Page 143 of Deceit

He pulls away roughly, a ragged breath escaping him like it was a difficult thing to do. Like he could have gotten lost in me for hours, the way I want to get lost in him. His eyes are bouncing across my face, over and over again before settling on my eyes.

A slow smile lifts his face as he shakes his head.

“Of course you’re an amazing kisser, is there anything about you that isn’t goddamn perfect?”

“According to you? Absolutely,” I laugh.

He lets out a humorless laugh as he looks up at the sky, before coming back down to me.

“Princess, I’ve been full of shit this entire time. I wanted you from the very moment I saw your pictures in that file.”

That surprises me. I tilt my head to the side, leaning into the hold he still has on me.

“Then why did you treat me like shit?”

I watch as his tongue darts out, wetting his lower lip before he shakes his head again.

“Because I’m a fucking idiot,” he says as he drops his head back down, pressing his lips to mine once more.

We stay on that porch swing for hours, wasting time like we have all of it in the world. Eventually, when the sun starts to set, we decide to head back to campus for the night. We’re currently pulling into the parking lot, Asher’s hand intertwined with my own since he fired the car up. I even tried to free my hand a few times to grab something out of my purse, but he wasn’t having it. I suppose I can’t complain all that much.

He shuts off the car and unbuckles his seat belt. I look at him with a confused look and smile.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Walking you to your room?” he asks, as if he doesn’t understand why I would ask.

I let out a short laugh. “Since when?”

“Since I realized how goddamn precious those lips were. They need to be protected at all costs,” he smirks as he leans across the center console.

Smiling to myself, I only lean forward a few inches letting him do most of the work, which he seems to have no problem doing. His hand cups my jaw, holding me close to him as he deepens the kiss when a sharp knock catches our attention.

We both jolt apart, turning to see Liam at my window with a goofy smile. Asher makes an irritated noise in the back of his throat before he grumbles.

“One of your guard dogs is here.”

“Didn’t you just say that you’re basically one of them?” I scoff with a smirk.

His eyes search mine, his words hesitant.

“I don’t know…am I?”

The air is so thick, it’s suddenly hard to breathe. We both know what he’s really asking, and I don’t really know if I have an answer for him. Thankfully, the comedic relief is here, so I don’t have to give him a response right this second.

My door swings open and Liam leans in, planting a slobbery kiss on my cheek before he looks at both of us smiling.

“Soooo, when did this happen?” he asks with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“None of your fucking business,” Asher grouches as he leans his head back against his seat, a smile playing at his lips as he squeezes my hand tighter, like he can’t find it in him to be mad right now.

Liam’s mouth drops open.

“Is that a smile? Did you just smile?! For a girl? Oh my god! And you’re holding hands? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?”

His excited eyes flick to me as he shakes his head.

“Babygirl, you have magic love powers or something. All you have to do is look at a man and he’s head over heels for you.”

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