Chapter 40: Asher
The hot water wings at fist
It needles now skin, sharp against miscles still from hauling Penny through the storm, from bracing arsimt up by the rootsL
But when a minute after the initial shock starts to feri gol.
The kind of good that seeps into your bones, makes the soild mere dosen in nothing but heat and breath and steam.
felt strong mough to
I lean my head against the tile wall for a moment, letting the water drum against the back of my neck, shaking off the last sey edges of the night.
And-
yeah.
The thought cresses my mind.
That Penny’s doing the same right now, two doors down.
That her hair’s wet and clinging to her back,
that her skin’s flashed from the beat,
that she’s wearing nothing but a towel, or maybe nothing at all.
The thought punches low and strong, making my dick impossibly
ibly hard. I stroke it once, twice…
I grit my teeth and shove the thought away, taking my hand off
Not the time.
Not the place.
Not the girl
I kill the water before my brain can get any stupider, dry off fast, and yank on clean clothes–sweats, a dry hoodie, hare feet padding quiet down the stairs.
The bouw feels different now.
Still lit, still warm- but quieter.
Like everything’s holding its breath.
drop to the couch, stretching my legs out,
waiting
And a few minutes later, I hear it
the soft sound of bare feet an
I glance up.
And for the second time tonight, the air knocks put of my lungs
There she is –
Penny, her hair brushed out and hanging damp down her back, her skin pink from the heat of the shower, swallowed whole by my clothes,
The black t–shirt hangs down to her mid–thighs, the sleeves topping past her elbows,
Chapter 40: Asher
The jogging pants are so big she has to hold the waistbend up with one hand just to keep them from puddling around her ankles.
She scowls at me the second she catches the look on my face.
“You’re a giant,” she accuses, tugging the pants higher.
I smirk – small, involuntary.
“Not my fault you’re tiny.”
She huffs and stops – as much as someone her size can stemp
Not close enough to touch.
But close enough that I can feel the heat coming off her skin.
I glance sideways at her
across the room, Bepping onto the couch next to me
at the way the neckline of the shirt dips just enough to show the pale
of her collarbone,
at the way her hair’s dripping little spots of water onto the stretched fabric,
at the way her lips are finally pink again.
And the thought that she’s naked under my clothes-
nothing but my shirt against her skin
makes my hands curl into fists against my thighs.
Not allowed.
to will my boner away.. The floor creaks again and I sit up straighter automatically, trying to
It’s just Mom and Dad, carrying two steaming mugs of tea
They both beam when they see u
“Here you go, sweetheart, Mom says, handing Penny a mug.
“And for you, Ash,” Dad says, dropping the other into my hand with a grin
Penny wraps her hands around them like it’s a lifeline
“Thank you so much,” she says, voice small but steady. For letting me stay here. For everything.”
“You’re family, honey, Mom says.
immediately. “You’re always welcome.”
Dad nods, clapping my shoulder once in a quick, reh gesture of pride.
We’re h
heading up,” he says, “You two good down here?”
Penny nods, smiling thedly,
Chapter 40: Asher
“Okay. Sleep if you can,” Mom says, fussing one last time before
The house settles around us quiet again, just the low him of the generator outside and the faint dimming of rain against the winders,
Penny sips her tea slowly, the steam curling around her face.
And then she frowns
Looks around
Shifts a little on the couch
“Where’s Tyler?” she asks, almost too casually.
I lift an eyebro
“What do you mean?”
She shrugs one shoulder, staring into her mug
He texted me earlier. Said he was home. Chilling.”
Isip my tra, letting the heat scald my tongue before I answer.
“He left a few hours ago,” I say “Said he was meeting some friends.”
She stiffes.
Just enough that I notice.
She pulls her phone out of the giant pocket of my jogging pants and types something quickly, thumbs masing fast,
I look away, trying to give her privacy.
Not that I have to look hard – I’m tallet, sitting higher, and the angle of the couch lets me catch the message without even meaning to.
You okay?
A second later, the reply pings back
Yeah still chilling at home might sleep soon.
I watch the way she flinches – barely a ripple, barely there.
But it’s real. She puts her phone down slowly, confusion etched across her face.
I keep my expression blank, my voice low and egen.
“You okay?”
She blinks, caught, and then forces a smile.
“Yeah. Just tired”
Chapter 40: Asher
But 1 let it go.
She looks too small already
curled in my clothes, clutching the tea like it’s the only thing keeping her upright.
She doesn’t need a third person pashing right now.
She needs rest.
She needs warmth.
She needs to feel safe.
Chapter Comments
Chapter 41: Penny
Don’t cry or dos T
I state down at my tea like it’s personally triprouble for my entire coumbling erectional state,
Tyler told me he was home.
Home.
So why did Asher say he tell hours ago?
Why is he lying to me?
The questions twist inside me, low and sour, but I face myself to blink fast, to be the slow.
I am not crying over this
Not here.
Not now.
Not when Asher is sitting right there – quiet and still, staring straight ahead like he didn’t just save me from dying of hypothermia and bad decisions tonight
1 fish my tea, setting the mug carefully on the coffee table so I don’t accidentally shatter it with my shaky hands.
1 glance sideways at
Thank you” I say, voice a little rough.
