Adored By The Rancher: Mail Order Brides Box Set

by Dreams, Brittany

  Asher finished everything that was on his plate before Dawn was even half done. He sat back contentedly and watched her finish. Dawn was a slow eater, and she liked to savor her food. The steak was done to perfection. No telltale signs of its earlier mauling remained. Asher poured himself four cups of wine and downed them all.

  “Do you find that satisfactory?” Asher nodded his approval and topped Dawn’s glass off. She sighed but didn’t protest. After all, the bottle was huge and it couldn’t really be refrigerated.

  When she was done, Dawn sat back with a sigh. The food was wonderful and she was stuffed. It reminded her of the meals her parents used to make when she was at home and her eyes teared up. Dawn focused on her wine glass. Irrational tears were the first indication that she had drunk too much. Yet she allowed Asher to fill both their glasses once more to empty the bottle.

  She downed her glass, lost in thought. When she finally came back down to earth she glanced at Asher. He was studying her and she was shocked to see the primal glow of desire in his blue eyes. She quickly looked away. “I should get ready for bed,” she mumbled. Shoving her chair back from the table, Dawn fled to the safety of her bedroom.

  Chapter 7

  Shane checked in with Dawn a few days after he’d left. If all went well he would be back within a week. Dawn wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Her world had been ordinary, pleasantly normal, until he burst her bubble with his announcement that he was a vampire and there were more like him.

  She sometimes wondered where she would go when the place was full. Would Shane still want her there? She could find another apartment but she’d come to love Shane’s house, even though she knew it was not her own.

  On one hand, Dawn was excited for Shane to return. She wanted him to be in charge at the house so she didn’t have to worry that something had happened to Asher while she was away at work during the day. On the other, there was a part of Dawn that she didn’t want to admit existed, that hoped she would have just a little more time alone with Asher. Not that it could amount to anything, she carefully told herself. Asher was a vampire and she was mortal. It was hard fact to remember when he was near her and her body was going wild with desire and longing.

  On Shane’s suggestion, Dawn enrolled Asher in the library’s computer literacy class. It was on Tuesday and Thursday for an hour and a half, starting at eight, which was convenient. Dawn had driven Asher to his classes on Tuesday and picked him up, and though she had worried about him constantly, everything had been fine.

  Dawn hadn’t planned ahead to what she would do on the Thursday nights she worked late. She and Sarah traded off on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights when the store was open from nine in the morning until seven at night, one taking the morning shift, one taking the evening shift. On the other days the two worked the eight hour shifts together, and on Sunday and Monday the store was closed.

  Half of Dawn’s shift was spent worrying about Asher. She fretted until the sky lit with the purples and pinks of sunset and she could call the land line. She made another note to buy Asher a cell and teach him how to use it.

  To her relief, the phone was picked up on the second ring. “I was just calling to make sure you were okay,” Dawn said. “And to make sure that you know what to do tonight.”

  “Yes, you have given me more than adequate directions.”

  Dawn nodded even though Asher couldn’t see it. Worry still edged in the pit of her stomach like a tight little ball. She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from the notepad stuck to the counter just to occupy her hands. The paper had little sunflowers bordering it.

  “Did you find the note on the fridge with my numbers on it?” She had placed a hastily scribbled note on the fridge before she left that afternoon with her cell and work number just in case.

  “Why will I need to call you?” Asher seemed puzzled.

  “Just in case anything happens. Dawn noticed that she was clenching her hands into fists. She consciously loosened her fingers.

  “I must ready myself now,” Asher said. Dawn knew that he considered it a great honor and fascination to go to the computer literacy classes. She recalled how unattainable literacy, let alone an education, had been in the centuries Asher lived through. The classes didn’t just allow him to learn to function in modern society but they were opening the door for Asher to learn about everything. As soon as he fully learned to use the lap top Dawn gave him, she knew that she would no longer have to explain anything. He would have all the answers at his fingertips.

