by Lia Davis
Closer.
What to do? How could she stop herself before it was too late? It was obvious, at least to her, that she was leaning in to kiss him. Daryl wasn’t a kisser. She could count on one hand the kisses she’d participated in. All had been gross disasters. Here she was about to commit a kissing crime by not being able to deliver the goods. Help! She had to stop this before it was too late and he rejected her advances. His kid was mere feet away—wasn’t he? Daryl couldn’t tell anymore, the only sound she heard was the rapid beating of her excited heartbeat.
Closer.
His warm breath fanned her lips and chin. He smelled like clean citrus, outdoors, and spice. A dark five o’clock shadow of a mustache and full beard hovered under his skin. Asher was always clean shaven but seeing the shadow of the promise of a full beard if he desired upped his sexiness even higher. There was something about a mature man that did it for her. Was this even cool to be doing this? Instinct took over, and Daryl found her head tilted ever so, preparing to land and lock onto those full, gorgeous lips of his. She leaned in more closing additional inches, close enough to brush his large bicep with her shoulder. Hell, yes, this was happening, and he was allowing it. Woohoo! Their faces were mere inches apart as she opened her mouth to anticipate sticking the landing and going for the tongue.
Closer.
Body heat licked at her from him as she was about to connect. This was it. Daryl closed her eyes and allowed bliss to take over. The pressure of his lips on hers would be part of a sweet release she’d desperately wanted and needed.
“Dad! Did you see that? I held my breath for a long time!”
Brock’s voice was the douse of cold water that snapped them back to their original corners of space. Daryl heard Asher clear his throat before saying, “You did it, buddy! You put your head under water! Are you going to try it again?”
Daryl looked out to see an innocent child, clueless that he’d saved her from a mistake she couldn’t come back from. Her first rule of Asher Princeton was, dream all she wanted, but never touch. She had to get out of here. Her hormones were on some hyper drive shit. Daryl had almost kissed Asher in broad daylight in front of Brock. He was a guy. Guys wouldn’t turn down free advances from any chick. She knew better and had to do better. There was no way she’d get the respect she or her father deserved if she came onto Asher.
Sleeping her way to the top would never be a true statement that could be associated with her or her work if she could help it. Mustering up the strength to do the right thing, Daryl hopped up from the pool’s edge fast.
“Brock, you’re doing it!” She gave the kid a thumb’s up. “Keep at it. I have to get back to work now, but I want you to do one for me too.” Tossing what must have looked like an apologetic smile at Asher, she added, “See you two later!” She waved and walked back to the guest house as fast as she could without breaking into a run.
Chapter 11
Asher—The Pool Behind the Main House
Shit!
He’d blown it with Daryl. Against his better judgment, he’d let his need get the better of him and held her hand. It was better than he imagined all those times, allowing himself to touch her. That simple gesture had ignited his thirst for more of her. Fuck a business conflict of interest or forbidden fruit. The attraction between them was palpable. When she’d leaned in, he played it as cool as possible. He didn’t want to spook or scare her off with coming on too strong. Instead, he hung back, letting her take the lead on what happened. She’d been about to kiss him.
His thoughts still lingered on how sweet her plump lips would have tasted. And oh God, when she bit her lower lip, he thought he’d come right there in his shorts. Did she know how sexy she was? Every movement was like watching a vibrant fusion of poetry and seduction. And this from a chaste holding of her hand. His body vibrated with the notion of what it would be like when he held her and made love to her, like he wanted to.
It had only been the grace of years of practiced restraint that helped him when he saw her wet t-shirt. Her breasts, so perky and full, had greeted him like they’d been prepared specifically for his pleasure. All he wanted to do was feast on them for the rest of the day. Her hardened nipples had been the last nail in the coffin that was his denial of his feelings for her. He had to have Daryl. There was no getting around it.
His desire for her was more than sexual too. Not only was she a genius in the business sector of his company, but Daryl also had social grace, emotional intelligence beyond her years, and a magical touch with Brock. Everything about how she viewed the world, talked with him and cared about Brock made him want to spend more time with her. When she’d shown sincere concern about the depth of the pool and Brock’s safety, Asher knew this woman was extra special in his life. His dragon responded to her like no other woman before her as well.
Around Daryl, he was peaceful. Yes, he wanted her but gone was the need to conquer and move on. Now, he wanted to be with her in every way for the long haul. He could see them being best friends and lovers, growing their businesses together and having a great family. Asher wanted to spend time getting to know her and learning about her world. He wanted to know her work process and what she did when he saw the light on in her bedroom as he went to bed. She held more than his interest. Daryl was acquiring more of his heart with each passing day.
For all the great things he wanted with her, his body was as turned on by hers. She had captured his mind, body, and soul. Watching her retreat had been bittersweet. So much so, that, on the one hand, he’d been able to openly admire how her luscious ass bounced with admiration at her fast retreat without having to hide his attraction, while mourning the fact that she’d left and was gone. Daryl had him in a tailspin. He’d tried giving her space. Now, his focus was to find ways to spend more private time with her.