He doesn’t look at me
“Nothing to thank me for
shifting
og to face him mone
I buff, sh
more fully.
“It’s not nothing.” I insist. That storm was awful. You didn’t have to come check on me
His jaw ticks — a tiny movement and then he turns, meeting my eyes. His eyes darken and for a second they hold a ston
Simple.
Certain.
I blink, feeling my cheeks heat, the flush creeping Ap my
my neck
before I can stop it
“Well, I mumble, awkward now, “thank you.”
He nods once, like that’s the end of it.
1 rub a hand over my face, trying to cool
And immediately lunch when my fingers brush the rut on my cheekbon/..
than the one outside.
1/4
Chapter 41: Penny
“Ow, I mutter, wincing. “Forgot thuit wa
Before I can say anything ehe, Asher shifts toward me
His band contes up – fast but qui nough–and his fingers catch my thin between them, tilting my face to the side.
His thumb bushes lightly along the edge of the scratch, inspecting.
like the stora maked all the heat out of the world and left it coiled under his skin instead.
The touch is careful
That it still feels like it sears right through me.
│You cleaned it he asks, voice low.
I pod. “In the shower. With water.
He exhales through his nose, unimpressed.
Not enough
Before I can protest, he’s standing jerking his head toward the kitchen.
“Come on.”
I hesitate because standing, moving, being closer to him feels dangerous right now
But he was there for me today.
Again..
So I push myself up and follow
I stumble after him, still catching at the waistband of his way–too–by pants like they’re personally trying to assassinate me
The hem drags against the floor, threatening to trip me with every step, and after a particularly aggressive stumble, I mutter a curse under my breath, yank them off, and kick them to the side.
The t–shirt I’m wearing his t–shirt is long enough to cover everything important anyway
—
Asher glances back at the sound, arching an eyebrow
“What are you doing?” he asks, vice hall serious, half amputed.
“Saving my life,” I multer. Those things are a hazard”
He smirks that rare, deadly one that always feels like a secret- and shakes his head, jerking his chin toward the kitchen counter.
“Come here.”
I move toward him and before I can brace myself, he steps forward, strong hands closing around my waist.
Without effort, he lifts me to the counter,
I gasp, clutching the edge for balance, heart hammering wildly in my chest.
Chapter 41: Penny
He steps in close between my knees, and suddenly the air between is in to tight, cos hot, ton heavy.
I can’t not notice him
the way his shat clings to the sharp cut of his shoulders and chest,
the way the muscles in his arms shift easily under his skin as he mines,
the way he smells- not just soap and clean laundry, but something darker underneath, like amber and smoke and rain.
I think of how he looked earlier–standing in my domway–grey sweatpants
| low on his hips, white shirt plastered against a body that locked cared
And standing here now, inches from him, breathing him in, Trealize something bone–deep:
This man could destroy ampone
at with
Not
violence.
With sheer gravity
With the way he pulls the air out of a room without even trying.
With the way he makes it impossible to look anywhere else,
And me!
I’d never stand a chance,
1 force melf to focus as he rummages through the first aid kit under the sink, pulling out supplies with quick, efficient movements.
“Hold stall,” he says, nice low enough to rattle loose something deep inside ne
He tears open an alcohol swab and dabs it against the cut on my cheek
I wince, sucking in a sharp breath.
He doesn’t apologize just steadies me with one brood hand at the base of my jaw, thumb skimming lightly under my chin, fingers warm and rough and careful
“Princess,” be mutters under his breath, shaking his head in that experated way that somehow don’t feel cold at all.
He spreads antibiotic cream gently along the scratch, his touch featherlight now, almost reverent
Trying to distract myself from the way my heart is trying to hammer its way through my ribs, I ask, “Did you learn this in the Navy?”
He nods once, concentrating on the tiny wound
“Basic first aids mandatory.”
I ham, not trusting my voice to do anything cobert.
The house groam under another blast of wind.
A second later, a thunderclap aloud it feels like it splits the sky in two crashes right overhead.
I flinch hard – involuntary, stupid and his hand athes out again, gripping my thigh just above the knee to steady me.
His palm prises against hare skin, rough and warm and solid, branding me with the tact
3/4
Penny
He pulls back almost immediately, but it’s too late.
The touch lingers – electric, searing, alive, I catch a glimpse of his dark eyes before he looks away.
I’m breathing too fast, pulse rabbiting in my throat.
“I can’t wait for this storm to be over, I mutter, forcing a shaky laugh.
He just nuds, packing away the first aid supplies like nothing happened
We move back to the living room a little too quickly, like we’re both pretending that didn’t happen,
Bedrog onto the couch again, sprawling back like how it
“You going to bed?” I ask, sinking onto the far end.
shakes his head
I pick up the remote, twirling it between my fingers.
“Wanna watch something?
I scroll through options and
Exactly what I need.
1 curl up at my enl
a hundred times before – safe, brainles, easy
dùng the hem of the 1–shirt over my ban
letting the dumb jokes and laugh tracks the silence.
Asher doesn’t say anything.
But he’s there
solid, warm, steady.
And slowly — slowly — the fear in my chest starts to loosen its claws.
om heavier a
( with each minute.
My eyelids germ
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