Until Series: Box set (8 page)

“Dad, this is November,” Asher says, taking a step back. Then, he pulls me from the seat. When my feet hit the ground, he puts his arm around me, dragging me into his body. His dad is smiling when he walks towards us.

“Hi, November. I’ve heard a lot about you visiting my mama with that dog of yours. She’s been bragging about you for a few weeks now. But I didn’t know you were Big Mike’s daughter. I don’t think anyone even knew he had a daughter,” he says with a kind smile on his face.

“Your mom is a very nice lady, Mr. Mayson. And, not a lot of people know about me,” I tell him as if he doesn’t already know it.

“Please call me James. Mr. Mayson makes me feel old.”

“Okay,” I say laughing.

“So what happened tonight? You said someone broke in?”

Asher tells his dad about the red writing in my living room and Beast being covered in the same liquid that was used on the walls. And how all the lights were off in the house when we got here.

“Okay, darlin’, do you know of anyone who would want to hurt you?” he asks, looking at me.

“No, but the reason I moved here is because I was attacked in New York. Then, on the way here, I pulled into a rest stop to let Beast out and a car with New York plates pulled up a couple minutes later. The strange thing was that I was parked in the area for dogs and they never got out with a dog. I got spooked and ran back to my car but didn’t see them again. So I don’t know if it was just my imagination or if I was really in danger.”

“There’s no telling,” he says, looking more concerned. “Did you ever receive gifts or anything unusual before you were attacked?”

“No, nothing like that. Why? Do you think I have a stalker or something?” I ask, a chill sliding down my spine.

“Don’t know. I’m gonna do some checking around and see if we can find anything. Can you stay with someone else for the night? I don’t think you should be alone.”

“Um…I…uh…have to call my dad. I’m sure I can stay with my grandma or my uncle.”

“You’re staying with me,” Asher says, making my heart pound.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say, looking up at him.

“Well, I don’t give a fuck. You’re not leaving my sight and I don’t think your grandma or uncle want me staying at either of their houses with you. So you’re staying with me.”

Rolling my eyes at Asher, I see his dad watching us. He looks smug for some reason.

“Your son is very annoying and bossy,” I tell him.

“I’m sure with you he is, darlin’,” he laughs. “But he’s a Mayson, so I also know that his bossy side is coming from a very safe place,” he says, looking at me. His smile is so warm that my stomach does a flip. “What did I tell you, son?” he says, looking at Asher. “When it happens—BOOM!” He makes a motion with his hands of an explosion.

“When what happens?” I ask.

“Nothing,” they say at the same time.

“Alrighty, then.” I look back at Asher. “I need to call my dad.”

After telling him everything that happened, Dad wants to come home. I explain that Asher and his dad are with me and that he doesn’t need to worry. I know the club is busy, because every few minutes, someone is asking him a question while we are on the phone. I tell him that Beast and I are going to stay with Asher for the night.

To say my dad doesn’t like this idea is an understatement. It takes ten minutes to assure him that I won’t do anything stupid but he still makes me put Asher on the phone to reiterate his point to him. The only thing Asher says is, “She’s safe with me, Mike,” then he hands me back my phone.

So now I, a hosed-off Beast and my overnight bag are on our way to Asher’s place. We drive out into the country. All along the roads are open fields. “So you live out here?” I ask, looking at his profile in the lights of the dashboard.

“Yeah, I bought the land I live on when I first started my business. I began building my house not long after.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. How old were you when you started your company?” I ask, wanting to know his age but trying to be sneaky about it.

“I was twenty-two when I first started.”

“Oh. How long ago was that?” I hear him chuckle and I look over at him. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m twenty-seven, babe. Nothing is ever easy with you, is it?” he asks and I hear amusement in his voice.

“Cool,” I say, feeling like an idiot that he figured me out. We pass a large red barn then turn down a dirt road. I can’t see anything ahead of us until we go over a small hill. My breath catches and I’m stunned. I don’t know what I expected but I didn’t expect to see a large, two story log house with a wraparound porch on the second level. Beams are holding up the space for parking below. I see a car and four wheeler parked under it.

“You built this?” I ask and even to myself I sound breathy.

“Yeah. It took me four years to get it finished because I was working on it between jobs.”

“It’s beautiful,” I say because…wow, it’s just amazing.

We get out of the jeep and start walking up to the front porch. Beast is walking behind us and it’s so quiet out here that I can hear his tail cutting through the air. He’s so excited to see this new place and explore. Asher lets us inside and I am completely stunned by what I see. It’s huge. You can see the logs in the walls. It’s all warm wood and open. There are giant windows that jut out and make the space almost seem larger. There is a sunken living room with a long, dark blue couch in the center of the room. It looks like it needs to be replaced but it also looks really comfortable.

On the wall, there is a huge entertainment center and off to the side is a floor to ceiling fire place made out of different types of rocks. There are no pictures or throw pillows of any kind. Actually, looking around, I realize that there are no decorations anywhere. We turn a corner and enter a giant kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and a large island in the middle with the stove built into it. It looks like a chef’s dream but it also looks unused.

“Do you cook?” I ask. That’s the only reason I can think someone would want a kitchen this large.

“Some,” he says with a look on his face that I can’t read. What the heck? This is a top of the line kitchen. I would love to spend hours in this kitchen baking or just sitting at the island and drinking coffee.

“Oh, well, it’s a really nice kitchen.” I mean, what else can I say?

“Glad you like it,” he says in a way that makes me think he’s really glad I like it. I follow him down a hall that runs beside the kitchen. I look for Beast but don’t see him so I turn around to search him out. When I walk back through the kitchen, I stop. Beast is lying on the couch on his back with his legs straight up in the air. I feel an arm slide around my waist and Asher speaks close to my ear. “Looks like he made himself at home.” A shiver runs across my skin and I know that he can feel it when his arm goes tighter.

