Page 46 of Moonlit Thorns

“I beat him within an inch of his life.” There’s zero remorse in his voice.

Some man drugged me, and Asher was angry enough to assault him. It takes me a second to wrap my brain around that fact.

I look at him, overwhelmed with emotion—gratitude that he got me out of that situation before Preston could do whatever he was planning to, shock that Asher would be angry enough to attack him, and desire because apparently, my Freudian brain likes it when someone stands up for me like that.

“You saved me?”

He scowls. “I’m no hero, Anabelle.”

“But you saved me. You did. Who knows what he would’ve done if you hadn’t stopped him. Thank you.” Tears prick the corners of my eyes because I realize how lucky I am that Asher stepped in.

I’m not an idiot. I know that anyone invited was someone powerful in their own right, especially if they were a part of whatever was going on in that basement.

I glance at his knuckles again. “Will you get in trouble for hurting him?”

His jaw sets in a hard line. “That’s not your concern.”

I clutch the blanket to my chest harder. “It is, though. If you get in trouble or arrested for assault because of me?—”

Asher presses his hands on the mattress and leans in across the bed. “Let’s get one thing clear, Anabelle—he is at fault, not you. He drugged your drink. He brought you somewhere you should never have been. He probably saw you, your beauty and your innocence, and wanted nothing more than to defile you.”

My heart speeds up when he calls me beautiful. Not in a conventional way maybe, but if he says the words, he must think it, right?

“But I invited his attention. I wanted it even.” My face heats with that admission, but it’s true.

Asher stares at me for a beat, gaze intense. “I’m sure he was as charming as he always is.” He hesitates, almost as though he doesn’t want to ask the next question but can’t help himself. “Why did you want to leave with him, or were you already messed up when he took you from the bar?”

“I might have been a little messed up, but I knew what I was doing when I left with him. I… I…”

“You what?” he snaps, causing me to snap.

He’s going to judge me after what he did? I don’t think so.

“I was pissed at you for going out with that socialite and rubbing it in my face after what happened between us. I wanted to forget you even existed, and I thought that maybe messing around with someone else might help.”

He pushes off the mattress and throws his fingers through his hair, blowing out a breath and pacing away from the bed. “It was because of me.”

I don’t respond to that. I don’t know what to say.

There’s something I want to know though. “What goes on in the basement?”

He whips around to face me. “The doctor said you need to rest, get more fluids in you. We’re not discussing that right now.”

“I’m fine. I have a headache, but other than that, I’m okay. I want to know what happens down there. Is it some kind of cult?”

He walks toward the door without acknowledging my question. “I’ll get the doctor so he can do something about your headache. I want him to have another look at you now that you’re awake.”

Then Asher is gone, the door closed behind him, before I can even process his words.

With a sigh, I let the blanket drop and fall back into the pillows behind me.

Will I ever get a straight answer from Asher Voss about anything?

Chapter

Twenty-Two

ANABELLE

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