Page 26 of Tempting Me (The Asher Family #3)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SHAY

It’s girls’ night, and I already know they are going to tease me about Luca.

Not only because I fought it for so long when they told me something was there, but because I missed the last girls’ night by staying in his bed.

I walk inside Brooke’s house without calling out a greeting.

As soon as I spot everyone in the kitchen, Grace starts laughing and Sadie rushes to hug me.

“Yay! You’re here.”

“I’m here.”

Quinn pokes her head from around the kitchen and smiles.

“How’s your day?” she asks.

Quinn hasn’t been to that many girls’ nights, but I have chatted with her around town in the past month.

“Good,” I answer, and Grace pops out from behind Quinn.

“I know that tone. What happened?”

I let out a sigh and think about my afternoon .

The afternoon that I told not a single soul about.

“I went by the bank today.”

The bank was always a plan B for me. If my parents wouldn’t sell to me, I’d get the loan and try to buy it as if I were any other customer.

But turns out, I can't afford to buy The Marina on my own.

Part of me thinks that’s why I hadn’t gone that route yet. I knew I wouldn’t get approved, but after the last few weeks with Luca, I was feeling motivated, like I could do anything.

Anything but buy The Marina, that is.

My only chance now is that my parents finally do decide to sell to me and we work out some kind of deal. A buyout of sorts.

I don’t know.

I don’t really know how to make this work anymore. I just know that I don’t see myself doing anything else in life. My degree could let me start up any other business, but that’s not what I imagined for myself. It was always me and The Marina, and now, it’s me, The Marina, and Luca.

But for the first time, I’m realizing this might not actually be my future.

Instantly, all the girls appear in the living room. Grace, Quinn, Sadie, Brooke, and Ruby.

“And?” Brooke asks.

The tears start.

A part of me thought that if I could just get this loan, not only would I have this whole marina thing in the bag, but then I could stop sneaking around with Luca.

It wouldn’t matter anymore if my family knew.

Still, until it was in my name … ugh, this all so stupid .

I’m a mess.

Maybe if I just knew what happened, all the real details, I could somehow fix things between our families.

I’d have to find a way that wasn’t obvious as to why I was doing it, but I could.

I feel like so much of my life is out of my control. Either I’m about to snap or it’s all going to fall apart.

“I’m so sorry, Shay. Can I do anything?” Grace asks.

“No. I’ll be fine. I’ll figure it out.”

“Does Luca know you went to the bank?” Sadie asks. She’s picking at the rim of her drink instead of looking at me.

“No. I … I thought … I don’t know what I thought, but no, and I don’t want him to know.”

I don’t think he would judge me, but I want him to be proud of me, and how can he do that if I'm not even proud of myself right now?

“Ugh. Let’s talk about something else. I’m getting all sad, and I don't want that.”

“Okay, so then let’s talk about Sadie’s bachelorette party,” Brooke says, knowing the perfect topic to turn to.

“I’m not getting married until next summer,” Sadie reminds her.

“So, it’s never too early to start planning.”

And that's what we do for the rest of the night. Before I know it, girls’ night comes to an end.

We exchange hugs, and I’m just about to walk out the door when it opens and Hudson steps in, followed by Miles. They both greet their girls, and my heart swoons. Is this what it could be like if I just sucked it up? I mean what’s the worst that could happen ?

Your family might make you choose between The Marina and Luca.

Right. That.

“Good night,” I call out.

Everyone sends me off with their version of goodbye, but it’s Miles’s words that stop me.

“Don’t panic when you step out that door, Shay.”

Then he winks at me.

I can’t help it, I grin like a fool and walk outside.

It’s dark, the moon the only bit of light, but it’s just enough for me to spot the man standing at the end of the driveway next door.

He looks up and grins when he spots me practically skipping toward him.

“I figure it’s dark out and people can’t s?—”

That's all he gets out before my lips are on his. His hands slink around my lower back, and he dips me back to kiss me with more passion.

“It’s perfect.”

I give him one more quick peck.

“Can I stay with you tonight?”

He nods quickly.

“Yep.”

Hand in hand, we head for his house, only to come to an abrupt stop at the end of the street. It’s dark out, and most people are in their homes in the evening. So seeing Mrs. Whittaker out walking her dog all by herself startles me.

