Unfriended(Love in New Highland Book 1)(15)

Asher: How is a big wedding embarrassing?

Charis: All those frilly, flowery clothes. Walking down the aisle.  Everyone's eyes on you. Why put yourself through that? Stop laughing.

Asher: Come on, what's not to like about women drooling over me in a tux?

Charis: Oh, well, you. Okay, I get that, Mr. Cool. I however would look like a stick insect wearing lace.

Asher: I disagree. You'd look awesome in a wedding gown. Everybody does in custom tailored clothes.

Charis: Aren't you forgetting something? Every wedding gown I've ever  seen emphasizes one thing-breasts. Weddings are all about the breasts.  How will I succeed at this exactly?

Asher: The right hardware could totally give you cleavage, Sloane. Well, some. Probably.

Charis: Excuse me while I die laughing. The-right-hardware!

Asher: You can be really irritating sometimes.

Charis: All right, so if I do what you say and wear a bustier and the  bosom police tries to arrest me for being an impostor, I'll tell him you  made me do it.

Asher: Go ahead, be my guest. Just out of curiosity, why are you even talking about this? You planning to get married soon?

Charis: Nah. Even if it were on the table I doubt I'd do something that  permanent before finishing my degree. It's just, you and Aura have been  seeing a lot of each other and I suddenly wondered if I might have to do  one of those bridesmaid things soon. I need warning if I'm gonna dress  up.

Asher: If it ever looks like things are going in that direction, I'll give you a heads-up.

Charis: Cool.



Charis



ASHER'S BEAUTIFUL HAZEL EYES BLINKED up at me. On one level I was  impressed I'd managed to shock him with my news. On another, I was vexed  I'd managed to land myself in this position-figuratively as well as  literally.

We were forming a human pretzel on the floor. Specifically, my legs  straddled one of his knees, which left one of mine squished between both  of those steely thighs, while my hands had splayed themselves flat on  the carpet on either side of his chest.                       
       
           



       

His face was close enough for me to make out each pore of his skin, each  striation in those warm hazel irises, each black, wavy hair on his  head.

Uh freaking oh.

Not good. So bad.

Not only were there seventy-five inches of hard, hot Asher Norrell lying  temptingly close, not only was he staring at me unwaveringly, but his  huge hands were wrapped around my upper arms. I could feel his fingers  burning an imprint through my sweater.

Sure, I could try to get up, but there would be a fight. His arms were bunched, telling me I was down and staying down.

We play-wrestled now and then, with him treating me like an errant  puppy, so I knew I could get free if I wanted. But no way was I going to  risk brushing my parts against his parts right now. With the heat and  hardness of him so close, I already felt the familiar deep twisting low  in my belly. That was my poor body whining, why didn't you warn me Mr.  Sexy was going to grab you and hold onto you? Now look what you've done!  You'll need an hour with your vibe on max working out this particular  blunder, m'lass!

I stared back down at him with absolutely no idea what to say.

"This is a lie," he said warily. "I promise I'll laugh if you tell me it's a joke."

"It's true, actually," I said, with the guilt that had been dogging me  for weeks. I don't know why. It's not like Asher's been around.

I thought the whole  unavailable-because-working-things-out-with-girlfriend thing he'd hit me  with a while back was a dick move until he made it clear I could call  him with anything serious. But I didn't need to tell him about Karl.

Still. It's one of those ethical problems you give students on their  finals to mess with them. It all came down to, does your friend feel  screwed by being out of the loop, even if he took himself out of it?

I think the answer here is turning out to be "yes."

His eyes slitted, darkened, the green flecks nearly disappearing. "When  did you get to know Karl? And don't try to tell me this has been going  on for years. I'd have noticed if you two were hitting it off."

"We kind of bonded at Thanksgiving," I said carefully.

"You kind of bonded. Why was I not aware of this?"

I shrugged. "I guess you didn't notice with all your family there. You  know what a zoo it is at your folks' during the holidays. Plus you were  deep into Aura."

