Page 27

Charlee

My heart pounds in my chest as we enter the basement. The last time I was down here I was tied to a chair, and I’m not keen for a repeat of that. Asher wants me to trust him, but he hasn’t given me anything to prove I can.

He leads me onto the mat and drops my hand. “Can you fight, Princess?”

“A little.”

“Take that off and show me.”

He dips his head down to the bracelet dangling around my wrist.

“Right now?”

My eyebrows pinch together as I do what he asked. I’m not sure what I expected when he brought me down here but it wasn’t this. He continues to stare at me and I shift on my feet. I hate being put on the spot like this. “You can’t be serious?”

“Never been more serious about anything in my life. Shit’s going down, Charlee, and I need to know you can do something to defend yourself, to get away if needed.”

“What kind of shit?”

That has my full attention. A nagging suspicion creeps its way into my throat. Something about my current circumstances has changed and I don’t just mean between Asher and myself. Ever since he showed me the article about my dad’s murder, he’s been sticking to me like glue and now he wants to teach me to protect myself. It doesn’t add up.

“Nothing for you to worry about just yet.”

He shrugs his shoulder and continues on without letting me pry for more information. “We know you’re good with clawing the shit out of people and…”

He stops talking long enough to do something I haven’t ever seen him do—smile. “Axel knows all too well how good you are with those legs.”

His eyes dip down to my yoga pants as his smile drops. His throat bobs up and down so hard I can feel the violent motion from here as if he’s swallowing me whole. The way his gaze is fixated on my legs is doing things to my insides. I clear my throat to bring his focus back to the here and now. It takes a couple of tries before he’s finally able to pull his gaze from my legs.

“Show me what you’ve got.”

He puts his hands up and does a typical boxer stance.

“Fine.”

I make a fist and slam it into the block of muscle that is his chest. Pain radiates up my hand the second I make contact. “Ouch.”

I shake out my hand to will away the discomfort.

“You call that a hit. That wasn’t even a fucking tap.”

“Speak for yourself, asshole.”

I flex my hand a few times to tamp down the pain as my temper flares. He’s pushing my buttons and I want to smash in his big stupid face right now. “It’s not a fair fight. You’re like a foot taller and a block wall of muscle.”

I know I’m whining, but I don’t give a damn right now. My annoyance at him is stronger than any common sense.

“You think the asshole who attacks will give a shit if it’s a fair fight?”

“No.”

“Fuck no. Most guys are stronger than you, but you have to be smarter. You’ve got the fire, but you freak out and let your panic take over every time. That’s the worst thing you can do. Focus on your breathing or whatever you have to do to keep your shit together, and take the fucker down.”

“No way. This is stupid.”

My head twists to the side so he can’t see the eye roll I’m giving him.

“Don’t roll your eyes, Charlee, or I’m going to spank your tight little ass red.”

Well, shit.

“I need to know if you can fight back and do what you can to get away somewhere safe.”

I hate when he’s right and makes sense. “Try again.”

I do as he says, but much to the same sad results. Again and again, we keep going until my arms feel like they’re going to fall off. I wipe the sweat off my brow and let out a deep exhale. “I can’t do anymore.”

Asher isn’t done with me yet, though, not by a long shot. His stamina isn’t normal. My mind slowly drifts to what other areas that kind of agility transpires to, but all thoughts are halted by him grabbing me by my shirt, throwing me onto the mat, and climbing on top of me. He pins my arms.

It takes me a minute to gather my wits, but when I do I’m seeing red. “What the hell are you doing? Let me up right now.”

He ignores me and forces his body between my legs. “Most of the time they’ll throw you to the ground and do this.”

A shocked gasp of air leaves me as I adjust to the heavy weight bearing down on top of me.

“Try to get away from me.”

His words come out deep and rough, grazing across my skin, and there’s no missing the undercurrent of warning they hold. He may be telling me to try, but it’s clear that I’ll never get away from him. When I make no move to attempt such a thing, he snaps out, “Charlee.”

“Fine.”

I twist and squirm, but he’s not budging.

My feet plant against the floor for better traction as my hips rock from side to side in hopes of shifting his weight.

That turns out to be a huge mistake for both of us.

Every movement causes the thin fabric of my yoga pants to rub against my clit and I feel him hardening right against my core.

Each swivel of my hips has those sensitive nerve endings sparking to life.

I have to bite my lip to keep in the groan that wants to break free, and force myself to concentrate on throwing him off me instead.

A couple more tries end with the same results—him still on top of me and a throbbing core that’s about to explode.

Asher’s nostrils flare as he takes a few slow deep breaths.

He’s struggling as much as I am, but for an entirely different reason.

Sweat drips down both our faces as we fight the exhaustion that wants to break through from the close contact, but I don’t quit trying.

My hips buck up one last time with everything I have and he still doesn’t move.

“I can’t.”