I jump with a squeak and then take one step behind Luca. I’m not fully hidden, but I move enough to hide our laced fingers.

Or so I think .

Mrs. Whittaker’s gaze snaps right to them, and she smirks.

“Evening,” she says.

“Good evening, Mrs. W,” Luca says in his everyday charming voice. “Lovely night for a walk.”

“Yes,” she says, looking back and forth between us. “It’s a very good night.”

She nods to me, and I return the gesture, hoping that will be the end of it and her age will mean she forgets this interaction all together by morning.

She resumes her walk, and I let out a breath. We did?—

“I’m so happy you two are bringing That Marina back to life. I’ve missed that place,” she says quickly.

I suck in breath and Luca chuckles, whispering in my ear, “I told you people would know.”

I swat his arm, but Mrs. Whittaker doesn’t stop to say more.

“If she knows, more people know,” I say. “Which means my family will know soon.”

“Not exactly,” Luca says and pulls me toward his house. “She’s clearly known for a while and hasn’t said a word. In fact, no one has said anything about us to me or anyone I know. I think they respect the fact that we don't want people to know and they are pretending not to know.”

I swallow and nod, but what if he’s wrong?

I’m crossing my fingers that he's right, though.

“Do you think she’ll tell people about this?” I ask and hold up our hands.

Luca takes a deep breath. “We won’t know for sure, but my gut tells me that she’s on our side and waiting for us to do things on our terms. ”

I nod, because the only thing I can control from here is praying that he’s right.

My thoughts don’t have time to get carried away because as soon as we get through the front door to Luca’s house, he promptly removes all my clothes before we can make it up the stairs to his bed.

A girl could get used to this.

“Can I ask you something?” I say, rolling to my side and lifting a leg to rest over him as I snuggle him closer. I don’t think there will ever be a right time to ask him this, so I need to just blurt it out.

“Oh boy, by the way you’re biting your lip and staring out the window, I have a feeling I know what you want to ask me.”

I try not to smile. “Do you?”

I reach up to cup his cheek and hold my hand there until he looks down at me.

“Yeah. Ask it.”

“Why did you steal the money?”

He takes a deep breath, his gaze never leaving mine. In fact, I’m so lost in his eyes and how sad they look that I don't realize how long it takes him to answer.

“Is it that bad?” I whisper.

He pulls my hand away from his face then scoots down the bed until we are nose to nose.

“I never stole that money, Shay. I swear.”

It’s the same answer he gave us thirteen years ago, but this time, now that I know him better, I have zero doubt that he’s telling the truth, and my heart hurts that none of us believed him before.

That for as close as our families were back then, we didn’t even give him a chance to explain.

He deserved better from us. He deserved better from me.

“I believe you.”

He lets out a breath, and I swear I see years of relief leave his body.

“You do?”

“I do.”

“You didn’t back then.”

“I was young and dumb back then and didn’t make my own opinion. I am now, and if you say you didn’t steal the money, I believe you.”

If I was going to say more, Luca doesn’t let me.

His mouth is on mine with his next breath, and he’s shifting our bodies until he’s on top of me. He nudges my knees apart with one of his own, and I obey happily. When he settles himself against me, his hardened cock presses to my naked center. He pushes the tip inside teasingly.

“Luca.” His name comes out breathlessly. “Please don’t tease me.”

“No?”

His lips move to my cheek, to my jaw, then he squeezes my breasts as he bites my ear.

“I don’t mean to tease, Shay, but your body is so fucking responsive, I crave seeing your reactions to my touch. I’m addicted to it.”

“I’m addicted to your cock, so please give it to me.”

His deep chuckle only turns me on more. I lift my hips, my back bowing as I take another inch of him.

“Oh, my girl is greedy. ”

He grips my hips and then flips us so that he’s on his back and I'm straddling his body.

“You want my body, Shay. Take it. Ride me. Fuck me the way you want it until your pussy clenches around my cock, and then I’ll fuck you the way I want and make you come again.”

Holy hell.

His words.

They possess me.

They command me.

They give me all the confidence I need to grip him in my hand, placing him at my entrance, and slowly lower myself down.

“Oh fuck. This feeling never gets old, Shay. You’re so damn tight.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re so big.” I lean forward and kiss him.

