10. ~Aurora~

10

~Aurora~

They looked stunned.

The three of them stood on the expansive patio staring at the table just a few feet from the poolside.

“Well, go on,” I called to them as I emerged from changing out of my stained clothes caused by a couple of minor cooking mishaps, and made my way over to them.

They all spun at the sound of my voice and in the next moment, my cheeks were heating—along with my blood—as they devoured me with their eyes. My white-blonde hair was down and cascading about my face in loose curls. I was wearing the same black lace strappy dress I’d worn to the Blowout, along with my knee-high leather boots.

Jonah wolf-whistled. “Damn, baby. That brings back hot-as-fuck memories.”

“Fucking gorgeous,” Killian said, beaming at me.

Asher’s silver eyes were blazing as he looked me up and down hungrily. “Mmm, you’ve just made yourself into our appetizer.”

I held up my hand before the three of them pounced or something. No way in hell was I letting that happen—yet. I’d worked too hard on this dinner, the presentation, everything. “Please, I’m nothing if not the main course.”

Jonah whooped at my clapback.

Asher chuckled.

“You’re the whole damn thing,” Killian said.

I smiled and watched the three of them turn back to the table, checking everything out.

I looked around at the space.

I’d done a pretty good job.

I’d even strung up some fairy lights around the immediate area to complement the candle arrangement I’d set up on the table. Well, I was calling them fairy lights in my mind, because they suited the purpose better, but they were really Christmas lights I’d found in the basement. They had a ton of them, all different colors, so I’d used the white and silver ones for the effect I’d wanted tonight. Either way, it gave the whole thing an extra special feel.

Killian noticed them first, drawing his rapt attention away from the table and the food long enough to take them in. “This doesn’t look like Security’s work, it wouldn’t look this… creative. You did it yourself?”

“Sure did. You like it?”

“Of course. It’s fucking amazing, darlin’. How, though?”

“I used a ladder, of course,” I said, with a laugh. “Well, two of them.”

He frowned, not liking that. “That was dangerous.”

Jonah and Asher exchanged an amused look at his reaction.

I cocked my head to the side. “You mean as dangerous as battling a load of mercenaries, then hanging off a bridge by a mangled railing?”

“Touche,” Asher said with a smile.

“She’s got you there,” Jonah said, laughing in that hearty way of his.

“Come on,” I said, a giggle escaping me. “It’s not just here to observe, let’s eat and enjoy.”

I walked to the right chair on the side of the table closest to the pool and took a seat, gesturing for them to do the same.

Killian sat beside me and instantly clasped my hand on my thigh.

Jonah settled on the other side of the table opposite him.

And Asher took the seat right opposite me.

I’d shifted the chairs earlier to avoid there being any head of the table position. I’d noticed some animosity between Asher and Killian lately, so I hadn’t wanted anything to highlight the leadership position that Asher lauded over him far too often, which was one of the chief causes for the friction between them. More than that, have the seating this way—equal—it emphasized the whole team dynamic that we were working within now. All of us going into this war together, having each other’s backs, all needing to work in concert to achieve our common goal.

I liked that.

I liked it a whole lot.

Being a part of their team, not just being accepted, but being revered and appreciated… it was liberating, exhilarating, challenging, and intense. I’d never experienced anything like it.

The way they’d brought me into their fold meant a lot to me and I’d wanted to pay tribute to that, to celebrate that camaraderie. And this dinner had been my way of accomplishing that.

The three of them seemed as on board with it as I was, as excited about it, willing to give it the gravitas I’d hoped.

They’d even dressed up a bit and made an effort like me.

Asher was in all-black as usual, this time in a designer, perfectly tailored suit, looking the epitome of sophisticated hotness.

Killian had a pair of gray dress pants on, paired with an open-neck white shirt that he’d buttoned low, giving a mouth-watering tease of his chiseled chest.

And Jonah had a vibrant-blue long-sleeve tee on, one of those muscle ones that stretched taut and all sexy over his broad, muscular form. He’d even traded in his ripped blue jeans in favor of a pair of navy stylish ones.