  “Okay, but please, just remember what I told you.” That included all the bus instructions and the phone instructions. “And Asher…”

  “Yes, call you if I am in need,” he finished Dawn’s sentence. She almost laughed but managed to hold back at the last second.

  “Okay, have a good time. I’ll pick you up around eight.” Dawn hung up the phone, feeling only slightly better. She wished that she had just instructed him on how to take a cab there and back instead of the bus but the stop was almost right in front of the house.

  It was clear that Asher had not understood why she was so worried. And she hadn’t wanted to voice her thoughts about modern technology and how fast the world moved and how Asher was like a stranger to everything, because she hadn’t wanted to upset him. The vampire had only been with Dawn for a couple days but in that time she had learned how proud he was. And how honorable. He was unlike anyone she had ever met, and not because he was a vampire.

  ***

  It was a relief to close the store at the end of the night and head for the library. Dawn was more than anxious to see Asher and assure herself that he was fine. She had practically kept her eyes glued to her cell phone all night.

  Dawn parked her car on the street in front of the library downtown. The lights were on in full force, causing the large square windows to cast long shadows onto the sidewalk. Inside people were still browsing through shelves full of books. Dawn had picked Asher up from the main doors on Tuesday so she headed there first. His class had ended fifteen minutes before so he should be waiting. Dawn held her breath, anxious to catch a glimpse of him in the doorway. But when she got there, he was not waiting. Shit. Dawn willed her beating heart to calm down. His class had probably just gone a little late.

  Dawn knew from when she had registered Asher that the class was held in the basement, so she headed for the stairs. To her dismay, the basement, with its computers still up and running, was empty except for a middle aged woman. She looked up when Dawn came all but crashing down the stairs.

  “Sorry I frightened you,” Dawn said, noticing how the woman had jumped a little. “I was just here to pick up a friend from class.”

  “Oh,” the woman said, smiling. “Who were you looking for?”

  “Asher.” Dawn noted, with a small twinge, how the look changed on the woman’s face. So Asher’s instructor obviously found him attractive. Though it should not have, the idea made Dawn half crazy. Never mind the fact that the woman was probably fifteen years Asher’s senior if he had been about thirty and human.

  “He never made it in tonight actually,” the instructor said with obvious regret.

  “What?” Dawn was trying desperately to control her voice and she was thankful her question didn’t come out in a shrill scream like she imagined it would.

  The woman shook her head. “No, he wasn’t here tonight,” she said again, as if Dawn were somewhat slow.

  Dawn nodded her thanks and hightailed it back upstairs. She sprinted to her car, and once she got in and slammed the door she put her head in her hands. Shit shit shit shit shit shit! Dawn gripped her hair between her fingers, pulling hard so that the physical pain would keep her grounded. She felt like beating the steering wheel. The idea was so appealing she had to force herself to keep her hands in her hair instead of reaching forward.

  Dawn had no idea what to do or where to start looking. She had an awful sinking feeling that something terrible had happened. She should never have let him
go alone! Dawn reached for her cell, realizing that it was dead. How stupid could she be? She plugged the phone into her car charger and waited a few anxious moments until it turned on. There were no missed calls.

  Dawn started to dial Shane’s number and was about to press button to connect the call when she abruptly shut her phone off. What would Shane think if she phoned him now? Obviously that she was incapable of looking after his vampire. Asher had been in her care for a matter of days and she had already lost him. Or worse, what if he had chosen to leave?

  She should go out and search for Asher, but where would she even start? Dawn ran through a list of logical possibilities in her head. One. Asher got on the bus and somehow didn’t get off at the right stop and was now lost. Two. Asher had been found out somehow and was now being tortured. Three. Asher was at home because he had decided not to go to his class. Four. Asher had decided to go hunting humans and drinking blood instead of going to his class and was now terrorizing the city even as she thought about the options.

