Electrified(16)

As the town car whisked her effortlessly home, Sienna found her thoughts centering on Asher. She wasn’t stupid; she knew Asher provided this service more for his own peace of mind—and his sex life—than her general safety. He was a man, after all, and had his own physical needs. It wasn’t like that between Sienna and Asher, although many speculated it was, and sometimes, Sienna wished it were. She wouldn’t be forced to be alone for the rest of her life if she could be romantically involved with Asher, but their relationship was nothing more than a deep friendship, or brotherly love.

Asher would probably go for her sexually out of some weird sense of responsibility, but that wasn’t what Sienna wanted, nor would she ever force Asher into a life like that. She cared for him too much to allow him to tie himself to her out of obligation.

No one who really knew the two of them, which was maybe ten people in total, believed they were a couple. Only the media and the crazy paparazzi speculated, which was fine with Sienna. The upside of the rumors of her having a steamy affair with Asher was that they didn’t link her with anyone else.

Secretly, she liked this aspect of her relationship with Asher, even though it was false. Not having to publicly be linked with someone else was a relief. But if Asher actually met someone special, Sienna knew she’d easily give up the act.

He deserved that.

Like her, Asher had come from a shitty life. Although he didn’t publicize it widely, he wasn’t nearly as secretive about his past with everyone at the club as Sienna was. His mom, a showgirl who had never married, dropped a seven-year-old Asher off at a neighbor’s house one afternoon and never came back. With no clue who his dad was, the neighbors took Asher in and raised him as their own. At least his mom had taken a calculated risk in leaving him with people she must have known wouldn’t turn Asher over to the system, even though he gave them plenty of reason to do so once he hit his teens.

The couple, who both were lifers in the Vegas nightlife industry, ran a small bar and casino off the strip. They were decent people who never had kids of their own, but gave Asher as good a life as they were able. In turn, Asher could never repay them enough for keeping him out of the foster care system. He bought and paid for a luxury condo for the couple he thought of as parents a few years back, and they never wanted for anything.

Asher had told Sienna he was certain he wouldn’t even be alive today if he had been passed through the foster care system to people who couldn’t have given a rat’s ass about him.

A major rebel through his teen years, Asher was left with few options when he graduated from high school. Because of his grades, college wasn’t realistic, and he despised the idea of the military. So Asher gravitated toward the only life he knew…the Vegas nightlife.

Working his way from bouncer to club manager to young owner of the very run-down strip club, Tunnel-O, he slowly found success. Over time, Asher transformed Tunnel-O into the Electric Tunnel, and his business was on the upswing when he met Sienna.

With a desperate need to make sure he had security in life, Asher built the Tunnel into what it was today. Well, with Sienna’s help, Asher had always insisted. Her dancing was a big part of the club’s success, but Sienna knew Asher was well on his way to making it even before she came into the picture.

Sienna knew Asher’s personal needs were often met after a long evening of work at the club, when she was already safely at home. Although he typically said he had to “stay and work late” after the club closed, his version of working late was entertaining in his office, which he couldn’t enjoy if he was worried about Sienna getting home safely. So when he suggested she start taking the town car back and forth to the club, since he couldn’t “get any work done” if he was worried about her, she didn’t put up a fuss. She didn’t like to upset Asher, and it wasn’t any of her business anyway, so she didn’t argue about the town car.

Asher didn’t make a habit of dating any of the girls from the club, yet he made an exception with Natalie. There was something going on with Natalie and Asher, but Sienna didn’t pry, since it was clear at the moment they were on some type of break. What kind of break was anyone’s guess, since no one quite got what was going on in the first place between the two.

Sienna knew Asher was only distracting himself with the other young women who visited him at the club, but he genuinely liked Natalie. Again, none of her business, but still she sort of liked the thought of Asher ending up with Natalie, and hoped they could work out whatever it was they were going through and move forward.