Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
“Ash,” I whisper, taking a step forward, but he stops me with a raised palm.
“Please,” he says brokenly. “Just let me finish.”
I nod, waiting for him to continue.
“When your dad confronted me with a picture of us together and the drugs he knew I had, I should’ve known you’d never have any part in that. I convinced myself that you were like everyone else, shallow, and conniving, and self-serving. It was almost easier, because that way, I didn’t have to worry about those fucking feelings.
“And then when you hit your head, all I saw was my mom. I couldn’t save her, and I couldn’t save you. I prayed—fucking prayed—for the first time in my life. I bartered with God. I told Him if He let you be okay, that I’d leave you alone. And you were okay, but then my dad died, and it was clearer than ever. I needed to run, and this time I wasn’t going to come back. I knew you’d be better off without me, and I planned on letting you go…” He pauses, running a hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. “Until I saw the succulent you left at my parents’ grave.”
I suck in a breath, taking in everything he’s saying. He’s cutting himself open and bleeding before me. He’s breaking my heart and making me whole all at once. Tears are streaming down my face at his words, and I don’t even try to wipe them away.
“I think I’ve loved you since you cried for that pigeon. There you were, privileged and beautiful and had everything most people can only dream of, yet you still cared about a fucking bird. And you cared for me. You showed me your pure soul that day, and you showed it again when you went to my dad’s funeral, and every day in between. And I’m too fucking selfish to give you up.”
“What are you saying?” I ask skeptically, afraid to get my hopes up again.
“I’m saying I’m not running anymore, Briar. I’m staying here. With you. And fuck anyone who has a problem with it.”
He grabs my hand and leads me inside the house. It’s not fully furnished, but it has a few things, like a plush rug in front of a fireplace that’s probably never been used and a simple white couch. It looks like it’s a stage home for sale, and I wonder what exactly we’re doing here. He keeps walking us through a tiled hallway, past some stairs, and into a kitchen.
“What is all this?” I ask, taking in the stainless steel refrigerator and empty marble counters.
“I bought it.”
“You what?”
“I bought it,” he says again. “Or, I’m about to. I told you, I’m here for good. For always. And I want you to be with me here, too.”
“Ash,” I breathe, tempted to pinch myself. This is all I’ve ever wanted. And there was a time when I would have blindly said yes to anything he asked of me, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“Isn’t this a little fast?”
“Fast? This has been six years in the making. We were always meant for each other. We just did it wrong.”
“How do I know that this is real? I can’t do this again. I can’t lose you again.”
“I’m not going anywhere, baby. Even if you don’t move in. If you want to stay at home, or in a dorm, or move to another state, we can figure that out, too.”
“You’re serious,” I ask, but it comes out more like a statement. Asher pushes off the counter and strides toward me, his multi-colored eyes blazing into mine. He threads a hand through my hair at the nape of my neck and ducks down so his mouth is level with mine. I keep my hands clenched at my sides. I know if I let myself touch him, I’m done for. I’ll stand absolutely no chance.
“I love you,” he says against my lips before pressing them to mine. I close my eyes at hearing those words spoken to me for the first time. He told Dash that he loved me, but hearing it like this is so much more. “I love every fucking thing about you,” he says, pressing another kiss to my jaw, my neck. “I love the way you smell, the way you taste.” He nips at the skin on my shoulder. “I love the way you love, recklessly and unconditionally. I love this body...” Ash’s hands smooth down my back to rub my ass through the thin T-shirt dress, and my breath hitches. A tear slips free, and he licks it up, bending to grab me by the back of my thighs. He lifts me into his arms, and my legs wrap around him, like they were meant to be there. “And how it was made for me. I loved you even when I hated you. And that’s how I knew I didn’t hate you at all.”