Southern Secrets (Southern #7) - Natasha Madison Page 0,41

"I’ve gotten under your skin," he says, and I want to tell him that he’s wrong. I want to tell him that he hasn’t gotten under anything. "Good," he says, and his head moves in close. "Because you’ve gotten under mine," he says, and I feel like I’m in a trance. The whole world could be crumbling around me, and I wouldn’t think twice. I also wouldn’t care. The only thing that I want is for him to kiss me.

"Asher," I say his name in a whisper, or a plea, even I don’t know anymore.

"What, baby?" he says, and my heart surges to my throat, and my hands are finally moving to his chest. His heart beats under my hand as much as mine is beating. I tilt my head to the side, and I can taste his lips on mine.

"Auntie Amelia!" Gabriel yells, and we both jump apart, the both of us panting. "Grandma wants you."

I look at Asher, who stands there, his eyes never leaving me. "Coming," I say, turning and walking away from him.

Chapter 17

Asher

I stare into the eyes of the woman who has haunted my dreams and thoughts for the last I don’t even know. But nothing can compare to looking into the real thing. Her eyes are a soft blue, a crystal blue that you can see right through her.

I can feel her heart beating just as fast as mine, as her chest rises and falls. The heat of her hands that were on my chest, like she branded me with her touch. "Coming," Amelia says and slips out from in front of me. She walks back up the stairs without a second glance back at me and goes into the house. The door slams shut, making me aware that what just happened now was a mistake. The guilt settles in my stomach as I think about how much over the line I just crossed.

I hang my head as my chest rises up and down as if I just chased off a wild pack of wolves. I can’t move from my spot, the smell of lavender still all around me. My body knows she was right here and refuses to move.

"What the fuck was I thinking?" I ask myself as I put my head back and look at the ceiling of the garage. "What the hell was I doing?" I shake my head. "In her parents’ house. With her brother and her father mere steps away from us." I wasn’t; that was the point of it. When I walked into the house and saw her laughing and smiling, it just … The answer was so blatant and so easy. Bottom line, I couldn’t fucking help myself.

Following Jacob into his house, the last thing I was surprised to see was her in the kitchen laughing. I had to get away from her as fast as I could, so I ducked out and came out to the garage. Trying to convince myself that whatever I was thinking about and whatever I was feeling was the worst idea I’ve ever had in my whole life. And I’ve had some stupid ideas that got me into hot water more than once, but this, with her, I’d be cut off at the knees.

I just couldn’t control myself with her standing there in front of me. Her eyes were changing right before my eyes. Pissed because I was everywhere she turned. Happy knowing that I got under her skin just as much. The information broke the little strength I had left in me. My head was yelling at me that it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life, yet my heart, my heart was telling me that this moment is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life.

The past three days have been like a game of cat and mouse. Working all day long, pushing all the frustration all out of me. Getting home and seeing her there looking like she was going out of her mind, yet looking more beautiful than she did that morning. I avoided her as much as I could, staying in my room for fear I’d throw her down and kiss the ever-loving shit out of her. I’d wait for her to go to bed before going back on the couch and sleeping. My alarm would ring every two hours. I’d stand there beside her bed sometimes right before I wake her and wonder what it would feel like to lie with her