Page 43 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
Oh Goddess…
In the back of my mind, I registered that the large piece of fabric must be the shirt that he had been wearing before he shifted. Asher grabbed his shirt that had been torn to ribbons, kneeled beside me, and tightly tied it around my wound to stop the bleeding.
But I couldn't focus on anything besides Asher's naked body. I'd seen him naked seven years ago of course, but my memory had notdone him justice. His muscles had only become more developed over the years.
Desire thrummed through me that was so intense I couldn't ignore it. Or, more accurately, I couldn't outrun it.
And I didn't want to.
As he saw to my injury, all of my self-restraint and common sense left me as I greedily took in his powerfully built shoulders and deep collar bones that I wanted to run my tongue over. Sweat dripped down his tan chest, reminding me of our night together. Asher had worked up a sweat for an entirely different reason, then. The body heat coming off him made my head spin, and I unconsciously bit my bottom lip. His stomach muscles tensed as he shifted to double knot the shirt around my arm, and I swallowed as I counted how many ab muscles he had—ten in total.
The beautiful bastard.
His warm arm was pressed against mine, and his bare thigh was touching my leg. When he looked up at me with those deep hazel eyes, my heart slammed inside my chest.
He was close enough to kiss.
My lust and attraction for Asher made me forget all the reasons I had to despise the man tenderly treating my wounds. My hormones took over, and I leaned toward him just a fraction of an inch.
But it was enough to catch his attention.
“Ivy,” he whispered, his eyes glancing down to stare at my lips.
A quiet gasp escaped me. I'd been going by Ivinia for so long that I wasn't used to my real name. Hearing my name on Asher's lips nearly undid me.
We shared a long look, studying each other like we were trying to commit the other to memory. My heart burned when I saw all of the similarities between Adrian and Asher. My son had inherited his father’s thick, light-brown hair and his strong, square chin. But it was the gentle look in Asher’s eyes that I always saw in Adrian’s that affected me the most.
This close, I noticed that the scar above Asher’s eyebrow hadn't actually grown fainter, like I had originally thought. In the bright light of his office, it had just appeared that way. But now, from the light ofthe moon, I could see every inch of his handsome face. My hand twitched involuntarily. I wanted to trace his scar and ask him how he got it.
Did he still have the scar on the palm of his left hand from when we cut ourselves at the mating ceremony? Mine had grown faint over the years.
Asher's eyes shut, and his head tilted just slightly to the side.
My body trembled as I allowed my eyes to flutter close, and I leaned closer to him.
Our lips touched only a fraction of an inch, and pleasure zinged down my spine.
Yes. More.
At that moment, my head spun. But not from desire. From blood loss. The world around me was no longer like a dream.
Pain, fatigue, and resentment replaced my desire.
Finally, my common sense had appeared.
Summoning all the willpower I could muster, I jerked away from him, almost slamming my head into the back of the building. Thankfully, I managed to stop my momentum before I got a concussion.
Pull yourself together.
Was I actually about to kiss the man who had rejected me as his Mate? All because he was attractive and had whispered my real name? Was it that easy for me to get caught up in his orbit again?
Because he had done all the same things the night we'd slept together. Then, he had pretended like that night had never happened and said that I was dishonorable to my pack—words that still haunted me.
This was why I didn’t want to work with him on the project. I couldn’t trust myself not to get sucked back into his games.
His eyes sprung open and were full of lust and confusion.
I pointedly scooted away from him and lifted my chin.
