“Asher…”
His hand lifted, brushing lightly against my waist like he was giving me time to pull away. I didn’t. Our mouths met softly at first, but the feeling of his lips against mine sparked that fire inside me that hadn’t seemed to burn out since the moment I met him. The kiss only stoked the fire, making it spread through every part of my body. Heat and want took over as our bodies connected, and his hand wrapped around my waist and mine around his shoulders. I could feel his hard length against my belly as our tongues tangled. It was just us and unbearable need under a starlit sky.
A whistle cut through the night. We jumped apart. Elise walked past carrying a tote bag, grin wide.
“Well, well,” she said. “Claire kissing the bossman out in the open now?”
Heat rushed to my face. Asher rubbed the back of his neck, clearly caught off guard.
“It’s not—” I started.
Elise waved a hand. “Relax. I’m not judging. Just saying… Maple Valley is gonna have opinions.” She winked and kept walking.
I groaned softly.
Asher laughed under his breath. “That went well.”
“Fantastic,” I muttered.
The moment softened into something easy.
“I should go,” I said finally.
“Yeah,” he agreed, though he didn’t sound convinced. We stood there for a beat longer.
“Goodnight, Claire.”
“Goodnight.”
I walked back to my cabin, trying not to think about the way his lips had felt.
After tossing and turning in bed for a good half hour, I just lay there staring at the ceiling, my mind replaying everything from the night. Pierre’s words. The note. Asher’s expression when he talked about his mom. And the kiss. My body felt restless, wound tight like a spring. I gave up. I pulled on a hoodie and stepped outside, the cool night air hitting my skin. Maybe a walk would help. My feet carried me down the path almost without thinking. Toward Asher’s cabin. Halfway there, a figure stepped out from the shadows.
I gasped.
CHAPTER 21
Asher
I was so wound tight I didn’t know what to do. I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling, hands behind my head, trying to breathe through the aching need in my body. I was hard as a rock, and all I could think about was Claire. The way she looked tonight. The way she kissed me outside like it was the most natural thing in the world. And Elise catching us. That thought alone should’ve been enough to make me stay put. Claire was my employee. I was supposed to be the responsible one. The guy who didn’t blur lines.
Instead I was lying here replaying the way her mouth felt against mine. I scrubbed a hand over my face. This wasn’t me. I didn’t get tangled up or attached. I sure as hell didn’t sit awake at night thinking about one woman and only one woman. But Claire was different. She got under my skin in ways I didn’t understand. I talked to her about things I didn’t talk about with anyone. She made me want to be honest. Made me want to slow down. And those blue eyes. Every time she looked at me, it felt like I was caught in something I didn’t know how to fight. I groaned and sat up. Sleeping wasn’t happening. I pulled on a T-shirt, shoved my feet into boots, and stepped outside the coolnight air hitting my skin. My plan was simple. Walk it off. Clear my head. My feet ignored the plan completely. They carried me toward her cabin. Halfway down the path, a figure stepped into view.
Claire.
She stopped just as abruptly as I did. For a second, we just stared at each other.
“Asher?” she gasped.
“I was coming to see you,” I said before I could stop myself.
Her eyes widened slightly. “Me too.”
Well, hell. The silence between us hummed.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she said softly.
“Me neither,” I admitted.