4. Asher

CHAPTER 4

ASHER

T he note feels like a lead weight in my pocket as I go through the motions of my day, my smile strained and my mind a million miles away. Every time the bell over the door jingles, my heart leaps into my throat, half-expecting to see Liam's tall, brooding form filling the doorway.

But he doesn't come. Not that morning, not that afternoon, not even as the dinner rush fades into the sleepy lull of night. Part of me is relieved, knowing that distance is the only way to keep him safe from whatever threat lurks in the shadows.

But a larger, more insistent part aches with a longing so keen it steals my breath. I can still feel the press of his lips against mine, the rasp of his stubble, the heat of his hands branding my skin. It's like a fever under my flesh, a hunger that gnaws at my bones.

I'm wiping down the counter for the third time, my movements mechanical and distracted, when the bell chimes again. I glance up, my customer-service smile already pasted on, and freeze.

Liam stands in the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the frame, his eyes blazing with a heat that scorches me from across the room. He looks like hell, his jaw dark with stubble, his clothes rumpled and his hair a tousled mess. But God, he's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

"We need to talk," he says without preamble, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that shivers down my spine.

I swallow hard, my fingers clenching on the damp rag. "I'm working, Liam. Can it wait?"

His jaw tightens, a muscle flickering beneath the tanned skin. "No. It can't."

He strides toward me, his movements fluid and purposeful, and God, I can't help the way my body responds, the kick of my pulse, the hitch of my breath. He leans against the counter, his face inches from mine, his eyes boring into me with an intensity that makes my knees weak.

"You've been avoiding me," he says, his voice low and rough. "I want to know why."

I look away, my throat tight. "I haven't been avoiding you. I've just been busy."

"Bullshit." His hand comes up, fingers grazing my jaw, tilting my face back to his. The touch sends a jolt of electricity through me, my skin prickling with goosebumps. "Something's wrong. Tell me."

I close my eyes, battling the urge to lean into his touch, to spill every fear, every desperate longing. But I can't. I won't put him in danger, no matter how much it hurts.

"Liam, please," I whisper, my voice cracking. "Just let it go. We can't do this."

His fingers tighten on my jaw, anger and confusion warring in his gaze. "Can't do what? Can't admit that there's something between us? Can't take a fucking chance on something real?"

My eyes fly open, my heart pounding. "You think this is real? Liam, you're a gangster. A thug. And I'm just a diner owner trying to survive. We're from different worlds."

He flinches like I've slapped him, hurt flashing quick and bright in his eyes. But it's gone in an instant, replaced by a hardness that chills me to the bone.

"You're right," he says, his voice flat and cold. "I'm just a thug. A monster who takes what he wants, consequences be damned."

And then he's hauling me across the counter, his mouth crashing down on mine in a kiss that's pure, unadulterated possession. I gasp, my hands flying up to grip his shoulders, my body responding with a swiftness that steals my breath.

He kisses like he fights, with a ferocity that borders on violence, his tongue delving deep, his teeth nipping at my lips. I moan into his mouth, my fingers digging into the hard muscle of his back, heat pooling thick and heavy in my groin.

He breaks the kiss with a growl, his hands fisting in my hair, his eyes boring into mine with a hunger that makes me tremble. "Still think this isn't real, sunshine?" he rasps, his breath hot against my lips.

I shake my head frantically, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Liam, we can't," I choke out, even as my body screams for his touch. "It's not safe."

He goes still, his eyes narrowing. "Not safe? What are you talking about?"

I close my eyes, shame and fear a bitter tang in my throat. With shaking hands, I reach into my pocket and pull out the crumpled note, pressing it into his palm.

"I found this on my car last night," I whisper, my voice trembling. "Someone doesn't want us to be together, Liam. Someone dangerous."

He stares at the note, his face a mask of rage and disbelief. "Who the fuck left this?" he snarls, his hand clenching around the paper.

I shake my head helplessly. "I don't know. But I'm scared, Liam. I'm scared of what they might do to you, to me, if we don't stay away from each other."

He crumples the note in his fist, his jaw clenching so hard I'm afraid he'll crack a tooth. "I won't let anyone hurt you, Asher," he says, his voice low and fierce. "I'll fucking kill anyone who tries."

My heart clenches, fear and love a dizzying tangle in my chest. "That's what I'm afraid of," I whisper, my fingers grazing his cheek. "I don't want you to have more blood on your hands, Liam. Not because of me."

He leans into my touch, his eyes falling shut, his breath shuddering out of him. "I can't lose you," he rasps, his voice raw and broken. "I can't."

Tears sting my eyes, my throat tight with a grief I can barely comprehend. "I know," I choke out. "But we don't have a choice. Your world, your life... it's too dangerous for someone like me."

Anger flares hot in his gaze, his hands gripping my shoulders almost painfully. "Someone like you? Fuck that. You're the bravest, strongest person I know, Asher. You make me want to be better, to be worthy of you."

