Page 51 of Royally Wed
She kept begging right up until the second Willow plowed through the dog door of Asher’s bedroom.
ASHER HAD JUST STEPPEDout of the shower when he heard a loud bang, followed bya mass of flying fur wrapped in a puffof white dart into his room.
He didn’t know what to make of it at first. It looked like some kind of barking ballerina, which could only mean one thing.
Willow.
Asher wrapped a towel around his waist and regarded the dog. He knew better than to try to grab whatever illicit object she’d stolen. That would only ignite another game of chase, and he wasn’texactly dressed for it. “What have you got there, Willow?”
She let out a gleeful bark.
Asher took a tentative step closer, which unfortunately left him in the direct path of the next surprise to come bursting through his door.
“Son of bitch,” he yelled, as first the door itself banged into him, followed quickly by another, larger puff of white.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the puff said. “So, so sorry.Did I hurt you?”
Asher pushed a wad of tulle away from his face to reveal the second intruder’s identity. It was Amelia, which he should’ve been able to predict. Less predictable, she was wearing a wedding dress. Not just any dress, but a grand, glittering affair covered in white lace and enough tulle to outfit an entire ballet company. A gown fit for a princess.
Naturally.
He swallowed. Hard.She looked like a cupcake—sugary sweet, decadent. Good enough to eat.
“I’m fine,” he croaked.
He wasn’t fine. In the span of half a second he’d gonefrom shocked to aroused. He was hard as granite and, as fate would have it, wearing nothing but a towel slung low around his hips.
Amelia’s palms were planted against his bare chest. He needed her to stop touching him. Soon. But she didn’t seemto realize she was doing it.
“Um, I didn’t mean to...” She blinked up at him. The tip of her pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips.Not helping. “I was following Willow. She stole my veil. I would’ve knocked, but I thought you’d left for rehearsal.”
Every drop of blood in Asher’s body had shot straight to his groin. He could hardly see straight, but he could see well enough to appreciatethe way Amelia’s dress accentuated her tiny waist and the swell of her breasts. He forced himself to look her in the eye, but somehow his hands found their way to her hips.
“We have a late start today,” he said, sliding his hands upward until they found her rib cage, where he could feel her heart pounding beneath the delicate lace.
“I see.” Her voice had gone breathy. It was the sweetest soundAsher had ever heard, better than a full-blown symphony. “Well, I... um... I obviously didn’t realize you’d be here. Or that you’d be so...” She glanced at her hands, still resting against his pectoral muscles, and finally seemed to realize she was touching him. Not just touching him, but also digging her nails into his dampened skin. “... so naked.”
She took a backward step but herhands stayed put. Her gaze dropped to his towel and the conspicuous bulge of his erection and lingered there. “Wow.”
“Amelia.” Flushed to perfection, her eyes darkened with desire.
He was going to kiss her. He had to. He’d managed to stop himself last night, but not this time. He couldn’t. If it got him thrown in the Tower, then so be it.
“Oh God, sorry.” She dragged her gaze upward, but stillcouldn’t seem to make it past his exposed chest.
“Don’t apologize, Princess,” he groaned, and then he pressed her against the bedroom wall, touched his lips to hers, and took what wasn’t his.
“Asher.” She gasped into his mouth—just a tiny hitch of surprise at the moment his body pressed against hers—then she melted into him and kissed him back.
It was more than a kiss though. So much more.It was the soft, supple heat of her lips, the exquisite relief of finally giving in to the temptation he’d been battling for days, and the agony of knowing there was so much more to give. To take.
“I want you,” he whispered against the graceful hollow of her neck as her hands explored his back, moving lower. And lower still.
At this rate, he’d be completely naked in half a second and she’d stillbe standing there in her wedding dress.
“Yes, please,” she purred.
It was all the permission Asher needed.
