Page 15 of Be Your Forever
Asher stops my frantic attempt to scramble from his grasp. He just hugs me tighter, refusing to let me go.
“Oh no you don’t. I told you I wasn’t going anywhere. And neither are you. Tell me what’s going on in that pretty head of yours.” His fingers resume their scalp massage, and my body melts even further into his body.
Do I tell him my thoughts? Maybe if I lay them all on the line, he’ll leave me alone. If he spent one second inside my head, he’d go running for the hills.
“No I wouldn’t.”
My face scrunches in confusion as I blink up at him. “What?”
“You said I would leave you alone, that I’d run for the hills. I wouldn’t, bear. No matter how many times you’ve pushed me away in the past, I’d never just walk away from you. You mean too much to me.”
You mean too much to me.
Click.Those words seem to heal a part of my wounded teenage heart, washing away my resolve to hate the man. In its place is confusion.Why doesn’t he hate me? Why is he here? Why…me?
I let out a long, exaggerated yawn as my mental exhaustion has finally caught up to me. Asher notices and, with minimal effort, lifts me up bridal style, my head resting against his shoulder. It isn’t until he reaches the landing that I begin to squirm in his arms.
“Asher, you can p-put me down. I’m too hea—” The look in Asher’s eyes is fierce enough to stop me mid-sentence.
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” His words come out as a growl, and I can’t help but jolt within his embrace. Asher notices my shock and winces.
“I need to have you close to me, bear. I just…Please?”
His pleading tone has me nodding my head in agreement. Somehow, I don’t fully believe he needs me in his arms. But I’m too tired to care, let alone dissect what he truly means. Asher pushes my door open with his shoulder—I guess I didn’t close it all the way—before putting me down on my feet.
“Thank you.” My tone comes out so softly that I’m surprised he hears it. But of course he does…He always does.
“You don’t have to thank me. I’d do just about anything for you.” His gruff, whispered confession slams into me, threatening to knock me off my feet. With my eyes trained on the floor as if it’s the most interesting thing ever, my head nods with the quickness of a damn bobblehead.
A soft groan has me turning to attention, and I notice Asher’s eyes are trained on my thighs before his tongue darts out to wet his lower lip.
What the—then I look down and freeze. Shit.I’m in nothing but an oversized t-shirt. In my nightmare-filled daze, I must have taken off my sleep shorts. Not that they would have covered much—they’re practically glorified underwear with my thunder thighs.
He’s probably disgusted by you. Don’t think for a second that he wants you. No hot, muscular man wants to fuck the fat girl.
“I-I’m…um.” I pull at the hem of my shirt, hoping it’ll cover my bumpy skin. My eyes blink at an alarming rate as I try to stop the tears that threaten to spill down my reddened cheeks.
He’s sure to run in the other direction now. There’s absolutely no way in…
“Beautiful,” Asher whispers.
“Bea—What?” I stammer. Does he not see what I see?
Asher stalks toward me, and I instinctively take a step back. We continue this pattern until the backs of my thighs graze against the mattress with enough force that I sit down.
Asher’s smile can only be described as pure sin, and his gaze like liquid fire. He kneels in front of me, gripping my chin in his hands before leaning in to whisper, “I said beautiful. You, Brianna, are so damn beautiful.”
“But you…No, you don’t mean that. You can’t.”
“And why not?”
“Well, for starters, you're my brother's best friend. Aren’t there, like, rules?”
“Fuck the rules. What else ya got?”
“Look at me, Asher. I have fucking stretch marks on every inch of my body.”
Asher glances down at my thighs before meeting my eyes “And?”
