Beyond the Horizon (Sons of Templar MC #4)(25)
“Asher?” Lucky brought him out of his pining. Good thing too. He needed to stop this shit. Now. Needed to move the f*ck on and stop acting like a f*cking chick. Enough was enough. He had been holding onto this shit for too long. He’d been holding onto the feeling she had given him that night. The feeling of home. He’d never had one, not a real one, not since Benjamin. With her soft body in his arms was when he felt it. He knew it had been f*cked up, insane even, the way he felt about her. The certainty he had for what was between them. He’d held onto insanity for too long.
“Yeah?” he jerked his head from where he was working on a car in one of the bays.
Lucky leaned casually on the car. “Just wanted to know if you were going to the funeral,” he asked with a blank expression.
Asher straightened from the hood of the car, giving his brother his full attention. “Whose funeral? Yours? Your bitches finally found out about each other?” he joked.
Lucky didn’t smile, unusual, f*cker was always smiling, even at jokes made at his own expense.
“Nah, bro. Lily’s mom’s funeral. Gwen, Amy, and the girls are going. The club’s going, to show support. I thought you’d want to go.” Something worked behind the f*cker’s usually teasing eyes.
Asher hadn’t forgotten the anger he’d unleashed on him three years ago.
He’d gotten back from the business, which was taking care of some tweaker f*cking up one of their shipments, anxious to wipe the blood from his hands and then erase the deeds in Lily’s body. Lucky had slammed him up against the wall, in the hall next to his door.
Three Years Ago
“What the f*ck?” he clipped. He was not prepared for the anger coming from his usually carefree friend. Nor did he have the time or patience to inspect the reason for it.
“Tell me you didn’t f*ck her over,” Lucky growled, getting in his face.
Asher shoved him back, with effort. He was a big f*cker. But didn’t mean Asher didn’t pump iron five times a week for nothing.
“What are you talking about?” he shot, straightening his cut.
Lucky glared at him with empty eyes. “Lily.”
Asher’s entire frame jerked at the mention of her name. Anger he didn’t know he was capable of feeling toward his brother simmered at the mere mention of her name.
“Not a bitch to f*ck around with. Not her….” Lucky continued, not flinching in the face of his fury. “She’s not some club slut, so you treating her that way is not f*ckin’ acceptable. She’s a f*cking kid. Innocent as they come. You corrupted that shit? Bruised that innocence,” his voice was flat but anger, no, fury simmered beneath the surface.
Asher’s voice was not flat when he replied, nor did his anger simmer. It was right there. He stepped forward dangerously. “I f*ckin’ know that, brother,” he spat. “What the hell does she have to do with you?” he asked quietly, curiosity underneath his anger.
The fact he was going to bat for a woman was not unusual. As much as he f*cked them around, he respected them. Asher didn’t know why he was going to bat for his woman. Why he seemed so furious. The fact he was having such a reaction to Lily, when Asher was reasonably sure he hadn’t even spoken to her, grated him.
“She has nothing to do with me. Or you, for that matter. Fuck, brother, anyone could see a girl like that does not belong in our world. If she somehow finds herself there, she should not be running outta here half dressed with tears in her f*ckin’ eyes,” Lucky shot with a level stare.
Asher jolted in surprise as Lucky’s words sunk in. “What the f*ck?” he muttered.
He didn’t wait for a response, merely pushed into his room, swearing as he was presented with an empty, and mussed bed.
“Fuck!” he yelled at the empty room, at the bed where he experienced the best night of his life.
The next two days were miserable. He didn’t do miserable, especially pining over a chick. But Lily was different. He knew it the moment he laid eyes on her. He knew she was innocent when he first spoke to her, shy. But he had no f*ckin’ clue she was a goddamned virgin. He reasoned that a woman who looked like that could never be a f*ckin’ virgin. White blonde hair, tight tanned body. Eyes as blue as the ocean. He figured the whole innocent act was just that, an act. He’d been around women all his life, who played various roles to get into bed. He’d quickly realized there was nothing fake about Lily or about how he felt for her.
Which is the reason he turned into a borderline stalker. He knew it was f*cked up, but he couldn’t stop.
After finally getting her address after unanswered texts and calls, Asher decided to go around. He’d ridden to Tasman Springs with nerves, and he never got f*ckin’ nervous. Not when going into situations where he was dodging bullets. So he couldn’t figure out the reason for them when he knocked on a door of a shitty apartment building in an even worse part of town. Somewhere where Lily did not belong. He didn’t expect the woman on the other side of the door.
Her black rimmed eyes regarded him and rested on his cut. They hardened. “The biker,” she spat with distaste. “And what in the f*ck could you be wanting? Didn’t get enough jollies hurting her the first time around?”
Asher had been taken aback by her hostile demeanor and then her words. Hurt Lily? He’d sooner saw off his own arm. He’d finally been able to extract the information out of the small, but mouthy roommate. His determination intensified on the ride back to Amber. He needed to know what the f*ck happened, that had her running out when he’d left her sated with a lazy smile on her face.