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Chapter Forty-Two

SUNNY

T he ambience of the mountain comforted Sunny as they made their way to Asher’s cabin. Chirping crickets, the occasional hoot of the owl settled her mind, their crunching footsteps, and the feel of Asher’s hand in hers settled deep in her heart.

It was almost enough to get the image of Asher in the trailer out of her mind—almost but not quite. That was nightmare fuel, and she didn’t think she would be rid of it for a long time.

“Are you okay?” Asher asked as they reached the stairs.

He stopped to turn to her as the moonlight caught his deep-brown curls and the glint in his eye.

She nodded. “I mean, I’m fine. Tonight was a lot... The sight of you in that trailer keeps popping into my mind.”

The corner of his mouth turned up as he cupped her face. “I’m okay. Thanks to you. Let’s go inside.”

They climbed the stairs as he opened his door for her. She hadn’t been here since they’d been back. But even after all the time that had passed, she found herself oddly comforted by his space.

“How did you end up over there, anyway?” Sunny asked as she toed out of her shoes.

Asher plopped down on his couch with a loud sigh as he took his boots off. “Well... that’s not something I’m very proud of.”

When she turned to him, the look on his face was not one she cared for. It was dark and dejected, and she would do just about anything to wipe it away.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Well... when you didn’t show up at the diner, I went to look for you, but I couldn’t find you. So, I went to your house and waited for you to show up there... and you didn’t.”

“Oh, Asher. I’m so sorry. I was trying to get you. I never should have left without talking to you. I thought I could get there and get back before you noticed but then my car broke down?—”

“Shhh.” Asher pulled her to him. She melted into his embrace.

“Both of us could have done tonight a little differently. Yes, maybe communicate to me because with our past I might still be a little quick to jump to conclusions, but I also need to give you the benefit of the doubt more. If I hadn’t let my wolf take over and run off into the mountain, I would have been right there when Nox dropped you off. ”

“I’m still sorry,” she said, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek.

“Plus, as terrible as tonight was, it is good that we know what is happening. They could have had that church built, and we never would have been the wiser. Abe and I are going to up our patrols, and we’re going to have to figure it out.”

“And with the paperwork I found—and now an eyewitness to the crash—at least the coal company is off our back.”

Sunny sauntered to the small kitchenette for a glass of water. “It still smells exactly the same in here.”

Asher moved in behind her, slid his arms around her waist, and nuzzled her neck.

They’d spent lots of time here before Sunny left. Toward the end of things, her house was not a very good place to be.

As she leaned back into Asher, the gears in her brain were cranking away.

“Ya know, all this time, I think I was holding on to resentment for my dad. It was like I lost both of my parents that night. Only one of them was still here but never really here again.”

She reached into her pocket, and her fingers toyed with the note.

“When I found the key to open the lockbox with all the information about the coal company... there was something else in there, too?”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked as he cocked his head.

She nodded and pulled out the note. Just feeling it in her hand made her feel connected to her father. She handed the note to Asher.

When he opened it, his eyes got big and flew up to hers as he realized what he was holding.

“Do you think maybe he was helping us figure it out? Maybe this is why the house has been acting so funny?”

He folded the note up and carefully handed it back to her. “I think that’s a possibility. But you did it, Sunshine. You figured it out.”

Asher kissed her and held her close as her mind worked overtime. She closed her eyes and finally let herself breathe in his calming presence. As she turned in his arms and gazed up into his eyes, their deep brown stoked a fire inside of her.

Reaching up, she cupped his face. “Asher, I know you were a little panicked tonight thinking I left you. I hate that I made you feel that again. I know that the only thing that will prove I’m here for good is time, but I’m going to say it now.

And will say it again, as many times as you need to hear it.

I’m not going anywhere. I love you. I’m back in the Hollow.

Your mountain is my mountain.” On her toes, she bobbed up for a kiss.

“I love you, Sunshine.”

“I love you, too,” she said as he swept her off her feet and guided her to the bed.

He laid her down and helped her out of her clothes. Then he stood before her, taking his clothes off.

While she’d seen him naked that night, this was nothing like that. Here was his strong body, ready to make her feel love, and she wanted him to feel the same thing. She would prove every day that she would never leave him again.

His jeans hit the floor with a soft thud. She locked in on his piercing gaze as he licked his lips. His wolf was close like he always was.

He crawled over her until his naked body was stretched out on top of hers.

She was just about ready to wrap her arms and legs around his and hold his close but then his mouth claimed her, and she melted.

He kissed her and settled between his legs.

The feel of him hard at her entrance was all she needed.

While she enjoyed nights with endless foreplay as much as the next person, after the night she’d had, all she wanted was to feel him inside of her.

She needed to feel that soul-deep connection.

He seemed to sense it as he reached a hand between them and swept them inside of her, just checking to make sure she was ready. She was ready and had been since they set foot in this cabin.

As he felt how wet she was, her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and she cried out. The hard head of his cock nudged her entrance, and she spread her legs even farther, trying in vain to bring him into her.

Slowly, he started feeding his cock to her.

She tried to grind against him, pulling him close, but he stayed steady, making her take him at his own slow, indulgent place.

Once he was fully sheathed inside of her, it was as if something clicked into place, just like it always did when they were together.

He kissed her and said “I love you” in a reverent whisper. Then he started to move, and it was everything.

“I love you, too,” she said as her hands clung to her back, trying to pull him closer.

As he swept his tongue into her mouth, she was overwhelmed in the most perfect way. The bond carried her away until all that existed was what was happening right here between her and Asher.

Then she was reminded of the magic of having sex on this mountain. The magic swirled around them, electrifying their connection.

Breaking the kiss, she cried out, and Asher continued to work her and kiss her neck.

It was building inside of her; her release was about to come barreling through her.

She was trying to stave it off and stay in this perfect moment as long as she could.

But when his hand traveled down to her leg and hitched it up around his waist, he slid deeper inside, and that was it.

There was no holding back anymore. She clenched and came, and Asher followed her right over the edge.