Page 72 of The Harder You Fall (Rixon Raiders 3)

Even if I didn’t fully believe my own words, I’d believe them tonight for him.

“Thirty minutes. I’ll give them another thirty minutes and then I’m going to take you down to the boathouse and bury myself so deep inside you that all I can see is you, Mya.”

“Thirty minutes,” I repeated, my body on fire at his words.

It wasn’t long to wait but it already felt like forever.

We waited almost an hour. Teasing each other with barely there touches and fleeting glances while the party went on around us. Jason and Cameron teased us, fake gagging and rolling their eyes every time we fell into our own little bubble.

“Your dad is toasted,” Asher said to Jase as we lingered in the kitchen. It had been our safe haven for most of the night; the adults preferring to stick to the huge reception room, letting the catering staff wait on them with trays of canapés and flutes of expensive champagne.

“My mom isn’t much better,” Hailee mused, looking a little glassy-eyed herself. “But at least they made up.”

“That is one thing I never need to witness again. I still can’t believe I walked in on them almost... fuck, nope, not going there.” Jason shuddered, downing the rest of his beer. “Right,” he slammed it down. “I don’t know about anyone else, but we’re calling it a night.”

“We are, are we?” Felicity arched a brow.

He roped an arm around her neck and pulled her close. “Do you want to get fucked before I pass out, or not?”

“Jason!”

“Dude, there are some things I never need to hear,” Cam protested.

Laughter rumbled in Jason’s chest. “Like you aren’t going to be boning my sister in about twenty minutes time.”

“Dude!” We all shrieked this time.

“I think that’s our cue,” Asher whispered against my ear, sending a delicious shiver up my spine.

“Merry Christmas, Mya.” Flick launched herself at me, hugging me so tight I could hardly breathe.

“Merry Christmas,” I chuckled at her enthusiasm.

“I’m so happy you found each other,” she whispered, “be careful with his heart.”

“Babe, let’s go,” Jason said, pulling her away. “Merry Christmas, Mya, Asher. We’ll see you guys in a couple of days.”

“Have a good one, man.” Ash fist bumped him, and then Cam, before burying his face in my hair.

“Ash?” I whispered. “What are you doing?”

“Smelling you. You smell so fucking good, I could eat you.”

“What are you waiting for then?”

He pulled back, his eyes hooded, nostrils flared. “You sure about this?”

“Do you want to unwrap your present or not?”

Asher tipped his head back and groaned, the sound reverberating deep in his chest. I chuckled softly, enjoying teasing him. The air crackled around us, charged with anticipation.

My hairs stood on end as he took my hand and led me to the door. “What if someone sees?”

“At this point, I honestly couldn’t give a fuck.”

The house was emptying now, the music mellowing. “It’s almost midnight,” I said, noting the time on the wall clock as we left the house and stepped into the cool December air.

Asher was quiet as we walked across his vast yard toward the lake. I’d only been out here a handful of times, but the Bennets’ yard never failed to take my breath away. It was the stuff of movies. A huge pool, sun loungers dotted around the edge, a huge canopied area for the summer. Beyond that, a neatly mowed lawn that ran all the way down to the small lake where they had their own jetty and, just as Jason had said, a boathouse.