Page 33 of Cruel Debts
This was, after all, a girl I’d sworn to protect.
But who would protect her from us?
FIFTEEN
TRINITY
I wokeup with another body in my bed, and instantly, I was on high alert.
Had someone broken into my apartment? Was I in danger?
And then common sense returned to me and I blinked for a moment, re-orienting myself.
This was not my apartment. The man in my bed was not a stranger.
He was Asher, also known as Surgeon, and he was in here because I’d been holding on to too many emotions for too long and I snapped.
Someone had made an attempt on my life last night while I was at work.
I wasn’t safe, even with their protection.
“You’re awake,” he mumbled quietly, his arm twitching around me. “Feel better?”
“You didn’t leave,” I observed, poking him in the ribs. “Why?”
“I was afraid you might need someone.” He yawned, and I glanced up at his face, noticing the lines around his eyes, the tired droop of his lashes.
Did he even sleep last night?
I didn’t want to know. Mostly because if I found out he’d been awake, watching me all night, I’d start to spiral.Did I snore? Did I drool? Do I talk in my sleep? Did I do anything inappropriate? Did we cuddle?
Oh, boy, this was not how I had hoped to get Asher into my bed.
Once upon a time, I’d fantasized about ways to make the guys fall for me. I’d had crushes deeper and wider than the Grand Canyon. But now that I was face-to-face with one, in what could arguably be one of my more vulnerable moments, it wasn’t the same.
All the bravery I’d had when I didn’t think I’d ever see them again had fled my body. All I had to do was look right up at him and fucking kiss him, and I couldn’t do it.
Why?
Because I was a coward.
Because suddenly, I didn’t know what to do with myself. What if he turned me down? I wouldn’t be able to face them a single second longer. I’d have to pack up and—ew—go home.
And that wasn’t happening.
So like the good little chicken I was, I rolled off the bed and out of his reach, sighing when the realization of how close I’d been to a man I burned a torch for this whole time set in.
“Thank you,” I whispered, hating the roughness in my voice, likely from last night’s crying jag. “I’m not usually like that.”
“You used to cry if Keehn left you behind when we went to the mall,” Asher chuckled, sitting up with a groan. “It’s not the first time I’ve seen you turn into a big baby. This time, at least, it was for a totally understandable reason.”
Suddenly, I hated that they’d seen me before I grew tits and a voice. Before I grew the fuck up a little.
Screw this.I turned around, crawling back up the bed with an intense look in my eyes. Asher would never look at me like his buddy’s little kid sister again, if I could help it.
“You know,” I said, making sure to drop my shoulders like a stalking panther as I crawled into his lap and sat down, pretending a bravery I didn’t possess. “I’m not some whiny little kid anymore.” He leaned back as I leaned forward, trailing a finger down his chest slowly, seductively, like I’d seen the girls in the club do to their marks. “I’m a grown ass woman with grown ass needs.” I batted my eyelashes tauntingly, teasingly, hoping to feel the familiar stir of arousal in his pants against me. “And I’ve always had a thing for a man in uniform.” I licked my lips, and his eyes flicked there just as I’d hoped, the Adam's apple in his throat bobbing as he swallowed. “Or out of it.”
I’d never seen a man move as fast as Asher did in that moment. He had me on my back in the blink of an eye, his hands braced on either side of my face, hair framing his gorgeous brown eyes. He stared down at me like I was a danger to his health.
