Page 20 of Tempting Me (The Asher Family #3)

I expect Sadie to get into her car as well, but instead she stands there, smiling at me.

“What?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay.” I chuckle and then take a step backward. “I better get to work.”

She waves, but as soon as I turn, she calls out my name.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know what is going on with you two, but I like it.”

I just smile. Normally, I’d have something, anything to say. I’d possibly go off on a tangent of how I have no idea what’s happening and I need to know because that’s how my brain works, but as much as I adore Sadie, she’s not the woman I should be having that conversation with.

“I like it, too. Good night, Sadie.”

I make my way inside to find Shay just standing in the middle of the small store.

“You decided to start in this room tonight?”

I scratch the back of my neck as she looks around the room.

“Yeah, I just figured that, even though some of the other rooms are waiting on a few things before you finish painting and whatnot, this room needed attention. I want to get it done the right way.”

Shay turns slightly, looking over her shoulder. “Don’t do that.”

The words sound like scolding, but I barely hear them slip from her lips .

“Do what?”

“Understand me.”

I grin, but then she glares, and I correct my expression quickly.

“Well, I just want your vision to come true.”

She stomps her foot. “Don’t do that either.”

“What?” I chuckle.

“Be cute and stuff.”

“Well, then stop making me like you,” I argue back. I cross my arms and wait for her to say something else that’s snappy and witty and makes me want her more than I already do. If that’s even possible.

“Do you always just say whatever comes to mind?”

I nod. “I don’t see the point in beating around the bush or whatever you want to call it, and I hate reading between the lines.”

I step toward her.

“Must be refreshing.”

“It is. You should try it.”

I take another step, and this time she mirrors me.

“And say what?”

“Whatever is on your mind.”

We are toe to toe now. Her head tilts back to look up at me.

“Are you sure you want that?”

Considering we were both half naked and wet in the water last night, yeah, I do. Still, I swallow, worried she might tell me that this is all wrong, but by the way her eyes shine, I don’t think that’s the case here.

“I’ve never been more sure.”

She waits a beat and then whispers, “I want you to kiss me.”

I do it in an instant, cupping her face in my hands as I press my lips to hers.

She stands on the tips of her toes, her hands clenching my shirt at the sides as she slips her tongue into my mouth.

She tastes just as good as I remember.

“What are we doing?” she asks, breaking the kiss and resting her forehead on mine. “If your whole thing is to be completely honest, I need to know.”

I pull back to look her in the eyes.

They are filled with as much worry as I’ve felt in the last twenty-four hours.

“I don’t know yet, but I know I don’t want to stop kissing you. I know that it could get tricky. I know that despite that, I want to spend more time with you. I want to get to know you more. And I?—”

“Oh my gosh, this is a lot.”

I chuckle.

“And I know that, that right there, your sass—I fucking love it.”

“You do?” She blushes.

“Oh yeah. It turns me on.”

“Really?”

I nod.

“Our banter does that for me,” she admits.

“Of course it does.”

She rolls her eyes.

“It’s because it’s banter with me.”

“Work first, play later,” she says in a tone that makes me grow hard. She laughs and shoves me back.

At least she said we can play later .

“Anything you want, boss,” I say with a wink and then get back to work. Shay heads for the paint sprayer I’ve already set up.

“I can feel you watching me.”

“It’s hard not to.”

“Luca Asher, get to work now.”

I groan.

I turn the music up. Maybe if I can't hear her moving around, I'll forget she’s close by.

My dick twitches.

Probably not.

An hour later, I can't take it anymore.

She’s just cleaning up her things when I walk in the room.

She looks up, our eyes lock, and I know in that moment that she knows I have no more control.

She meets me halfway, her arms swinging around my neck to kiss me back.

“I’m done working for tonight.”

“Thank god,” she breathes and tilts her head back so I can kiss her neck.

I have no idea how we are going to balance finishing The Marina and the cabins with this pull we have to each other, but I’m sure we will figure it out. It might take longer, but that’s fine by me. It means more time with Shay.

“Hold on, hold on,” Shay says and steps back.

She looks around the room as if someone is going to walk in at any moment.

“You’re closed.”

“I know,” she says. “But maybe we should still go someplace else.”

I raise a brow, waiting for her to go on .

“Walk me back to my place?”

I nod.

“Let’s go.”

She laughs, and I feel a little stupid for clearly sounding so eager, but screw it.

I like her and she likes me and we are both consenting adults.

She locks up, and as soon as we fall into step en route to her house, I lace her hand with mine.

I don't overthink it. I do it because it feels natural. I can’t come up with any cons.

With a little tug, I pull her closer, and she loops one arm through mine for the block walk.

We walk in silence, which is crazy for us, but the tension between us is loud enough that talking would just be too much.

Once inside, Shay heads for the kitchen to grab a couple of bottles of water.

I’m standing in front of her photo wall when she returns to the living room.

I hadn’t noticed all the pictures when I picked her up for that date night. I was too blown away by her being in the room with me, and I didn’t know how to process it.

“I like this one,” I say and raise a brow in question.

