Page 18 of Off Limits
Gabriel shook his head, denial written across his face. "No, the moon—what I am—you couldn't possibly?—"
"I've wanted you since I turned eighteen," Asher said, the confession tumbling out. "Three years of thinking I was a fucked-up little creep for wanting my father's best friend. And tonight, when you finally wanted me back—even if it was just the moon—I took that opportunity."
"You don't understand what you're saying," Gabriel said. "I marked you. Claimed you like an animal. Could have killed you?—"
"Youdidn'thurt me." Asher reached out carefully, not quite touching, though his fingers ached to make contact. To offer comfort he had no right to give. "Every mark, every bite—I wanted all of it. Have been dreaming about it for years."
The admission was pathetic, really. All this time, and he was still hung up on his father's best friend. Still desperate for the approval and attention of someone who'd probably only tolerated him out of loyalty to Ray.
But watching Gabriel process this information—the way his eyes widened, the slight parting of his lips, the confusion mixing with something that might have been hope—made the humiliation worth it.
"You can't want this," Gabriel breathed. "Can't want me. Not after what you know I am."
"I want exactly this," Asher said. "You. Whatever you are."
Even if Gabriel was a werewolf. Especially if he was a werewolf. Because apparently Asher had no self-preservation instincts whatsoever, no ability to want things that were good for him.
Every random hookup, every client, every time he closed his eyes it had been Gabriel he was thinking about. Which probably said something deeply unhealthy about his attachment issues, but that was a problem for another day.
"Christ," Gabriel muttered. Then, quieter: "I've wanted you just as long. My wolf recognized you as a potential mate. I've been fighting it ever since."
"So we're both idiots," Asher said.
"Apparently."
And then Gabriel did something Asher hadn't expected—he grinned. Not a small, careful smile, but a real grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes and transformed his whole face. Even naked and vulnerable on a mountaintop, he looked suddenly younger, almost boyish. The expression was so unexpected, so genuinely amused despite everything, that Asher's heart did something complicated in his chest.
Before he could second-guess himself, before the moment could pass, Asher leaned forward and kissed him.
Not desperate like before, not rough or claiming, but soft and intentional. Gabriel's lips were chapped from the mountain air, but they parted for him immediately, welcoming him in.
They sat in silence for a moment after pulling apart, the weight of mutual confession settling over them. The sky was lightening steadily, painting the mountains in shades of purple and gold.
"What happens now?" Asher asked.
"I don't know," Gabriel admitted. "This changes everything. You know what I am. What I'm capable of. The moon will come again next month, and I'll?—"
"You'll lock yourself in that stone building like always," Asher said. "Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless I'm there with you."
Gabriel's intake of breath was sharp. "You can't be serious."
"Why not? We both want it. Now we both know we want it. Why keep fighting?"
"Because you're twenty one. Because I knew your father. Because you deserve better than a monster who loses control once a month."
Asher was finally brave enough to reach out and touch Gabriel's face. "I don't want better. I want you."
Gabriel leaned into the touch despite himself, eyes closing. "This is insane. Your father would?—"
"My dad’s dead," Asher said gently. "And he never understood me. You did, though. You always saw me more clearly than he did."
Gabriel opened his eyes, and the hunger there made Asher's breath catch. Not the moon's hunger this time—just Gabriel's.
Before Asher could say anything more, before either of them could overthink it, Gabriel closed the distance between them and kissed him under the lightening sky.
