Page 24

Chapter Twenty-Two

ASHER

T he wind blew through his hair as Sunny played with the radio. He wasn’t sure what had happened in the shop, but something inside of Sunny had shifted. The bond between them gave him glimpses into her emotions, and she felt settled.

“Did you have a vision on the mountain today?”

“I don’t know,” Sunny said as she let her hand be blown in waves by the air rushing past them as they drove into town. “Whatever it was, it felt good.”

They pulled up to Nox Whittaker’s home, a little blue house with white shutters and rose bushes by the white picket fence.

“This is precious!” Sunny gasped.

The door opened, and Ruby came running down the stairs, grinning at Asher and Sunny.

Nox stood on the porch with a friendly smile and wave.

Asher waved back as Ruby climbed into the truck.

“Hey, peanut, how was piano?”

“Good!”

Sunny hadn’t said anything since they picked up Ruby, which wasn’t like her.

Looking over at her, he found her almost white as a sheet and her brow drawn. “You good, Sunshine?”

She gave her head a little shake. “Yep, all good.”

He gave her a doubtful gaze, but she just returned his stare with a smile that didn’t go all the way to her eyes. When he cocked his head, she turned back to the road.

They pulled up to the diner, and Ruby was already out the door and running in.

“You hungry?”

Sunny shook her head, her lips still tightly sealed.

“I’m going to go check in with Julie.”

“I’ll go with you,” Sunny said quickly, gripping his hand.

The bell chimed over their heads as they stepped in.

Julie looked up and waved, setting Ruby up at one of the booths.

“Oh, good. You’re here. I was going to call you later,” said Betty from behind the register.

Asher nudged Sunny to get her attention.

“Sunny?” Betty said with her head cocked.

“Sorry,” Sunny said with a little shake of her head. “Did you need something?”

“Are you okay, sugar? You seem ’bout million miles away.”

“Yeah... Sorry, just having a spacey moment. What did you need?”

“Well,” she said, waving them over like she was about to give them some good dish.

And if Asher loved anything, he loved some good gossip. Who doesn’t? And Betty always had the best town gossip.

“I know you were asking about that suit that was pokin’ his nose around the Hollow last week. Well, I just heard from Norma, who heard from Gus down at the gas station, that he was trying to stay at the motel.”

“What motel?” said Sunny.

Asher looked at her.

“The scuzzy one on the edge of town?” Sunny finally asked.

“That’s the one. He apparently wanted to stay there, but since Dale’s disappearance last fall, it’s been empty.”

“What on earth was a guy like that going to do staying at a dumpy motel?” asked Asher.

“That is my point exactly. It sure is strange, isn’t it?” she said to Sunny. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Did you to eat yet?”

“No, I’m fine. So, he was trying to stay in a gross motel?” Sunny asked, trying to feign interest.

“Yeah, I mean, why on earth would a man like that stay in a motel with plastic sheets? Ya know... even if it was just for hookers and blow, I feel like a man like that would go to a different establishment.”

“Yeah... that’s weird,” Sunny said absentmindedly.

“For sure,” Asher added.

He was starting to get concerned.

“Ya know... I’m actually not feeling that great. Can you take me home?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

“Are you getting sick?” Betty reached over the counter and felt her head. “Let me get you some soup to go. Give me one second.”

Betty disappeared into the kitchen, and Sunny just kept her eyes forward.

Asher put his hand on her back, and she jumped. “Sorry, Sunshine, we’ll go in a minute.”

“Hey, Peanut,” Asher called out. “I think we are headed home. I’ll see you later.”

Ruby looked up from her homework, smiled, and waved. “Bye!”

Betty came out of the kitchen carrying a back full of way more than soup.

“Here, I got you each a bowl of soup,” she said, handing Asher two big bags of food. He eyed the two bags because clearly there was more food here. “I went ahead and threw in some meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Oh, and some rolls.”

“Aunt Betty?—”

“And a pie,” she said, handing Sunshine a pie before she could say no.

Asher chuckled and took the bag from her. “Thanks, Betty.”

“My pleasure. I hope you feel better, sweet pea.”

“I’m sure I will... It’s just a headache,” Sunny said through a tight smile.

Asher walked out of the diner with the bags of food in one hand and his other on the small of her back.

He got her to settle in and set the bag of food behind her before walking around the truck and climbed in.

“Sunshine,” he said quietly, gently cupping her chin and turning her head. “What is going on?”

She bit her lip and took a breath. “How well do you know Ruby’s piano teacher?”

