“Y-You don’t care I’m a virgin?” I ask, stuttering.
“Not even a little bit.”
“And you want to be together.”
He smirks and leans forward, softly kissing my brow. “I think we’re going in circles.”
“I’m sorry. It’s a lot to take in.”
“If you need time to think about it…”
“No,” I say loudly. “I want it too. I can’t believe it. You’re my boyfriend.”
He kisses the edge of my mouth and then kisses me again fully on the lips. I sink into the kiss, our mouths fusing as I struggle to accept what just happened.
“This isn’t a trick, is it?” I whisper.
He squeezes me tighter, staring directly into my eyes. “I will never, ever trick you. I swear on Egil’s life.”
“Egil?”
“Oh, that’s right.” He smirks. “You haven’t met the little guy yet. He’s my dog. Would you like to meet him?”
“Um, yeah.” I giggle. “I always wanted a dog, but my dad was allergic. And afterward, after my mom and dad died, I didn’t have the time or the money. But yes, Asher, I’d love to meet him. Heck! I just can’t believe this is happening.”
“Well, believe it,” he says huskily, and then he kisses me again.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Asher
As I drive us to my apartment, I think about telling Autumn the full truth. I almost did when I told her I really did want to be her boyfriend. There was a moment when it all almost came out, my obsession from the first time I saw her, my thoughts of the future.
But then I imagined her backing away from me, her hands raised, looking at me like I was crazy. “This is fast enough, Asher, and now you want to, to what, have babies right away?”
I wonder if I’m betraying her by not telling her the full truth. As far as she knows, we’ve simply become boyfriend and girlfriend extremely fast.
She doesn’t know about the rest of it.
I have to tell her, at the very least before we have sex. She has to know that when I erupt inside of her, I mean to flood her womb with my seed, to give her body no choice but to get pregnant.
My woman texts frantically on her phone, both thumbs moving at hyper speed.
“Paula can’t believe it,” Autumn says.
I smirk. “I bet she’s telling you to be careful with the big grumpy older man, eh?”
“A little,” she says. “I can’t really blame her. When you arrived at the apartment, I couldn’t imagine you’d want me, Asher.”
“Really? Why?”
The admission leaves me feeling like I’m walking across unsteady terrain.
What sort of man wouldn’t be attracted to Autumn? Not that I’d ever let another man act on that desire or, for a single moment, entertain the possibility that anyone else might get to be with her.
“What do you mean, why?” she asks.
I chuckle. Despite what happened with that dickhead Declan, I feel intoxicated with Autumn.
Boyfriend and girlfriend seem like a tame way to describe what we have, but it’s still a sign that we’re together, that she is mine, that she’s under my protection.
“I mean… Why are you surprised I’m attracted to you? You’re beautiful.”
“Come on.”
As we come to a stop at a red light, I glance at her. She’s changed into jeans and a knit sweater, the sleeves pulled up around her wrists, giving her that cute relaxed look.
“I don’t understand,” I tell her.
“Look at you and look at me. That should be all the answers you need. You’re tall and muscular and handsome. You’re rich. You’re a celebrity. You could have any woman you want. But you chose the frumpy girl with too many curves, who’s not even remotely glamorous.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” I growl. “You haven’t got too many curves. You’ve got the perfect amount. Your body drives me wild. You’ve been driving me wild ever since…”
I silently chide myself. This is getting more and more difficult.
“You constantly drive me wild,” I go on. “I don’t want to hear another bad word about your appearance, Autumn. Because you’re so, so, so goddamn beautiful. Understand?”
“Woah, okay. Message received.” She giggles. “I still can’t believe it. I keep expecting to wake up.”
This is a dream, it’s true, but my woman isn’t sleeping.
She pauses, and then goes on, “Asher, I want you to know. I want it, us, what we were going to do back there.”
I grin widely. “Such a shy little virgin, aren’t you? You can say sex you know.”
“Fine.”
She waves her arms, her voice getting higher in pitch. She’s so alluring when she’s all worked up like this, but that’s not saying much.
She’s always alluring.
“I want to have sex, okay, happy now?”
I chuckle, reaching over and prodding her playfully. “Very happy, yeah.”
“But I also want you to know that it might take a little time. And you might have to be patient with me. Declan, he never…”