Once they were all seated, I watched in delight as they each took in the dinner.

Homemade burgers sat in the center of the table, enough to feed a small army. The cheesy fries were also plentiful. Risotto that Jonah had taught me how to make was another addition. The steak Jonah had taken the lead on, because he was very specific about how he liked it cooked.

Killian’s eyes lit up when he noticed the strawberry cheesecake ice-cream. He raised our joined hands and brushed his lips across my knuckles. “You’ve outdone yourself. Thank you, darlin’.”

Before I could react, Jonah cursed excitedly, then snatched up the bottle of Grey Goose Ducasse that Killian had picked up for me after I’d placed an order with Ronan to bring some in with him during the last delivery to Fusion.

“You didn’t… damn, this is ace!” he cried, grinning at me. “So, that’s why Kill was clashing with Ronan earlier? You had him grab this so I didn’t see?”

“Pretty much.”

“Awesome. Well fucking done, baby.”

I chuckled and looked out at Asher who was shoveling burgers onto his plate, along with a good portion of cheesy fries. “Yes,” he was saying to himself. “This is what I’m talking about.” He studied the burgers, then his gaze snapped to mine. Before he could say whatever was on his mind, his eyes darted between me, Jonah, and Killian, who’d all been staring at his cute reaction. Yeah, cute. Asher Monroe being cute was… another level. Way way out there.

“What?” he asked, looking between us.

“Nothing,” I cut in, before the guys riled him up. “What were you going to say?”

“These are homemade, huh?”

“Yeah.”

He took a bite and carefully chewed, his eyes rolling back in his head as he savored the taste.

When he was done, he patted the corner of his mouth with a napkin then gave me his verdict, “Best I’ve ever had, sweetheart.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolute honesty.”

“Fuck me!” Killian cried.

It had me swinging my head to see a massive chunk taken out of the ice-cream, and strawberry syrup on his lips. “This is so good.” He scooped another big bite onto his spoon, then grabbed the entire extra-large bowl and hugged it to him. “Come to me, sweet thing,” he crooned.

Jonah burst out laughing and looked at me. “I told you he’d go straight to the dessert. And here you were worried it would melt if you brought it out right away.”

“Hey!” Kill cried, between mouthfuls. “I just know what I like.” He turned to me. “And I don’t hold back.” He held my gaze as he licked ice-cream off his lips with a tantalizingly slow sweep of his tongue.

Jeez. Tingles erupted deep in my belly and I clenched my thighs together.

“No, you really don’t hold back with that,” Asher commented, shattering the sexually-charged moment between us. “At all,” he added with an edge.

“Jealous?” Killian asked.

I tensed for a brief moment until I saw the joking expression on Killian’s face.

Asher stared him down.

And then they both cracked with a chuckle.

“I’ll stick to my lane, thank you,” Asher said. “You keep doing your thing.”

“Really?” Killian asked.

“Yeah,” Asher confirmed.

Killian frowned. “Wait, is this some extended afterglow thing with you? You’ll switch back to your former position on that soon enough?”

“No.”

“No? I don’t get it. What is—”

“This is me evolving. That’s what you can call it, if you really need to label it. And I’m sure you do. You like things to be in concrete, clearly-defined terms. It gives you a nice sense of security.”

While Killian looked stunned, I rolled my eyes at Asher. “Let’s ban the psychobabble from dinner conversation, yeah? Keep it light and—”

“Cozy?”

I stilled, really not expecting that word out of his mouth. Ever.

“Hold up,” Jonah spoke with a mouthful of steak. “Afterglow? You two fucked earlier?”

Killian choked on one of the cheesecake chunks in his ice-cream, then thumped his chest, his eyes darting every which way and giving himself away in the process.

Asher ignored all that and focused on me, that unyielding drilling gaze of his zeroed in on me. “Well? Is that what this is to you? This coming together now? This dinner? Cozy?”

