Page 53 of Fatal Vengeance

The orgasm slams into me with those husky, vulnerable words, and I tip my head back on a ragged groan while pleasure skates along every nerve in my body. I dig my nails into his shoulders, completely forgetting his injuries, but he comes seconds after me with a curse, so I must not hurt him.

Asher lies back down once he's caught his breath, taking me down with him and holding me against his chest like he needs me close. Our hearts pound in tandem, and when he presses a kiss to my forehead, I just let myself melt.

"I want you," I whisper after a while, once I'm sure he's fallen asleep.

"Good, because I need you," he replies softly, setting thousands of butterflies free in my stomach.

33

Prudence

"Hey, baby, wake up," a raspy, rough voice whispers as delicate fingers sweep my hair out of my face.

I groan and blink my eyes open, smiling when I find Asher's bruised face hovering above mine. He returns the smile, but then winces when it pulls on the deep cut on his bottom lip. Frowning, I reach up and cup his face, brushing my thumb over the dark purple bruise on his cheek.

"I'm okay," he reassures me, though we both know that's a crock of shit.

"You could have died last night," I argue, my voice hitching as memories of the night before flash through my mind. Jesus fucking Christ, that had been something straight out of a nightmare.

When I'd heard Asher yell for me to run, I jerked up in bed with my heart racing, blinking through the pitch black of my room to find the threat. My sister had barged in through the door moments later, slipping sweatpants on clumsily as she rushed for me with wide eyes.

"There's someone here. We have to go," she told me in a hushed, shaky voice.

I shook my head, trying to clear the haze of sleep so I could make sense of what she was saying. "No, that's impossible. There's security, nobody can—"

Genevieve grabbed my arm and all but yanked me out of bed, ushering me into a pair of Creed's sweatpants that were left on the floor. "It's been disabled. I-I don't know how, Prudence, but someone is in the cabin. Hurry up, we'll slip out the window and be long gone before whoever it is notices." She stalked over to the window in question and wrenched the thing open, and I sucked in a sharp breath as cold night air skated across my skin.

I still wasn't totally awake, my brain foggy and slow, but when I heard a crash from beyond the door and male grunting, my stomach turned into a lead weight. Without even thinking about the consequences, I stumbled to the bedroom door in a rush. My sister was already halfway out the window, whisper-shouting at me to come with her, but I couldn't.

"Asher's out there," was all I could say as I slipped into the hallway in search of him.

"I should have died, Prudence," Asher rasps, pulling me out of my memories. He sits back on the bed and shakes his head, almost like he's disappointed in me. "I can't believe you risked yourself to save me."

I sit up and scoot in close to his side, lacing our fingers together. "Of course I did," I answer easily. When Asher frowns down at me, green eyes flicking across my face like he's trying to work me out, I smile teasingly and add, "If anyone is going to kill you, Asher, it'll be me. I think I'm owed your death after all the bullshit you put me through. No way would I let someone else take that from me."

He barks out a surprised laugh, bumping his shoulder into mine. "Aww, come on, pet. I thought we were past this? You don't want me dead anymore."

I raise my brows and shrug casually, keeping my face neutral. "The jury is still out on that, actually. But I'm happy to use you for my pleasure while I make a decision."

Asher grins, and it's all sinful charm. My god, this man. He shifts up to his knees on the bed, facing me with a wicked glint in his eyes. Before I can ask what the hell he thinks he's doing, Asher grabs my ankles and yanks me down, so that I'm flat on my back, and then he climbs over me and pins me down with his hips. He holds himself up with his elbows on either side of my head and drops his lips to mine while I'm still just trying to catch my bearings.

His kiss is brutal and dominant, taking over every part of me until all I know is Asher. It ends far too soon. Asher pulls back and smirks at me, murmuring, "I don't know, pet. Seems you like me plenty. Especially after last night."

I roll my eyes and shove him off lightly, because he's freaking injured and I don't want to hurt the bastard. I never thought I'd think those words, but here we are, ladies and gentlemen. I don't want to hurt Asher. Fucking wild. I've clearly lost my mind, but then who the fuck cares?

Asher rolls onto his back with a deep chuckle, apparently lively as hell this morning after being beaten, shot, and almost choked to death the night before. He sighs and laces his hands together behind his head, peering over at me with a look that says he feels like he's won something.

And damn it all to hell, he has. He's won me.

"Stop it," I say through a laugh, curling into his warm body and resting my head on his bare chest, right over his racing heart.

"Stop what?" he asks, though the mischievous lilt to his voice tells me he knows exactly what he's doing.

I shake my head, even though I'm grinning hard, and then trace my fingers over his skin in a mindless pattern. "Have you heard from the others? They should be back soon, right?"

Asher blows out a heavy breath that instantly has my nerves rioting. I push myself up to look directly at him with a frown tugging my lips down. "That's actually why I woke you… I don't want you to panic, okay? It's still early, there's no reason to think something is wrong yet, but—"

"You're scaring me, Asher. What the fuck is going on?"

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