“Nox Whittaker? Not very well. He moved here a couple years ago. He teaches music at the school part time and teaches piano. He seems like a decent guy. Why?”

“He’s never given you a weird vibe or anything?”

Asher shook his head. “I mean, I haven’t talked to him a lot, but whenever I have, he seems like a nice guy. You know who you need to ask, and we just left her.”

Sunny nodded. “Let’s just go home.”

Asher turned the key, and the truck rumbled to life. When Sunny didn’t move to turn the radio back on, he knew whatever she’d seen was bad.

Once on the road for a few minutes, Sunny had yet to say anything and was just staring out the window.

Reaching over, he put his hand on her knee.

She jumped and withdrew.

“Hey, Sunny, you’re kind of freaking me out.”

She took a breath before turning her body to look at him and lacing her fingers with his.

“So, you know how I’ve been seeing those red eyes in my visions, and I swear I saw them outside of the bar the other night?”

Asher glanced at her and nodded carefully, not liking where this was going.

“I’m not sure why, but when her piano teacher—Nox, did you say?—was at the door, I saw his eyes glowing.”

Well, that isn’t great.

Asher nodded. “Do you think it means he was at the accident?”

Sunny’s face fell, and she looked out the window again.

He hated when she got like this. Usually, she was so full of life.

Her smile could light up an entire room, but when she went dark, his whole world felt cold.

It reminded him of when she’d left, and he couldn’t stand that feeling, not after just getting her back.

They pulled up to her house, and he turned the engine off. They sat there in silence.

“I mean, it’s weird, right? Do you think he watched us at the bar?”

“If he did, he’s a fucking dead man.”

“Asher...”

“Do you really think this guy had something to do with the accident and watched us last night?”

The anger was building inside of him. His wolf was starting to growl, though he was trying to remain calm. While he hadn’t known him long or well, Nox had always seemed like a stand-up guy.

“I don’t know,” Sunny blurted.

Asher got out of the truck and opened her door.

As he took a deep breath, his wolf was itching to pay this guy a visit. This close to the full moon, things would get intense for him.

He pulled her legs out of the car and faced her, bent low. “Sunny. You have to tell me. Do you think he had anything to do with it? And I swear if he saw what we did... I’ll feed him to the woods so fucking fast.”

Sunny cupped his face. “Asher, you know there’s no science to this. I’m sure it’s fine. And for someone who is so quick to want to throw a Peeping Tom to the forest... maybe don’t fuck me in public places.”

He cocked his head.

She leaned forward and kissed him. In that moment, nothing else mattered. She opened her mouth, and he followed, and she licked into his mouth, leading the kiss. As she did, Asher’s anger subsided, leaving him and his wolf feeling one thing and one thing only.

Hunger.

He broke the kiss and pulled back, panting. “I know what you’re doing?”

She cocked an eyebrow at him and smirked.

“And it’s working,” he said, pulling her from the truck. “But, Sunshine, be real with me. You just had a scare. I’ll let it go, and we can eat this food.”

“What if I want a distraction?”

“Sunny...”

“Asher. Please. I want to feel what is good about magic right now. I want to feel you,” she said before pulling him down to her for another long kiss.

This one was longer than before. If it was a distraction she wanted, he would gladly give it to her.

He closed the door behind her, pinned her to the truck, and took the lead. His tongue swept into her mouth, erasing her worries.

Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed him away. “Let’s go inside.”

He pulled back and grabbed the bags. As he joined her on the porch, he held the screen door for her as she dug around in her purse for her keys.

“Come on, Sunshine. Don’t make me wait any more.”

Raising her brows, she pulled the keys out of her purse and shook them in his face with a smile.

He snatched the keys from her hand and opened the door. Next thing he knew, he was slamming the door shut.

With a look of pure hunger, he turned to Sunny, ready for some fun.

Sunny beamed at him and threw her purse over the chair in the living room before dashing up the stairs.

Asher watched her for a long moment. The sight of her full round ass called to him. He wanted to take a bite out of it. After a quick detour to drop the food off in the kitchen, he went to join Sunny.

By the time he hit the top of the stairs, she was already in her room.

He stalked down the hallways, his footsteps heavy as he prowled.

When he got to the door, she was already naked, sitting on her bed, panting, clothes strewn on the floor.

He raised an arm and leaned against the doorframe, admiring her soft, round form. Her long blond waves fell across the pillows as the light of the setting sun filled her room with a golden glow.

“Fuck, Sunshine. You look good enough to eat.”

“My Puppy, what a big dick you have...” she said, gazing at the growing bulge in his pants.