Risk

by Baylin Crow

  He cranked the engine and glanced my way. “A little birdie told me you like to find trouble.”

  Fucking Uncle Pete. Why would he mention my business to Asher? “Why would Pete tell you anything?” I snapped and folded my arms over my chest.

  “He asked me to keep an eye on you,” Asher answered, as if Pete asked him to keep tabs on employees every day. He pulled out onto the busy street.

  Stunned, I could do nothing but stare slack-jawed at the side of his face. What. The. Hell? Apparently, I had a babysitter, but just how long had he been keeping an eye on me? “Did you know I was going to be there tonight?” I demanded once the shock wore off. My eyes narrowed, daring him to lie.

  The only acknowledgement I received was a quick side glance from him. His non-answer was all I needed to know. I stared through the window into the night, lit only by the bright signs and streetlights. It would figure the first night I decided to go out and have some fun since my probation was over would end like this.

  Anger rolled through me and I balled my fists in my lap. Asher, on the other hand, appeared calm and collected as he navigated the city streets.

  “Where are we going?”

  He looked at me sideways again without turning his head. “My place.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Why?”

  “Where else am I supposed to take you to get cleaned up? Your uncle’s so you can get kicked out and fired?” He shrugged as if the solution were obvious. “I won’t cover for you if you pull this shit again though. You’re actually pretty lucky none of the other guys were there tonight, especially Brody. He’s got a big mouth.”

  He had a good point. I knew no one here, other than my uncle and Mags. The guys from the gym didn’t count. I didn’t know if I could trust any of them, so I needed to take Asher’s offer to help. It was something I wasn’t used to doing. Other than having Claire at my side, I’d always been on my own.

  “Thanks. I guess,” I mumbled. He was right, but I didn’t have to like it. I turned away and faced the window as the city sped by.

  “You’re welcome.” He laughed. The deep throaty sound caught me off guard. My head snapped around, and I scowled when I found him with shoulders shaking and mirth dancing in his eyes as he glanced over at me.

  My muscles tensed and my spine straightened. “Something funny?”

  “You,” he said, simply. “You made thanks sound like a curse. Where was Brody? He said you guys were going out tonight.”

  So that was how he’d found me. “His girlfriend showed up, so he cancelled. I was already there, so I stayed for a few.” Again, I did nothing wrong.

  He nodded. The rest of the short ride was silent, for which I was grateful. It gave me a chance to calm down.

  When we pulled up in front of pricey high-rise, my jaw dropped. “You live here?”

  “Yeah.” He showed off that pearly white smile. “When you constantly win, the job pays well. Real well.” His smug face pissed me off all over again.

  I didn’t have time to respond to his arrogance before he hopped out and handed his key to the valet. I trailed behind him, glaring daggers at this back.

  “Good evening, Mr. Ramsey.” The thin, polished doorman greeted Asher and held the door open for us.

  “You too, Frank.” He patted the uniformed man’s shoulder in a friendly greeting. Frank gave me a nod that I returned. Inside, I couldn’t help but gawk at the posh décor littering the foyer.

  Asher led us around a massive water fountain and stopped in front of the elevators. After pressing the button, we waited for the car in silence. In the distorted reflection of myself against the metal doors, I couldn’t help but notice how out of place I appeared. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I ripped my gaze away. Knowing I didn’t belong here was one thing, seeing it was worse.

  A ding sounded, followed by the doors sliding open. We both stepped aside to let a woman exit, and my shoulder bumped against Asher’s arm. “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  He lifted a brow. “It’s fine.”

  I glanced over and saw him choose the twenty-third floor. Not quite the penthouse, but close enough. What am I doing here?

  He leaned his back against the wall opposite me and folded his arms across his chest, relaxing his posture as he stared me down.

  “What now?” I groaned. He obviously still wanted to talk about what happened tonight. I didn’t. I kept hoping he’d let it go and move on, but the expectant look on his face told me that wasn’t going to happen. Wanting to get it over with, I gave in, sagging in defeat. He wasn’t going to believe me anyway. “I fucked up. That’s what you want to hear, right?”

