. “I mean no harm, just a serious question. What you say won’t leave here.”
He thinks over his answer before he speaks. “Yes. She’s a friend. That’s it. She’s too young for me.”
I snort. “Hate to break it to you, brother, but you really aren’t that much older than her.”
“It’s never going to happen,” he says, frowning.
I raise my hands in surrender. “Okay, if you say so. It was just an idea.”
He runs a hand over his face. “It’s fine. Shit, I can’t even blame you for jumping to that conclusion.”
“Why do you say that?”
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Because we all know you’re only joining because of Aspen.”
“That’s not the only reason—part of it, but not it completely,” I tell him honestly. “At least not anymore.”
“I’ll give you credit. It’s fucking ballsy to walk in here as a known fed and try to prospect all to win a girl. She must mean something to you.”
She means everything to me. I don’t tell him that.
“Incoming,” I say as I see a car put on a blinker and turn onto our road.
We stand and wait for them to slow down.
“What are you doing here?” Ridge asks when Rain’s car comes to a stop.
“Picking up Maggie. She’s tagging along to Dad’s appointment with me today,” she tells us.
I look over at the passenger seat and wave at Mustang in the front seat.
He nods but looks back at his girl.
Ridge grunts and hits the button to open the gate. “Drive safe.”
“Always,” she murmurs before driving through.
I look over at Ridge and smile.
Yeah, the guy might be in denial that there’s something between the two of them, but it’s obvious to the rest of us. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.