Chapter 201 You’re Playing Me

Chapter 201 You’re Playing Me

Ember's POV

Asher froze for a moment, then let out a laugh of disbelief. "Ember, you were messing with me."

"So what if I was? You got a problem with that?"

I scoffed and climbed out of bed, picking up the wedding dress he'd torn apart with his own hands the night before. I held it up against myself, realized it was unwearable, and tossed it back on the floor. Then I grabbed a robe from the closet and wrapped it around myself.

Asher said, a little sore about it, "You were crying in my arms last night. You said you loved me."

"Things said when your hormones are through the roof don't count." I threw that out there and walked into the bathroom, checking the mess of marks on my neck in the mirror, my frown deep enough to crack glass. While I was looking, I called back to the man hovering in the doorway, "You're a grown man. Why are you being so whiny? We both had a good time last night — isn't that enough? Why chase after something as vague as a title?"

"Ember!"

"Don't." I leaned out of the bathroom doorway and looked at him, blank-faced. "I'm not your Luna. You don't get to be mad at me."

My words hit him like a punch to the chest — literally. He'd pushed himself too hard last night, and the wound that hadn't even finished healing had torn open again. He pressed a hand to his chest, grimacing, and slumped against the headboard, muttering something low under his breath.

I didn't bother with him. I got myself together and walked out without looking back.

Over the next few days, I got a full education in what it meant for Asher to refuse to leave someone alone.

Every morning I stepped outside, his car was already parked downstairs. He'd roll down the window and say, "Get in."

"I have my own car."

"I took your keys."

I shot him a look that could've drawn blood, then turned and flagged down a cab on the main road.

At the noon meeting, my assistant crept in looking terrified, carrying a beautifully arranged lunch box.

I asked, stone-faced, "Who sent that."

"The Alpha's beta dropped it off. Said your stomach's been bad and you shouldn't keep eating takeout."

"Don't accept anything from them going forward."

"But he left it at the front desk and walked away. We didn't even get a chance to turn it down..."

By the end of the day, the man was right there at my office door, on schedule, cutting me off. "Come home."

"That's your home. Not mine."

"Then wherever you're going, I'm coming with you."

I rubbed my temples, exhausted, feeling like he was slowly driving me out of my mind.

And then it got worse at night. Asher just planted himself in my apartment and refused to leave, even bringing Evelyn over as a human shield.

He held our daughter and said, "Evelyn says she misses me."

Evelyn nodded eagerly from his arms, like a little bird pecking at grain. "Yeah, Evelyn misses Uncle."

I looked at them both, expression flat, and reached over to pinch my daughter's cheek. "Whose side are you on?"

Evelyn grinned and squirmed away. "Evelyn's in the middle."

That actually made me laugh. I let go of her face and had to admit she had a real talent for staying neutral at such a young age. Then I turned a cold look on Asher. "You can stay. But don't try anything."

Asher raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

He was clearly playing with my words, because I hadn't spelled out what "try anything" meant. The moment Evelyn was asleep, he showed his true colors — pinning me to the couch without a word, and going at it while repeating the same lines over and over.

Between everything, he demanded, "Be my mate."

"No."

"You promised before."

"I forgot."

"Ember. Let me give you a reminder."

And then came another round. After several nights of this, the dark circles under my eyes were so bad that no amount of concealer could cover them.

That morning, Asher was camped out in my office as usual, using a "business collaboration" meeting as his excuse, when really he was just sitting there watching me, making sure I didn't talk to any other men.

Penelope came by to grab lunch. She opened the door and found Asher lounging on the sofa flipping through a magazine, while I sat behind my desk looking like a storm cloud. The tension in the room was thick enough to ignite.

"Well, well. Shouldn't the Alpha be at his own company right now? What's he doing hanging around our Ember? Don't tell me you've started treating this office like your living room."

"You're just in time," I said to Penelope without looking up. "Get him out of here for me."

Penelope pulled her neck back and gave a dry laugh. "I wouldn't dare."

Asher set down the magazine, got up, and walked over to my desk. He leaned forward, bracing both hands on the surface, deliberately getting close. "Ember, you can't treat me like this. My leg still hasn't healed, and I was up all night in pain from taking care of you. Look at these dark circles of mine."

I glanced up at him once. The man looked bright-eyed and perfectly fine. Nothing about him said he needed anyone's care.

"If your leg hurts, go see a doctor."

"My heart hurts. A doctor can't fix that. Only you can."

"Alright, I've had enough of this — too sweet, can't take any more. Let's reschedule." Penelope shuddered, covered in goosebumps, and quietly slipped out of the office.

Once she was gone, I looked up at Asher, calm and cold. "Keep this up, and I'll find myself a younger guy. Someone quieter than you, more agreeable. The type who doesn't talk back."

Asher's expression shifted instantly. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

He held my gaze for a solid three seconds, and once he was sure I wasn't joking, he finally backed down. He retreated to the sofa, deflated, and sat down quietly, picking up the magazine again. He didn't get far before he looked up at me again. "My leg really does hurt."

I kept my head down and didn't respond.

"When they took the bandage off yesterday, the wound split open again. The doctor said if I don't rest it properly, it could get infected." His voice was quiet, with something that almost sounded like hurt in it. "I'm not making it up."

My pen paused on the document. I knew he was trying to make me feel sorry for him. But the injury was real. A bullet wound wasn't something to brush off.

"If you're in pain, go find Chloe." I pushed down the softness trying to creep in and kept my voice flat. "Let her take care of you."

The moment the words were out, the whole atmosphere around him dropped. He slammed the magazine down on the coffee table with a heavy thud.

Asher stood up, face dark, and walked over to me with a slight limp. He grabbed my chin, hard enough that I had to tilt my head up and look at him.

"Ember. Say that again." His eyes were burning — anger, and something else underneath it that I couldn't quite read. Clearly my words had cut him.

"I said, go find—"

Before I could finish, he bent down and bit my lip. Not hard, but precise — right on the mark he'd left the night before.

I hissed in a sharp breath.

Then he let go, pressing his forehead against mine, his breath heavy against my face. "Don't push me off onto someone else. If you say something like that again, I'll—"

"You'll what."

"I'll bite you again."

I looked at the dead-serious, stubborn look in his eyes and felt a helpless kind of exasperation. He bit people like it was nothing. Like a dog.

I pushed his face away. "Alright. Settle down. I have a meeting."

Asher stood there, stubborn, not moving.

I looked at him and sighed. Then I gave in. I reached up, hooked my hand around the back of his neck, and pressed my lips lightly against his.

"Happy now?"

He went still for a second. Then his ears turned visibly, unmistakably red. He lifted a hand and touched his own lips, a little lost, made a low sound of acknowledgment, and finally went back to the sofa and sat down quietly.

I dropped my eyes back to the document in my hands. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't flatten the curve at the corner of my mouth.