Asher takes a deep breath, as if to settle himself, then he says, “Calm, my love.” He pushes soothing, numbing waves through the bond. “It’s normal after awakening. It will all come back to you when you’re ready.”
My limbs instantly begin to feel heavy, as if he just drugged me.
“Know that I’m here for you. To help you and protect you. There is no need to worry. Look at me.”
I force my eyes to open, to find his face.
Gripping me tightly, Asher stares deep into my eyes.
With his eyes so close and intense, I start to fall into them again. Recognizing what’s happening, I force myself to look down, meaning to bring them back up after a second.
Instead, I watch his lips. The way they move to form each syllable. The little dips and wrinkles that appear only to smooth out into plump softness.
“You can trust me, Chloe. I know what’s happening to you is frightening, but you can trust me to take care of you,” Asher insists. “No matter what happens... I want you to remember that.”
There’s an edge of apprehension to his declaration, giving me the impression that he’s afraid of the future. Why? What’s there to be afraid of? I have no idea, but I can sense it as sharply as I feel the blood moving around my body.
Do I need to be afraid if he’s afraid? I want to be… but it’s so hard with whatever he’s pumping through our connection tranquilizing me.
“Will you remember that?” Asher asks, and there’s so much desperation behind the question, I want to ease and soothe away whatever is bothering him.
I don’t want him to hurt or worry. I want to please him and make him happy.
“Of course,” I answer automatically, not understanding why it’s important.
I obviously love him, and he loves me. I’ll give him anything he wants.
Asher is quiet for a moment, his breath brushing across my face like a caress.
“Everything will come back in time,” he says, but I’m not sure if he’s saying it to me or himself.
When I squirm uncomfortably in his grip, he chuckles ruefully. “Of course the fates would give me this moment only to taint it.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my attention drawn to his neck, watching his throat move.
“If only you knew…”
He has such a lovely throat for a man, with a very defined Adam’s apple. My mouth waters at the thought of tasting his skin there.
“No doubt they expect me to be grateful that you don’t know. Because once you do…”
I want to sink my teeth in enough to mark the flesh…
“Are you listening to me? Or are you thinking about how you will eat me?”
“A little bit of both,” I admit, and finally drag my attention up.
My gaze meets his gaze, and the force of his beauty tries swallow me whole.
“Not so close,” Asher warns. “Now that you can see better than you could before, you must be careful not to become… lost in what you see.”
“Lost in what I see?” I ask, fighting the urge to fall and let go.
It’s hard, though. There are so many new little details I want to soak up and explore. His eyes are like gems with so many different facets… I want to learn them all. I want to claim them.
Mine. Those beautiful eyes are mine.
I could live inside them for days and days.
“Yes, everything is so new, it’s easy for you to lose yourself in the things around you. Especially shiny things. I know from experience. Not long after I was turned, I spent an entire day staring at a golden chamber pot.”
“You stared at a chamber pot for an entire day?” I ask in disbelief. The absurdity of it bringing me back through the haze.
“Yes,” Asher says and his mouth twists into a wry smile. “If the sun had not come up and knocked my ass out, I probably would have spent an entire week staring at the fucking thing.”
I match his smile, amused by the story. “So, you’re basically saying I’m like a racoon now, huh?”
Asher’s eyes light up with laughter and his hands slip down my sides only to sneak around my back to grab me by the ass.
Squeezing my cheeks, he grins at me. “Yes, you are essentially like a racoon now. A very sexy little racoon. Easily distracted and captivated by beautiful and shiny things.”
My mouth going dry as he kneads and works my flesh in his big hands, I have to clear my throat before I ask, “For how long?”
“For as long as it takes for you to master your senses,” Asher answers, watching me closely.
My hips want to move with the motion of his hands, but I know if I start to move I won’t be able to stop.
As much as I want to rock against him and lose myself to passion, I want answers more right now. There are so many blank spaces in my head, I want to fill them with something, anything.