“Asher, where are you—”
“You’ll see.” I pushed open the bathroom door and pulled her inside. Mya watched me intently as I stalked toward her. Her hands went behind her on the counter. Fuck, she looked good. There was no denying that. I wanted to unwrap her like a present and explore every inch of her body.
“You look... shit, Mya, I don’t even have words.”
Beautiful.
Alluring.
Mine.
I traced a hand down the slope of her neck. “You didn’t need to do all this though.”
“You don’t like it?” Hurt flashed in her eyes, and I dropped my forehead to her shoulder.
“You’re killing me here, Hernandez, in the sweetest possible way. But it feels like...”
Mya eased back, sliding her finger underneath my jaw and lifting my face to hers. “Like I tried too hard?”
Silence passed between us.
“Did you?” I asked.
Her fingers curled into my shirt, anchoring us together. “This is all for you. I promise. It’s stage one of your present.”
“Stage one?” That had my attention. “I like the sound of that.”
“You should.” She smirked, toying with my lapels. Our bodies were flush; the rise and fall of our chests synchronized. “What did your father want just now?”
I stiffened, sensing the coolness in her words again. “Forget about him, Mya.” My lips brushed over hers. “It’s just you and me. No one else matters.”
“He wants you to be with someone like her, right? Someone like Kellie?”
Fuck.
This was so not where I wanted this conversation to go. But I knew better than to lie to her.
“I think it was a lame attempt at setting us up together, yeah.”
“She’s going Pittsburgh next fall?” Possessiveness dripped from her words and I liked it.
I liked it a whole lot.
Mya was jealous. It was usually such an ugly emotion. I knew, I’d felt it enough in the past. But knowing Mya cared enough to be jealous... well, it turned me the fuck on.
“You sound a little jealous there.” I brushed her neck again, unable to resist dipping my head and swiping my tongue across her collarbone, sucking the skin gently between my teeth. Mya moaned softly, her grip on me tightening.
“Kellie might want me but it’s not her skin I’ll be tasting tonight.” I kissed and sucked her neck some more, letting my hands glide up and down her silk covered body. “It’s not her curves I’ll be touching. It’s not her I want inside of… God, do you have any idea how much I want inside of you?” Rocking against Mya, I made sure she could feel just exactly how much I wanted her.
“Ash...” she breathed.
“There’ll always be other girls waiting in the wings,” I said, my lips barely touching the corner of hers, “but none of them are you. And you, Mya Hernandez, are all I want.”
“I want to give you your Christmas present now,” Mya said, a little breathy. “But we should probably get back to the party before someone notices we’re gone.” She straightened her dress, smoothing out the material over her hips. “Shall we then?” Her eyes flicked to the door but all I could do was stand there and watch her.
She was mesmerizing.
Strong.
Beautiful.
Mine.
“You really got me a present?” I’d gotten her a little something but I hadn’t expected anything in return. So color me surprised when the corner of her mouth kicked up in a seductive smile.
“Yeah, I got you a present. Me.” Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips, as she let her gaze fall down my body and slide back up. When her eyes met mine again, she smiled. “Merry Christmas, Ash.”
Chapter Seventeen
Mya
“Mya, it’s so lovely to meet you,” Asher’s mom beamed at me. “You look stunning, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bennet.” I blushed under her regard. “So do you.”
“I was so excited when Asher told me he had invited a girl. He’s never brought a girl home before.”
Asher’s fingers clutched my hip, and I wasn’t sure if he was reassuring me or cringing at his mom’s confession.
“I love the tree. It’s so pretty.”
Mrs. Bennet’s eyes widened with delight. “You do? We spent all afternoon putting together the finishing touches. I’ve always loved the holidays.” Her expression turned sad. “Well, you two love birds have fun, and I hope we get chance to talk more soon.”
As Mrs. Bennet excused herself, I couldn’t help but smile. She’d been nothing but nice to me. But it wasn’t meeting his mom I was worried about. It was Mr. Bennet.
He’d spent most of the evening watching us. I don’t think Asher noticed, too buzzed and high on us. Me. He’d barely let me out of his sight, completely oblivious to the way people watched us laughing with our friends. But I saw them. I felt their stares of disapproval brush up against my skin like tiny shards of glass. Even dressed to the nines in a dress I couldn’t afford, I still wasn’t good enough. Of course, in a town like Rixon, people talked. Everyone knew I was the transfer from Philly. They knew a girl like me didn’t really belong in a town like this. Yet, with Asher’s constant attention, and our friends’ presence, it was easy to pretend I did. To pretend that they were only staring because they envied me, envied the way Asher touched the small of my back or kept kissing my shoulder. He was so attentive and sweet. I was determined not to let the narrow-minded views of his parents’ friends ruin the night. Besides, I still had to give Asher his present. If I could only figure out how to get him alone later.
We wandered back over to our friends. The girls were busy making cocktail concoctions, so I took a seat at the counter.
“The boathouse.”
“Excuse me?” I said to Jason who was watching me, a knowing glint in his eye.
“You’re trying to figure out how to get five minutes alone with him.”
“I’m not… okay, I totally am. They have a boathouse?”
Of course they had a boathouse. There wasn’t anything this house didn’t have.
“They don’t really use it anymore,” he said. “But it’s warm and out of sight and you won’t be disturbed down there.”
My brows knitted. “Okay, this is weird.”
He shrugged. “There’s nothing we don’t know about each other, Mya, it’s just how it is.” Jason flicked his head over to Asher and Cam as they goofed around. “He’s falling you know.”
“I know,” I whispered, curling my hands around the stool.
If I’d learned anything about Asher in my short time at Rixon, it was that he wore his heart on his sleeve. Sure, it was usually wrapped up in layers of jokes and humor, but if you looked hard enough, you’d find it right there. Vulnerable and defenseless.
I knew what he felt for me was more than just some crush. Because I felt it too.
“Just do me a solid and make sure you’re there to catch him, yeah?”
Covering my mouth, I smothered a soft laugh.