So, she was thinking of him, just like he was thinking of her.
But then again…maybe he’d imagined it. Perhaps it was wishful thinking to want something beautiful to think of something dark like him.
He’d crept into her room as soon as her breathing slowed and he knew she was asleep, but something irritating pulled at his instincts. Something was happening outside. Asher stood from where he crouched near the door and strode silently for the window. He scanned the winter woods outside but didn’t see anything.
Kill them. Asher frowned at how urgently his inner wolf had whispered that. Kill who? There was no one there. Protect her. Asher shook his head hard. His wolf was clearly in the first stages of madness. Maybe this was how it was for Gentry and Roman. Maybe the instinct to covet and protect got overwhelming around an interesting female.
Interesting female? That didn’t feel right. Ashlyn was taking up every thought he had right now. A wolf howled in the distance, and for some reason, it made him angry. It felt directed at him, though it had to be miles away. He didn’t recognize the voice, but then again, he hadn’t been around the Bone-Rippers enough to have their songs memorized. Maybe the pack was hunting tonight. That’s probably why his wolf was worked up.
Kill them.
Jesus. Asher linked his hands behind his head and tried to calm his instincts. They warred for him to stay posted right here, protecting Ashlyn’s sleeping body from absolutely nothing, or going out into the woods and starting another war with all the damn wolves in Rangeley to get them to shut the fuck up. Ashlyn was tired. He didn’t want them to wake her up.
Kill them before they hurt her. Asher’s wolf was scratching at his skin now, making his flesh tingle with the first phase of the Change. He needed to calm down. There was nothing in the woods that would hurt her. He was the only danger here.
Ashlyn made a soft sleep sound that resembled a happy sigh. Asher forced his gaze away from the woods outside and turned, gazed at Ashlyn. The blue moonlight highlighted her pretty cheekbones, and right now, her long lashes were resting on her cheeks, and her lips were relaxed into an almost smile. Of course she probably smiled in her sleep. She was naturally happy. Mine. He tested the thought just to see if a creature of darkness like him had the ability to feel something real for a woman like her.
He needed to leave but couldn’t make his legs move toward the door. Instead, just to see if he could without hurting her, Asher moved two deliberate steps closer to the bed. The blue around her was pulsing, calling to him. Two more steps, and he reached out and touched the bed. Two more steps, and his knees brushed the edge of the mattress. She let off the cutest fucking sleep sound he’d ever heard and rolled toward him.
Ashlyn slept right in the middle of the bed, and that told him two things. One, she was a bed hog. And two, she hadn’t slept with a man in her bed for a while, so she was probably single. A soft, satisfied rumble worked its way up his throat, but he cut it off so he wouldn’t wake her. God, what was that noise? His wolf had practically purred like a damn housecat.
He wasn’t hungry. The Taker was sleeping still. Maybe he could just touch the blue.
Asher sat carefully on the edge of the bed, ready to bolt from the room if she stirred. She didn’t. She smiled in her sleep and scooted closer by inches. He liked to think he drew her in, like she was doing to him.
Ghosts were lining the room now, staring at them, waiting for…something.
Asher dragged his gaze down her body. She wore a thin-strapped nightgown and had shoved the covers down to her hips. She slept on her side, a pillow encased between her knees. He’d never been jealous of a pillow before, but there it was. Carefully, he leaned forward and ran his palm against the edge of the blue. It pulsed again and wrapped around his hand, all the way up his forearm.
And still…The Taker slumbered.
He was breathing too fast, and his heart was banging against his chest like a war drum. He scooted closer and brushed a curl from her cheek as gently as he could. The corner of her full lips lifted in a quick smile. The blue had crawled up to his shoulder, but he wasn’t feeding on it. It was hard to breathe.
She made him feel good. Quieted the wolf in him, quieted the black fog. Ashlyn took up all of his attention, every bit of his focus.
And still…The Taker slumbered.
Impossible. Impossible that he could be this close to a woman for this long. This close to an aura that would taste of freedom and happiness, and still he didn’t want to eat her up. He wanted to touch her skin instead.
Losing his mind completely, Asher laid down gently beside her, facing her. He rested his knee on her pillow—the one between her knees. The blue stretched around him like an embrace, covering him completely. The buzz of magic in his head died to nothing. The constant snarl of his wolf died to nothing.
And still…The Taker slumbered.
He would just lay here for a little while, and watch her face while she slept. He would just lay here and feel the blue without devouring it. It was like rain on thirsty soil, and his skin prickled with a pleasurable sensation where it touched him. He closed his eyes as the hollowness inside of him faded away. Just a few minutes, and he would leave her to sleep in peace, because he couldn’t fall asleep beside her. The Taker would wake up and want her. He could drain her dry in her sleep without him even waking up, and something about that made him hate The Taker inside of him even more.
Ashlyn was giving him a few moments of peace. Okay, perhaps giving wasn’t the right word. He was stealing a few moments of peace from her. Still, he owed her protection. From himself.