"Tulip, what are you doing here?" Asra wondered.
I swallowed, looking away from the photograph he desperately tried to hide beneath stacks of paperwork. Looking down at the tray in my hand, I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly.
"I brought you food... I didn't see you at dinner." I admitted.
His eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced at his watch curiously. I observed with fascination as his face contorted from confused to annoyed.
Muttering a curse, he looked back at me. "Shit, I am sorry, Tulip. I lost track of time."
"It's okay." I smiled softly, walking over to his desk. "I brought you lots of things."
His mouth broadened into a grin as I set the tray down. "Wow, you sure did."
Asra took the tray from me, pulling one plate and some salt toward him. "Thank you. I am starving."
I laughed, sitting down in a chair opposite him. "I figured you would be. A man your size must have an enormous appetite."
Dark blue eyes seemed to sparkle as they winked at me. "I sure do. Nothing can sate my hunger."
I swallowed at his double-meaning, rubbing my cheek into my shoulder to hide the blush.
Damn this man for making me blush so much! I hated blushing, made me feel all silly and tomato-y.
The room fell silent as Asra ate, and I watched patiently as he chewed his food. He was casual, glancing between his plate, my quiet self, and his laptop. I couldn't help but let curiosity take over, trying to sneak glances at the hidden photo.
I had only seen it for a moment, but the colours seemed so familiar.
"What... what was that you were looking at when I walked in?" I caved in and questioned.
Asra tensed, his eyes flickering between me and the dinner on his plate. He sighed through his nose, finishing chewing the piece of steak in his mouth before he answered.
"I found a picture of your sister."
"You did?" I gasped. "How recent?"
"It was in your family's home. One of my men went inside whilst your mother was... asleep."
I grimaced. "Flat out drunk, you mean?"
His smile was more of a wince. "Yes... Anyway, it was easy to find. The only pictures in there were..."
I gave him a sad smile. "Of Arabella, I know. I buried the only ones of me as a kid under my bed with my father's things."
So, someone had entered the town, and my old home, undetected. Humans really were inferior if a wolf could infiltrate a home so easily.
But to me, it meant that there was a better chance that I could go there myself.
A moment of silence passed before Asra spoke again. "Do you miss him?"
"Huh?" I frowned, confused.
"Your father." He pointed his fork at me. "You speak a lot of him in kind ways."
"Because he was a good man." I shrugged. "He always provided what I needed in ways my mother never did."
"What did he look like?" He cocked his head.
A smile broke free across my lips. "Me. I look like him. I fear that is why mother detests me so much."
"Why would she detest you for looking like the man she mated?" He grimaced, pushing his plates away.
I smirked slightly at his terminology. "Perhaps she resents what she lost. Since I look so much like him, it reminded her he is gone."
"Surely it would be the opposite. You looking like the man she loved."
My smile fell, and I shrugged, moving to sit on his lap like before. "Their relationship was strange. Dad was emotionally present, but Mother just enjoyed the booze and attention. Before he died, Dad was one of the main builders. He built some of the newer homes; he helped build the café I worked in. Mother never had to work, so she loved it."
"Is that why you worked in the café?" He wondered, wrapping his hands around my waist.
"A little, but I also just needed to earn money." I frowned.
He grumbled, shaking his head. "You shouldn't have to work for money. You won't ever have to again."
"But that's not a good thing." I caressed his jaw.
"Why not?" He frowned.
"Because there are hundreds and thousands of people just like me. The wages for work-the availability of coins for labour is not enough." I explained, and his eyes darkened. "I barely earned enough for food at the end of the week for all three of us."
"That is why I am feeding you so well." He grunted, sliding his hands around to palm my stomach.
I laughed as it tickled, pushing his hands away. "Yes, but I am lucky."
"I can assure you that my human towns are not that bad," He huffed.
"Have you visited one?" I quirked an eyebrow.
"Yes, I have, in fact." He nodded.
"When? Did you see all parts of them? All districts?"
"There is only so much time in one day..."
I sighed. "Evermore may have been hidden, but we still had limited income."
Asra was silent, his eyes un-focusing as he suddenly fell deep in thought. I watched as his eyebrows furrowed, deepening the lines of his grimace. I waited quietly, wondering what had got him so distracted.
When he blinked, I smiled at him. "You back?"
"I apologise." He shook his head. "I just realised something."
"Oh, you did?" I cocked my head.
"What coins did you have in Evermore?"
"Uh, golden, with a wolf's head on one side." I grimaced. "What's wrong?"
"Those are wolf given coins. They are the ones we provide to the districts."
"Right..." I frowned, my mind whirring to catch up. "So... you're saying we shouldn't have had those coins?"
"Not at all. I assumed you had your own monetary system." He shook his head. "I will need to get one of those coins. Maybe I can track it back to whoever sourced it."
"So you think that someone, somewhere, knew about us? And were providing us with supplies?"
His firm nod was answer enough. He sighed, pushing his hair back with a frustrated growl. I palmed his chest, trying to distract his suddenly burning anger.
"I believe they did a pretty good job at it, too. I never hunted in that area until I found you." He mumbled. "It is not my pack, therefore I could not enter it outside of the annual hunt... I think it is time I pay that village a visit."