A sob catches in my throat, my heart cracking open. "Liam, please," I beg, even as I lean into him, craving his touch, his warmth. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

He crushes me against him, his face burying in my neck, his breath hot and ragged against my skin. "Tell me you don't feel this," he growls, his hips grinding into mine, the hard ridge of his cock searing me through our clothes. "Tell me you don't want me as much as I want you."

I moan, my fingers tangling in his hair, my body melting into his. "I can't," I gasp, my head falling back as he licks a hot stripe up my throat. "God help me, Liam, I can't."

He claims my mouth again, the kiss deep and drugging, his tongue delving past my parted lips to tangle with mine. I moan into the kiss, my hands sliding up his muscled chest to grip his shoulders, desperate to anchor myself against the tide of sensation threatening to sweep me away.

Liam's hands are everywhere, stroking down my back, gripping my hips, kneading my ass. He hauls me closer, grinding his hardness against me, and I gasp at the exquisite friction, heat pooling fast and heavy in my groin.

"Fuck, Asher," he growls against my lips, his voice rough with need. "I want you so fucking bad."

I whimper, arching into him, my body alight with a hunger I've never known. "Liam, please..."

He walks me backward, never breaking the kiss, until my back hits the wall. His thigh slips between mine, pressing against my aching cock, and I cry out, my head falling back against the bricks.

Liam takes advantage, his mouth trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down my throat, his teeth grazing my thudding pulse. I tangle my fingers in his hair, holding him to me, every nerve ending sparking with pleasure.

His hands find the hem of my shirt, yanking it up and over my head in one swift motion. Cool air whispers across my fevered skin, followed by the searing heat of Liam's calloused palms as they map the contours of my chest, my stomach.

"So fucking beautiful," he rasps, his eyes dark and hungry as they drink me in. "Gonna make you feel so good, sunshine."

I moan, my hips rolling mindlessly against his, seeking more of that delicious friction. Liam hisses through his teeth, his hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise.

"Gotta slow down," he pants, even as he rocks into me, his massive erection scorching me through his jeans. "Don't want to come in my fucking pants like a teenager."

I laugh breathlessly, my hands sliding under his shirt to trace the ridges of his abs, the cut of his hip bones. "Maybe I want you to," I whisper, emboldened by the haze of lust. "Maybe I want to feel you lose control, just for me."

Liam makes a sound like he's been gut-punched, his eyes slamming shut, his jaw clenching. "Fuck, Asher, you can't say shit like that."

I lean in, nipping at his ear, reveling in the full-body shudder that rolls through him. "Why not?" I breathe. "Afraid you won't be able to handle it, big guy?"

His eyes snap open, blazing with a heat that steals my breath. "Oh, I can handle it," he growls, his voice a low, filthy promise. "Question is, can you?"

And then he's spinning me around, pressing me face-first into the wall, his body a hot, hard line against my back. I gasp as he grinds against my ass, his clothed cock nestling into the crack of my cheeks.

"This what you want?" he rasps, his breath scorching the back of my neck. "Want me to take you right here, where anyone could walk in and see? Watch me split you open on my cock, make you scream for it?"

"Yes," I hiss, mindless with need, pushing my ass back against him. "Fuck, Liam, please..."

He reaches around, his fingers making quick work of my fly, shoving my jeans and boxers down my hips. I kick them off impatiently, biting back a moan as my aching cock springs free, slapping against my stomach.

Liam's hand wraps around me, giving me a slow, tight stroke that has me seeing stars. "So fucking hard for me," he marvels, his thumb swiping through the bead of moisture at the tip. "Leaking already, Jesus."

I whine, my hips bucking into his fist, chasing more of that perfect friction. But Liam's hand is gone as quickly as it came, leaving me bereft and aching.

The snick of a cap, the slick sound of Liam coating his fingers. And then he's circling my entrance, teasing the furled muscle, making me gasp and clench.

"Gonna open you up," he breathes, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. "Get you ready for my cock. You want that, sunshine? Want me to fill this sweet little hole, make you mine?"

"Please," I beg, too far gone for pride, for anything but the desperate need clawing at my gut. "Need you, Liam, fuck..."

"I've got you, sunshine," Liam rasps, his finger breaching me in one slow, smooth glide. "Gonna give you everything you need."

I keen at the sensation, the slight burn giving way to a pleasure so intense it borders on pain. Liam works me open with patient dedication, adding a second finger, then a third, until I'm writhing against the wall, grinding back onto his hand, hungry for more.

"Liam, please," I pant, my voice wrecked, my body trembling with need. "I'm ready, I need you, please..."

He withdraws his fingers, leaving me empty and aching. But then I hear the rasp of his zipper, the rustle of fabric, and my heart kicks into overdrive, anticipation singing through my veins.