  His gaze didn’t waver. “Depends. Is that what happened?”

  “What do you mean?” I frowned.

  “You can just tell me what happened. Or not. That’s up to you.” One shoulder lifted.

  “I didn’t even do anything,” I snapped and began to pace the small space.

  His eyes narrowed, and he stood a little straighter. “Didn’t do what exactly?”

  I sighed and the words came out rushed. “I didn’t try anything with that girl. I was coming out of the bathroom at the same time she was walking down the hall. I didn’t see her and nearly ran her over. The only thing I was doing was apologizing when that drunk asshole started running his mouth. I didn’t even have time to say anything before he swung.”

  My fists balled at my sides. I’d been living in my aunt and uncle’s guesthouse for two weeks. I went to work every day and went home. Hell, the only people I’d even started talking to were Brody and now Zac, one of the featherweights. The first time they invited me out, I’d declined, not knowing how my uncle would feel about it. I couldn’t afford to mess up where he was concerned, but to say I hadn’t been itching to get out of there and go do something wouldn’t be the truth, so after work, I’d decided I was doing it.

  I hadn’t slept with anyone in more than a month, the longest I’d ever gone without sex ever since I’d lost my virginity at sixteen, and frustration was setting in. I’d just needed to get out and get laid. Plans obviously didn’t work out, and the only person I was going home with was Asher.

  Asher stared at me as if he was trying to figure out whether I was telling the truth. Well, fuck him and everyone else who thought they could judge me.

  “Okay,” he said finally.

  “Okay?” I echoed. “As in you believe me?” I eyed him, wondering if he was messing with me.

  He frowned. “Do I have a reason not to?”

  Shocked, I took a minute to reply. “No, you don’t. It’s the truth.”

  He shrugged. “Then, like I said, okay.”

  The elevator came to a stop and the door slid open. Silently, Asher led the way to his door, unlocking it then holding it open. He gestured for me to enter. He followed me in, dropping his keys into a bowl resting on a glass-top entry table.

  The place was completely decked out. For an apartment, it was huge. The open floor plan made the space appear even larger. The living room was straight ahead, the kitchen to the left with a dining area branching off, and the entrance to a hallway was on my right.

  A large black leather sectional curved around the living space, and a massive TV took up the majority of the opposite wall. Everything was done in modern lines with black and gray being the main two colors and splashes of red accents, including a few paintings hung on the walls that I was dying to get a closer look at. I wandered farther into the living room to do just that, but didn’t make it far.

  He was rummaging around the kitchen, pulling out drawers, opening the freezer, and running water. “Are you going to come and sit or what?” he asked, never looking up from his task. I made my way into the kitchen and leaned against the granite countertop. Asher pulled a chair from the glass-topped dining table into the kitchen and pointed. “Sit down so we can clean up your face.”

  Without seeing the damage to my lip, the full, heavy throbbing pain assured me that it’d swelled. The slight sting meant it was
also split. Wonderful. I wandered over and sat as directed.

  Asher stepped in front of me, a bit too close, and reached for my face with a wet towel. The cold water stung. When I winced at the contact, he gave me an incredulous look. “Seriously? You need to man up. This is nothing.”

  Grabbing his hand, I yanked the towel away. “I can do it myself.”

  He backed away, hands up in surrender. “Relax, just trying to help.”

  I sighed. “Sorry.” Still worked up, I couldn’t decide whether I was more pissed at Pete for asking Asher to babysit me or Asher for doing it. Hell, maybe I was more pissed at the jerk who sucker-punched me. I dabbed at my mouth with the rag. When Asher look satisfied, he took it from me and tossed it in the sink.

  “You should start training,” Asher said casually as he opened the refrigerator. “At least be able to defend yourself.” He pulled two water bottles out and offered me one.

  “I defend myself just fine,” I grumbled and accepted the water. “I chose not to fight back.”

