Asher: A Second Chance Novel (7 page)

They ate the cake and then he said, “Okay, time to open your gift.” Mia picked up the little box and shook it. Asher laughed. “You don’t have to guess what it is.”

“I like to envision it in my head before I open it,” she said with a grin. She started gently pulling it open at the seams and after several minutes of waiting Asher handed her a knife. “Patience,” she said, “I’m savouring it.” He rolled his eyes, but the fact was he thought she was the cutest thing he had ever seen. When she finally got the paper off she pulled the lid off of the white box and sucked in a big breath of air. “Oh my God, Asher. It’s gorgeous.”

It was a delicate white gold cross pendant with a strip of small diamonds that ran down one loop of the cross. “Turn it over,” he told her. On the back, the delicate metal had been engraved with both of their initials and the date.

Mia had to wipe away a tear. “Asher it’s so pretty. I love it so much.” She leaned into him and kissed his lips.

“I’m glad you like it. Here, let me put it on you.” She lifted her hair and turned her back to him. He slipped it over her head and fastened it around her neck. When she turned back around Asher picked the cross up with his fingers and stroked it gently before leaning in to kiss her again. “It looks as good on you as I knew it would.”

Their kiss was soft and sweet at first. He could feel the tears on her cheeks as they touched his skin. Mia was the one that pulled him in tighter and deepened the kiss. She parted her lips and invited his tongue in and Asher revelled in the fact that she tasted like Mia and chocolate; his two favourite things. When they came up for air he said, “So, did you get what you wished for?”

Mia’s cheeks flushed again as she smiled and stood up. Taking his hand and urging him to his feet as well she said, “Not yet.” Asher could see the desire burning in her eyes. He didn’t have to ask her again what she had wished for. He took her by the hand and led her upstairs to the other side of the house where his bedroom was.

When they got there he closed the door behind them and looked into her eyes with his hands on her shoulders. “Are you sure?” he asked her. She pressed her forehead into his and said, “It’s what I wished for.”

Asher kissed her again. He could feel her shaking as he pulled her against his chest. He held her there for a long time and once more asked her, “Are you absolutely sure? I want you so bad, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

She smiled. “From what I have been told, the pleasure outweighs the pain if you do it right.”

He grinned. “I plan on doing it right.”

Standing on her tiptoes and pressing her sexy lips to his ear she said, “Grant my wish please.”

He didn’t question her any further. He slid his hands down her shoulders and when he reached her breasts he cupped them gently in his palms. He massaged and kneaded them slowly, rolling her hardening nipples between his fingers. He felt his erection pushing against the front of his jeans and he could only pray that he would be able to make it last long enough for her to get as much pleasure out of it as he knew he would.

As he rubbed her breasts he slid his mouth back over hers and their tongues swirled together. He felt her rub her body into him, flexing her sexy hips into the iron bar in the front of his pants. It sent jolts of desire down his spine. He pinched down a little harder on her nipples and she gasped. He began unbuttoning her blouse slowly while his lips found her neck and he traced a path of kisses along the sexy curve of it. Once he had her blouse unbuttoned, he pulled back and helped her push it down off her arms. Then he reached back and unhooked her bra. When her perfect breasts spilled out he actually gasped and shuddered.

“Jesus Mia, you’re so gorgeous.” He bent forward and caught one of her hard nipples between his lips. Her moan encouraged him on and he began to lightly suck on it. He felt her hands slide up and her fingers running through his hair. Her fingernails scraped gently against his scalp and she had her back arched as she pulled his head into her chest. While he pleasured her nipples, his hands went to the zipper of her skirt. He unzipped it and let it fall to the floor. When he lifted his head up to look at her again she was standing before him in only a pair of pink panties. He literally couldn’t breathe for a few seconds.

He wrapped his hands around her small waist in his hands and guided her back to the bed. He pushed her down gently so she was laying on it with her feet hanging over the side and he began to undress himself. Mia watched him with wide eyes and once he had finished taking off everything she said, “You take my breath away.”

He leaned over and kissed her lips. After a few seconds he let his mouth slide down the curve of her neck and across her shoulder and made his way back to her breasts. He kissed the first one, then the other and then licked his way down her belly. Dropping to his knees, he kissed her inner thighs and made her quiver. His heart was pounding in his chest as he finally ran his tongue along the outer part of her lips and tasted her. She was sweeter than he ever imagined and he loved the way she shivered with desire. He teased her for a bit as she writhed against the bed and pulled her fingers through his hair. She was so warm and wet. When she started lifting her hips up off the bed to meet his lips he stopped teasing her and wrapped his lips around her clit. She moved one of her hands out of his hair and brought it up to cover her mouth to drown out a scream. “Oh my God…Jesus! Asher! I’ve never felt anything like that.”

Asher smiled against her flesh and kept doing what he was doing, loving the little sounds she was making as she moved around on his bed. She was panting and moaning from a place deep down inside her when he moved down slightly and pushed his tongue up inside her. He felt her grip onto his hair even tighter and pushed his face into her hard as she raised her hips and had her first orgasm at the hands of him. It was such a turn-on to him to know he was her first. No matter what happened in life, he knew she would never forget him.

He moved back up and gently lifted her and moved her to the center of the bed. He climbed up so his knees were on either side of her and bent down and kissed her lips. He felt her hands begin to explore his body. She scraped her fingernails softly down his back and then used her fingers to trace the muscles on his chest as they kissed. He waited as long as he could stand it before finally pulling out of the kiss and asking her, “Are you ready?”

“God yes,” she breathed out without a stitch of hesitation.

He grinned and produced a condom from the nightstand. She watched in rapt attention as he gently tore it open with his teeth and rolled it on. Then he poised himself over her gorgeous body. He wished sometimes that he wasn’t such a nice guy but this was Mia; the girl he was falling in love with. He had to be sure she was okay. “One last chance to say no.”

