Chapter 101

Asher

When one of my contacts had informed me that he had seen Cynthia and the other cheerleaders being led into a seedy bar by their coach, I had hoped that person was mistaken.

Cynthia had assured me the swimsuit contest was taking part at a nice restaurant, and I didn’t wanted to doubt her.

But to be safe, I had to check out the bar anyway.

As soon as I walked into the bar, I spotted Cynthia on the bartop in nothing but her sexy bikini, her face pale with fear. She looked at me, but then away quickly, as if ashamed.

She had lied to me – about the restaurant, and about the swimsuit she had chosen to wear.

My every impulse wanted me to jettison forward and snatch her off the bar, to snap my teeth at any and all who attempted to look at the bare, beautiful skin she had on display. No one should get to see her like that.

No one but me.

My nerves itched to take action. My wolf clawed under my skin.

“Protect. We must protect.”

But I held myself back.

I had asked her, when she told me about the contest, if it was something she wanted to do. She had said yes.

“She is scared,” my wolf hissed in my mind.

Cynthia’s shoulders tremored as she wrapped her arms over herself, hiding as much as she could.

“She wants this,” I told myself, urging myself not to interfere. She was sensitive and proud. She wouldn’t like me overstepping when she didn’t need it – didn’t need me.

My hands formed fists.

“Don’t be shy, baby!” called a nearby patron. I glared at him until he saw me and fell silent.

Maybe I couldn’t rescue her from the contest, but I could at least make sure these jerks didn’t try anything inappropriate. Even if I had to rip this whole place apart.

“Shake that ass, honey!” shouted another drunken man. I nudged him with my shoulder hard enough for him to drop his drink. He faced me with an angry snarl until he saw how much taller than him I was. Then he slunk back down. “Sorry.”

But then, I heard a soft voice. “Asher.”

Cynthia.

Her gaze was back on me. Her wide, fearful eyes seared into my soul.

I moved at once, pushing none-too-gently on my way to the front of the crowd. I ignored the gripes and groans of the patrons I shoved aside.

Nothing mattered more than getting to Cynthia.

She needed me. The siren’s call of our connection pulled me forward by my very bones.

As I reached the front, I removed my leather jacket. I helped her down from the bartop and put my jacket around her shoulders. Then I lifted her up into the safety of my arms.

She hugged my shoulders and buried her face into the crook of my neck.

“Asher,” she whispered, again and again.

My heart lurched in my chest. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”

I regretted my every moment of hesitation inside this bar. My wolf had been right. She was scared and had needed me. I wouldn’t doubt again.

For now, I would get her out of this shoddy establishment and away from these drunken, rowdy patrons. They shouted their disappointment, booing Cynthia and I from every direction.

Let them boo. Cynthia was mine, not theirs.

Holding Cynthia in a bridal carry, I turned toward the exit. The new coach stepped into my immediate path.

“Where do you think you are taking her, Alpha brat?” Coach said. “Costumers paid good money to see--“

“Get out of my way,” I growled.

Coach immediately silenced.

Nothing and no one would get in the way of me bringing Cynthia to safety.

Coach looked like he wanted to argue, but under my glower, he cowered. Eventually, he moved out of the way.

Protecting Cynthia against my chest, I shouldered my way through the crowd and eventually, out of that ratty bar and onto the street. My car was parked nearby. Only when I had lowered Cynthia into the passenger seat could I breathe again.

As I rounded the car to the driver’s side, I forced in a few deep breaths. Anger clawed up my throat, threatening to strangle me. The breathing exercises could do little to quash it.

I drove Cynthia back to campus in silence. She wrapped my jacket around herself and looked out the window. I focused on getting us there in one piece.

After I parked, she said, “I can walk now.”

I grunted, too furious for words. I exited the car before she did, so when she tried to stand on her own and stumbled, I immediately caught her.

“Or… not.” She gave me a shaky smile. Her hands trembled on my shoulders.

I lifted her into my arms and carried her to my room. Inside, I lowered her down onto my bed.

“Asher,” she said, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “You aren’t saying anything.”

I shook my head.

“I know you are angry…” she said.

I turned from her and crossed the room to put some space between us.

“Asher, please.”

She only knew the half of it. I was so angry, I nearly buzzed out of my skin. But I also… wanted.

My wolf prowled inside of me, encouraged by the amount of skin she bared and the way my jacket wrapped around her. But also, it was infuriated that others had seen her like this.

My wolf ached to claim, to mark Cynthia with our teeth and scent so that everyone would know she was ours.

“Asher.”

Suddenly, her touch was on my back, and I swiveled, facing her. She was too close, looking up at me with concern.

She was not trying to hide herself like she’d done before. My jacket hung loosely on her shoulders. Her bikini top had gotten uneven, showing more of her voluptuous breasts that had previously been covered.

I watched her moment of recognition as she took in the dangerous heat of my gaze, enough to know the full nature of my fury.

A touch of surprise crossed her face, almost immediately followed by her own heat.

Her own want.

“She is our mate,” my wolf said, hungry. “She wants our claim.”

Lifting my hand, I trailed one finger down the length of the zipper of my jacket, tracing the forbidden line of her torso down and up again. I stopped at the side of her breast, resting my hand flat against the swell.

She pushed herself more fully into me, as if in invitation.

It was enough.

I pounced, gathering her into my embrace. Her arms slid around my neck. Her head fell back, exposing her neck. I peppered the skin there in quick, desperate kisses.

“Asher,” she moaned, urging me on.

I dropped my hands under my jacket to feel her bare skin. She clawed at my shoulders, tugged at my hair.

I led her backwards to the bed, then pushed her down onto it. She gasped, looking up at me with hooded eyes and pouty lips. I crawled over her and her gaze dragged down the length of my body, resting on my crouch where I was beginning to harden.

“Claim her,” my wolf urged. “Press inside of her. Make her ours.”

My hands went to her hips.