Chapter 26 _ Asher

Chapter Twenty Six

Asher

He leaned in and ran his nose along the side of my neck, pulling a shiver through me. Those lips brushed my skin, followed by the flick of his tongue and a distinctly round metal ball which had to be one of the piercings he’d mentioned.

“You want it too, Asher. Just give in. Why are you fighting it?” A low growl escaped him on the last word. “Why toy with the vampire’s emotions? You’re wasting his time. You belong to me. You’ve always belonged to me.”

He was rocking us back and forth, his hand now knotted in my hair, teeth grazing my shoulder as he ground his hard cock against my crotch. Thank God I was wearing pants, or he’d know what he was doing to me.

“Say. You’re. Mine.” That fucking growl again.

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

My protest was weak even to my own ears, my wolf begging for what she wanted.

“Just give in. You know I’ll make it good for you. I’ll take care of you.”

He nipped my neck, right where he’d give me a mating mark if I’d let him. I nearly came on the spot. Damn pheromones. They were clouding my judgment.

“I don’t need you to take care of me. I can make it good on my own.”

He licked his way up my neck to my ear. “Think about how much better it’d feel if I were buried inside you. Giving you my knot.”

Jesus, what was wrong with me? My thighs clenched, and I had to grit my teeth to stop the wave of need that sent through me. Primal. That was what this was between us. Different from anything with Jackson or Cian . . . hell, even Devon. I couldn’t deny it even if I wanted to. Even if I should.

He tore his shirt off his body with one hand, revealing thick muscles and swirling tattoos. His chest was a work of art, accentuated by barbell piercings in his nipples. God, he was hot, but had that been a question I’d ever had? No. There was no denying how sexy Declan Bassett was.

Then his big hand slipped down and under the waistband of my yoga pants, delving between my legs to where I was slick with desire. I couldn’t fight my moan or the way my hips rolled forward, my clit begging for attention.

“Fuck, Asher. I knew it. I could smell how badly you want this.” His fingers slid deeper, teasing my entrance. “Say the word, and I’ll mount you here and now.”

I wanted it. God, I wanted it so badly. It would be so easy to give in. To let myself be his and finally feel the connection everyone said was there when a mate bond was formed. I whimpered when one finger sank inside me.

“Fuck, you’re tight. Saving yourself for me? God, that’s so fucking sexy.” He nuzzled deeper into my neck, the warmth of his breath pebbling my skin. When he spoke again, his voice was a deep growl I felt straight in my core. “Good girl.”

His mouth pressed to my shoulder, followed by the pressure of teeth as he carefully bit down. Panic shot through me. If I let him do this, bond with me, mark me there, it would be something I couldn’t come back from. I’d be his.

Shoving with all my might, I pushed him away. I landed on my ass in the dirt and must’ve caught him off guard because he stared in shock.

“No. You don’t get to mark me.”

His eyes flashed with frustration as I got to my feet. “Dammit, Asher. Why the fuck not? We were born for each other. This is our destiny.”

“I’m meant for more than being your breeding bitch, and that’s all a mate is good for in my pack.”

“Who the hell said that’s what I expect? It doesn’t have to be that way.”

I propped a hand on my hip. “Oh really? Giving you my knot.” I did an impression of him that brought a flash of amusement to his eyes. “You want to breed me just like any Alpha wants to breed their mate. It’s who you are.”

He pushed to his feet. “Of course I do. That’s our nature. It doesn’t mean I expect you to stay at home barefoot and pregnant. We can have fun practicing before we start reproducing. Imagine me taking care of you during your heat.”

My wolf said yes, but my heart said run. “No. I am not here to let you claim me. Either help me with my wolf or leave me alone. No more of . . . this.”

“Maybe this”—he gestured between us—“is exactly what you need. Maybe your stubborn refusal to give in is the only thing standing in your way. Ever think about that, Ash?”

I had to grit my teeth against the bitter retort I wanted to hurl his way. Instead, I shook my head. “Maybe. But it’s not your call to make. I get to decide. And right now, I need more time before I’m ready to take that step. You won’t give me that, so we’re done here.”

I didn’t give him a chance to respond. I walked away without looking back, but my wolf was angry, growling at me all the way to the dorm.

****

^Asher^

“And then he got all snarly and possessive about it, trying to mark me. And being all ‘You know you want me, Asher.’”

Maeve flicked her gaze to me through the mirror as she finished applying her massive batwing eyeliner. Somehow that woman made it look amazing, but I knew if I tried, I’d look like Harley Quinn got left out in the rain.

“Wait a minute, you’re saying he tried to force a mate mark on you?” Her eyes flashed with violet sparks of power. “I’ll kill him.”

Her threat of violence on my behalf made me feel oddly squishy inside. Though, in this case, her anger wasn’t warranted. “Down, girl. I didn’t say he forced me. He just forced the issue. He stopped when I told him to.”

She turned around on the stool in front of the vanity and assessed me. Her hair fell in long platinum waves all the way to her waist today. It made her look like a faerie.

“Ooookay, I guess I don’t really understand the problem then. He was helping you. He stopped when you asked him to. You said he even brought out more of your wolf. Why are you mad?”

“Because I—” I stopped. Why was I so upset? “Because he—” A growl of frustration slipped out. “Because I don’t want to feel that way about him.” And I’m already feeling that way about someone else. Several someones.

“Do you think he’s not your mate? That they were wrong when you were matched?”

I wanted to say yes. That would certainly make things easier. But the truth was, there was very clearly something between us. There had been even on the night we’d been brought together by our packs.

“No. It’s just. After I rejected him, Devon went out of his way to make my life hell. We weren’t in the same pack, but that didn’t matter. Our community rallied around him, and he did nothing to lessen their reaction. After that night, I was completely ostracized and never got to set foot off pack land again. Until now. It’s hard to just put all that aside because of some cosmic bond.”

Maeve twirled a lock of hair around her finger, then released it, over and over as she let my words sink in. “Remind me why you rejected him? I’ve always heard it was nearly impossible for mates to avoid the pull.”

Memories of that day swirled through my mind, filling me with guilt and shame once more. “Because in order to accept the bond, you have to shift. And I couldn’t. Rejecting him was the only way to protect my family’s legacy. Not that it mattered in the end. Word got out anyway, but it was the only thing I could do to try and prevent that from happening.”

“I see. And what happens once your wolf finally appears? Will you reject him again?”

No, my wolf vehemently protested. She wanted our mate. If she was the one to choose, it wasn’t a choice at all.