God, my heart breaks for this man. This incredible man who has had way too much pain in his life. I can’t even fathom how a mother could treat her own children the way his treated him and Coop. Just the thought of it makes me pull my hand from under his and place it against my stomach.

“Hey, talk to me,” he requests.

“I can’t imagine how that bitch of a mother could treat you like that. And that…that woman you were engaged to… Asher, I want to hurt them so badly.”

He laughs lightly. “Sunshine, it’s in the past. It’s been a long time since I let my mother hurt me, even emotionally. As for Sarah Jane—that was her name—I haven’t even thought about her until tonight. She was a mistake, and I got lucky seeing her true colors before I married her.”

“Why do you call me that?” Well, hello ADD! Of all the things I should and could be asking him, I stupidly ask him why he calls me Sunshine.

“Huh?”

“Why do you call me Sunshine?”

He actually looks embarrassed for a second before he answers. “It’s going to sound stupid or maybe just make me sound like a damn pussy.” He awkwardly laughs. “I’ve been stuck in this fog, this darkness that’s held me captive since Coop’s murder. This black hole of grief that I just couldn’t escape.” He sighs, and I know this is costing him a lot to talk about. I instantly kick myself for bringing it up. “But then you came into my life, and as corny as it sounds, you were my light when there was none to be found. You were my Sunshine when I had been stuck in nothing but night.”

Oh my God!

“Oh my God,” I squeak.

“Yeah, I told you. It sounds stupid as hell.”

He goes to move away from me, but I quickly move, straddling his hips and making it impossible to get away. Bringing my hands up and framing his face, I make sure he has nowhere else to look but directly into my eyes.

“You make it impossibly hard not to hand my heart over to you. That has to be the most incredible, heartfelt, and moving thing anyone has ever said to me, Asher. Do not for one second think I would ever think that how you feel about me would make me think you were anything less than remarkable.” I lean down, pressing my lips lightly to his. I don’t move to deepen this kiss. I breathe him in, basking in the glow of being his sunshine.

“I want you again,” he says against my lips. His hand moving between us and slowly pushing into my pussy.

“Then take me. I’m yours,” I gasp.

“Yeah, Sunshine, you sure are mine.”

This time, he doesn’t take his time. I thought the first time we came together was toe-curling, awe-inspiring, earth-shaking, best sex ever…but this blows it all out of the water.

His eyes bore into mine the whole time his hips are thrusting powerfully, driving his thick erection into my body at a speed that has me gasping for my breath. His hands never leave my face, where he holds me prisoner to his gaze. His arms are under mine, bracing him to the bed and leaving mine free to roam over his strong back and firm ass. Every time he dips deep and my fingers dig into his back, he lets off this animalistic groan that has me soaking his cock.

By the time he pushes in deep, empting himself out into my body, I’ve come three times and would swear that I saw angels.

After he leaves the bed, returning with a warm washcloth to clean me off with so much care that I almost come again, he throws it off to the side and climbs back into the bed with me, wrapping me in his arms.

A peace I’ve never known washes over me in that moment, and I know without a shadow of doubt that, no matter what happens, this man has taken a part of my heart I will never be able to get back.

Chapter 19 – Asher

“He’s clueless, Britney. Completely fucking clueless.” Sarah Jane laughs into the phone, completely oblivious that I’m standing right outside our bedroom door.

I can feel my anger starting to simmer at a low boil. I just stand there waiting to see what she’s going to say next.

Sarah Jane and I have been dating for about a year. I met her at a local bar, and for the first time, the thought of being with someone steady didn’t cause my dick to die a slow death. It just seemed like the right thing to do when she started pressuring me to put a ring on her finger. I don’t really know what love feels like, but I like her enough to deal with her daily. So that has to mean something. But what do I know is that, at twenty-five, I just know I need something stable for Coop so he can get over this notion that all chicks are pure evil. But judging by this shit I’m listening to, I might be proving him right.