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“Anyone else?”

Sunny looked up at Asher, and just like he’d always been able to, he could feel her. She was drained from the conversation.

“Do you want to head home?” he asked.

“Is that okay?”

“Of course,” he said as he reached out and cupped her cheek. “I’m taking Sunny home.”

“You okay?” he asked before putting the truck into drive.

“Yeah, I’m fine. The endless search for answers can be a little tiring.”

By the time they made it back to her house, the moon was high and nearly full. Something out there was making the magic buzz. Even though they weren’t on the mountain anymore, he could still feel it.

“Can I get you a beer?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” he said as he climbed the porch and sat on the swing.

Chapter

Seventeen

SUNNY

Sunny made her way back out to the porch with two beers before joining Asher. Letting out a deep sigh, she sat.

Asher laid his arm along the back of the swing, and she leaned into him and tucked her feet up underneath her.

The way his body pressed against hers settled her in a way nothing ever could.

She laid her head on his shoulder and let out a contented sigh. “The porch looks really good. Thank you for fixing it.”

Asher nodded and took a long swig from his bottle.

Watching his throat bob as he swallowed it down shouldn’t have been sexy, but it was. She raised her head and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“What was that for?” he asked as he traced a circle on her shoulder.

“I just wanted to.”

As the stars slowly blinked into existence, she took a long pull from her beer.

While things were still messed up, this moment, here with Asher, was perfect.

Why have I waited this long to come home?

This is where she belonged, here, in the Hollow, with Asher. She’d known that all along but had been afraid.

She leaned up and kissed him again, only this time, on the lips. A sigh left her as he slid his hand into her hair, cradling her head, as he kissed her right back.

She opened her mouth, and his tongue swept in.

This is it. This is what she’d been missing.

Her tongue met his, and they kissed. She wasn’t sure how much time passed. Her hand ran along the firm plane of his chest and up along his beard before grabbing a fist full of his long, dark curls.

He groaned and kissed down her neck.