Reason rushed back to his head. Daryl was a brilliant young woman with her entire life before her. She might really like Brock and had been caught up at that moment. His thoughts ran away with what she might be thinking. Supplying a plausible scenario, he didn’t stop the thought as it zinged through his mind. Humbling as it was sobering, Asher examined the main reason why he could see her pumping the brakes. A young woman isn’t necessarily looking for an older guy with a kid to saddle her down. He had to slow down his damn self on his plans too. Daryl was her own woman with a bright future ahead. He was a summer project that she’d be leaving in a few short months.
Brock continued to play, splashing and laughing as he paddled around. Asher took in the carefree freedom of Brock’s enjoyment of the water; if only he could be that free and joyful. Here he sat second-guessing Daryl’s actions. That wasn’t him. It was looking like Brock’s timing had been perfect. He needed to step back and reassess the situation when he wasn’t caught up in the moment. That kid might have saved him from doing more damage than good.
When he’d seen the look on her face after Brock’s interruption, Asher knew. She was inexperienced. He’d have to rein in his attraction to give her time to figure out her feelings. He didn’t want to shock her by coming on too strong. If this were going to work, he’d need to exercise patience and some damn self-restraint. She was worth it.
That was new.
He’d never cared enough to consider how to approach a woman he was attracted to. Daryl was different, and he knew it. He could feel his dragon pressing against his skin, wanting her. Allowing himself to go there, Asher took a moment to commune with his dragon. He ached to unleash his wings and fly. Flying always helped him get clarity on what to do. His dragon and he needed this. Late tonight, he’d sneak in a flight and allow his dragon to give him wisdom on how to proceed or tame his desire to have Daryl.
Nothing had changed. Daryl was still the daughter of the man he’d not done right by, and she was still liable to find out what happened. Not to mention, his working relationship with her should preclude any romantic involvement he might have with her. The conflict of interest was apparent. Daryl Livingston was clea
rly off limits, and still, he didn’t care.
Even Monique, who could always be counted on to bring up the downside of an argument had been no help. She’d boldly proclaimed without even meeting Daryl that she was “the one.” After listening to him talk about Daryl, the woman believed that Daryl was the one woman his dragon would accept for him to mate with. Monique did have somewhat of a sixth sense about things. He held out hope that she was right this time.
She had been the one to forewarn him about marrying his first wife, but he hadn’t listened. Asher had been in a phase where he wanted to be honorable and provide the fairytale setting for his son to live in. All that had disintegrated to ashes from the start.
When he’d married Brock’s mother, it was in full knowledge that she wasn’t his mate. At the time, he’d thought no woman existed that was his true mate. And, she was carrying his child. Everything had happened fast—too soon to learn important things about her. After the wedding, he was horrified to find out she drank and was prone to doing drugs—while carrying his child. It hadn’t been pretty, but he’d taken extreme precautions to help her get clean for the duration of the pregnancy. When Brock was born, healthy and strong, Asher’s focus changed to him. His wife despised his attention to the baby over her. She soon left him and made up lies about how he was emotionally abusive, gaining sole custody of his son.
Monique had been the one to get him back in the game to fight for his baby. When she’d overdosed, leaving Brock with his nanny for almost a week without a peep, that had been the fuel Asher used to wrench sole custody from her. By the time he had his son back, the little boy had shown signs of neglect in his size, weight and constant need for attention. It broke Asher’s heart how his son longed for his ex-wife. And then, a few months later she was gone—dead. Unable to break the hold drugs had over her, she succumbed to them, leaving Brock without a mother.
Again, Monique stepped up although she proclaimed she’d never had the patience for children. His son loved Monique and clung to her like the mother he should have had. Seeing how Daryl interacted with him, it was clear to Asher that she, not Monique was the best thing to happen to Brock—and him. Her interest in Brock was genuine, patient and nurturing in a way that was never forced or done out of pity—not that Monique knowingly did this. Monique wasn’t a natural mother. Her love for Brock was true, but he tired her out, and she needed space and time away to regroup after dealing with him.
That didn’t seem to be the case with Daryl. He knew she would make an excellent mother one day if she decided to have children of her own. Thoughts of Daryl as a mother, had his dragon stirring with want. He didn’t like the idea of her having kids with some other schmuck. He wanted her all to himself. She was best for Brock and him. She was his.
Needing to adjust himself with how hard his cock was, Asher slid into the water. He’d play with Brock to get his mind off the woman who was less than twenty-five feet away.
“Hey, Dad!” Brock said, dog paddling over to him. The child looked over to the guest house and then back to him. “Did we do something to make Daryl leave?”
There was no way Asher would ever allow Brock to think he had anything to do with his fuck up. “No son, you didn’t do anything to make her leave. It was me.”
Brock stopped moving and allowed his floaters to help him float on his back. With wisdom well above his age, Brock said, “Dad, you should tell her.”
Asher was thrown off by this. “Tell her what?”
“Tell her that you like her. I see how you look at her when she’s not looking. She does the same when you’re not looking too. I think she’s scared to say something. But, you’re brave. Dad, you should tell her that you like her.”
“And what if she doesn’t like me telling her that?” Asher couldn’t believe he was getting love advice from his five-year-old, but it was sound so far.