She smiled and the look on her face told him she was wishing he wasn’t so nice too. He was almost shocked when he felt her place her small hands on the hard cheeks of his ass and push. He cried out as he pushed himself forward, entering her gently. The smooth walls of her vagina clamped down around his hard cock tightly as he moved into her. When he got to the point of her resistance he hesitated.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. He nodded and looked into her eyes.

“I love you, Mia.” He felt her shake and then she smiled.

“I love you too, Asher. So much.” He pushed into her then all the way. She grunted and he stopped and held her. He hated the idea of hurting her but fuck this felt good. “I’m fine,” she whispered, “Still okay.” He pulled back and slid back in. He slid in and out over and over, falling into a gradual, steady rhythm. She was arching her back off the bed to meet each of his thrusts. It felt like fireworks were going off in his head . Asher wasn’t a virgin but he had never in a million years imagined that anything could feel this good. It wasn’t long before they were both groaning and panting and the pace had gone from steady to frenetic. He pressed his lips against her ear and licked the outer lobe before asking her, “How does that feel, baby?”

“Soooo gooood,” she breathed out. Asher smiled.

“I’m almost there baby. Come for me again.”

Mia nodded and all of that sexy hair spilled forward on her face. A few damp tendrils stuck in the sweat along the side of her face. He kissed her neck and she actually sank her teeth down into his shoulder as she came. It was too much for him. He came with her and both of their bodies began to jerk and shake. It was the most amazing feeling he could imagine. When his body relaxed he laid down on top of her so that her breasts were pressed into his chest. He laid there until his breathing was back to normal and then he rolled to the side and let himself slip out and he pulled her body back up against his. She felt so damned good. He wanted to hold onto her forever.

“I love you,” she whispered again.

Asher hugged her tightly. “I love you so damned much, Mia.” He kissed the side of her face and she snuggled into him. It wasn’t until she had fallen asleep against him and he had reached down to pull off the condom that he realized it had broken. He tossed it into the trashcan next to the bed and enveloped her in his arms once more. He would tell her in the morning. He was sure it would be okay. He fell asleep happier at that moment than he had ever been.

It was a week to the day that Asher and Mia had spent their night together. They hadn’t had a chance to make love again since then, but he closed his eyes and relived it every night. Each time he kissed her he felt closer to her and he knew that she was the one he wanted to spend his life with. Marry and have children with. She had been his bright shining light during the worst storm of his life and she hadn’t faltered.

He was in his room getting ready to pick her and Travis up. They were meeting Dean at the edge of the lake. A bunch of kids from school and some of the men and women from Dean’s college would be there. They were having a bonfire to close out the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

He had just picked up his keys and was headed in to tell his mother good night when he heard his father’s raised voice. He had grown accustomed to the sound of it after he had a ‘few’ drinks. He was slurring his speech and his tone sounded shocked as Asher heard him say, “No Lily! I can’t believe you would ask me that.” Asher was curious what his mother would ask him that he would deny her. He was a worthless drunk these days as far as his son was concerned but he still wouldn’t deny his wife anything, now more than ever.

“Please Greg. The pain is too much.”

His father’s voice softened and Asher stopped outside the door and listened. “Oh baby. Oh God I’m so sorry but I can’t. I can’t do that and live with myself.”

“Even if I’m asking you too to do it. Begging you?”

“Lily, listen to yourself. You’re asking me to end your life.” Asher’s body stiffened. What the fuck was going on?

“I’m just asking you to give me a little more pain medication than usual. I’m so tired Greg and it hurts so much all the time.”

Asher knew his father was crying when he heard him say, “Baby I can’t. I just can’t!” His mother was crying too when she said, “Greg, please.”

“No!”

Asher flinched at the sound of his father raising his voice to her. He suddenly couldn’t breathe. He needed air. He ran down the stairs and almost ran right into her nurse.

“Is everything okay Mr. Fury?”

“Yeah,” he said, barely able to talk. “I’m just…I have to go.” He brushed past her and ran outside, gulping in the fresh air as soon as he hit it. Every time he thought things couldn’t get worse they did. He waited until he could breathe normally again and then he got into his mustang and went to pick up Mia and Travis. For tonight at least there was nothing he could do about what he had overheard. His father wouldn’t do it…he was sure of it. He found himself wondering as he drove,
‘Why didn’t she ask me?’
As soon as that thought ran through his head a violent shudder ripped through his body. There was no way he could do it. That’s why she didn’t ask him, because she knew.

**

Mia noticed almost as soon as she got in the car that something was wrong. Asher had smiled at her and said hello, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. That wasn’t normal. His green eyes usually sparkled when he looked at her. Travis noticed it too because they were only a few miles from the house when he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” He smiled at Mia again. She got the feeling he was trying hard to convince her he was good but something was definitely off.

Asher parked the Mustang in the small lot near the lake and they took the bag of marshmallows Mia had brought for roasting and the blankets she brought for them to sit on. They made their way down to where the party was. It was already in full swing. The college crowd had brought a keg and there was a chick passing out paper cups. Asher and Mia both passed and while Mia roasted her marshmallows Travis horsed around with Dean and some other guys. Asher laid back on the blanket and stared into the fire. Mia stopped what she was doing and laid down next to him. “Baby, is there something going on? Is your mom okay?”

He wrapped his arm around Mia and said, “She’s the same.” Then he just held her there under his chin and against his chest for a long time. She could feel the beat of his heart as her ear pressed into him. The party was going on around them and several times Dean and Travis both came by to ask Asher if he was okay. He kept insisting that he was but his friends all knew different. Unfortunately none of them knew how serious his thoughts were.