Chapter 83

I followed Asher to the nightclub only to make sure he was okay. After all, he’d nearly passed out at the ice rink earlier! He hardly seemed like he was in any condition to be pursuing such cardio-heavy activities as dancing and… sex.

Not that I would stop him. We were just friends. I had no claim on him.

I only wanted to check on him. He pushed himself too hard, acting the big bad Alpha all the time. And while most of the time that was an accurate description of him, since last night he’d been saddled with this physical weakness.

A friend would want to make sure their friend was okay.

At the club entrance, we’d gotten separated. Asher got waved through right away while I had to wait in line.

I hadn’t expected Asher to go to a nightclub so I wasn’t exactly dressed for it. My cocktail dress was white with pink flowers, a bit more modest than the revealing satin and leather on the people around me.

“You lost?” the bouncer asked when I made it to the front of the line. Fortunately, the wait hadn’t been too long.

I’d never really been to a nightclub before, so I wasn’t sure the best way to deal with the burly man checking my ID.

“I’m meeting someone in there,” I said, settling on a half-truth. I was meeting someone. He just didn’t know it yet.

“Whatever.”

I paid the cover charge and the bouncer let me in the door.

Immediately I was overwhelmed by the red and purple flashing lights and the music so loud, my eardrums pounded with the beat. Most everyone was wearing revealing clothing and covered in sweat and glitter.

On the dance floor, people moved like an ocean, swaying and grinding and… Oh.

That couple there was definitely about to have sex, with the guy’s hands down the girl’s halter top.

I averted my gaze, seeking out Asher among the sea of people. Fortunately, he wasn’t in the gyrating ocean, but sitting at the bar.

When I saw who he was with though, any feeling of relief shriveled up.

Elena was beside him, leaning seductively, practically flashing him.

Jealous rage struck through me. She couldn’t be continuing to make the moves on Asher. How many times did he need to tell her no?

Yet… he was here. He wasn’t walking away. He was talking to her.

Instead of storming over, I casually walked. After everything I’d told Asher, he couldn’t actually mean to have a cordial conversation with Asher.

“I won’t ask for much. Just one night of pleasure – with you.”

Elena’s words turned my feet to lead. I stopped on the spot.

I should have made my presence known but I couldn’t. I was entirely helpless to do anything but watch and wait for Asher’s answer.

“No,” he said simply.

My surprise reflected on Elena’s face. She inched upright, blinking.

“No? That’s it?” Her voice is shrill.

“That’s my answer.”

“Fine.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Your loss then. But don’t expect any sudden kindness from me toward you or that little parasite you so adore.”

Asher stood when she did, face twisting like he had more to say. But then he saw me.

Elena, fuming, rushed away, returning to her entourage. Asher didn’t as much as glance at her again.

Instead his gaze stayed fully fixed on me. After a moment, he walked toward me.

“What are you doing here?” He had to lean close for me to hear him speak. I could feel his warm breath on my cheek.

“I followed you,” I admitted, still dazed by what I had just witnessed – both Elena’s request, and Asher’s blatant dismissal. “I was worried.”

“I’m feeling better,” Asher said. He brushed a hand down his shirt as if to dust away invisible lint. Suddenly I realized how tight that shirt was, stretching to accommodate his muscly bulk. Those buttons were holding on for dear life.

I kind of wished they’d pop.

“How much did you hear just now?” Asher asked, glancing away.

“She wants you,” I said.

“I tried to bargain. Her terms weren’t acceptable.”

“What were you bargaining for?”

He looked at me again, and I knew. He didn’t have to say it. He’d already said he was going to confront Elena over the rumors.

“Me,” I said.

Asher sighed. “Maybe I should have accepted. Then she’d leave you alone.”

“Asher.” This was Joseph and the challenge all over again, yet somehow worse! Asher had used his body battered to protect me from Joseph. Now he was going to let himself be used sexually? “No.”

Asher was barely listening to me. “I could have protected you. It wouldn’t have been the first time I forced myself to bed a fucking viper.”

His words made my chest hurt. “Do you even want her? Physically, I mean.”

“No,” he said quickly. “But to protect you –”

Reaching up, I covered his mouth with my hand.

“I love that you want to protect me, Asher, but I would never forgive myself if you did something like that. So help me, I’d reveal all my secrets before I let you hurt yourself in that way.”

Slowly, the remaining tension eased from his body. He held himself differently, more at ease.

I started removing my hand from his face, but he grabbed it and kissed my knuckles. My cheeks burned hot.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For what?” If anyone should thank anyone, I should thank him. He constantly put himself in harm’s way for me, without wanting anything in return.

“No one’s cared about me quite like this before,” he said, almost too quiet to hear, had he not said the words between a quick break in the music.

My heart ached for him, and my desire to keep his safe surged anew. Who protected the protector? I would.

“Let’s get you home,” I said. “You probably need to get back to bed.”

Gently he shook his head. He still hadn’t released my hand. He moved it to his chest now, where I could feel the steady beat of his heart.

“I’ll prove to you how good I feel,” he said.

I lifted a brow. “How?”

“Follow.” He tugged me toward the dance floor.

I secretly loved following his demands, especially when they were delivered in his deep baritone. What could I do but follow?

We weaved through the gyrating sea of bodies until we found a small open space all our own. Then he faced me and pulled me into his arms.

I grabbed nervously at his shoulders, not totally sure what to expect. He moved against me but I was stiff.

“Cynthia,” he said, voice rough in my ear. “You are a dancer. Dance.”

Like that, a switch flipped in my brain. I never been to a dance club like this. This wasn’t my usual form of dancing.

But I knew how to make my body move to any music, even the deep thump of techno-pop. At once, I became fluid, flowing against the leading movements of Asher’s body.

He was good at leading, guiding my body with his. Any trace of physical weakness I had witnessed earlier in the day was long gone.

Once again, he was all strong, insistent Alpha.

Moving closer still, he slipped his leg between my thighs so that our hips could notch together. Entranced with the music, I grinded on his hard thigh.

I slid one of my hands from his shoulder to his chest. At the brush of my thumb, one of those struggling buttons popped free. With this new room, I slipped my fingers under his shirt, rubbing at his clavicle.

He gripped at my ass, guiding the movements of my hips, urging me faster, harder.

Then he lowered his hand down the length of my thigh, past the edge of my skirt. His bare skin burned fire on mine as he hooked his hold under the back of my knee, lifting it to his waist.

God, he was so hot.

Like this, I could so easily forget where we were and who we truly were to each other.

“Asher,” I begged, unable to control myself.

I wanted more.

I wanted everything.

I wanted him.