Immediately I winced. I always found myself making double entendres on  the subject of Aura. They were that only to me, of course, since to  Asher I was the antithesis of a sexual being. As far as he was  concerned, the fact that I owned mammary glands and a vagina was a mere  technicality.

Now his eyes flashed at me and his hands tightened on my arms. I  suddenly found myself shifted so my legs were straddling both of his.

That made my hips fall, with my abs straining to keep myself from  dropping right onto him. Whoa and fucking hell. If this was his new idea  of chaste horseplay, I was in so much trouble.

"So why didn't you tell me about it later on?"

I rolled my eyes. "When? It's been radio silence all quarter from you. You were incommunicado, remember?"

I fumed about that. Sure, it had been for a good cause. But something  stopped me from volunteering what I really thought: no relationship that  turns a social guy like you into a hermit is a good one, dude.

A shimmer of something-regret?-crossed his face. "That was my last-ditch effort to try to save the relationship."

"I thought you guys were amping up. Working up to something serious."

"In theory we were. In truth, we were fizzling out big time."

"Yes, well, I see that now."

"I'm waiting."

I shivered. Asher's voice had a deep, seductive timbre even when he wasn't trying.

Funny thing about him-he's fully aware that women topple into his lap  whenever he wants them. But I don't think he's quite glommed onto the  extent of his power. When he smiles-and he smiles a lot-he can have  literally any.

Female.

He wants.

Even me.

It goes beyond his charm and his looks and his smile. His brother Karl  is just as good-looking, but there's something remote and inaccessible  about him. But Ash-dude has charisma. I know his invention, something to  do with weather and agriculture, is innovative and all, but personally I  put his success down to all his personal contacts.

I've never known anybody with more friends. He could sell you anything.  The way he speaks to you just says, I know you. I know what you need.  You can trust me.

It's not quite true, the knowing part. About me, Asher's clueless. I've  worked hard to make sure he's stayed that way. Because, cradle robbing.

But that's the lure. And women lap it up.

Aura's that way too. She has some kind of magical allure for men.  Separately, they can bring victims to their knees. Together, the two are  like this smoking-hot fire that burns anyone who gets too close.                       
       
           



       

Were. Were like fire.

I needed to accept that they were over. I was still numb about that. I'd  been so sure they were never going to be over and that I'd be in this  bittersweet platonic friendship forever. Now that Asher was single and  available, I couldn't stop thinking what if, what if, what if …

Yeah, fate was having a merry old time at my expense.

"It's kind of a funny story," I said, rubbing my eye. "We just started  hanging out together. Nothing big, just a meal or a movie here and  there. All very casual. You know Karl, he's-

"I know Karl. Being my brother and all."

Oh, man. Asher sounded pissed. He doesn't get mad at me usually. We get  along great. Our friendship, it's not so much touchy-feely as we are  devoted hangout buddies.

With an extra side of unrequited lust on my part.

But aside from his sappy adoration of Anita Baker and my obsession with Throbbing Gristle, we rarely go to war.

"So. Yeah." I took a deep breath. "Then one day he said to me, guess  what, I've got this problem. I, uh, assume you know about his problem?  The thing about his grandma?"

Asher's brows shot up. "Great Grandma Alice. You're fucking kidding me."  Suddenly he was pushing me away and I was falling back against the foot  of the sofa.

"Well, no. Not really kidding here-"

"Karl doesn't give a rat's ass about that will or its nutty conditions,"  he interrupted. "Great Grandma Alice rented an apartment in a downtown  high rise. Aside from her jewelry, she has nothing. You're not going to  get me to believe this has anything to do with that."

"Oh, but it does. She had something he wants. He told me."

"What is it?" Asher demanded.

"I don't know. He wouldn't say. He just said he wants his inheritance."

"He actually called it an inheritance?"

"Yeah. But I'm like you, I got the impression it wasn't money. I mean, we're talking about Karl here."