A shudder rolled down my spine at his dark tone. "If you go, I go."
Asra's growl startled me. It was so sudden and loud that being so close caught me off guard. At my surprise, Asra's teeth snapped together, silencing himself.
"You shall not come, Ailia."
Here we go again.
I crossed my arms defiantly, pouting at the drop of my nickname. I have learnt to realise that if Asra used my real name; he wasn't happy. And t made me unhappy too.
"Don't restrict me, Asra." I huffed.
He grumbled softly, avoiding my gaze. "I am not restricting you."
"I want to go back there. I want to see if my sister is alive, and now we have another reason to go to."
"What if you get hurt?"
"In that town? The worst kind of hurt is being married to Darius."
He bared his teeth, stubbornly refusing to look at me. "Don't say his name."
"Then look at me." I insisted.
Asra grunted, turning his head until his eyes met mine. They were hard and as stubborn as a child when told they couldn't do something. I smiled softly, cupping his stubbled jaw.
"I will have you and other wolves with me, so I am certain I will be under no harm." I muttered.
His grumbling continued, but his eyes reflected an understanding. I was breaking him in.
"I get to see if my mother has harmed my sister, and you get to find out if someone has been working against you. It's a win-win." I kissed his cheek.
Asra swallowed, his chest rising and falling with a loud sigh. "Fine."
I beamed, rubbing his jaw with my thumb. "Thank goodness!"
"But you will stay with me the whole time." He cocked an eyebrow.
"Of course." I nodded. "The sooner I get answers, the sooner I can put that life aside."
His hands squeezed at my waist, wrapping around my back to pull me flush to his front. I felt his soft grumbling against my chest, the warmth of his skin causing mine to erupt into tingles. I exhaled at the calming effect, my spine curving slightly to get more comfortable.
"She does not deserve your attention for what she did to you."
I shrugged. "She is still my mother."
"She is nobody, Tulip. She mistreated you, misled you, then sold you without an ounce of regret." He muttered, kissing my throat. "She stole your valuables and your innocence as much as that pathetic male did."
I sighed, knowing I could not keep up with this argument. I know what my mother did was wrong. But I also knew she suffered. She didn't have the emotional capacity to understand how she hurt others. I always believed she just acted so she could have her gains. Marrying me off got rid of the burden of her late husband and gained her status and wealth. And that is why I fear Arabella may be in trouble.
Asra's lips continued to caress my jaw, sucking along my skin. I shuddered when his breath fanned his claim, a small gasp escaping my lips when he nibbled it softly. I felt my core tighten, the instant aphrodisiac never failing to fire me up. As his hands clenched and caressed the skin beneath my top, my own gripped at the nape of his neck, pulling his head up.
I crashed my lips to his, causing him to grumble with what sounded like satisfaction. My hands palmed at him, pulling him closer as my core ground into him. He was rigid beneath me, grabbing me and squeezing my ass and thighs.
Pulling away for air, his head dipped back into my neck. He inhaled deeply, his chest rising so much that I shifted in his lap. I gasped at the shift beneath us, the hardening bulge in his trousers causing a delicious amount of friction.
"Goddess, you smell so good." He grunted into my neck.
Goosebumps rose on my flesh at the following growl. I pushed myself closer, my back arching so my breasts pushed into his chest. His head fell into them, nuzzling at the soft mounds through the t-shirt. Asra's hand snaked up my top, caressing the bare flesh of my ribcage before running over the gentle bump of my nipple. The bra I wore today was a soft unpadded cotton, and my nipples pushed through the thin fabric.
My breath was shaky when he pulled my top from my body, discarding it to the floor. Asra cursed softly, grabbing me by the waist and grinding me along his crotch. I grabbed him by the jaw, pulling his head up so I could kiss him. His chest vibrated with a growl, hands tightening on the flesh of my hips.
Releasing his jaw, I snaked my hands down his torso until I could pull his shirt from his head. Once I revealed his rugged body, I pulled away to admire his physique and tattoos. My finger traced the curving vines down his shoulder to where it disappeared into his trousers.
"What does this signify?" I wondered. "It looks like a tree."
He grunted at the lack of friction, but answered my easily distracted mind. "It is a tree. Each year older I get, I have a new piece added."
"Why?" I cocked my head, tracing the bare patch beneath his chest.
"They each have different meanings, but I like to have a new branch or piece added for each year that I am." He shrugged, his thumb curling into my bare back. "Trees mean strength and wisdom, and I like to think that as I grow, so does my strength. The ones on my back I got when I overcame a lot emotionally, the ones on my arms for when I grew as a man..."
"How do you choose where to have them?" I asked, spreading my hands across his sternum. "This part is completely bare."
"I will have that tattooed when you and I complete the bond." He smiled. "It is my heart and lungs, after all."
I giggled, shaking my head. "You have peculiar thoughts, Butterscotch."
His eyes narrowed playfully as he dug his fingers into my sides. I squealed, squirming on his thighs. He grunted as my knee dug into his side and released me at the sudden contact. I stilled as his dark eyes haunted me, staring into my own with such intensity.
"Now, Tulip... Are you going to bend over this desk and drop your panties, or continue to torture me?"