Chapter 84

As Asher and I danced on the floor of the nightclub, my whole nervous system ignited with wanton desire. His body was hard and healthy and against me.

And the way he moved his hips, molten and promising, a whisper of what it would be like to have him bed.

His hands were everywhere. His eyes watched me all the while, hooded.

I wanted him so badly, I struggled to breathe.

He had to want me too, didn’t he? For him to hold me like this? To slot his thigh between mine and urge me to grind on him?

Yet too soon, the music shifted to a new song with a different beat, and Asher stilled. Too quickly, he retracted his hands.

“Sorry,” he said. His eyes peered through me, unfocused.

“Don’t --”

“I need a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Then he disappeared, leaving me alone among the swaying, sweaty bodies. I stared after him, loneliness creeping into my bones.

He’d totally retreated from me. Maybe he didn’t want me, after all.

Dejected, I made my way out of the sea of dancing people, back to the bar. I found a seat and ordered a water. As the bartender slid me a glass, a man took the empty barstool beside mine.

He was nearly as big as Asher, though more bulky than well-proportioned. His hair was shorn short. He wore too much cologne, a musky scent that tickled my nose and made me want to sneeze.

“Hey, babe,” he said, leaning into me. “What are you drinking? Can I buy you another?”

“Just water.” I hoped he would take that as a rejection.

He didn’t. He laughed. “Cute. And cute dress, too. Don’t see too many girls in here like you. So… innocent.”

Pregnant, I wasn’t exactly innocent. But I wasn’t about to correct this man. That would likely only fuel whatever fantasy he seemed to be creating for me.

I glanced over my shoulder, back toward the bathrooms where Asher had gone, but there was no sign of him yet.

“I’m here with someone,” I said. “He’ll be back any minute.”

“You can’t mean that shrimp who left you alone on the dance floor.”

Shrimp? Asher was taller than this man. And though this man had more muscles, they were the kind that were just for show. Asher’s muscles were for purpose.

Asher was strong and protective, and I really needed to get rid of this guy before Asher came back and got into a fight.

“She’s taken.”

Too late.

Asher appeared behind me, sliding a firm arm around my waist. He wedged himself in between me and the muscle-head. Asher’s glare could turn the man into an ice cube.

“If that’s true, you’re a lousy date, abandoning her like that. She deserves a real man. A real Alpha. Why don’t you come over here, baby, and I’ll show you a good time.”

“I said. She’s taken.” Asher’s voice was low and dangerous.

I knew if I didn’t act soon, Asher’s wolf would come forward and punches would fly. I dreaded the thought of Asher fighting again so soon. He’d only just recovered and likely those horrible bruises still marred his body, despite how he danced like he couldn’t feel a thing.

I didn’t want to chance it. There had to be another way to get this guy to leave us alone.

“We’re a happy couple,” I lied, looping my arm around Asher’s shoulders. He had to lean down for me to do so, closer into me. “And we can prove it.”

Challenge flashed in the guy’s eyes. “I’ll call your bluff, babe. Go ahead and prove it.”

I… hadn’t thought beyond this point, and glanced at Asher for help.

He looked at me fully for a moment, reading my face. Seeking my consent? I nodded, eagerly agreeing to whatever he was thinking.

The next instant, his mouth was on my neck in a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss.

Suddenly off-kilter, I clawed at his neck and shoulders for purchase. And to keep him where he was. His mouth was so hot and wet and – is that his tongue?

I closed my eyes, lost in feeling. Even the music faded away. There was only Asher, his arms at my waist. His teeth grazing my neck, circling the mark he’d just surely made. I could feel it, a tingling love-bruise emerging on my neck.

Asher had marked me as his.

I shifted on the barstool, inching closer to Asher’s body. He was too close, I couldn’t wrap my legs around him like I wanted.

He lapped at the mark he made for a moment, then leaned back to look at it. He brushed his thumb over it, a certain kind of pride shining in his eyes.

I wished he would leave more. But I wanted my turn too.

I tilted my head, bringing my lips to his neck. I moved slowly, giving him time to pull away if he wanted. He stood still as a statue, even as I licked at his pulse-point. Beneath my tongue, I felt his heart rate spike.

I sealed my lips against him in a messy kiss and sucked until I was satisfied. The mark I left was red and beautiful on his pale skin.

His face remained impassive when I pulled away, but I wasn’t fooled. As I touched the mark, and felt the pulse beneath, I could tell his heart fluttered.

A possessiveness burned low in my torso. I had marked Asher as my own, as I was marked as his.

Now no one – not Elena and not this muscle-head – would confuse who belonged to who.

…Even if it was a lie to fool some pushy guy.

Speaking of…

I glanced to where the guy had been but the barstool was empty. When had he left? I had been so caught up in Asher that I hadn’t noticed.

Asher himself seemed dazed. He rubbed a hand over lips. His gaze kept flicking back to my neck.

“We should get out of here,” he said, yet before I could misconstrue, added, “It’s getting late. We both need sleep.”

Nodding, I let him lead me from the nightclub and out into the cool night air.

I fell into step with him on the sidewalk.

Things between us were quiet but not awkward exactly. It felt more like a lingering charged energy, ready to spark. Many times, I stole secret glances at the mark I’d left on his neck. Almost as many times, I caught him doing the same with me.

I could almost feel the phantom touch of his lips on my skin every time he looked at me. I felt like I might buzz right out of my own body with the mixture of desire and gratification coursing through me by the second.

“I wonder what happened to that guy,” I said eventually, to make conversation.

Asher glowered. His fingers brushed against the back of my hand, feather-light.

“Forget about him,” Asher said. “I’m sorry I left you alone.”

“It was only for a minute.”

“That’s a minute too long, in a place like that.”

As far as I was concerned, Asher more than made up for it with this mark on my neck, but I appreciated the sentiment regardless. It was nice to be with someone who apologized, even if only as friends.

“Cynthia,” Asher said when we rounded the last set of stairs to my dorm room. “Do you think…?”

His voice trailed as he exited into the hallway. He was looking at my dorm room.

“Never mind,” he said. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

I followed him into the hallway and saw what he saw.

Nicole was standing outside my door.