Page 58 of Ruthless Rebel

“But he isn’t at the house and Jace said he hasn’t seen him all week. Has he been at the office?”

Asher shrugs. “I’ve been home most of the week with Cassie, but Eliza said he’s been around, mostly locked up in his office, not speaking to anybody, but he was there,” he confirms, pushing his laptop aside, jumping to his feet, and moving towards the kitchen.

I’m quick to follow, taking in the expanse of the pristine, high-end appliances that lay on every countertop. “And that doesn’t concern you?”

He reaches into the fridge and pulls out my favorite brand of protein drink, handing it over to me with no other explanation. “Lincoln is a big boy, he can look after himself,” he explains calmly, turning toward the coffee machine.

“No he can’t,” I snap, halting him in his movements, forcing his eyes back to mine. “Everyone thinks he is unstoppable, unmovable, but he isn’t. He just thinks he isn’t good enough for anyone to care about him, but he’s wrong, because he is good enough, and I care, and I’m really fucking worried about him.”

Asher’s eyes soften in understanding. “I know you care, Lo, and so does Lincoln, but whatever he is dealing with right now, clearly he doesn’t want help,” he attempts to explain, but I cut him off.

“Or maybe he does, and just doesn’t know how to ask for it,” I shout. “He killed his own father, did you know that? After he watched his father kill his mother, he murdered him, when he was just a fucking child. He murdered him, and now he is out there hunting and killing who knows who without a word, and we are just supposed to sit back and be okay with it?”

Asher doesn’t say anything, and I can tell from the look in his eye that everything I just blurted out he already knew, because of course he did, because despite their denials and attitudes towards one another, he and Lincoln have a connection, one I have been jealous off since the moment I first saw them together. They are bonded in the darkness forged by their fathers, and know each other better than either of them would care to admit. It’s why when he picks his phone up, I know who he is calling.

I’m not surprised or even hurt when Lincoln answers on the third ring with a gruff, “What?”

“Just checking you’re alive, Blackwell, your boyfriend has taken to stalking me,” Asher explains, his eyes not leaving mine. “Maybe pick up the phone when people are trying to reach you.”

“I just did, didn’t I?” Lincoln grunts, and I can tell from the tone of his voice that he is distracted. “Look, I’m busy, I’ll have to call you back,” he snaps, before either of us can respond, and then he gruffly adds, “Both of you.” Before he disconnects the call and the phone goes silent.

Hearing his voice didn’t calm my nerves even slightly, and I twist open the drink and take a deep gulp just for something to do, as I feel Asher’s gaze burning into me. “Do you feel better?”He asks, moving towards me slightly, and I shake my head.

“No, of course I don’t. I have abandonment issues that stem from losing my parents, or at least that’s what my therapist tells me, and now my boyfriend is avoiding me because he is most likely out on a murder spree that I’m not supposed to tell anyone about, that could easily get him killed, and my other almost-boyfriend doesn’t seem to think it’s something we should panic about.” I run out of breath after rushing all the words out, panic swirling in my gut as I continue to worry about Lincoln, and just as I take a deep breath to go on and add some more, Asher pulls me in and slams his lips against mine.

Any other thoughts or words evaporate, as my body responds to him, my hands reaching up to cup his face, deepening the kiss, as I bring my body flush against his. The kiss itself is soft yet claiming, there is no hesitancy in how he handles me anymore, yet he is still leaving enough room for me to set a steady pace. I’m not sure how long we stay like that, but it’s long enough for me to feel his erection come to life and start rolling against my own.

When I pull back I am almost breathless, and I can’t help but ask, “What the hell was that for?”

Asher shrugs, looking slightly more unnerved now as he responds, “I had to do something to calm you down and shut you up.”

I brush my cock against his once more, leaning in so my hot breath fans across his lips, “I think you did the opposite of calming me down, Ash, don’t you?”

My words have him pausing but only for a second, then he uses the grip on my hips to ever so slowly roll his hips against mine, his hard cock rubbing against my own. I hiss through my teeth at the friction, desperate for more, and I’m sure he sees it in my eyes, because his hands reach up and tug on the bottom of my shirt.

“Take this off,” he commands softly, not waiting for me to respond, as he pulls at the material, until I reach for it at the back of my neck and pull it off over my head to help him out.

This time when his hands touch me they are tracing my bare skin, burning me, branding me, and making my cock as hard as fucking stone. I expect him to demand that I take my pants off next, or to be shoved to my knees and have him fuck my throat again, but he does neither. Just takes his time looking over every inch of my bare torso, like he is committing the touch to memory.

“Do you know how many times I’ve watched you, Lo?” He admits almost silently. “How much fucking torture this body has put me through over the years?” He asks, his fingers trailing along every one of my abs, before brushing up over one of my nipples.

“Oh, trust me, I can imagine,” I reply, almost panting with need.

“No, I don’t think you can,” he starts, still watching his fingers as they dance up and down my chest in an aimless pattern. “The first time my father brought women into my room I had nowhere to go,” he admits, and confusion and fear floods my system. “My mind was right there in that room with them as one after the other fucked me, until I’d be shown the ropes.” Bile rises in my throat at his admission, but before I can respond to his atrocities he is pushing on. “Then I met you, and you were just so happy and free all the time, giving me your smiles like they were meant for me, and I might have pushed you away, but I stole something from you too, because every woman after that was easy. It didn’t matter what they did, or said, or asked for, I just gave it to them, because there is one thing that they could never take from me.” His eyes finally flick up to meet mine, and I’m sure he sees the horror in them, but I can’t hide it, not from him. “You were my salvation, Logan, and I don’t think I can ever repay you for that.”

My eyes burn with tears, as everything he just said starts to make sense in my mind, and I wish it didn’t. I wish there was a world where I could imagine that he was exaggerating, where Elliot Donovan wasn’t the fucking devil who stole everything from him, even when he had nothing left to give, but I know all too well about the blood this town was built on.

So I don’t say anything, I can’t, I just intertwine his hand in mine and lead him towards his bedroom, not pausing until we reach the bed. Only then do I turn and reach up to start unbuttoning his shirt.

“What are you doing?” He asks, almost as if in pain, and it breaks my heart all over again.

“Asher, I have wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and I’ve waited six years for you to finally admit the same, so now I’m giving you what we are both desperate for,” I tell him, pushing his shirt off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. “You’re going to fuck me, and the only thing on your mind while you do it, will be me, and how much you want me,” I explain, undoing my jeans and pushing them down my legs with my boxers, before I reach for his. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll talk you through it,” I add, in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, but he smirks, batting my hand away and undoing his own jeans, before he pushes me back onto his bed.

“You think I need pointers on how to please you?” He asks, shoving off the rest of his own clothes, before coming down on top of me, with his hand finding my cock. “Like I didn’t watch Lincoln fuck you and memorize every single thing that gets you off. I’m about to remind you that I owned you first.”

I hiss as his hand slides up and down my shaft, spreading my pre-cum along my length and getting it slick like a fucking expert. He leans forward, letting his lips drag down to my throat, hot yet soft, slow yet desperate, mixing between kisses and licks until my whole body feels like it might burst into flames.

“Fuck, Logan, do you have any idea how much I need you? How much my cock aches to be inside you?” His voice full of grit, and holy fuck it’s delicious. That dark tone of his practically begging to fuck me.

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