Page 77 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
My mouth opened in shock as I processed what he was saying. Asher was right. My mother had to be working with someone whom had resources. She couldn’t be doing this alone. And wasn’t that her signature move? Manipulate a man to get what she wanted? How far would my mom go for revenge on Asher and I?
“She could be working with someone in the BloodMoon Pack,” I said. “What if that’s how Riggs and that wolf who attacked me got into your territory? Do you think a guard let him in? Or someone who is working at your company? I know firsthand how tight the security around Sun Fire is. It took them so long to verify our identities when we first got here to attend that meeting with your company. We were waiting at the border for almost an hour.”
This time, it was Asher who broke our contact, dropping my hands and stepping away from me. My heart lurched, urging me to close the small distance between us. But I ignored our bond that still seemed to be trying to mend itself.
Asher paced the balcony, and I could practically hear his mind whirling. His eyes had darkened. Now they were more brown than green. His large muscles were tensed, bulging against the white fabricof his shirt. My mouth became dry, and I had to remind myself to focus.
“Just the thought of someone on my staff working with Evelyn to harm Adrian or you makes me…livid,” he snarled, then stopped pacing and faced me.
The enraged expression on his face made my heart skip a beat, even though it wasn’t directed at me. His eyes were narrowed into slits and his upper lip was curling into a snarl.
Asher took his phone out of his pocket, hit a button, and then put it to his ear. He only had to wait one moment before the person he called answered. “Do an internal investigation using an outside team of all of my staff, whether they work for my company or for the pack. And tell them to keep an eye out for anything unusual around Sun Fire or within the pack.”
When he hung up, his expression was only slightly less tense. “My Beta is going to conduct an investigation into everyone who works for me. I will find out if one of them is helping Evelyn,” he said in a steely voice.
“Wow,” I replied, astonished. “You’re very efficient.“Wait, isn't your Beta part of your team, too?
“I'm going to conduct an investigation on him myself,” he explained, then smirked. Asher reached out his hand, trailing it softly down my cheek, leaving a trail of heat from his touch. “I’m not cutting any corners when it comes to Adrian or your safety,” he muttered, looking deep into my eyes. “I’m going to buy the hotel and book all the rooms until the threat is neutralized. I don't want anyone near you or Adrian whom I haven't conducted a background check on. I can conduct most of my business remotely from the hotel. I will not be far away from Adrian or you while Evelyn or anyone else is after you both.”
His strong hands cupped my cheeks gently, and my heart skipped a beat.
“I’ll bring in guards to act as round-the-clock security for you and our son,” he promised, and brought my face closer to his, lowering his head until our eyes met. “I’ll protect you both with every resource available to me. I’ll protect you and Adrianwith my life.”
“Thank you, Asher. Having that kind of protection makes me feel a little better.”
My heart exploded with emotion as we leaned slightly closer to each other. Without thinking, I pressed my body against his, biting my lip so I wouldn’t moan at the feeling of his warm, muscular body against mine.
Asher’s hands trailed down my cheeks to my neck and then circled around my waist, pressing me even tighter against him. I flattened my palms against his strong back, making my chest press against his stomach.
“You are so important to me, Ivy. If anything happened to you or Adrian…I don’t know what I’d do,” Asher whispered.
His hot breath against my skin made my stomach swoop with desire.
“Am I important to you because I’m Adrian’s mom or because I’m…me?”
My voice was breathless, and my subconscious was scolding me for asking a question like that. But as I looked into his gorgeous eyes, I couldn’t make myself regret it.
“Come on, baby,” he murmured and glanced down at my lips again.
Holy shit.
My hands began to tremble just from Asher using that pet name.
“You must know by now how much I care for you,” he said and used his finger to tilt my chin up. His eyes searched my face as if he were memorizing every detail. “Goddess, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
My breath caught in my throat, and the bond between us urged me to lean forward and remind myself what his strong, yet soft lips felt like against mine.
Instead, I stepped back, cutting off our contact for the third and final time. My subconscious was pissed that I’d already taken things this far, and I was finally listening to my rational side.
Even though my body was still trembling with a need only Asher could satisfy.
Asher’s eyes flew open, and he cleared his throat.
“This,” I gestured between us, “is just too much too fast.”
“You’re right,” he said. “After everything that happened today…and things are still complicated between us. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head and blew out a long breath. “There’s nothing to apologize for. It wasn’t just you.”
