Page 46 of Age of Shade

My eyes blur with tears again, but I fight them off as I nod once more, my heart so full it could burst. How is it possible to go from total devastation to complete joy in such a short period of time? It doesn’t seem possible.

Asher makes a small, relieved noise, and then he’s leaning forward, kissing me fiercely.

“What’s request number three?” I ask with a shaky laugh when we break apart, panting.

Asher is already rolling to his feet, though, and I watch as he crosses the room to press the lid back on the green bin and lift it up under his arm.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” He stops beside me and holds out his free hand. “Come on, angel. Let’s go home.”

As I take it, it occurs to me that I’ve been waiting a long time—twenty-one years, actually—for someone to say that to me.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ASHER

By the time we made it home, Adina was so exhausted that she’d barely been able to take off her own shoes.

For the second time in one night, I knelt at her feet. She held my shoulders, allowing me to unlace her boots and chuck them into a pile with my own beside the front door. I hadn’t stopped at the shoes. I’d stripped her clothes off right there in the entryway, pressing chaste, lingering kisses over every new patch of exposed skin.

She’d hummed contentedly when I lifted her into my arms, pressing her face into my neck as I strode through to the bedroom. We’d never made the bed that morning, and it was strange to set her down in the same spot we’d had sleepy, slow sex only hours ago.

The room was the same, but we were different.

My poor girl. Every time my mind returns to what she’s been through, the brand new wound inside me seems to tear open all over again.

Ihatethe thought of her feeling like a liar and a fraud for protecting herself.

I hate the thought of her curled up alone on that fucking couch night after night.

There are a million things about this that turn my stomach. The thing I hate worst of all, though, the thing that kept me up half the night, is the memory of Adina the night we met—therealnight we met.

When I told her I was in awe of her, it was an understatement. That the broken, lost girl by the trash could grow to be the intelligent, kind, and elegant woman I’d fallen so madly in love with…Christ, it seems impossible.

Maybe that’s why I never put the pieces of the puzzle together myself. How couldanyoneget the very worst life has to offer before they’re even old enough to vote, yet still choose to give back to the world? How is it possible that despite everything she’s been through, my angel isn’t cynical, angry, or cold?

Somewhere over the course of the evening, something fundamental changed in me. It seems almost comical that only yesterday I thought there was no possible way for me to fall harder for Adina Collier, when now… Well, now, I doubt there’s a part of my heart that this woman doesn’t own completely.

I haven’t forgotten that she turned down three thousand dollars out of respect for me, even when she was sleeping on a couch and working her fingers to the bone. How could any man on this Earth be luckier than I am?

She’d gazed up at me through the darkness as I pulled off my own clothes, and I’d barely laid down before she was curled against me. I held her close until the tension slowly faded from her muscles and her breaths became long and even.

It took me much longer to fall asleep, but when I finally did, I was plagued by nightmares of snowstorms and Adina’s tears.

I give up on getting a full night’s sleep before the sun has risen, but I’m grateful for the time to think. My third request, the one I have serious doubts she’ll actually agree to, is going to require a longer conversation. I’m still trying to think of a good way to approach it when daylight begins to filter in through theblinds, and the woman I love stirs in my arms, making a soft, sleepy noise of contentment.

“Hi,” she murmurs, fingers skimming absently through my chest hair as I reach for my glasses on the bedside table. This is a conversation I’d like to see her properly for.

“Good morning.” I settle back, gazing at her. She still looks tired, but better than last night. There’s something else in her face, though, something I’m not sure I’ve seen there before.

Hope.

Maybe when she hears my third request, that will turn to plain optimism.

Adina bites her lip. “No regrets?” Her eyes flit to the corner of the room where I left her storage bin last night.

I let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “Hell, no. Do you? It occurred to me after you fell asleep that I may have exploited this situation to my advantage.”

My words are met by a lazy, mischievous smirk. With a teasing little tug, Adina shifts the bedding so I can see the entire length of her bare body.

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