I snatched up the bottle of tequila and poured it into my glass, forcing myself to answer casually, “I wouldn’t say that.” I took a big gulp. “I mean, I wouldn’t exactly put it that way.”

“How would you put it then?” he pushed, like the relentless shit he was sometimes.

Sometimes? That was taking it really easy on him.

I took another gulp of tequila, wincing as it hit the back of my throat. It had been so long since I’d had a drop of alcohol that I was no longer used to the sensation. “The calm before the storm,” I told him.

“That’s what the last couple of days were. This is beyond that.”

“What are you driving at? Do you not like it?”

“I’m enjoying it actually.”

I frowned. “Then what—”

“I want to know what it means to you.” He shifted his weight and it seemed to take him great effort to force out, “Emotionally.” He grimaced right after and I caught Killian smiling and Jonah looking on stunned out of his freaking mind that Asher was going there.

Also, the fact that he was actually asking outright to find out where I stood and where my head was at, instead of crafting some elaborate mind game to get the answer without having to entertain the intimacy, was an evolution for him in itself.

I put my glass down and grasped his hand on the table. Giving it a squeeze, I told him, “It means the four of us connecting, breaking bread, bonding, spending time together and enjoying each other’s company.” I took a breath and admitted, “Wanting to grow closer, I guess.”

The intensity coming off him didn’t dissipate, though. Not even a little.

It was like he couldn’t let himself believe it.

“Then we’ll do this more often,” he announced. “Make it a recurring thing.”

“Instead of going our separate ways so much,” Killian said.

“It wasn’t intentional. We’ve just each got a bunch of things going on,” Jonah said.

“Speaking of that,” Asher said, returning my grip with our joined hands. “I’d like it if you would consider quitting your job at Fusion. You’re already busy with college. You’re taking on the role as my strategic second in this coming war.”

More stunned looks were exchanged between Killian and Jonah.

I knew why.

Asher didn’t ask.

He ordered, commanded, demanded.

It had me smiling. “Okay.”

“Just like that?” he asked, knowing by now my penchant for not backing down.

I stroked the pad of my thumb over the back of his hand. “Yeah, you’re right. With everything going on, I need to prioritize. I’ll hand in my notice.” I drew my hand away and stabbed my fork into one of my cheesy fries. “Besides, I only took that job to gather intel on the three of you.”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “Nicely done.”

“I thought so,” I said, shoving the fry into my mouth and savoring my decision to add extra cheese. I finished chewing, then told him, “After what we had to do, that show we put on, working there has become… challenging, anyway.”

Jonah winced.

“It’s not your fault,” I told him.

“Debatable.”

“It’s the past now. Let’s just focus on the here and now.” I gestured at the table. “You were instrumental with this. Thank you.”

“Nah, in the end, all I did were the steaks. After I set you on the right path with things, you went with it, kicking ass all over the place. A little messily, sure, but you just have your own style and way of doing things.” He grasped the vodka bottle. “Appreciate this, big time.”

“You’re most welcome.”

The four of us sank into the meal then, into each other’s company, enjoying the food and making some casual small talk. Jonah told us about the engineering project he was working on at the moment and him putting in too much charge or something that had resulted in a small fire sparking in the workshop the other night. Killian recalled how he’d been in the kitchen getting snacks for him and me to fuel our studying when Jonah had rushed on by in a blur and snatched up the fire extinguisher. Apparently, the one in his workshop had been empty, with one too many incidents like that having occurred in the past.

“Hey, I found that comic I was telling you about,” Jonah told me as he started to dig into his risotto. “It fell down the back of my shelving unit. Had to pull the whole thing out to get at it. You up for reading it?”

“The Killing Joke?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t that the really grisly and psychologically disturbing one?” Killian asked him.

“It’s got all that, yeah, but it really shows why Joker is Batman’s best fucking villain, way above all the rest.”

Killian rubbed my arm. “You sure you want to take that on right now?”

He and Asher exchanged a brief look.