  Okay, so her list wasn’t all logical. Asher would have phoned her if he wasn’t going to his class. Wouldn’t he?

  After another long hesitation Dawn finally started the car and drove home. She might as well look there first, just to make sure, before she started out on a wild goose chase all over the city.

  When Dawn arrived home the lights were all off. She searched the house thoroughly and came up with nothing. Dawn’s heart started to beat wildly once again and she was barely able to calm her rapid breathing. She checked her cell one more time and there was nothing. Just as Dawn set the thing down it started to go off. The screen said it was an unknown number.

  “Hello?” She forced her voice to be level.

  “Dawn….”

  “Asher!” Dawn let out a relieved sigh.

  “Dawn… I do not know where I am...”

  Dawn breathed out again, her whole body going weak with relief. “I’ll come and get you, just stay where you are,” she commanded before she thought how stupid that sounded. “Where are you anyway?”

  “I have told you already that I do not know.”

  “Do you see a street sign anywhere?” There was only silence. Dawn waited for an answer, but none came. Finally there was a muffled sound of someone talking and Asher responded. “Charles, 2431 Charles Street. By some very tall and odd glass structures.”

  “Are you calling from a payphone?”

  “I don’t know what that is. I followed someone into a building and they let me use their communication device.”

  Dawn quickly programmed the address into her phone. It was on the other side of the city! How had Asher managed to get over there? Dawn knew that it was a terrible idea to send him out on his own. She had almost expected something like this to happen.

  “Dawn…”

  “Just stay where you are okay Asher? I’m coming to get you but it’s going to take me a little while to get over there. But please, stay where you are so that I can find you.”

  Silence.

  “Asher?”

  “Yes, I will do as you say.”

  “Okay, I’m leaving now. Bye.”

  Dawn hung up the phone and ran out the door. She hadn’t taken her boots or jacket off when she’d walked in and searched the house. Outside the wind howled, frigid with more than a hint of the coming winter. Dawn shivered, regretting having forgotten her mitts in the house.

  Even though Dawn tried to hurry it took her twenty minutes to finally find Charles Street. Once she spotted the sign she turned right, watching the numbers slowly increase. It was a long street and not very well lit, so the addresses were hard to see. Dawn passed a bus stop at 3000, and kept going. Finally she was able to make out a tall glass high rise condo building. An unmistakable figure in a leather jacket and jeans stood outside the entrance.

  Dawn pulled over, all but ramming the shifter into park. Jumping out and leaving the door open, she ran over to Asher who approached the car cautiously “Asher!” Dawn was so relieved to finally find him she threw her arms around the vampire’s large shoulders, hugging him tightly. He stood stiff, frozen, and likely not only because of the frigid weather.

  Finally Dawn pulled back. She was embarrassed that she was touching him and a slow burn started in her stomach. She was so worried and flustered she could not control what she said from coming out as anger. “Damn you! Why didn’t you call me right away?” Her shoulders heaved with emotion and she was trying desperately not to cry. A few tears leaked out against her will which only served to further irritate her. Asher, on the other hand, stood silently upright, his face impassive. “Well come on then. Get in the car.” Her voice was much more controlled now that her turbulent emotions had passed.

  The ride home was spent in silence. Finally Dawn could stand it no longer. She had to ask all the questions pounding in her brain.

  “Asher how did you end up there?” It was the easiest way she could think of phrasing the question. Dawn did not dare voice anything along the lines of I told you so, or I knew this was a bad idea.

  “I must have missed the library. I sat on the bus while it went around its loop and I got off eventually, though not at the correct location. So I walked until I found another stop and waited for the bus to pick me up again. Except it took me along a different route, so again I got off and looked for the library, but it was not there. I found another bus and rode it for a long while before I realized it was going in circles like the others had. I got off and started to walk, looking for something familiar, but there was nothing. Finally I called you.” Asher’s voice had risen several levels and Dawn detected the slightest hint of fear.

