33. Asher

I wake with her still in my arms. The one tucked beneath her is now totally asleep, and though I don’t want to wake her, my bladder is calling—and I also wouldn’t mind surprising her with breakfast in bed.

Very gently sliding my arm out from under her neck, I wince when she lets out a soft moan, but then she relaxes back into sleep, and it’s maybe a little creepy—like Edward Cullen creepy—but I watch her sleeping for a minute.

No, do not ask me how I know about Edward Cullen and his stalker tendencies.

Okay, fine, I read the books.

But Halsey made me. And then I had to sit through the movies too!

All right, fine, it wasn’t torture. I kind of enjoyed them, although I couldn’t shut up about how fucked-up their relationship was. Edward was a possessive jackass, and Bella had basically no self-esteem. It bugged me that so many girls swooned over that. I may like being a gentleman, but I’d never lie to my woman in order to protect her. He just took everything too far.

When I told Halsey that, she got all pissy with me, threw a pillow at my head, and told me I was the least romantic guy she knew.

Screw her.

I can do romance.

A smile curves my lips as I shift away from Lani and think about her perpetual need to not let me be romantic. Jeez, she’ll fight me at every turn.

She doesn’t want to need me.

As much as her independent streak drives me crazy, it’s also one of the things I love about her. She’s strong and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She’ll call me out on my bullshit, and last night, she let me call her out too.

And then she stayed.

She fucking stayed!

I throw on some boxer shorts and creep out of the room, using the bathroom upstairs so I don’t disturb her. It’s such a frickin’ mess, which means Casey must have been on bathroom detail this week. The guy does bare minimum when it comes to housework. If it weren’t for me, he’d live in pure filth, I just know he would.

Trundling back downstairs, I walk into the kitchen, humming under my breath, because like hell Casey’s gonna ruin my day. I hardly ever use the upstairs bathroom, so the wet towels on the floor and pee spots around the toilet are not my problem.

No wonder Mick and Ray wanted to move out of here. I would have, too, if I had to live upstairs. Thank God for my man cave, bedroom, and en suite.

Pulling the fridge open, I scan the contents and decide a veggie omelet will be perfect for breakfast in bed. I get the coffee machine going and start chopping up an array of colorful vegetables.

“What are you so happy about?” Casey croaks as he wanders into the kitchen. His hair is mussed, and his pajama bottoms are only just clinging to his hips. He looks tired and grumpy.

I grin at him. “Why are you up?”

A small puppy yaps behind him, and he gives me a dry look before shuffling to the sliding door and letting Fezzik out for a pee.

“Parenthood getting the better of you, huh?” I try not to laugh while Casey yawns and gives me the finger.

“If you fucking tell me you knew it’d be harder than I thought, I’m going to punch you in the ball sack.”

I chuckle, grabbing out the cheese and grating a pile onto the chopping board.

“Seriously, why are you so happy? And why the fuck are you going to so much effort on a Sunday morning?”

“I’m doing breakfast in bed.” I pinch some cheese and pop it in my mouth.

Casey wanders back to the kitchen with a knowing smirk. “I take it you’ve still got the Hawaiian Hottie in your bed, then.”

“Yep!” I grin. “She stayed.”

“Nice.” Casey nods, his eyes sparkling with a tired smile.

“She loves me.” I keep grinning like a happy chimp.

Casey’s eyebrows pop high. “She told you that?”

“Basically.” I nod.

His eyes narrow, and I can tell he’s about to ask for deets, but he’s interrupted by Baxter, who walks into the kitchen with a scoff.

“Love,” he mutters, rolling his eyes as he fills up his water bottle. “You guys are all so whipped.”

Casey snickers and shakes his head. “Just wait, man. Someone’s gonna catch you by the balls one day, and you’ll be powerless to stop it.”

Baxter’s unimpressed frown flatlines, and a flicker of something—holy shit, is that emotion?—scampers over his face before quickly disappearing.

I blink at him, but he just gives me a cautious side-eye before muttering something about a run and shoving earbuds in.

The front door thuds shut, and I turn to Casey with a mystified frown. “Did you see that?”

“Yeah.” He yawns again. “Maybe? I don’t know. I’m still half asleep.”

“He’s definitely been in love before… or he’s in love with someone now but maybe can’t have her… or him?”

Casey shrugs again, then whistles. “Fezz, come. Come on, boy.”

Scampering paws pad back into the living area and he races up to Casey, his little tail going a mile a minute.

I turn away from the cuteness because I don’t want to like that puppy who probably shouldn’t be here. And when he does shit like putting his little paws up on Casey’s leg and looking at him with those big doe eyes, it’s hard to not fall hard for the guy.

“Well, enjoy your breakfast, Romeo,” Casey mumbles, picking up the pup and patting his head while walking for the staircase.

“I will,” I tell myself, a giddy smile busting over my face again. “She loves me.”

As the toast is cooking, I race outside and manage to pluck a flower off one of the bushes running along the side of the house. We do the worst job of maintaining these, but it’s early spring now, and even though we neglect most of the plant life on the property, this hedge just keeps on giving.

