Chapter 1
Saturday
I let the tattoo shop door close behind me as I rushed across the parking lot. Asher was back. Smiling, I climbed into my Blazer and slammed the door shut. Last month, Asher had his first shift into a werewolf. Since then he’d been at Astrid’s house so she could mentor him through it. His entire life and body had changed. He needed to re-learn everything about himself. No one had really seen him since. I started the car and peeled out of the parking lot while practically bouncing in my seat.
There had been some calls and Skype, but that didn’t cut it when you’d just started dating one of your best friends. Especially one you’d been crushing on for months, as well as crushing on and dating his four best friends. Yeah, it was complicated. Things were still new for all of us.
My pulse beat in my throat as I pulled onto his street. Butterflies took off as I parked, shut off the car and ran for the front porch. Not bothering to knock, I simply shoved open the white door.
Asher was walking out of the kitchen doorway as he lowered and tapped the screen on his phone. Those ocean eyes met mine. Everything stopped. His sandy blond hair was shorter than it had been a month ago. The bags under his eyes were gone now, his face that boy next door kind of handsome. Wide shoulders and that almost extra foot of height on me… I took it all in in a heartbeat while never pulling my gaze from his. A smile spread across his face, lighting him up as I ran to him.
He came toward me, dropping the phone to the floor before he caught me in the air. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he held me tight in his. Warmth and happiness bubbled through me as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I took a deep, shaky breath of vanilla and cinnamon. Something inside me settled. Asher was home. Just like that, a month of not seeing him was gone as if it never existed. Light rolled through me as his face buried in the crook of my neck while he took his own deep breaths. A low growl rumbled in his chest, vibrating through me. I smiled against his skin. His wolf was happy to see me too. I think…
“Was that a good noise or a bad one?” I whispered against his throat.
He lifted his head, his nose trailing up my skin to my cheek. “Ally…”
His deeper voice sent a shiver of heat through me. I met his eyes. The light and dark blue now had a thread of silver weaving through them. Definitely a good noise.
I pulled myself higher, bringing my lips up to his. His lips moved with mine. Heat pooled as he kissed me harder, sweeping in and taking control. Thought long gone, I kissed him just as eagerly. The need to touch and be touched was almost a hunger. An entire month without seeing him, touching him, without that vanilla and cinnamon scent. He lowered me onto something soft before moving over me, his hand sliding up the outside of my thigh leaving want behind. Our breathing grew heavier as I slipped my hands under his shirt to touch scorching skin.
“Damn, Ally. I missed you.”
My body clenched at the roughness in his voice. “Missed you too.”
His lips began kissing down my neck again, his fingers pulling the loose V-neck of my slouchy shirt down until the valley between my breasts was exposed. His lips and tongue traced down my breastbone to bury between them. My fingers dug into his hair as my entire body went up in flames. His lips found the curve of my breast; my head fell back as a small moan slipped from my throat. His hand squeezed gently as his teeth pressed into my flesh, shooting electricity down my nerves. My breath caught as I clung to him.
At least until his teeth dug in more. Hot, sharp pain had me hissing. “Ow!” He didn’t let up; in fact, he bit harder. “Ash, that hurts. Stop!” Adrenaline poured through my veins like ice water. I pushed his shoulders away, but he wasn’t budging.
His silver-blue eyes met mine before he jerked away and hit the floor. His gaze held mine as the silver began to fade while horror moved in. Did he...? I pulled my neckline down and looked at the bite. There was a perfect impression of his teeth in my skin. I wiped my fingers over it… no blood. I shifted my bra back to cover me before looking up at him as he slowly got to his feet.
His face was pale as he wrapped his arms around himself and took another step back. “Did I—”
“No, no blood.” I readjusted my shirt before sitting up and putting my feet on the floor.
Asher moved back under the pass-through to the foyer.
“Ash?”
He shook his head. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“We just got carried away. Astrid sent me a list of the big don’ts and that was right up there in the top five.” I shrugged. “I just really missed you.”
His eyes were rough when they met mine. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”
My heart dropped.
“It’s the first time I’ve kissed you since my shift and… I almost drew blood, Ally.”
“I know.” I gestured at my chest. “It was my boob, I’m kinda attached to it.”
He went to say something but instead started laughing.
I smiled and relaxed a little. “Ash, it’s going to take time. We’ll need to figure out what works for us and what doesn’t. We just need to be more careful.”
He shook his head. “I might not have as much control as I thought.”
I sent him my wicked smile. “Superman, you might not have noticed, but I wasn’t exactly in control either.”
He grinned as he stopped rubbing the back of his neck. Then his face grew somber. “If we’re together, there’s a big risk of you being converted. I don’t know if I want to chance it.”
“Where is this coming from?” I asked. Asher sounded like my old therapist when she wanted to bring up a subject.
“Astrid said we really needed to talk about the risks of dating.” Asher shrugged. “After what just happened, we might as well talk about it now.”
“Okay, let’s talk about it.” I ran my gaze over his still tense shoulders. “Are you going to sit down, or do I have to chase you?”
He snorted quietly as he came back into the family room. He sat down on the coffee table in front of me, his knees reaching the outside of my hips.
“It is a very real risk that you might be converted, Ally,” he said, meeting my eyes. “Astrid says it happens by accident all the time.”
“I’m a necro,” I reminded him. “Are we sure I could even be converted?”
His grin was back. “I asked Astrid. She said she’d talk to Evelyn and get back to me with an answer.”
I smiled. “Asher, I know the risk. But, it’s one I’m more than willing to take. And you can’t make that choice for me.”
“I could kill you, Ally,” he reminded me. “I am a wolf inside; you can’t trust him not to hurt you.”
“I don’t.” I met his eyes again. “I trust you.”
“Ally—”
“You stopped yourself, Ash.”
He looked at me, doubt filling his face.
I needed to make him understand. “I couldn’t push you away. I tried. You stopped yourself. You got yourself away from me before you broke skin.”
He closed his eyes and hung his head. The tension radiating through his body made my heart ache.
I reached up and lifted his chin until he looked at me. “I don’t play games. I don’t go back and forth. I love you and I want to be with you.”