Page 149 of Lock Up the Darkness

“Where are you going?”

I pulled up short at the edge of the forest flanking Hexwood House.

Shit.

How. The. Hell?

How was he doing this?

I had incredible stealth skills and I’d pulled out all the stops. I’d left the mansion through a security blind spot and clung to the shadows all the way.

I ground my jaw and spun around

And there Asher was looking too fucking sexy for his open collar black shirt as usual, his thick muscular thighs straining against his black designer jeans and… other delectable things.

“How did you track me? I’m damned good.”

“You forget, we were trained by the same person.” His lip curled. “Not to mention, you have a few years to go yet before you reach my level of deviousness.”

I cursed under my breath.

“Now,” he said, stepping closer. “Where were you off to?”

Dammit.

“That nightmare happened earlier because of Liza. Her jealously and her possessiveness over Killian… it had her going behind your back, all of you, offering herself as a prospect while reporting Killian's involvement with me.” I shoved a hand through my hair. “She must’ve seen us together that day at Hexwood U… I thought I’d seen a flash of that fucking pink hair… I just hadn’t been sure.”

“I see. So you’re headed out to avenge Killian and all of us by roughing her up? Maybe laying down a spine tingling threat? A little torture, perhaps?”

“Maybe,” I grunted.

“That’s rather short-sighted for you, Aurora. I held you in much higher esteem.”

“Don’t pull your psychological manipulations on me.”

“It also happened because of Sam himself. And you and Killian fucking behind the bleachers. Because of my father too, no doubt. Believe me, there were all too many cooks involved in spoiling the broth there.”

“That doesn’t detract from what she did. It doesn’t lessen it, Asher.”

He stepped into me and had me tensing until he reached out and softy stroked the arms of my cropped leather jacket.

It was so surprisingly gentle. Tender, even. His expression was even kind and understanding as he said, “You want this because you care about us. Deeply. More than you thought you would. More than you wanted. More than you were prepared for.”

I turned my head away.

“Aurora.”

Urgh.

“Denial is dangerous. Especially at this juncture and with what we have ahead of us.”

“Maybe in this case, denial will keep us a whole lot safer and things a whole lot less complicated,” I grunted, fixing on a patch of grass to keep from looking at him and what I was worried I would be confronted with in his intoxicating silver eyes.

The same thing that I was trying to keep out of mine.

Want.

“And how has that been working out for Killian?”

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