Arranging the tray, I place the flower on the edge of it, then neatly set it with cutlery, a mug of steaming coffee, and the best fucking omelet I’ve ever made. It looks awesome. Even Rachel would be proud.

I strut back to my room. It’s impossible not to. I’m feeling on top of the world right now. Nudging open the door with my toe, I’m struck still for a moment, taken by the beautiful picture before me.

Lani is sitting up in my bed, the sheet wrapped around her boobs. Her black hair is tumbling over her shoulder, and a small smile is tugging at her lips as she thumbs through an old photo album.

Aunt Carla gave it to me for my twelfth birthday, and it’s always been a treasured keepsake. The album is filled with pictures of me and my cousins—Halsey and Harvey—growing up together. They’re only vacation pics, since they lived here and I grew up on the East Coast, but I would always spend a large chunk of time with them during every break. Sometimes my parents would send me out here, just to give themselves some space from the active toddler who then became the whiny five-year-old who went on to become the argumentative eight-year-old who wouldn’t shut up. I was the pain-in-the-ass (let’s face it) unplanned son they never really asked for.

But Uncle Hayes and Aunt Carla welcomed me with open arms. They basically made me one of their own, and I always used to wish I’d grown up with them instead. I wanted them to be my parents. I wanted Harvey and Halsey to be my brother and sister.

Lani glances up and notices me standing there, a smile stretching across her face the second she sees me. “You made me breakfast?”

“Hope you like eggs.”

“I do.” She nods, and I walk the tray over with a proud smile.

She lets out a soft laugh and pats the bed. I place the tray down where she told me to and nestle in beside her, resting my chin on her shoulder.

“Holy shit, look at that horrific haircut.” I point at a picture of my seven-year-old self, giving the camera a toothless smile as I strike a pose with Harvey. We’d dressed up as WWE wrestlers and look fucking ridiculous.

Lani giggles. “I’d be more worried about that latex.”

“They’re both an abomination.” I groan. “Quick, turn the page already.”

She laughs and flicks to the next page, but it’s just as bad. Honestly, who the fuck dressed me? It was my mother, obvi, but what the hell was she thinking?

The problem with being raised in a house like mine, where appearance matters and first impressions count, is that you’ve always got to be wearing the latest trends… and that shit does not always last.

I snort when I spot the pic of Harvey and Halsey dressed up as Thing One and Thing Two for Halloween. My mom forgot to get me a costume, so Aunt Carla threw together the sheet with the eyeholes cut out. I was not impressed. And I can’t remember why I was spending Halloween with them when I should have been at school.

I’ve got vague memories of a trip around Europe that apparently I was too young to enjoy, so I got shipped off for eight weeks with my aunt and uncle. That’s right, I went to school with Harvey. He’s a year older than me, but the school let me sit in on his classes, and I was able to keep up without any problems.

“These are your cousins, right?” Lani taps a picture of the three of us. “You guys look so close.”

“Yeah. We were.”

“Is it still that way?”

“Yeah, of course. They all live in Colorado, so I get to see them quite a bit. Harvey goes to Lennox, which is only an hour away.”

“Oh, nice.”

“Yeah, sometimes he pops down or I’ll travel up. Maybe you should come with me next time.” I tuck her hair over her shoulder and lightly kiss that delicious skin of hers. “I’d love for you to meet him.”

She gives me a closed-mouth smile and nods. “That’d be nice.”

Fuck yeah!

Maybe the smallest part of me was worried that when she woke up, she’d have another don’t want to need you moment and bail out the door. But she’s still here. Still sitting naked on my bed, looking through my childhood memories with interest… while her eggs get cold.

I nudge the tray a little closer, and she puts down the photo album while we eat, sharing the omelet. She thanks me for the sweet gesture, then sips her coffee, looking like a sex siren as she licks her lips and laughs at my stories of growing up around two brothers with sticks so far up their asses, they coughed out wood chips.

She then tells me stories of growing up in her “tribe.” It was noisy and chaotic and drove her nuts half the time. “But I’d do anything for my ohana.”

“Me too.” I nod. “Especially my cousins.”

Her smile turns gooey, her eyes soaking me in as she sets her coffee aside and then lets the sheet fall off those luscious tits of hers.

I release a yearning sigh as I stare at them, memorizing their shape and beauty, reaching for them like they’re calling to me. I rub my thumbs over her nipples and smile at the way they pucker at my touch. “They seem happy to say good morning,” I murmur, leaning down and kissing each one with tender affection.

She runs her fingers through my hair, letting out a soft moan before fisting a handful and pulling me back.

Straddling me, she starts peppering my face and lips with hungry kisses before working her way down my body. Her tongue paints trails that spark my desire and have my rod harder than granite by the time she reaches my tented boxer shorts.

She glances up with a playful smirk before gliding her finger into the waistband of my boxers and yanking them down to let my cock spring free.

“He’s happy to see you too.” I grin. “Very happy.”

With a sweet laugh, she curls her fingers around the base, licking up to the tip with her sultry tongue and then sending me to heaven with a blow job that is the best fucking way to start my day.

I knew it was going to be a good one, but holy fuck!

This woman has me all the way.

Baxter’s right.

I’m whipped.

And I’m more than happy to be.