She looks at the photo of her and my sister and grins.

“I’m glad she’s back.”

Miles texted me a few hours ago to tell me Ruby moved back. He felt he needed to update me on how this means Dad is moving into the apartment Quinn was in and now Quinn is moving in with Miles .

I wish him luck, I’m not living with Shay, but just being near her sends my blood south.

“I am too. I do wonder about Max’s dad, though.”

“Ruby’s a big girl. She’s got this. Don’t worry about her too much.”

I pin Shay with a look.

“Did she tell you to say that, or are you speaking from experience?”

The latter.

She moves to the couch and sits.

“I don’t think my family thinks I can turn The Marina around. No, I know they don’t. My parents are still thinking about selling it.”

“What?”

I join her on the couch, our knees touching. “When?”

“They haven’t made an official decision, but this summer is pretty much the last chance it has. That I have.”

“ Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I—” She cuts herself off and shakes her head with a firm smile. “It’s not something I like to talk about.”

She looks away quickly, tucking a loose hair behind her left ear. “How’s the construction business going?”

How's the construction business going?

Is she for real right now?

I study her for a moment. She looks everywhere but at me.

She’s not telling me something.

I want to ask her about it right now, but this is all new for us.

What’s overstepping and what isn’t?

“Business is good. Would have been better if you had hired me from the start. ”

She nods. “Agreed.”

And then she looks at my lips while biting her lower one, and I can’t do this small talk anymore.

I lean in to kiss her.

Shay doesn’t just kiss me back—she crawls into my lap.

She straddles me, so I take full advantage and run my hands up her bare thighs until I reach her ass and give it a squeeze.

My dick grows immediately in my jeans, ready to pop the zipper like some teenager who has a girl in his lap for the first time.

Last night I had her against me in the water, and that was nice, but this right here, with nothing is between us, is killing me.

I love it.

She starts to grind her hips against me.

“Up,” I command, and her body moves as if I’m pressing a button.

I flick the button of her shorts open and then tug.

“Take these off.”

She climbs off me to do what I said, one hand holding onto my shoulder for balance.

Once they are disposed of, Shay is standing in front of me in nothing but a white lace thong and a cropped T-shirt. The same one that hangs off her shoulder, giving me a tease of how soft her skin is.

But it won’t be a tease for much longer.

I lean forward, grip her behind her thighs, and plant her right back on my lap. This time, I put a hand between us so that I can touch her .

“Ohhh.” She lets out on a shaky breath when I rub my fingers against her.

“Fuck, Shay, you’re soaked.”

“I know.” She bites my shoulder again, and I decide that I like it when she does that. It’s like she’s so consumed by me and what I'm doing that she can’t control herself.

I grab her face and press my lips to hers at the same time I slide a finger inside her.

Oh, hell. She’s wet.

I did that.

I don't need to ask her if it was me. I know it was.

“Yeah, baby, this is how I want you from here on out.”

“How?”

I slip another finger inside her.

“More, please.”

“Wet, needy, and begging for more,” I tell her and bite her earlobe.

It’s not hard, but it’s enough for her to let out a moan.

Leaning back, I whip her shirt over her head and discard her bra with the flick of a hand.

My mouth sucks one nipple between my lips while my fingers tug at the other.

“Jesus, Luca. I feel you everywhere.”

“Oh, baby. If you think you can feel me now, wait until I’m inside you.”

“Don’t make me wait, please.”

Her begging will be the death of me.

Because I want this night to last past one and done, I stand up and drop her back on the couch. I can see in her eyes that a protest is coming, so I beat her to the punch, spread her wide and lick her pussy in one long, slow stroke .

Her hands grip my hair and pull.

“Yes, Luca.”

I keep going, and when her back bows off the couch, I know she’s close.

So I hook my arms against her thighs and push my tongue as far inside her as it can go, and then join it with a finger.

I hook it up, and she combusts.

Her hips are uncontrollable as she rides my face.

“Luca, Luca, Luca!” she screams.

I can’t help but grin when she stops moving. Her fingers still leisurely scratch at my head.

I look up to find her watching me with sedated eyes.

“I’m going to do that every single night,” I tell her.

Her cheeks redden.

“Don’t be shy on me now, Shay.”

“I’m not. I'm just …” But she doesn’t finish.

“You just what?” I ask.

“I’m happy right now.” The smile she gives me is a first.

Fuck, and here I thought I was proud of making her scream my name.

Knowing I put that smile there makes my heart thud faster.

Then she yawns, and despite the major erection I have right now, she needs sleep. We both do.

I push off the couch and hand her her shirt.

“I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow?” I ask and rub the back of my neck. I wasn’t prepared for this part of the night.

“No,” she says quickly.

Fuck. She’s calling this already?

What can I say? How do I change her mind?

“You can stay the night,” she adds and then yawns again .

“You need rest.” I bend to kiss her forehead.

As much as I’d love to crawl into her bed with her and keep the both of us up all night long, I care more about her well-being.

“I know, but I want you to stay either way.”

She gazes up at me, and if I didn't know it before, I know it now: whatever Shay asks of me, I’ll do it.