Page 22

Chapter Twenty

ASHER

T he gravel crunched under his tires as Asher pulled into his spot at their workshop. He’d been MIA since Sunny’s return, and hearing the saw running told his brother was puttingin a late night in his absence.

When he walked in, Abe turned off the saw and turned to him. “Hey, I was wondering if I was going to see you today.”

“Sorry, I’ve been busy at Sunny’s.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Abe said as he picked up the freshly cut wood.

“What are you working on?”

“I’m making few rockers to have down at Midsommer Fest. We’re all caught up on orders, so I thought I’d work on some of this.”

“Okay, I can come in and stain or paint them.”

“Okay, how’s Sunny’s house coming along?”

“Good.”

“How are things with Sunny going?”

Asher gave him a warning look; he wasn’t used to Abe asking personal questions like this.

“Just checking in,” he said, encouraging him to share.

Julie did this. Julie turned Abe into someone who wanted to talk about his feelings. While all the changes in Abe after he found Julie had been positive, he wasn’t a big fan of this one at the moment.

“Things are good. I’m actually going to head down and pick her up from the bar soon. I just wanted to stop in and see what we need to do to get ready for the festival.”

Abe snatched a yellow pad of paper off the shelf and checked. “I’m on track for the builds. If you’re busy, I can stain and do basic paint, but you know me, I don’t have your skill.”

Asher took the paper from him. “Okay, I should be able to get some painting done.”

“How about Sunny’s house?”

“I’ll let you know. I got her porch fixed, and with the banister fixed, I think the rest of the fixes are pretty small.”

“Well, why don’t you guys make a list of what still needs to be done, and on Saturday, Julie, Ruby, and I will head down, and we can have a workday and a cookout.”

“Yeah, let me check with Sunny, but that sounds wonderful. Any word on Esther?”

Abe shook his head. “She calls to talk to Ruby every night, but that’s it right now. She’s been gone for over a week.”

“Weird. Okay, well, I’m gonna clean up and go to the bar. I’ll head over tomorrow and get some of this done,” he said as he set the list back on the counter.

About an hour later, he was walking into the bar with a smile stretched wide across his face as he watched Sunny bend over the cooler. He took a seat at the end of the bar and waited for her to notice him.

She blew her hair out of her face as she topped off the Jack and Coke and handed it to Mitch Montgomery, who was sitting at the other end of the bar.

He watched as her body shifted like she had just felt a breeze, even though they were in a dark, smoky space. Her head perked up, and her eyes began to scan the room before finding him.

Their eyes met, and she beamed at him.

She could still feel him in a crowded room. It warmed a part of him that had been cold for a very long time.

He pulled out the barstool and sat.

“Hey, handsome. What can I get you? Just so you know, Ol’ Ray did bring some moonshine... He said Dusty wanted it. I can get you some of that,” she joked with a wag of her eyebrows.

Ray’s moonshine was the stuff of legends—and not in a good way. His dad used to swear it could be used to peel paint.

“Whoa, Sunshine. I thought we were getting back together. I didn’t think you were going to try and kill me.”

Sunny laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder, and it was all he could do to not jump over the bar and do dirty things to her.

The way Mitch’s eyes kept following her told him not only was that not an option... but he also might have to punch him in the face.

“Has he been like that all night?” he said, nodding over to him.

“He’s harmless.”

Asher didn’t like it, but he trusted Sunny. She’d put many guys in their place over the years.

“Just give me a beer,” he said.

For the next hour, Asher sat on his stool, occasionally chatting with Sunny but, mostly, just watching her.

Of course she had picked up shifts as a bartender. She was a natural. Her face beamed with laughter as she chatted with the regulars.

While Mitch Montgomery could kick rocks, the way Sunny lit up a room wasn’t lost on anyone.

Ever since they met in third grade, Sunny had been just like this. People gravitated toward her to get even an ounce of her warmth.

As the clock ticked on, the bar started to calm down until it was just a handful of regulars about to start their walk home.

“Do you need me to call you a taxi?” Sunny asked a patron.

“No, my old lady’s gonna get me,” he slurred before stumbling out of the bar.

Sunny followed him to the door, and Asher’s eyes never left her until she locked it, switched off the Open sign, and turned and pinned him with a heated gaze.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said as she made her way behind the bar. “I still have some closing duties to finish up before we can get out of here.”

“What do you have to do? I can help.”

“You just sit there and look pretty.” She wiped down the counter.

He shook his head, laughing. “Do the chairs need to be put up?”

“Yeah,” Sunny said from the other end of the bar.

Asher got to work setting up the chairs. “Sweep and mop?”

“Yes, please,” Sunny called from the office, where she was counting her drawer.

They both worked as the jukebox played Patsy Cline.

Asher went into the storeroom to put the mop up as the song changed to “Give Me One Reason” by Tracie Chapman.

A smile stretched across his face at the sound of it, as the song held a lot of memories for them.

Asher turned to go find her. Maybe I can sneak in a dance in a quiet bar before taking her home.

But as he turned, he almost ran right into her as she was coming into the back room.

“Whoa,” he said, steadying her with his hands on her lush hips.

He bent his head and planted a kiss on her lips.

Her body relaxed as she melted into him.

He slid his hands from her hips around to the swells of her ass and pulled her close.

“Are we done?” he asked in a gravelly whisper in her ear.

A little moan escaped her mouth as he let his teeth sink into her earlobe. A small nod accompanied by a mm-hmm was all she could manage.

“Dance with me?” he said.

The look in her eyes melted his heart. He would never get enough of Sunshine Palmer.

“Did you play this song?”

The slightest of smirks was her only answer.