  “Humor me, okay?” Asher rolled his eyes, which looked so wrong on him.

  “I don’t plan on getting in any more fights, Asher, and besides,” I scoffed, “it’s not like Pete’s going to allow that.” But I had to admit the idea held an appeal anyway.

  “Leave that to me,” he said like it wouldn’t be an issue. He filled a bag with ice and tossed it on the top of the bar. “Here, use this. We need to get the swelling to go down.” He paused, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding my eyes. “You can stay here tonight if you want, and I’ll take you in to work tomorrow.”

  The ice bag was worse than the rag, but I managed to hide my wince. “I’m off tomorrow. My schedule’s Monday through Friday.”

  “Oh, okay, well, uh, I can take you home or whatever.” This was the first time I’d seen Asher anything but confident.

  Was I seriously considering staying the night? It was probably a good idea. I didn’t want to listen to my uncle berate me about becoming an upstanding citizen. He probably wouldn’t even know I’d gone out, but it would still be a risk. That was the one good thing about the guesthouse. Unless he came looking for me, I was good. If he did, then I’d have to come up with some excuse for staying at Asher’s place. I still didn’t know how I’d explain my face.

  “I’ll just stay if that’s okay,” I finally replied after considering my options.

  “No problem. The guest room is down the hall, only door on the left, and the bathroom is the first door on the right.” He cleared his throat and that hand went right back to his neck, rubbing it. “If you need anything, my room is across from yours.”

  “No, I’m good,” I answered, wondering why he was acting so strange.

  He nodded. “All right then, I’ll see you in the morning.” He headed off down the hall toward his own room.

  I called out to him, causing him to pause and look back. “Thanks, I appreciate this,” I repeated.

  “It’s really not a problem, Drew.” He tilted his chin and then turned back around.

  After he’d gone, I wandered to the bathroom, flipped on the light, and scanned the space. A massive shower with a sliding glass door allowed me to see it was one that the water came directly from the ceiling. I’d only seen these in magazines. The dark granite counter gleamed under the bright inset lights. It didn’t show any signs of being used. The open face cabinets were bare and the items usually dotting someone’s bathroom counter were missing.

  Inspecting my face in the mirror, I realized it wasn’t as bad as I’d been expecting. The cut on my lip and the slight swelling around the area definitely could’ve been a lot worse.

  I doubted Asher would mind and I needed to shower the night off before I went to sleep, so I stripped down then cranked on the hot water. As I climbed in, the warm water ran down my body, washing away some of my tension.

  A knock on the door startled me.

  “Hey, man, I brought you a towel and toothbrush. I’m just going to set them on the sink.” When he didn’t let himself in, I assumed he was waiting for the okay to come in.

  “Okay, thanks,” I hollered. I hadn’t even thought about a towel. Exhaustion and the few beers I’d had were taking their toll on my mind. Once I lay down, I’d be down for the count. The door creaked open. I could see him through the foggy glass as he stopped for a second facing my direction. He quickly spun around and set the stuff on the sink counter.

  “I brought you a pair of sweatpants too, in case you needed them. See you in the morning.” He was out and shutting the door before I could even respond.

  As I toweled off and dressed in the borrowed sweats, something occurred to me. If I could see him when he came in, he could probably see me too, and I’d been completely naked. I wasn’t modest, but I refused to examine the slightly ridiculous amount of satisfaction that thought gave me, even as a smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. The thoughts didn’t bother me for long, because as soon as my head made contact with the pillow, I was out.

  ---

  The next morning, it took me a minute to remember where I was. The slate-colored walls, black furniture, and king-size bed covered with a deep red comforter that I was wrapped in weren’t familiar, but the bed was the most comfortable thing I’d ever lain in.

  Expensive.

  Last night’s events came back to me, reminding me of everything that’d happened, all the way up to taking a shower, and then I paused, going over that moment, asking myself why I was even thinking about it. I rolled out of bed and found the shirt I’d been wearing yesterday and tossed it on over the borrowed navy blue sweatpants.

