Page 65 of Asher Black (The Five Syndicates)
If I’m being honest, having sex with Asher would just be a perk. He wouldn’t even have to pay me for that. If he asked, I’d spread my legs for him in a heartbeat.
How did I get here?
How did I get from being coerced into a false engagement to wanting to have sex with my fake fiancé?
Maybe it’s Stockholm Syndrome or the fact that I’ve overcome my fear of him, but when you get rid of the fear, Asher is funny and thoughtful. It’s just sheer absurdity that he’s handsome on top of that.
He’s the type of man a girl can fall in love with at first sight, and nobody would fault her.
Have I become one of those girls? Someone blinded by looks? I feel like I’m in the passenger seat of my hormones, while Horny Lucy has her foot on the gas and Sane Lucy is floundering at the wheel.
I spare a glance at Aimee. Her face is too shocked for her mouth to say anything. I can’t blame her. I can’t believe Minka is saying all this in front of Asher either. Speaking of Asher, his body has gone completely rigid beside me. My heart squeezes sharply in my chest, remembering that his mom has actually done what Minka is accusing me of.
I shift one of my hands so it’s touching his thigh under the table and give him a comforting squeeze. I’m speechless when Asher’s hand finds mine under the table, and we link our fingers together, hidden from view by the white table cloth.
Minka shifts her gaze onto Asher, her true purpose for being here. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She grins flirtatiously, holding onto one of her forearms with the opposite hand, so her breasts push together. “Asher, right? I’m a good friend of Lucy’s. I’d love to get to know you better.” She winks at him, and the hidden message is abundantly clear.
I tense as Asher looks at her, his gaze slowly moving from her toes to her head. She fidgets a little under his attention, her confidence wavering slightly.
When he’s done checking her out, I almost expect him to take her up on her offer, but he shocks me by saying, “If you’re going to be two-faced, at least make one of them pretty.”
She takes an immediate step back, bumping into Nella and the other girl. They reach out to steady her, but their hands are shaking.
Asher isn’t finished. “Do you make a habit of being a bitch to the woman I love?”
Everyone looks at me, causing me to flush under the sudden attention.
Asher leans forward, shifting his body so he’s staring her dead in the eyes as he says, “I know your type. You’re not at Wilton for a degree. You’re there to find someone to marry. Some rich sucker you can leech off of for the rest of your parasitic life.” Minka sucks in a sharp breath, but he continues ruthlessly, “Come near Lucy again, and I’ll blackball you so fast, no man in the city will dare touch you with a ten foot pole. You clearly know who I am. You know I’ll do it.”
There’s a shocked silence before Aimee breaks it with her raucous laughter. Minka huffs and holds her head high as she walks away, but I can see the tremor in her legs. Her two lackeys follow closely after her without half of her grace.
I’m still silent, though. No one has ever stood up for me like that. Logically, I know Asher probably did that for himself. It would have m
ade him look bad if he didn’t defend me… but even if he didn’t do this for me, I can’t help but be grateful.
And emotional.
I’ve been alive for over twenty years, and this is the first time anyone has ever defended me like that. I’m shocked when a few tears leak out of the corner of my eyes, trailing silently down my cheeks. I’m helpless to stop them.
Asher turns to me, a frown marring his perfect face. “Are you okay?”
Aimee looks uneasily between the two of us and says, “I think it’s time for me to leave.” She leans across the table and squeezes my hand. “Love you, Luce.”
And then it’s just Asher and me.
And my embarrassing tears.
I lean back a little, putting some much needed distance between us. “I don’t know why I’m crying.” I take a deep, raggedy breath and force myself to calm down.
When Asher shifts his body, shielding me from everyone else in the bar, I’m grateful. I would be mortified if Minka were to see me crying.
“It’s not about what she said, is it?”
It never ceases to amaze me how perceptive he is.
I shake my head. It wasn’t Minka at all. I’m used to her saying things like that to me. Hell, she’s usually more overt with her offensive remarks. She probably toned them down because Asher’s here.
I’m emotional because he defended me. I can’t tell him this, though. It makes me too vulnerable. So, I stay silent, waiting for him to talk.
