“What?” Jason asked.
“Nothing.” Everyone seemed so certain it would be me who hurt him.
I didn’t know what to think about that.
“I’m glad he found you, Mya.”
“What are you two talking about?” Asher appeared at my side. He spun the stool and took my hand, pulling me up, letting his hand drift down over the curve of my ass.
“Oh, you know… life, the universe, all that other boring shit,” Jason grunted, giving me one final pointed look. “I’ll catch the two of you later.”
The guys exchanged a nod before Asher anchored his hands at my waist. “Having fun?”
“Surprisingly, yes.”
“You’d tell me, right? If anyone said anything to you.”
“Stop.” I kissed him. “Worrying. I’m fine, everything’s fine. In fact, I was hoping we could go somewhere…”
“Somewhere?” Confusion crinkled his eyes, but they quickly widened. “Oh, you mean…” He swallowed hard. “Fuck, Mya.” Asher pulled me closer, brushing the stray curls from my face and letting his lips linger near my ear. “You’re serious?”
“I know I said I want to go slow, but this isn’t about taking it slow or moving too fast, it’s about what I feel. What we feel.” I eased back to look at him. “I want you, Asher.”
Awe glittered in his eyes as he dipped his head and kissed me softly. “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he groaned. “But we need to wait. At least until the adults have drained the bar.”
“Oh, okay.” Dejection cinched my chest, and I dropped my eyes to the floor.
“Hey, hey.” Asher tilted my face back to his. “I want you. I want you so fucking much it hurts. But the things I want to do to you, with you, require time. I don’t want to screw this up.”
“Has anyone ever told you, you’re a sweet talker, Asher Bennet?”
“It may have been said before.” He kissed me again, hard and long, making a total scene of it. I heard a couple of gasps of astonishment but refused to give them credence. I wasn’t here for them, I was here for Asher.
For us.
“So, Mya Hernandez,” Asher lifted his head, grinning at me. “Do you think you can wait a little longer for me?”
I gave him a salacious smile. “If you promise to make it worth my while.”
“Fuck, I deserve a medal for this.” His gaze raked over me for the hundredth time tonight. I loved the way he looked at me. His heated gaze made me stand taller.
Leaning up, I nipped his earlobe. “Maybe we should spike their drinks, speed things up?”
Asher laughed at that, letting his gaze drift past me to the party going on behind us. He went rigid and I knew he’d spotted them, our small audience. “Or maybe I should just fuck you right here against the counter and give them something to really lose their shit over.”
I pulled out of his arms, wrapping my arms around my waist, staring at the floor. Asher let out a heavy sigh, sliding his fingers underneath my chin and angling my face back to his. “Crap, Mya, I didn’t mean… I see them, you know. I’ve seen them all fucking night.”
“Ignore them.” I pressed a hand to his cheek. “I am.” He remained still, his hard eyes still staring past me. “Ash, look at me. No one else matters but us.”
Even if I didn’t fully believe my own words, I’d believe them tonight for him.
“Thirty minutes. I’ll give them another thirty minutes and then I’m going to take you down to the boathouse and bury myself so deep inside you that all I can see is you, Mya.”
“Thirty minutes,” I repeated, my body on fire at his words.
It wasn’t long to wait but it already felt like forever.
We waited almost an hour. Teasing each other with barely there touches and fleeting glances while the party went on around us. Jason and Cameron teased us, fake gagging and rolling their eyes every time we fell into our own little bubble.
“Your dad is toasted,” Asher said to Jase as we lingered in the kitchen. It had been our safe haven for most of the night; the adults preferring to stick to the huge reception room, letting the catering staff wait on them with trays of canapés and flutes of expensive champagne.
“My mom isn’t much better,” Hailee mused, looking a little glassy-eyed herself. “But at least they made up.”
“That is one thing I never need to witness again. I still can’t believe I walked in on them almost... fuck, nope, not going there.” Jason shuddered, downing the rest of his beer. “Right,” he slammed it down. “I don’t know about anyone else, but we’re calling it a night.”
“We are, are we?” Felicity arched a brow.
He roped an arm around her neck and pulled her close. “Do you want to get fucked before I pass out, or not?”
“Jason!”
“Dude, there are some things I never need to hear,” Cam protested.
Laughter rumbled in Jason’s chest. “Like you aren’t going to be boning my sister in about twenty minutes time.”
“Dude!” We all shrieked this time.
“I think that’s our cue,” Asher whispered against my ear, sending a delicious shiver up my spine.
“Merry Christmas, Mya.” Flick launched herself at me, hugging me so tight I could hardly breathe.
“Merry Christmas,” I chuckled at her enthusiasm.
“I’m so happy you found each other,” she whispered, “be careful with his heart.”
“Babe, let’s go,” Jason said, pulling her away. “Merry Christmas, Mya, Asher. We’ll see you guys in a couple of days.”
“Have a good one, man.” Ash fist bumped him, and then Cam, before burying his face in my hair.
“Ash?” I whispered. “What are you doing?”
“Smelling you. You smell so fucking good, I could eat you.”
“What are you waiting for then?”
He pulled back, his eyes hooded, nostrils flared. “You sure about this?”
“Do you want to unwrap your present or not?”
Asher tipped his head back and groaned, the sound reverberating deep in his chest. I chuckled softly, enjoying teasing him. The air crackled around us, charged with anticipation.
My hairs stood on end as he took my hand and led me to the door. “What if someone sees?”
“At this point, I honestly couldn’t give a fuck.”
The house was emptying now, the music mellowing. “It’s almost midnight,” I said, noting the time on the wall clock as we left the house and stepped into the cool December air.
Asher was quiet as we walked across his vast yard toward the lake. I’d only been out here a handful of times, but the Bennets’ yard never failed to take my breath away. It was the stuff of movies. A huge pool, sun loungers dotted around the edge, a huge canopied area for the summer. Beyond that, a neatly mowed lawn that ran all the way down to the small lake where they had their own jetty and, just as Jason had said, a boathouse.
“It looks... abandoned,” I said, noting the dark building hidden beyond some trees.
“It doesn’t get much use these days but when I was a kid I was always out here. My grandpa, my mom’s dad, loved to tinker on the boat. I’d spend hours watching him from the mezzanine.”