Love Her Wilde

Lazy Shade of Winter: Dylan

I felt Asher's chest shake with a chuckle as I continued to snuggle against his back. "I mean, I'm fairly certain..."

"And I'm fairly certain you're not," I argued. I pressed another kiss against him and took a step back, spotting the coffee sitting in the pot on the counter. "What are your plans for today?"

"Aside from this?" Asher asked, glancing at me as I poured myself a cup in my favorite skull-shaped mug. I just nodded as I took the first piping hot sip. Black and scalding perfection. "Not much of anything. It's supposed to snow all day again, so..."

"You're kind of stuck here?"

Asher gave me a crooked smirk. "Not sure I'd call it stuck."

I hid my grin behind my mug. "Hope you grabbed stuff for lunch then too."

"Check the fridge."

Mug in hand, I headed for the fridge, finding all sorts of treats tucked inside. I even opened the freezer and found even more goodies. "Jesus. We're set for like a week."

Asher just gave me a smile and a shrug. "Better safe than sorry."

"You're fucking adorable," I stated. I headed back for the counter behind him, hoisting myself up to perch on the island as if I was supervising. "I don't even usually eat breakfast."

"Most important meal of the day."

"Yeah, well, I usually wake up around noon, so... lunch is it."

Asher chuckled and clicked off the burner he was using before turning to face me. "We lead very different lives, don't we?"

I nodded. "I'm either at the bar, working at a bar, or up late responding to creepy messages." Ash's brow furrowed a bit. "I'm kidding. They're not that bad."

"Yeah, I kind of doubt that."

I shrugged. "Comes with the territory. Not ALL of them are creeps. Some of them are just lonely and looking for someone to talk to."

"And they think that the naked girl on the internet is a good choice?" Asher asked with a laugh.

"Hey. I am very easy to talk to, okay?"

"That's not what I meant," Asher stated. He took a step toward me and leaned forward until his arms were braced on both sides of my body. "You are incredibly easy to talk to. I just think it's odd that random men, that you don't even actually know, decide that you're the listening ear they've been dreaming of."

"Making friends isn't easy for everyone, Ash. If I can help someone feel less alone, I'm going to do it," I responded.

"That's sweet," he stated, stretching his neck forward and brushing his lips against my forehead. "How many men am I going to have to fight off because they're convinced you're supposed to be with them?"

I laughed. "None. Like you said, I don't know any of these people in real life."

"Doesn't mean they don't think they're entitled to you."

"Well," I began, setting down my mug and winding my arms around his neck. "It is a very good thing, then, that there is only one man I plan on allowing any sort of entitlement when it comes to myself..."

"Oh yeah?" Asher grinned; his mouth precariously close to mine. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Noodle."

"YOU!"

I burst into laughter as Asher's arms tightened around my waist and he lifted me from the counter, nipping at my neck as he growled. I tightened my thighs around his hips, locking my ankles around the small of his back as he marched with me toward the door that led to the backyard.