She closed her eyes as he guided them out of the supply closet and onto the dance floor.

Her head was nestled between his chest and shoulder as he held her, and they swayed.

It was damn near perfection. He laid his cheek against the top of her head and breathed in her sweet smell.

“You still smell the same. Like the meadow when all the flowers are in bloom.” He dropped a kiss to her head.

“You still smell the same. You smell like... man.”

Hunger seeped into her voice.

They would not be making it home without defiling the bar... at least a little.

He ran his hand up her side, relishing in all the dips and curves of her lush body. He slid up over the side of her breast before he went higher and fisted that hand in her hair. Giving it a slight tug, he pulled her head back and claimed her mouth.

She moaned and bit his lip.

“That door’s locked, right?” he growled in her ear.

She nodded as she offered her neck to him. This close to the full moon, he was barely hanging on, as the wolf was right under the surface, and an offering as delicious as this one had him howling.

“Stop me if you don’t want this,” he said as he licked her neck.

That’s it. He couldn’t wait.

Her hands fisted in his hair and held him close. He kissed her and let his palm slip under her shirt. Her nipples pebbled under her bra. Even though he ached to get his mouth on her perfect tits, there would be time to worship her.

This was not that time. This was the time for getting her off and taking what he needed.

He walked her back until her butt hit the pool table as he undid the button of her jeans. Sliding his hand beneath her underwear, he grazed her slick center.

Sunny widened her stance to give him more room. He slipped a finger inside of her then added another, and she moaned. He greedily swallowed the moan as he worked tight circles on her clit.

“Asher...”

“That’s it, Sunshine. Give it to me.”

She threw her head back as his mouth closed on the column of her throat. Her hips began to grind on his hand. He knew she was getting close, and he was ready to watch her fall apart.

Her breathing turned into needy panting as her brows scrunched together. He added a little more pressure to his circles, and a loud moan left her lips as her pussy began to pulse around his hands.

Fuck. She is so hot.

He turned her around and slid her pants down enough to show her bare ass as he pushed her chest onto the pool table.

He spanked her ass with one hand as his other undid the button of his jeans and wiggled them down just enough to get his cock out.

There would be time for slow, tender sex, but this was not that time. She was ready for him.

He plunged all the way in, claiming her in one thrust.

“Oh my god,” she cried as her hands searched for a grip on the pool table.

“Fuck, Sunshine. You feel so good. You were made for me.”

His wolf was right there, pushing him. “Tell me to stop if you need to,” he said as he plowed her with punishing thrusts.

“I love it,” she cried out.

He picked up the pace, fucking her hard and fast on the pool table. Gripping her hips, he sank his fingers hard enough to leave bruises. He was giving over to the beast inside of him and taking what he needed.

“Oh my god, Asher,” she cried out before falling apart on his cock.

That was it. The way her pussy was milking him had him following her right over the edge.

With a growl, he thrust deep inside of her, filling her, before collapsing on her and gasping for breath.

“Are you okay, baby?” he asked as he brushed her hair aside, peppering her neck in kisses.

“So good,” she said with a sated sigh.

Slowly, he moved to get off her but then all of the sudden, he was on high alert.

Sunny’s body had stiffened, and she was looking out the window.

“What is it?” he asked, standing and slipping on his pants.

“Did you see that?”

He looked out the window, but all he saw was the back side of the bar.

Sunny had her pants pulled back up and was gripping Asher’s arm.

“What is it?” he asked again.

“I don’t know. I thought I saw those same red eyes from the photo watching from the window.”

The panic in her voice had all his hackles raised.

“Stay here.”

He made his way to the door and pulled it open before tearing out into the parking lot. It was empty. When he went to the woods and looked and listened, he saw nothing. And as he thought about shifting to track it down, he remembered his main goal was getting Sunny to safety.

Turning, he headed back inside. “I didn’t see anyone out there. Was it a vision or was someone out there?”

“I don’t know... It felt real, but with being back, it’s hard to tell because my visions seem so much more real since returning.” She blew out a breath and swallowed hard.

Asher could tell she was trying to be brave.

He walked over to her and slipped his arms around her waist, holding her close.

Even with her arms clinging to him, the tension emanated from her.

“Hey,” he said, pulling her back to look at her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I just got you back. I’m not letting some red-eyed monster steal you away.”

She nodded, but the worry was still etched in the wrinkles on her forehead. Attempting to banish them, he kissed her forehead, and to his satisfaction, she did loosen up.

“Let’s get you home. What do you say?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

She locked up, and they made their way to Asher’s truck.

“You didn’t see anything?” she asked again.

The concern in her eyes was starting to ease, but he wished he could make it go away. Though when spooked by a vision, it would take her awhile to settle down.

If this was a vision ...

Asher pushed away that idea because if he thought too much about someone watching him and Sunny, he would want to track them down.

He reached behind her, opened her car door, then brushed the hair out of her eyes before kissing her forehead. “I didn’t, but let’s get home just in case.”

Offering his hand, he helped her up into the truck and shut the door behind him. As he made his way over to the driver’s side, he kept his eyes on the forest line.

The rumble of the engine ripped through the silence as the headlights shined a light into the woods. He looked again for anything out of place or anyone suspicious... but nothing.

“Are you going to stay with me?” she asked quietly.

He turned, and her soft, scared eyes had the protector inside of him roaring to life. “Sunshine, I’ll never leave your side if you don’t want me to.” He brushed the blonde lock of hair from her forehead.

“I’m sure in the morning, I’ll tell you you’re being overprotective and silly, but for now, I’m so glad you were here.”

He leaned against his seatbelt far enough to drop a kiss on her lips before putting the truck into gear and taking Sunny home for the night.