Page 11 of Creatures Like Us

“He got into Harvard,” Asher says, a hint of sourness in his tone. Jealousy? No?…?I can’t really tell. He narrows his eyes and stops chewing. “Wait?…?Noah? Noah Belmont, that’s your name?”

I squirm uncomfortably.

“Dead Eye? Shit.” He barks out a startled laugh. “Should I be worried?”

“I told you,” I grit out. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

He frowns, jaw tensing. How do I make him relax around me?

“But you hurt my brother,” he says. “You did something to him and his friends.”

“They deserved what they got,” I mutter.

“Deserved what? What did they do to you? And what did you do to them?”

I snap my mouth shut and stare at my lap. No good to speak if it will only further Asher’s fear of me.

“Noah.”

The sound of my name on his tongue makes me look up.

He discards the sandwich on the side of the bed, and he asks, “What do you want from me?”

I sigh, relieved about the change in subject. “I just want to help you.”

“Well, maybe I don’t need your help.”

“You look like you do.”

He smiles wryly. “Why? Because I’m a junkie?”

I shrug. “It’s not a good path to take.”

“You think I don’t know that?” His face turns pink, eyes hardening.

“I’m not judging you.”

“Then whatareyou doing?”

“I told you; I’m just trying to help.”

“Fuck you,” he snarls, and I raise a brow. We sit in silence for a few moments, Asher’s breathing getting louder and louder until he blurts out, “Do you want to fuck me? Is that it?”

I blink, taken aback. “What? No.”

His mouth widens in a sly smile. “Well, why didn’t you just say so? I’m not gay, but I let a guy jack me off at a bar once when I was high and horny enough to get hard. If you promise to let me go, I’ll let you do a lot more than that.”

I shake my head. “That’s not what I want, Asher.”

“Bullshit,” he snaps. “You can’t just keep me here. You have to want something.”

“I want you to feel better.”

“Bullshit,” he snaps again, this time quieter, weaker, on the verge of tears. “You want me to suck you off? You want to suckmeoff? Go ahead.” He spreads his legs. “I’ll make you come, and then you’ll let me go. Deal?”

“No deal. I told you, that’s not what I want.”

“Fuck!” He flips to his back and writhes on the bed, groaning in anguish. “What, then? Want me to keep you company? Want me to kneel by your feet and be your little pet?”