What was going on?

I rolled my eyes at whatever it was, telling them, “I’m sure I can handle it.” I wagged my finger at Jonah. “As long as you keep up your end of the deal.”

He nodded. “I’ll read Freefall all about your beloved Nightwing. Even if I don’t like it, there’s that sweet ass of his to get me through.”

“Sweet ass,” Killian grumbled.

“Aww, don’t worry, I’m more about the hair,” I said, shifting on my chair and sinking my fingers into his soft brown hair. “That sexy, floppy style. Just like this.”

“Hmm, there is a resemblance,” Asher commented. He chuckled to himself, then took another bite of his burger.

Killian moaned as I played with his hair, while picking at my fries with my free hand. He sank back against his chair contentedly as he enjoyed the ice-cream.

“It’s nice being out here, huh?” Jonah spoke, looking out at the patio area, the pool. “Late Fall and we can eat out here without freezing our cocks off.”

“Made possible by the big-ass heaters we made Asher agree to put in,” Killian said. “Good call, right?” he asked, eyeing Asher.

“It will be if we start spending more time out here. This is the first time since the Blowout.”

“We should,” I said.

“What about that house of yours?” Asher asked.

The sudden question out of the blue had me jolting, my hand slipping from Killian’s hair.

Wow,he really did have that effect sometimes of jarring everybody out of their reveries and comfort zones.

“What about it?”

“Why do you still need it when you’re living here now?”

Blunt as ever.

“Yeah, we can move all your stuff in here,” Jonah offered.

“I can help you to sort it. Believe me, you don’t want the other two doing that,” Killian said.

“He’s right there,” Jonah agreed.

As the two of them talked back and forth about it, whether to hire a moving truck, or just use a combination of our vehicles, Asher continued staring at me intently.

Silently pushing and pushing.

“It’s an escape hatch,” he accused.

“Asher, don’t.”

But, of course, he went on undeterred, “Is it a failsafe in case things go south here in the form of an argument, us pissing you off, and the house giving you somewhere to retreat to if that happened? Or, is it there because you’re planning to head back there after our mission?” He leaned across the table, his urgency building and that dangerous intensity too. I was acutely aware that dead silence had fallen, with Killian and Jonah having stopped their conversation and zeroed in on Asher’s words. “Are you just making the best of things with us in the here and now so we’re all allied for the mission?”

“That’s not—”

“I told you, Aurora. I told you not to leave.”

I sucked in a breath. So that was what he’d meant that night after I’d ridden him. He hadn’t just meant for that night. It had been much more than that.

A way deeper commitment.

“Ash—” Killian started.

“Stand down,” Asher snapped, holding up his hand. “I know you want the answer too, so don’t let your insane level of chivalry when it comes to her deter you from getting it.”

Asher glared at me. “I’d rather you just answer without me having to force it out of you.”

I pushed partway out of my chair and leaned across the table until we were right up close, our faces just a couple of inches from one another, so close that our breath was intermingling and I could smell his delicious sandalwood scent.

His eye was twitching like crazy.

Shit.This was really bothering him.

Hurting him, even.

Him asking this was much more than just an act of dominance, of wanting to control everything within his domain. It was more than even ensuring his soldiers were rallied and tightly contained, ready for battle at a moment’s notice.

This had nothing to do with any of that.

It was personal.

Beyond that.

It was raw.

Emotive, even.

“I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

“Because you need to finish your degree once the mission is done?”

“Because I like it here.”

“In this swanky mansion?”

“No. With the three of you.”

“Tell me.”

I steeled myself, then admitted, “You challenge me, you keep me on my toes, you bring out the strongest version of me, you excite me.” I cursed under my breath. “You assholes make me feel alive.”

One moment I was half out of my seat, the next I was being dragged across the table, dishes, cutlery and glassware crashing down all around me as Asher yanked me onto his lap.

Before I could register what was fully happening, he spread my thighs on his, fisted his hand in the back of my hair, then crushed his mouth to mine.