  She didn’t know what to say so she lapsed back into silence. When they reached the house, Asher got out and sprinted to the door. He had his own set of keys, so he let himself in and was gone down to the underground rooms before Dawn even had her boots off.

  Dawn debated about whether to go and speak with him. Mistakes happened. She wanted him to know she wasn’t angry about it.

  With shaking hands, Dawn found the lever for the secret door. It swung open and she entered the hidden world that was not quite her own. There was no door on Asher’s room. She peeked around the corner. He was sitting on the edge of the bed. His work style boots were kicked off to the corner and he’d removed his leather jacket and t-shirt. He was sitting wearing nothing but his jeans.

  Dawn gasped. The gentle intake of breath brought Asher’s head around. His eyes glowed and his fangs descended when he smelt the strong scent of desire her body sent into the air. Of course, Dawn could smell nothing but she watched the way Asher’s nostrils flared, the way his tongue snaked out and licked his bottom lip when he looked at her.

  She couldn’t help but take a hesitant step back at the blatant hunger of Asher’s face. He stood up and walked towards her. Her feet felt as though they were frozen to the ground. They refused to budge another inch. He stalked towards her, his manner predatory. There was no doubt what he intended.

  Chapter 8

  Asher gripped her arms, his touch sending a riot of longing ripping through Dawn. She sighed and of her own accord, tipped her neck just slightly, exposing the long, lean column.

  There was a harsh sigh and Asher nestled his face in the crook of her neck. He nipped ever so slightly. “You are delectable,” he whispered. His hot breath tickled her skin and a heady sensation of pleasure rushed up her legs. She quickly put her hand up to her neck when she felt a wet trickle. Surprised, Dawn pulled her hand away. She stared at the red smudge on her fingers and shivered.

  Asher’s tongue snaked out and licked her neck again. She was prepared when he struck her vein, taking her blood in long, erotic pulls. Her body went weak with the wondrous sensations radiating from the spot. White hot fire roared to life, engulfing her. She felt every single one of Asher’s movements echoed between her legs. She grew uncomfortably wet and she squeezed her legs together, trying to alleviate the pressure. The action did nothing to quell the pounding
there.

  The pulls at her neck grew slower, lazier, until Asher stopped drinking. He flicked his tongue over the wound, sealing it and sending a bolt of lightning right through Dawn. She shivered violently. When Asher tried to pull away, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He glanced down at her, a question shining in his incredible blue eyes.

  “Yes Asher,” Dawn whispered. “I want you. Take me, teach me. I’m… I’m a virgin… it’s embarrassing I know because I’m twenty-three but with University and the store I’ve never had time to go out and search for a boyfriend and I didn’t want to do the one night stand thing and-” Asher placed a restraining finger gently on her lips.

  “You are beyond perfect Dawn. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. It would be my pleasure to introduce you to this.”

  “Me?” Dawn squeaked. “Beautiful?” She laughed a little giddily, half nervous, half in disbelief.

  “You.” Asher said in his incredibly deep, sexy voice. He ran his index finger over Dawn’s jaw lightly before he bent his head and kissed her. Her head swam with passion, her brain hazy at Asher’s touch. His lips were bruising and insistent and her mouth opened under the onslaught. His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with hers. He stroked her in long, heated strokes that had pretty much the same effect as if he’d been touching her in other places.

  Dawn whimpered and Asher pulled away, a grin turning up the corners of his gorgeous mouth. “What would you like Dawn? I want you to tell me.”

  “I don’t know,” Dawn whispered. “That’s why I told you why I was a… virgin.”

  “Will you surrender yourself to me? So that I can show you the greatest passion?” Asher’s eyes burned into her own, seeing through to her soul.

  Dawn’s body melted against Asher. Her legs were so weak she doubted they would hold her up. “Yes,” she whispered. “Take me now Asher. Show me. I want you.”