Page 35 of Asher Black (The Five Syndicates)
He continues, “You’re welcome to sleep in any room you want to, but I can guarantee you that this bed and the couch are your best options.”
I groan. I am not spending who knows how long sleeping on the couch. I might as well start getting used to sleeping on a bed with Asher. With a long, exaggerated sigh, I make my way to the empty side of the bed. When I pass him, I catch his eyes rolling. He seems to do that a lot around me.
Asher goes to brush his teeth and shower before he returns to the bed. By the time he settles in, I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that we’re going to be sleeping in the same bed for however long I’m here for.
“Lights,” he commands into the empty air, and we’re immediately flooded in darkness.
I scoot over until I am on the absolute edge of the bed. Since it’s an Alaskan King, there’s a generous amount of space between Asher and me, but it doesn’t feel like enough. I can’t sleep like this.
I am considering falling asleep on the couch when Asher sighs and scoots my way. I can picture him rolling his eyes as he wraps a strong arm around my waist and pulls me toward him. He nestles his body into mine, positioning us so he’s Big Spoon and I’m Little Spoon.
Now, with his muscled front pressed against my back and the feel of his breath on my shoulder, I really can’t sleep. I’m even more aware that I have nothing on underneath Asher’s shirt. We stay like that for a moment before Asher squeezes my body and sits up.
In a surprisingly chivalrous move, he takes a pillow and the extra throw blanket and relocates onto the floor. He’s out like a light within seconds, leaving me to wonder…
What the Hell was that?
When I wake up, it’s still relatively dark. Though the blackout curtains are drawn, I see bright light peeking out underneath an uncovered edge of the wall to wall window. A glance at the clock on the bedside table tells me it’s a little past one in the afternoon. After sleeping late last night, I’m still tired, though this is the best sleep I’ve gotten since the Hallway Incident.
I lift onto my elbows a little when Asher enters the room. He’s in a suit and has a pretty black box in his hand. There’s an intricately tied bow wrapped around it.
When he sets it on the nightstand and begins to leave, I ask, “Where are you going?”
He pauses for a moment, halfway to the door. “Work.”
I nod and lay back down, not bothering to answer. Because, really? Who works on a Saturday? I’m so tired right now, I can’t even fathom working at this moment. I let my slumber take over my body, lulling me into another deep, dreamless sleep.
When I wake up again, the place is empty. There’s a note on the nightstand attached to the box Asher dropped off earlier.
At work. Dinner at 6. Wear this.
It’s not signed, but the note is clearly from Asher. Inside the box is a silky, emerald green evening gown. It’s safe to assume that wherever we’re going is fancy. A glance at the clock tells me I have an hour to get ready. I’m not surprised I slept in until 5 P.M. I haven’t been sleeping well lately, but now that I know Asher needs me too much to harm me, I’m looking forward to catching up o
n many missed hours.
Asher strolls in by the time I have the dress on and am ready to go. My face is bare of makeup, because I don’t have my beauty products with me, but I was able to wrestle my hair into an elegant up do with some hair ties and bobby pins I found lying around in one of the bathroom drawers. I don’t even stop to consider who they belong to.
Gross.
Asher hasn’t looked up at me since he entered, but I know he’s aware of my presence. I shift uncomfortably, unable to tear my eyes away from his bare chest as I watch him undress. When he tugs his pants down his legs, revealing taut, muscular thighs, I zero in on his package, encased in navy blue Calvin Klein boxer briefs.
I haven’t stopped lusting after Asher. It’s stupid, I know, and I’ll do well to remember who he is. But when an attractive man is standing in front of me in nothing but his underwear, I’m going to look. It’s impossible not to. I’m not a nun. Hell, I doubt a nun would be able to look away from a shirtless Asher.
I clear my throat. “Where are we eating?”
When he looks up at me, his eyes burn a slow trail up my body, starting from my heeled toes, traveling up the exposed skin under the daring slit of my dress, and eventually leveling onto the abundant swells of my cleavage heaving out of the dress. Once his eyes lock on mine, there’s no doubt in my mind that this lust is mutual. He’s giving me the same look he gave me the first night I met him.
I take an instinctive step back, trying to distance myself from it.
“L’oscurità.”
L’oscurità is a fancy Italian restaurant in TriBeCa with a waiting list over a year long. I know this because Minka once stood in the hallway, going on and on about how exclusive it is after going there for a date with some old hedge fund guy. I’m not sure if I have the table manners for a dinner at such an ornamental place.
At my hesitant look, Asher says, “Don’t worry about it. We’re just eating dinner with my family. Think of it as a trial run to work out our kinks.”
I nod, but now I’m even more horrified on the inside…
I’m going to meet his family?!