“If you keep complimenting my dick like that, I'm going to come a lot faster than you want me to.”

I seat myself fully on him and swirl my hips. “That’s my goal.”

This time when I lean forward to kiss him, I hover for a brief moment to whisper, “I want you to come so hard, you see stars.”

Then I sit up, push my hands to his chest to lift my body just so before lowering again.

I repeat over and over, up and down, his curses of pleasure like a song to my ears as I do exactly as he told me to and take what I want.

When I feel the build begin, my nipples harden as if they’re a beacon to him.

“Fuck me, Shay. Faster. ”

I close my eyes and do just that, but then he slaps my ass as I ride him and my eyes spring open.

“I want to see your eyes when you come. Don’t you dare close them.”

“I won't.”

Then he sits up as I grind faster. His hand dips between us, and the finger that brushes against my clit makes me shatter all around him.

“Luca!” I scream and keep my pace until the sparks fade. I’m barely able to collect myself when Luca flips us, slams into me once, then twice, before pulling out and growling his orgasm as he comes all over my stomach.

The room is filled with our labored breaths as we try to calm down.

Resting back on his heels, my legs still open for his viewing, Luca slowly moves his gaze up to mine.

He grins. I’m pretty sure I blush. And then we both laugh.

“I love sex with you,” he admits as he gets off the bed, strutting into the bathroom and returning with a warm towel. He kneels next to me and cleans my belly.

Then he tosses the towel into the laundry basket and crawls back into bed with me.

“I’m pretty fond of it myself,” I say then kiss him.

We let it linger, his tongue slipping in to dance with mine before we’re interrupted by the sound of my cell phone ringing on the nightstand.

He groans his disapproval.

“Let’s just ignore the world today.”

“I wish we could,” I agree with him and suck in a breath. It’s my brother's name on my screen .

“It’s Leo.”

I turn to look at Luca as he sits up on the bed, pulling the sheet to cover the bottom half of his body. I stare at his bare chest for a moment, knowing how firm it feels under my fingertips but still fighting the urge to reach out for him as if it’s the first time.

“You better answer it. He’ll be suspicious if you don’t.”

I nod and get up from the bed.

“Put clothes on first. If you walk around my house naked, our cover will be blown a lot sooner than you want it to be.”

I grab his shirt from last night off the floor and slide it on.

“That doesn't exactly help.”

I roll my eyes and answer the phone as I walk out to the living room.

“Hey, Leo,” I say and sit on the sofa.

“Shay. What are you doing?”

He sounds upset.

“What do you mean what am I doing?”

“I mean, I called you three times and I tried The Marina, Carl said you weren’t there yet.”

He called three times? Shit.

“You did?”

“Yes. Are you okay? I was about to call Grace to see if something happened to you.”

“I’m fine.”

“Really? Because I know with Mom and Dad here this summer that leaves you all alone at The Marina and?—”

“And I'm a grown woman who can be alone. Besides, I’m not alone.”

“You’re not? Who are you with? ”

Oh, poor choice of words. I recover quickly.

“I mean, I have Grace and Brooke and the other girls here.”

The line is silent for a second.

“You swear you’re okay?”

“Yes. Please stop worrying.”

“Okay, but it still feels like something is off. You never go to work this late.”

“I …”

He’s right, I don’t.

“I just thought I’d take a slow morning. You and Mom and Dad are always saying I work too hard, so I listened.”

“Okay.” He blows out a breath. “How’s The Marina coming along?”

“Good. Really good.”

Luca appears in nothing but a pair of boxers, and my body moves toward him, my hands reaching out as if I’m an addict and need more of him.

“I’ll call you later,” I say quickly and hang up the phone.

I follow Luca into the kitchen and hop onto the counter next to where he’s standing.

His gaze sweeps to mine, and he grins right before he picks me up, hauling me over his shoulder and walking right back to his room.

My laughter is the last thing we hear before he drops me to the bed, lifts his shirt so just my lower half is showing, and yanks me to the edge, hitting his knees.

I don’t think I just like Luca anymore. I’m falling for him.

Which means … we need to have a plan.

And with the end of the summer quickly approaching, we need it soon.

But then he licks me right up the center, and all my worries vanish.

For now.