“Should I tell him to get down?” I ask.

“No, baby. He’s fine,” he says in his deep drawl. I love that he calls me baby, and at the same time, it scares me that I love it. “Let me show you the bedroom,” he mumbles. At his words, I get another shiver. This one’s in a completely different place.

We walk past two rooms with the doors open. One is an office and the other is a workout room. Across the hall from both is a bathroom. At the end of the hall, he opens the door. I follow behind him and realize that this is his bedroom. There is a platform bed that’s so big, everyone I know could sleep on it and no one would even touch. The sheets and blankets are a mess and there are clothes scattered all over the floor.

Next to the bed is a wall of windows and the shades are slightly open. I can see a deck off his room as well. Beside the bed are nightstands built into the wall. There is a long, black dresser in the same color of the bed and side tables. There are two doors. One is open and I can tell that it’s my dream closet. It’s the size of my apartment back in New York. I walk towards it without thinking and turn on the light. I could fit a chair and a table in the space and still have room to add a king-size bed.

There are shelves on both sides that have a few pairs of shoes and boots on them and along the walls there is plenty of space to hang clothes. There are a few pieces of clothing hanging but most of it is in piles on the floor.

“Oh my God, I’m in love.” I hear Asher laughing behind me so I turn to look over my shoulder. “You have committed a huge crime,” I tell him with a completely straight face. He’s still laughing. “No, seriously, this closet should be taken care of and should never have stuff defacing the floor.”

He throws his head back, laughing so hard that the tendons in his neck are out. I catch myself wanting to run my tongue along them. I double blink at that thought. When his eyes come back to mine, he’s still chuckling.

“I don’t even like doing laundry. I’m not a big fan of hanging shit up,” he tells me.

“Oh, of course,” I whisper. Geez, I’m such a dork. He’s a guy. They don’t care about dream closets and having the space to show off all their fashion treasures. I step out of the closet and cross my arms under my breasts. His eyes drop to my cleavage so I quickly uncross my arms. Then, I realize I’m standing in his bedroom and I’m sleeping in his house while he’s here.

I look at the bed then back at him. He’s watching me the whole time. When we make eye contact again, there is something working behind his beautiful blue eyes that makes me hold my breath. He breaks eye contact and runs his hand over his head. I clench my hands into fists. I want to know if his hair will feel prickly against my palms. “Um…” I say, trying to clear my brain now that it seems to have gone into an Asher fog. He looks up and smiles. I see his dimple and that doesn’t help. Now I want to lick his cheek and taste his dimple. His smile widens and I swear he can read my mind. Crap, crap, crap.

“Here, let me show you the bathroom and you can change and get ready for bed,” he says.

Thank God for small favors, I think to myself until we walk into the bathroom. There is a large walk in shower that’s made out of rock with a glass door that makes it look like an open cave. Next to the shower is a bathtub that dreams are made of. Well, at least girl dreams. I can’t picture Asher filling it with bubbles and having a soak. Then, I’m bombarded with thoughts of Asher naked and in the bathtub. I’m staring at the tub when I hear him moving behind me so I turn around. He has my bag in his hand and is setting it on the sink.

“Feel free to take a bath and get into bed. I gotta make a few calls.” I would love to take a bath in his tub. Well, I would love to take a bath in his tub with him but I push that thought away.

“Uh, thanks,” I say, feeling strange. He smiles and leaves, closing the door behind him. I stand there for a few more minutes, trying to figure out what the heck is happening. Then I realize I’ve been standing here staring at the tub so I jerk out of my Asher tub fog and go to the sink. I took a shower before I left my house so I just dig through my bag and find my pajamas. They’re white cotton sleep shorts with a yellow drawstring that matches a yellow tank top. I tie my hair in a knot at the top of my head and wash my face. Then I dig through my bag and find my toothbrush and toothpaste.

After I’m done, I put on some nighttime skin cream. That is one thing my mom taught me. It was good advice to never go to bed without night cream. She would say, ‘No man wants a woman with wrinkles.’ How she would know this, I don’t know. She has been getting Botox since she was twenty and that’s probably the last time her face showed an expression that wasn’t surprise.

I open the door to the bedroom and the room is dark except for one of the bedside lights. I realize Asher made the bed while I was changing and for some reason that makes me smile. I think about going out and getting Beast but he won’t move if he’s asleep unless I carry him, and that’s not going to happen. I wonder where Asher is sleeping. Then I realize I’m tired and don’t care. I look at the clock on the side table and see that it’s after two in the morning. Without thinking, I crawl into bed. It smells like him so I pull the covers over me and I’m, once again, dead to the world.

*

I wake up
feeling warm and cozy. It takes me a minute to realize that it is not Beast behind me. Beast doesn’t have arms. I keep my eyes closed and hold my breath, trying to figure out what has happened. Then, I hear the door open.

“Oh my,” I hear a woman’s voice say and my eyes pop open, and I’m looking into the eyes of a beautiful, older woman and she’s looking back at me. Asher’s arm goes tight around me and I look over my shoulder. “Morning, baby,” he rumbles into my ear. I’m so humiliated that I blurt out the first thing that pops into my head when I turn back to look at the woman.

“We didn’t have sex!” I basically yell at her.

The lady looks at me again and smiles so big that I can see all of her teeth. “I’ll just be in the kitchen,” she says and Asher starts laughing as she’s closing the door behind her. I swear I hear her giggle. As soon as I know the door is closed, I turn to Asher. I’m really going to kill him.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“This is my bed,” he says, smiling. Grrrrrrr. I want to choke him.