Page 28 of Asher Black (The Five Syndicates)
I stop moving and twist my head to level him with a glare. The scary bastard looks almost… pleased with himself. He presses a button on the panel. The elevator jerks to a downward start, and I stumble on my heels, unprepared for the sudden movement. Asher steadies me, tightening his grip around my waist.
“Let go of me,” I demand.
A fleeting smirk graces his face. “Are you going to fall?”
I scowl. “No.”
“Are you going to behave?”
“No, but I’ll scream if you don’t let go.”
He laughs. “Go ahead. No one will hear you.”
And when the doors open into an empty, private garage, I see that he’s right.
I sigh. “Fine. I won’t scream. Promise.” I hold up four fingers, which I think is Scout’s Honor or something like that.
He looks at my hand, rolls his eyes, and pushes one of my fingers down, so I’m only holding three up. Then, he nods and walks away after releasing me. I follow after him, reluctantly, though I’m actually not too concerned about my safety. I know I’ll be okay for as long as he needs me, though I would appreciate it if he could turn down the scary factor a bit.
“You know,” I begin, eyeing him warily. “If we’re going to do this, you’re going to have to be less scary.”
“Less scary?”
I nod and make a sweeping gesture at him with my hand. “See? Scary.”
He has a scowl on his face. His arms are crossed, causing his biceps to bulge formidably. At my gesture, though, he releases his arms, but it doesn’t make a big difference. He’s still ripped, and it’s still intimidating.
“I don’t know what you expect me to do, Lucy.”
“You could try smiling more.”
I watch as his lips turn up into a forced grin. He looks like the offspring of The Lakeshore Strangler and the Joker. The sight is so frightening, I trip over my heels and nearly face plant onto the concrete. Asher steadies me, but I shove his arm off of me and scowl.
“Never do that again.” The scowl is still on my face.
“Duly noted,” he says dryly.
When we approach a fancy looking car, I see Asher play with his watch before the doors automatically lift like bird wings. As soon as he sees my gaping face, Asher just rolls his eyes and gets in. I slide into the passenger seat and jump when the doors automatically close as soon as my butt hits the buttery leather.
I eye Asher’s magical watch in suspicion as he starts the car and drives out of the garage.
He sees my look and says, “It’s a smart watch. It won’t bite.”
I have never seen a smart watch like that before. It doesn’t even look like a watch. A camel colored leather strap is attached to the face of it. Though it has an electronic interface, the face is set to mimic the analog appearance of a regular watch. It’s so realistic I can’t tell the difference. The electronic screen is circular, encased in an expensive black setting that looks more like it belongs to a Rolex or Cartier than an electronic watch.
“That is so ostentatious,” I say, thinking of all the suffering I’ve witnessed abroad.
“In a few years, it will be the norm.”
“Yeah,” I arch my brow, “for snobby rich guys.”
“Smart phones used to be rare, but now they’re everywhere. You don’t think iPhones are ‘ostentatious,’ do you?” He eyes the iPhone I’m clutching in one of my hands.
His tone is condescending, which annoys me, but I let it go. I don’t know why I’m being so confrontational. It’s not like I don’t know the top one percent of the one percent exists. Hell, I usually don’t even care.
But now, because he is a part of this lifestyle, I feel compelled to resent it. I also quickly realize my stupidity. I’m poking a bear that has been generous enough not to kill me. I should be curled into the fetal position. Instead, I’m angering it.
“Sorry,” I relent, because I don’t want to be bear food.
