“Don’t fucking order me around,mate,” Asher barks, moving closer to Charles.
Charles is at least two inches taller than Asher, but Ash isn’t letting that stop him. He stands in defiance, looking up at him. “You’ll just fuck her and then fuck her over, and I’ll be left to pick up the pieces.”
“You don’t know anything about me. I’d never hurt her.”
“Oh, yeah? I know what you guys are like. You think you’re all big shots with your fancy job and your big paychecks. You think you can have any woman you want. You think the whole world needs to bow down for you.”
“Asher. Please,” I beg.
“Raven wants you to leave. Best be on your way,” Charles says calmly.
“Why should I leave? Why don’tyouleave?” He turns to me, looking half-crazed. “Raven, tell him. Tellhimto leave.”
I look at Asher and sigh. “Just leave, Ash.”
The look of despair on Asher’s face right before he turns to walk away will haunt me for a long time.
36
Raven
“Care to explainwhat that was about, love?”
My lip quivers, and I lose the battle, falling apart. Charles’s eyes widen as his arms dart out to pull me against his solid chest, cocooning me in his warmth while a torrent of tears cascade down my cheeks.
“Shh. It will be all right, Rae,” he coos into the top of my head.
Charles directs us toward the couch, placing me down and taking the seat next to me, keeping me tucked into his side while I work to get my crying hiccups under control.
After several minutes, I’m finally together enough that the tears have slowed to a trickle, but my heart hurts.
The look on Asher’s face.
His defeated posture as he walked away.
I broke him.
I broke us.
“Would you like to talk about it?” Charles says, and I take a deep breath, blowing it out with a whoosh.
“Not really, but I suppose I owe you some answers.”
He doesn’t say anything, and I know I have to give him something.
I scoot out of his embrace, turning my body to look at him. I’m sure my face is puffy and red, but he doesn’t seem to notice. His eyes are kind as they stare into mine.
“Asher and I met freshman year in the dorms. We became fast friends,” I start, trying to determine how much I want to tell Charles.
I’m not trying to hide anything, but Ash and I have a long history. I didn’t want tonight to be spent like this.
“We’ve been inseparable since.”
“Did you have a relationship at one point?”
I shake my head. “Never. It wasneverlike that with us.”
Charles’s eyes narrow.