“You’re too focused on creating distance. Don’t be afraid of bringing me in closer. Bring your legs up—”

his hands grip the backs of my thighs and slide them up his body “—and squeeze.”

My body goes rigid for a second before relaxing into his hold. Flashes of where those strong hands have been has fire sparking deep inside my belly and spreading like wild fire across the rest of me. I’ve never felt so naked. So exposed.

“Squeeze me, Princess,”

he growls.

I clench my thighs slightly around his waist and try not to think about anything else fighting the urge to clench as well. The move brings my ass flush with his hard cock, causing a flush of heat to flood my body. Lucky for me I’m already running hot from what we’re doing so he won’t notice.

“That’s good, but this time I want you to grab my wrist and arch your body back with my arm, as you do it.”

I follow his instructions, but don’t put my full weight behind the move for fear of pulling his shoulder out of its socket. “Like this?”

“Good. If it’s anyone but me, you do that with everything you have. It’ll dislocate their shoulder and give you a better chance to get away.”

“Well, that was fun.”

My body relaxes against the mat, ready for this to be done and over with. The stretchy cotton fabric of my pants is starting to stick to me and I desperately need a shower.

His body squirms between my legs, sending a shockwave of sensation through me, but he doesn’t make to get off me. “You want to go, go.”

My arms push against him but he doesn’t budge. “I can’t with you on top of me like this.”

Hands wrap around mine, holding them there as his blue eyes darken. My breasts crush against his chest with every panting breath I take. All oxygen is sucked out of the room, as it becomes a raging inferno of hormones, sweat, and sex.

“Get me off, Princess,”

his exerted voice whispers against the shell of my ear. Those words hold a double meaning. The hardness of him presses against my core and it has me hot and sweaty for completely different reasons.

The weight of his body comes down on me, pinning me in place. I plant my feet on the ground and push off with everything I have until we’re turning and he’s flat on his back with me straddling him.

“Holy shit. I did it!”

My hands fist in the air as I take a moment to enjoy the fact that I’ve just gained the upper hand. It doesn’t escape my attention that he let me win this time, but I don’t care. A win’s a win. When I glance down, I expect Asher to look happy with this, but I see something else entirely flash across his face.

“What are you going to do with me now, Princess?”

His fingers rest on the tops of my thighs, right next to the indentation of my hips as he watches them stroke small circles.

“Since I’m on top, does that mean I get to decide?”

We’re not even talking about fighting anymore.

His hands tense at my words, but I don’t wait for him to answer. I’m not sure what comes over me. It could be that I’m lost in the moment or that I feel like we’ve just had the most intense game of foreplay, but I slide down his body until my face is flush with his groin.

“This.”

I pull down his jeans, springing his hardened cock free. Asher is by no means a small man and his dick is no exception. It’s a bit intimidating. His swollen mushroom tip is red and already dripping with pre-cum. My mouth waters at the sight and I don’t wait another second to take him in my mouth until he’s hitting the back of my throat.

“Fuck, Princess,”

he hisses out between his teeth.

I moan as the salty taste of him coats my tongue. I pull back until he’s almost all the way out and suck him back in. My head bobs up and down in a slow, torturous rhythm, relishing in every groan I suck out of him.

His hands grip the sides of my hair as he begins to thrust his hips faster and faster. I keep the rapid pace he’s setting and flick my tongue along the underside of his cock.

A gag has my eyes watering, but I don’t stop. I continue to suck him deeper and deeper. Saliva drips down the sides of my mouth, onto my chin, and I revel in the feel of it. My eyes glance up, and the look on Asher’s face is one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen—head thrown back, mouth lax, eyes closed. Having him at my mercy for once has warmth pooling in my panties. I become lost in enjoying the taste of him.

“Stop, Charlee.”

He pulls my head away and flips me onto my back. In the blink of an eye our clothes are gone and he’s slamming into me in one quick thrust.

I’m so wet and ready my toes curl the second he grinds his body against my clit. “Yes.”

“You like my dick, Princess?”

He pulls back only to thrust back in so hard my eyes roll back in my head.

“I do. I really do.”

My back arches, coaxing him even deeper inside me.

His hand comes between us and his fingers go right to my clit. A cacophony of fireworks explode inside of me the second those soft fingers play me. “This pussy is mine. Let me hear it.”

“It’s yours.”

My heels dig further into the mat as my pelvis grinds up to meet him thrust for thrust.

“You’re fucking right it is.”

His teeth sink into my chin, biting me, marking me from the inside out. He slams into me a couple of more times and the orgasm that hits is so hard I can’t breathe.

I hold my breath and ride it out as he continues to slam into me. He bottoms out one last time and I feel him twitch inside me with his own release.

He collapses on top of me and we lie there letting our breathing even out.

No words are spoken, but they’re not needed.

The first time was an impulse. This time there’s no denying what we’ve done. I just hope it’s not a means to an end and I’m not the one left broken.