Page 41 of Asher

My throat tightened, but he was right. I’d run and lock myself in my house as soon as we landed. “Okay.”

“Okay. Where do you want me to start?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, Ash. I’m confused as hell.”

“Can I start from the beginning? Will you let me?” I twisted my lips but nodded once. Asher licked his bottom lip as he let his gaze roam every inch of my face. “You scare the shit out of me, Haley. You mean more to me than any other woman besides my mother and daughter. The first time we kissed? I said it shouldn’t have happened because I kissed you like you were mine. It was clearly an accidental kiss, but I kissed you like you belonged to me. I wanted you to be mine. God, did I want you to be, but I didn’t know how to tell you that because I didn’t want to lose you. I figured if you were in my life as a friend, then it was better than you not being in my life at all. When I kissed you after the wedding, I didn’t want to fucking stop, but we were drunk, which is not the best way to have a serious conversation.” He gave a self-deprecating chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, causing his biceps to flex.

I wanted to lick them.

What is wrong with me? Focus Haley Ann.

He sucked in a big breath, bracing himself for the next part. I squeezed his hand tighter. “But those aren’t even my biggest regrets when it comes to you. The day at the hospital, when I told Mason that I wasn’t in love with you? That was the biggest fucking lie I’d ever told, because I was in love with you. Iamin love with you. I was afraid of the feelings that I had. Scared that I was going to lose you when I had already lost Carrie.” His voice shook slightly, and I wanted to wrap my arms around him. I wanted to protect him from any hurt he’s ever felt. “When I lost Carrie, it hurt. More than words could explain, and I didn’t know if I would ever be ready to date again. Or even bring a woman into my life. Then I let you in. You brought me back to life and if I lost you?” He dropped his chin to his chest, shaking his head. “If I lost you, I don’t know if I could survive. I didn’t know if I could give myself over to you like that. And when I walked back in to see you in Gray’s arms, I wanted to deck him.”

That made my cheek twitch. “There isn’t anything going on between me and Gray.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt to see you run to him. I was an idiot. I’vebeenan idiot. I was about to snap at Nix’s birthday party because I couldn’t just drag you into my arms as soon as you got there. When Mason told me that you had feelings for me, I decided I didn’t want to hold back anymore. Why should I keep standing in the way of what we both wanted?”

“Mason told you?” I asked. Asher nodded.That dingleberry.I cocked my head to the side. “So, you came to Vegas?”

He smiled at me and motioned over his shoulder. “It was Gray’s idea, actually. But I came for you. I wanted to have an epic declaration of love because you deserve that. You deserve hearts and rose and shit.”

“Hearts and roses and shit?” I laughed, but my body was threatening to turn to a pile of goo just thinking about it. I leaned closer to him.

Asher smiled sheepishly. “What can I say? I’m a romantic.”

“Well, a Vegas wedding is pretty romantic.” I joked about the elephant on the plane.

He grimaced. “I wish I would’ve remembered it.”

Me too.

“You really don’t want an annulment, do you?” I asked quietly, though I’m pretty sure I knew the answer. Asher was more fucking stubborn than me.

“I want to date you, Haley. To truly give us a shot. So, no. I don’t want an annulment because why end something that we’re going to get to, anyway?”

“You think we would get married one day?” I asked, surprised.

He shot me a cocky smile. “I know we will get married one day.” Every nerve in my body lit on fire from his sure tone.

“What if I get tired of your crazy ass?”

“You won’t.”So confident.Super freaking sexy.

I twisted my lips. “What if the sex is bad?”

“It won’t be.” He rolled his eyes.

“How do you know?” Who knew. Maybe I was terrible in bed. Or on the kitchen counter. Or against the wall. Damn. I needed to stop reading so many romances.

Heat flared in his eyes as they roamed my body. I’d never seen him look at me like that. The way his eyes ate up every inch of my body could easily get me drunk on lust. “Because it’s you.”

I leaned closer, whispering in his ear. “What if you have a micropenis?”

Ash busted out laughing. His whole body shook as he tried to catch his breath. “I can fucking promise you that isn’t the case. If you want, we can go back to the bathroom, and you can see for yourself.” He smirked.

I glared at him playfully. “As epic as losing my v-card to the mile-high club would be, I’m not quite there.”

He placed a hand on his chest. “Who said anything about losing your v-card. I just said I’d show you.”