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19

IN TOO DEEP

ASHER

I should sleep, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Diya.

I stood up, stalking the entire length of the small room. She wouldn’t be safe in that stupid cottage. Anyone could easily walk in and take her away.Just like that.

It took me a moment to realize this feeling.

Worry . Fuck, I was worried. It had been a while since I let anything or anyone come close to me. And I wasn’t planning to.

She was strong, cunning, and a better predator than I could ever be. Yet, here I was.

Why did I even care?

She promised to help me.

That was a lie.

Why did the thought of her in pain bother me so much? After everything I did to try and kill her.

I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. Especially not for her.

Cursing myself and that little troublemaker , I unlocked the door to my room and strode toward the back entrance of the asylum building.

I was closer to her cottage when someone grabbed my hair, yanking me back with enough force to rip it all off.

I jumped and almost let out a squawk when she pressed the knife to the back of my neck.

I won’t look good bald.

“You came.”

“It’s me. Fuck… Diya, it’s me,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t simply slice my head off.

“Asher? What the hell are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to stay inside?” she snapped, the edge of the blade cutting into my skin.

Her grip on my hair loosened, but the knife didn’t move.

“I came to collect my debt,” I said, and I was instantly met with an incinerating glare. If looks could burn you to ashes… “Do you mind taking that away?”

“Must I? I should just kill you instead. You’re one stubborn, delusional piece of shit, with no sense of timing. Or common sense,” she said with a sigh. “You think you have everything figured out? Vincent would…”

“Oh, fuck Vincent and fuck you, Sharma. Don’t start,” I said, grabbing her wrist. She struggled for a second and then stopped. “You know exactly what I’m capable of when pushed. Don’t push me.”

“What will you do if I push you?” She blinked up at me, and I didn’t miss the curiosity in her eyes. “What can you do?”

“Anything. Everything,” I said, leaning closer. She moved until her skin was against my lips.

“Would you chase me through the woods and then…”

“Then…” I bit her ear and she yelped, jumping back from me. “Why did you stop, Little Psycho?”

“You know… that’s not a nice nickname, Pussycat.”

I huffed, grabbing her by her waist, and pulling her closer to me.

“And I’ll catch you and I’ll fuck you until you remember no one else but me until you become…” MINE . “Become insane with your need for me.”

“Sounds so fun,” she said, pressing her legs against me. “Some other day. It’s too cold, and Declan is still around.”

I grunted. “I should have just killed him.”

She flinched before she took my hand in hers. “Come inside,” she said, dragging me with her. “But seriously, Ash, you shouldn’t have come.” She rubbed her forehead. “If Vincent sees you...”

“Vincent isn’t here.”

I knew it was a risk, and I was willing to take it. For her. Why? Why the hell would I risk something I had worked half my life for her?

While I was worried about Declan coming back, she was waiting for him to come back, hoping he’d come back.

“You thought I was Declan, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re going to kill him?”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice hesitant, losing her usual confidence. I noticed she became shifty whenever Declan was mentioned.

Did she have feelings for that bastard or something?

“Were you really lovers?” I asked, hating the bitter aftertaste the word left in my throat.

“I don’t know I would call us that, but… yeah.” She shrugged.

My heart pounded as I fisted my hands.

“And then you killed his best friend, and now he’s out for your blood. Did I get that right?” She rolled her eyes, her nose scrunching up.

“This morning wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. He called me after he left to let me know he’ll be paying me another visit soon,” Diya said, her smile widening into almost something unhinged. Her eyes sparkled with a disturbing mix of anticipation and delight.

She didn’t look afraid—no, she looked excited.

“Why didn’t you tell me he…” I stopped halfway. It was none of my business, and yet I was angry that she didn’t tell me about his call, or ask me for my help.

“What?” She quirked her brows. It looked like she was trying to psychoanalyze my words.

“Nothing,” I grumbled. “It’s freezing. Do you have anything to drink?”

“You show up in the middle of the night and ask me for a drink?” She glowered, heading toward the small kitchen. “How about a glass of milk?”

“Milk? Really? What am I? Fucking four? Do you have whiskey?”

“I have chai, coffee, and vodka, but you aren’t supposed to drink vodka.” She laughed. “What do you want?”

“Vodka,” I replied, following her into the kitchen.

“Espresso Martini, then,” she said, grabbing a crystal glass.

“Do you ever eat here?”

“I do it when I feel like cooking,” she grunted, pouring a cup of brewed coffee and a shot of vodka, and topping it with ice. “Here you go.”

“Why does mine only have half a shot? Yours has one and a half,” I complained, taking the glass from her.

“That’s still half a shot too many,” she said, moving toward the couch.

She gave me a half-smile when I sat next to her. I took a sip of the drink with a long sigh.