  When I got to the kitchen, I found a note on the island but no Asher.

  Tried to wake you up but you wouldn’t budge.

  I’ll be back from the gym by noon if you want to hang out here for a while. I’ll take you home later.

  Bagels are in the microwave and coffee should be hot.

  —A

  Starving, I opened the microwave and saw a bag from a bakery I wasn’t familiar with. The bagels were still warm, and my mouth watered. I hadn’t eaten last night. Hadn’t even thought about it after everything that happened. The wonderful scent flooding the air around me pulled me in the direction of the coffee pot. It was one of those fancy ones I had no clue how to operate, so I was thankful he’d already brewed some and the pot was full.

  Obviously Asher played a good host, but his running out and grabbing breakfast surprised me. Although, maybe he got me something because he was already going there, but he’d brought it back and the coffee was still full. Overanalyze much? Whatever the reason, I’d appreciate the hell out of it.

  As for hanging around until he got back… My only other option was to grab a cab and head to the guesthouse where I’d end up sitting around, watching the DVDs they’d stocked in there. I’d leave it up to fate and see if Asher’s collection was better.

  I opened the cabinets in the entertainment center below the wall-mounted TV and found a large selection of Blu-rays. Asher, surprisingly, had quite the horror movie collection. I thought for sure it would be all action or things like Fight Club. Although, that was in there too.

  After scanning through my options, I settled on a comedy I’d seen before but liked. Decision made, I put the movie in and plopped on the couch with my breakfast and waited for him to get home.

  Before starting the movie, I sent a text to Claire. “You’ll never guess where I am.”

  “It’s too early for me to think. Just tell me where.”

  “You’re no fun. I may or may not be on the couch of a certain man you fantasize about on the regular.”

  She was going to flip her shit. When I didn’t immediately get a reply, I frowned and started typing again. Before I could hit send, her message came through.

  “You are not at Asher Ramsey’s. Don’t even play like that.”

  I couldn’t hold back my grin, picturing her clutching her phone, waiting for me to confirm I was a lying jerk. Deleting what I
’d already written, I settled in to tease her more.

  “No? And I didn’t stay the night in his fancy guest room and I’m not drinking his fancy coffee and watching his big ass TV either then.”

  “No way!!!”

  “Yes, way.”

  “Why are you there? You know what, I’m calling you.”

  I snorted out a laugh at her response. Less than ten seconds later, my phone rang and a not-so-sleepy Claire shrieked in my ear. “How the crap did you end up staying the night with him?”

  “It’s a long story. Well, not really but an interesting one anyway.”

  She demanded to know everything, and she believed me that I hadn’t done anything. But she was too caught up in my current whereabouts to hear the rest of my story, because she only asked one question after another—all things about Asher. After extracting a promise to try to introduce them, she finally let me off the phone.

  After locating the remote, I pulled a well-used blanket, which seemed out of place here, off the back of the couch and started the movie, settling in until Asher would be home.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ASHER

  I slept like shit. When I offered to let Drew stay the night, it was just like I’d said. I didn’t want him to get into any trouble and his uncle had asked me to look out for him. After everything Pete had done for me, I figured it was the right thing to do.

  My good intentions completely backfired after seeing Drew in the shower. I hadn’t meant to look. I’d hightailed it out of there once I’d realized what I’d done. Even blurred through the glass, a naked Drew was sexy as hell.

  Sleep didn’t come easy. Determined not to give in and jack off to the accidental peepshow, I’d tossed and turned for hours.

  I wasn’t sure why I blindly trusted him and completely believed him about what had happened the night before, but I did. Even after what Pete had told me.

  I’d trained my ass off that morning. Somehow, I’d exhausted myself to the point I’d forgotten Drew might still be in my apartment. The sound of the TV as I opened my door had me instantly on alert until his head popped up over the top of the couch to look at me. Startled, but playing it cool, I tossed my keys in their bowl.