Page 57 of The Enemy to the Living
Mood definitely soured, I get out of bed and cast around for my things. Asher climbs out too, lazily scratching his stomach before he drags on a pair of jogging bottoms. I watch him, my throat dry.
That’s the other thing. Whatever he’s awoken in me isn’t going back to sleep. I stay here much longer, then I might push him too far, and I’m not about to risk that.
“C’mon,” he says. “I think I just abandoned everything downstairs.”
Sure enough, my T-shirt is lying on the floor next to the table, my shoes over by the door. Asher presses a glass of water intomy hands before I can get my shoes on, and when faced with his concerned expression, I drink it greedily.
“Thanks.”
“You should eat, Quinn.”
“I will. When I get back.”
He wants me to stay, and that has my stomach all aflutter again. Likely he’s right about the age difference. And I’m… going through it. Something. We wouldn’t last five minutes if this were a good idea, which it isn’t.
But I put my shoes on, and when I turn, Asher crowds me up against the wall, planting one hand on either side of my head. He’s not quite as tall as I am, but he doesn’t have to be—I go pliant anyway, waiting for him to make a move.
“I know they’ve got you trapped,” Asher says, and when I realise he’s talking about the twins, I scowl, but he shakes his head. “No. I’m not asking for—I’msayingthat I’m going to help you, Quinn. Whether you like it or not.”
I can’t tell him. Ican’t. He doesn’t push for more information, though, just goes to move away, and I grab him by the hips because he’s still not wearing a shirt I can twist my fingers into.
“What if I don’t need your help?” I ask, hackles raised, but he doesn’t seem offended by the question. His face moves in closer until our foreheads press together. We’re breathing the same air. All I can take in is him.
“I never said you did. But if you want it, you have it. And if you don’t…” He breathes a laugh. “You have it, anyway.”
I kiss him again, and he lets me, tangles a hand in my hair as he kisses me back. It’s more desperate than the kiss upstairs, both of us holding less back, but the whole thing is still over far quicker than I’d like.
Asher lets go of me and steps out of reach. “I’ll see you soon,” he says, and the words sound like a promise.
“Yeah, okay. Soon.”
I’m in a bit of a daze as I make my way back home. I hold on to one of the metal poles on the tube, swaying with the train’s movement, and go over this morning in my mind again and again.
Hope. It’s far too dangerous a feeling, but it’s already taken up residence in my chest, despite my best efforts. Asher’s been looking out for me for a while, hasn’t he? He wanted me to stay for lunch. He wants to spend time with me.
He sees more than some helpless, broken wolf.
He sees through my anger, too. The thought makes my face hot, as does the memory of our kisses, and I wonder if I might send him a text tonight, if I’m not fighting, and see if he’s free. I know he and the Hunt are investigating the twins, but he seems to be on a pretty nocturnal schedule, so maybe I can visit him again near sunrise…
The building is silent when I step inside, and when I take a breath, I pick up the stale scents of people coming in and out. My nose seems a little more sensitive than it did yesterday, but whatever Asher did to ease the pain of my injuries is wearing off, so I’m not sure if I’m getting more in touch with my wolf again or if I’m just on alert because I’m hurting.
Doesn’t matter. I hold my side as I make my way up the stairs, pausing on the landing. I can’t hear anything from any of the flats. Lucien and Adam will be in but resting. The others might be out. Might be sleeping.
I inch past, letting out a relieved breath when no one looks out. Fuck. Everything hurts again. I’ll have a shower once I’m in, see if I can sleep more of it off. Painkillers are useless for a wolf, butI might give them a try anyway; if I’m not healing well, maybe I won’t burn them straight out of my system, either.
I unlock the door to my flat and my plans immediately go up in smoke.
Someone’s sitting on the sofa. I already know who it is before I raise my eyes and take him in.
Drew. His shoulders draw in when our eyes meet, like he knows he shouldn’t be here, but in the next instant, he’s on his feet, expression horrified as he takes a deep breath.
Fuck.
“Did Asher hurt you?”
Chapter Nineteen
Asher