“Then you work to help her know you mean it, but I think she’ll like it. She’s my friend and I like how happy she gets when you’re around.” Then, Brock lowered his voice and grabbed Asher’s arm to hold on close to him. “Dad, if you could, would you try to see if she’ll be my mom. I love her, and I want her to be with us forever. She feels like she should be my mom. Would you be able to do that, for me?”
Pressure to get this right for all their sakes slammed into Asher. The ante had been upped to the stratosphere. His son had fallen for her too. What had he done to show her how much he appreciated her? Nothing. Asher would need to do right by her if he was to have any hope of swaying her to be with him and accept the two of them. Looking over to the guest house, he made up his mind to give her the rest of the day to recuperate from their encounter, but tomorrow, he was taking the lead and working to claim his mate.
His mate.
Whoa! Finally accepting it was more powerful than he’d imagined it would be. Asher had never believed in the tales of how dragons mated with one person for life. Nor did he think he’d be one to know his mate when he met her. But, thinking back to last week before he’d even set eyes on her, Daryl’s voice had caught him in the heart. Seeing her only confirmed that she was meant to be his from the start.
Night air always held a special magic to it. Although the moon was new, it provided enough illumination for him to fly close to the house while still not shining too brightly. The tiny sliver of illumination gave off a different kind of light that allowed him much more freedom. He thanked the moon for being right for what was needed to work through his issues tonight. This was the cover he needed to fly closer.
Without Daryl’s energy ball to contend with, Asher soared wide and long. He pushed his dragon to the limits of his current flight capabilities, exploring and trying new maneuvers. The flight was more physically taxing and longer than ones he’d taken in the recent past. Asher had a lot to process.
Up here, he could and was doing that. He wanted answers. Exhaustion to be able to sleep well would be nice too. But, his focus was on keeping watch over his son and Daryl. Not only did he focus on the main house, but the smaller guest house as well. Asher flew as he and his dragon worked out his next move with Daryl. She was the center, touching every part of his world.
The rest of the day his attention had been hijacked thinking about her and what she must be doing. Brock was no better. He’d talked about Daryl and how she’d like one thing or another on and off the rest of the day. The little boy even asked if they could invite Daryl over for dinner. Brock wanted to spend time with her as much as he did. That brought up more issues.
What if she didn’t want him or Brock in her life? How would his son take it—how would he? In under two weeks, Brock had all but replaced his obsession with Monique to fall in love with Daryl. It was clear that his feelings for Daryl were different too. Gone was the insatiable need to want attention from Monique, like he needed assurance that she really did like him. In its place, Brock was calmer and settled. Daryl did that for his son.
When Asher said not tonight as Brock asked for her to join them, his son accepted his words on the first try. There was an understanding that she was still with him like she’d told him the first day they met. Brock appeared to be able to handle her physical absence way better than he did with anyone else.
After devouring his cheese pizza, Brock had been conked, done in by all the playing he’d gotten in. His day in the pool had tuckered him out. Asher could already see the golden kiss of the day’s sun on his skin. Brock was like him, easy to tan. He’d checked to make sure there was no sunburn as well. That was another sign that Brock’s little dragon was growing strong within him. After a bath and rub down with lotion to make sure his day out in the sun hadn’t done any burn damage, was confirmation of his assessment. Unlike most nights, Asher had gotten the child to sleep with little protest.
Up here, high in the sky, everything looked different and even easy. Another turn around the circumference of his land and Asher began to release the cares of his day. Unlike the first night, gone was the concern that Brock was alon
e down there. And, a little assurance helped that even if the little guy woke before Asher was done, he’d make his way to Daryl’s with no problem. Even if she might be avoiding him, he knew she’d be there for Brock if the child needed her. Knowing that gave Asher and his dragon, even more, confidence that she was his.
Then there was the huge question that hung over him. Would she be able to handle and accept what he was? In a world where being different could be fatal to true happiness, Asher worked through all the pros and cons of exposing his true self to Daryl. She was a black woman in a white male dominated industry. Hopefully, that would help and translate into her ability to accept his dragon.
With each pass through the sky, hope grew that she was indeed different. Maybe it was high hope and faith in her from both him and his dragon, but Asher believed in her. He believed she was the one and that she’d be willing and able to accept him if he handled the issue correctly. Yes, he’d find ways to spend more time with her alone and ease into how he felt about her and share his secret. Asher had to believe she’d accept and not reject him—and Brock.
More reasons why they should be together piled on assurances that he should go for it. They were compatible in their business pursuits, she was strong and independent, and he was at the time in his life where he wanted to build his family the right way. Even if she didn’t want kids, he knew she had a special kindness for Brock. Daryl was his future. And, like most of the best things that happened in his life, Asher would have to step out of his comfort zone to have that future.
His mind was settled, his heart was sure, and his dragon was content that Daryl Livingston was his and worth sharing his truth. He started his descent. Landing in a fluid grace behind the guest house far enough away to give him time to shift back, Asher had a new determination. He’d come completely clean with Daryl. He’d claim her if it were the last thing he had done before the summer concluded. If she could accept what he was, it was meant to be.
