Page 94 of Asher Black (The Five Syndicates)
“So are you, Lucy. You lied when you said you can’t be with me romantically. You can, but you’re scared.”
“Do you blame me?”
“Depends on what you’re scared of.”
“You tell me, since you seem to know all the answers,” I mutter, crossing my arms bitterly.
He takes a step closer, causing me to tug the towel tighter around my chest. “You’re afraid of my reputation. You’re afraid of the mobster side of me, yet you haven’t seen me do anything related to it. It’s the predator that’s been hiding you from the world that you should be afraid of. That’s the man that went after the Andretti family, a warning for them to think twice before they go after his family again. That’s the man that will do anything to protect the ones he loves.”
I stagger backward, disbelief written all over my face. “You love me?”
“No,” he says, dismissing the thought quickly. “But I will. That’s where this is going. Don’t you see that? I care about you, Lucy. We already care about each other so much. If we didn’t, I wouldn’t have jumped in front of a bullet for you, and you wouldn’t have defended me at the polo match. But I did, and you did. Don’t you see what that means?”
I do.
It means he’s right. I care about him, and he cares about me. I know this. I’ve known this for a while now… but I’m still fighting with his past.
With the disturbing body count he’s left in his wake.
At my look, he says vehemently, “I didn’t kill those men for the Romano family, Lucy. I killed those men for Vince. Because he took me in. Because he gave me a home. Because he may as well be my dad. Because I love him, and he loves me. I did it for him, and I would do it for you, too. I don’t regret it. Even if it means I’ll never be the man you give yourself to, I’ll always do anything to protect you, and I’ll always do anything to protect my family.”
I take in the earnest expression on his face, etching the way he just bared his soul to me in my mind, hoping that I’ll never forget his words.
Even if it means I’ll never be the man you give yourself to, I’ll always do anything to protect you…
I’ll always do anything to protect you.
I’ll always do anything to protect you.
I’ll always do anything to protect you.
It feels too soon to say something of that magnitude, but it also feels right. Like no other declaration can be made for what we have than “always.” And that scares me, but I need to fight past that fear, because no matter what, I won’t run from Asher.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t slow it down.
“If we do this,” I begin, “we have to take it slowly.”
A smile tugs on Asher’s lips, and I know why it’s there. We hooked up just after meeting, and we moved in together after barely knowing each other. We also recently came together. The time for slow has long passed.
But I don’t mean physically.
I can handle that.
I mean emotionally. Because if we keep moving at t
his pace, my like will turn into love, and I won’t be ready for it. And I need to be ready for this, for him. This feels too real and too special to mess up.
“We can do slow,” Asher agrees, causing me to sag in relief. He leans in to kiss me, and I let him brush his lips against mine. When I try to tug him closer, he backs away from me and says with a smirk, “Slow enough for you?”
“I hate you.”
He laughs and heads to the door. Over his back, he calls out, “Dinner. One hour. Wear the dress. I had Tommy sew in a bulletproof lining for you.”
When he’s gone, I open the garment bag, wondering what he picked out for me.
It’s the dress.
My little black dress.
