“Asher,” I breathed against his mouth.
“My Lily,” he murmured, moving his hands downward.
I slipped my own hand underneath his tee, running it over the skin that had my name inked on his body.
He hissed as I raked my nails slowly across it and over to his muscled back.
My panties were pushed aside, and he positioned himself at my entrance. His hand framed my face and he paused, gazing at me in amazement.
“Perfect,” he proclaimed quietly.
Then he pushed into me, causing the air to escape from my lungs.
Everything else melted away in that moment. The pain, the pressure, the sorrow. It all disappeared, and it was only me and Asher.
After, Asher cleaned me up he carried me out to the conservatory, which looked out onto the waves. Mom and I had spent hours out here when I was growing up. She said the entire reason she bought the house was this spot right here. Where you could feel like you were witnessing nature’s beauty and ferocity from a safe cocoon. It was hard to be out here at first, but now I felt the memories of Mom wrapping me in that same safe cocoon.
Asher sat us on the old ottoman facing the ocean, gathering me tightly in his arms. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to. Words would chase in the reality of what lay out there. For now, we needed silence. Just each other. Just the moment where everything made sense.
The ringing of Asher’s phone chased away that fleeting moment.
We both tightened as he jostled me slightly to retrieve it from his jeans.
“Yeah,” he clipped tightly.
As with every phone call, I braced. For inevitable news. For the gut wrenching pain that would be at the end of it. For the less likely relief that it might hold.
Asher’s frame tightened as he stayed silent. His hard gaze met mine.
My heart beat in my throat at his expression.
“We’ll be right there,” he replied tersely.
He paused a moment after he put the phone down. “We’ve got her,” he declared huskily.
Every taut muscle I’d been holding for three weeks slackened and I collapsed against him. I jerked my head up.
“She’s alive? Okay?” I managed to choke out.
Asher stroked my head. “Yeah, flower. She’s alive.”
I closed my eyes a moment, sending out a thanks to the universe. She was alive. I let that piece of news wash over me. I felt the weight at my chest lift. She was alive. Everything else would be okay. Everything else Asher and I would face, together.