“You came here because you were worried Dex might come back, didn’t you?” she whispered as she greedily took in my face, and her lips pulled up. “You wouldn’t have killed me. I see it now. You’re such a fucking kitten, Pussycat.” She ran her fingers down my shoulder, down my arm, until they rested on the back of my hand. “I told you I can take care of myself.”

“Stop calling me Pussycat, Diya. I hate it,” I said, but I had to admit it was growing on me.

“Will you still hate it if I scream that when I come?” she asked, her voice a soft, seductive caress. My skin caught fire from the look in her eyes, sending signals to every pleasure nerve in my body.

One look like that, and I was already fully aroused—so close to coming in my pants again, it was almost tragic. She didn’t even have to touch me.

“Anyone would think I’ve never had sex before,” I muttered.

She laughed, looking delighted.

Glaring at her—this was her fault—I stood up from the couch, moving toward the window.

“Do you think he’ll come again?” I asked, looking through the thick blanket of darkness. I didn’t want to sit here and wait for Declan to make an appearance. No, I wanted other things.

“If he shows up... we’ll know,” she said, slowly scanning me up and down. “The sooner I pay, the quicker the debt will be over.”

“I don’t need convincing,” I said with a grin. “Hey, Diya…”

“Yes?” she whispered, her voice almost docile. But the look in her eyes, one of ravenous hunger and feral intensity… Diya Sharma wasn’t shy or abashed. She was breathtakingly unrestrained, crazy, chaotic, and I loved it.

Every bone in my body burned to possess her, to control her, to make her mine— completely, utterly mine. The thought of anyone else touching her, even looking at her, made me mad with rage.

Fuck Vincent, fuck Declan—they had no claim on her.

I leaned closer, voice low and commanding. “Fold your hands, get on your knees… and start praying, Doc.”

Her eyes narrowed, lips flattening like I’d just told her pineapple belongs on pizza.She didn’t look too pleased by my order.

In that instant, it hit me like a brick to the face—I wasn’t calling the shots here. No. She wasn’t the one being controlled. I was. I was the helpless one.

Fuck. Somehow she had dragged me into this crazy dance, and I was just following her lead, tripping over myself to keep up with this woman.

“What? Did you forget already?” I said with a smile. “I saved your life, and you owe me so many nights of this, and perhaps more.”

She muttered under her breath—a list of things she’d like to do to me and none of them sounded pleasant—and then flicked her hair back with a look that screamed, you should bow before me, peasant.

I would, gladly, but not tonight.

“How about you remove that dress while you’re at it?” I said with a smile.

“How about I remove your cock while I’m at it?” she said, her voice sweet as honey with a hint of venom.

“I’m giving you exactly what you’ve been begging for for so long.”

She whimpered and pulled the dress off, finally giving up, giving in.

I had never seen anything so sexy, so utterly bewitching in my life, or if I had… I couldn’t remember anyone who compared as I stared at Diya Sharma.

She was made by the devil, to lead a man into temptation. There was no forgiveness, no salvation. The only way to get out of this sin was to get into her.

“And that pink little thing too,”I said, motioning to her panties. She shuddered before her fingers went to her already-soaked pussy. She removed it with a long moan.

Oh, I had dreamed of this, dreamed of everything I’d do to her, and I wanted to take my sweet time. I was torturing myself just as much as I was torturing her, but I wanted it to last as long as possible.

“How wet are you? Tell me, Diya?” I asked, caressing her body with my eyes.

“Wet…” she whispered, eyes half-closed.

“Enough to make a stain on the carpet? Enough to satisfy my thirst?” I groaned.

If poison tasted like her, no one would want to live. Everyone would beg for a taste and die.

“Enough…” she said, before she went to her knees, eyes never leaving mine.

“Remove your bra, and pinch your nipples for me,” I said, itching to have my hands on her magnificent breasts.

She did without another word and moaned.

“Pull it. Pull it until you feel the tug in your pussy. Yes, just like that, Little Poison. You’re doing so well, and you follow my orders perfectly. Does that feel amazing? Faster.” She nodded with a moan, her fingers playing with her dark nipples. “You look so perfect on your knees. So obedient, so eager to please me. You want to please me, don’t you?”

“Yes. Yes. Please, Ash…”

“Are you begging, Sharma? After everything you did to me?” I said with a chuckle. “You blackmailed me, you drugged me, you handcuffed me to my bed…. look at you now … look at how helpless you are. I should hurt you back for that, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Well, I will. What do you want?”

“Your cock buried deep inside me,” she said without missing a beat, and my heart hitched. Right this moment, there was nothing in this world I wanted more than this woman in front of me. “Just like in my dreams.”

“Fuuuuucck…”

She moaned. “I want you to fuck me until I can’t walk straight.”

My cock twitched.

“Crawl to me.”