The blunt head of his cock nudges against my entrance, hot and hard and perfect. Liam's hands grip my hips, holding me steady as he pushes forward, breaching me inch by excruciating inch.

I cry out at the stretch, the burn, the exquisite fullness of having him inside me. Liam gentles me through it, murmuring praise and reassurance, his lips soft against my sweat-dampened skin.

"Fuck, you feel incredible," he groans, his voice strained, his hips flush against my ass. "So tight, so perfect, goddamn..."

I clench around him, savoring the hiss of breath it earns me, the flex of his fingers on my hips. "Move," I demand, my voice raw and ragged. "Fuck me, Liam, come on..."

He obeys with a growl, pulling out almost completely before slamming back in, setting a pace that's just shy of brutal. I meet him thrust for thrust, lost in the rhythm of our bodies, the slap of skin on skin, the hot coil of pleasure winding tighter and tighter in my core.

Liam's hand snakes around my hip to wrap around my leaking cock, stroking me in time with his thrusts. I moan brokenly, my head lolling back against his shoulder, my hands scrabbling for purchase on the unforgiving brick.

"That's it," he breathes, his voice a low, filthy rasp in my ear. "Let go for me, sunshine. Wanna feel you come on my cock, wanna feel you squeeze me tight..."

His words are my undoing, the permission I didn't know I needed. I shatter with a hoarse cry, my release pulsing hot and thick over Liam's fist, my body clenching rhythmically around his pistoning cock.

Liam fucks me through it, his thrusts growing erratic, his breath coming in harsh pants against my neck. And then he's tensing, a guttural groan tearing from his throat as he spills deep inside me, filling me with his heat, his essence, his claim.

We stay like that for a long, suspended moment, our bodies locked together, our hearts pounding in tandem. Liam presses soft, reverent kisses to my neck, my jaw, the corner of my mouth, his hands stroking soothingly over my sweat-slicked skin.

"Asher," he murmurs, my name a benediction on his lips, a plea and a promise all in one. "My Asher..."

"Ash?" Mia's voice calls from the other side of the door, worry and impatience coloring her tone. "You okay in there?"

Reality comes crashing back in, the afterglow shattering like sugar glass. I jerk away from Liam, scrambling for my clothes, my face flaming with shame and panic.

"I'm fine," I call back, my voice shaking. "I'll be out in a minute."

"I'm fine," I call back, my voice shaking. "I'll be out in a minute."

Liam watches me with hooded eyes, his expression unreadable as he tucks himself back into his jeans with calm efficiency. "Asher," he starts, reaching for me. "We should talk about--"

But before he can finish, a shattering crash echoes from the dining room, followed by a string of vicious curses.

My blood turns to ice, fear clawing at my throat. I sprint for the door, Liam hot on my heels.

The scene that greets me stops me dead in my tracks, horror and rage a scream building in my chest.

The front window is shattered, jagged shards of glass littering the floor, the tables, the counter. Brick dust coats everything, the air thick with the stench of violence and hate.

And there, scrawled across the wall in vivid red spray paint, are three words that chill me to the bone.

STAY AWAY FAG

Liam stands in the middle of the carnage, his face a mask of fury and disgust, his fists clenched so tight I can see the blood welling between his fingers.

"Asher," he says, his voice low and deadly calm. "Go back in the kitchen. Now."

I shake my head, my feet carrying me forward, glass crunching beneath my shoes. "Liam, don't. Don't do anything stupid."

He rounds on me, his eyes wild, his face twisted with a rage that borders on madness. "Stupid? They just vandalized your diner, Asher. Threatened you, us. And you want me to what, let it go?"

I grab his arm, my fingers digging into the tense muscle. "I want you to be smart," I say, my voice shaking. "I want you to think before you act, before you do something that could get you killed."

He wrenches away from me, his jaw clenched so hard I'm afraid he'll break a tooth. "I know who did this," he snarls, his voice low and brutal. "And I'm going to make them pay. In blood."

Cold fear washes through me, my heart seizing in my chest. "Declan," I whisper, the pieces falling into sickening place. "He's warning me to stay away from you."

Liam's eyes blaze, his nostrils flaring. "I'll fucking kill him," he growls, already moving toward the door. "I'll tear him apart with my bare hands."

Before I can stop him, Liam wrenches out of my grasp, his face set in lines of grim determination. He strides toward the shattered door, glass crunching beneath his boots, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

I call after him, my voice raw with desperation, but he doesn't even hesitate, disappearing into the night like a wraith bent on vengeance.

Fear claws at my throat, my heart racing as I imagine the confrontation to come, the blood that will surely be spilled. But beneath the terror is a flicker of something else, something fierce and proud and achingly tender.

Because even in his rage, even in his darkest moments, Liam is fighting for me, for us, for the fragile dream we've dared to build together.

And God help me, I love him for it, even as I fear for his very soul.