Scenarios littered her mind. Tons of possibilities kept her awake. With Asher"s money and willingness to help, somehow, she would catch Cupid red-handed.
Thirteen.
Cupid
I said more than I should have.
In his secret security room within the mansion, Asher leaned back in his chair and stared at the monitors in front of him. Every room had a hidden camera in the ceiling. The bedroom that he"d put Diana in, held four.
On the television screen in front of him, Diana slept in her bed. Shadows and moonlight bathed her. Due to the night vision cameras, the images glowed in a green hue.
Something is on her mind? What is it? Cupid or me? She didn"t seem like she was scared at all, when she argued about only being with me for two days. But, something is clearly bothering her.
For several more hours, he watched Diana toss and turn in the big bed, whispering something out loud whenever she woke out of her sleep for a few seconds.
"What"s bothering you, Diana? Did I say too much?"
Diana rolled over and placed her back to that camera.
Annoyed, Asher directed his attention to the other tv screen on the right, that now showed her sleeping face.
"Two days. That"s all." His hard c.o.c.k ached at the thought. He"d been erect since Diana arrived, and wasn"t sure his length would ever go down. Clearly, watching her on the monitors wasn"t helping.
Every cell in his body screamed to go f.u.c.k her.
"Fine. Two days. That"s all I need." He gripped his c.o.c.k, but refused to rub or stroke it.
It"s bad enough that I"ve been watching her in her home, and now mine. I won"t start jacking off to her like a complete s.e.xual deviant.
For the rest of the night, he held himself, but didn"t do anymore. Diana rolled over a few more times, and even whispered his name on her tongue.
And, like an active volcano, violent flames lapped at his core.
Hours pa.s.sed.
He didn"t sleep.
He just watched her like a mad man, heating up even more until he could"ve sworn that sweat beaded along his forehead.
This isn"t enough. I want to smell her too. I want that scent in my nose for the rest of the night.
So he rose from his chair, left his hidden room, shut the door, and headed upstairs to smell Diana.
She can"t catch me doing this. She"ll think I"m a creep. . .as she should.
Fourteen.
Diana
Diana opened her eyes and was face to face with Asher. She let out a yelp before hugging the covers to her chest. "What the-"
"Sorry." He sat on the bed right next to her with the oddest look on his face, part madness, part pure enjoyment.
A shiver of fear and. . .even weirder, l.u.s.t shot to her veins. She formed her mouth to speak, and couldn"t gather her words.
"It"s eight o"clock." He showed her his watch. "I figured you for an early riser. I was worried."
"You were worried?" Diana scrunched her face together. Every minute she spent in Asher"s presence got stranger and stranger.
"Yes, I was worried." He ran his fingers through his already disheveled hair. It looked like he"d been disturbing those curls all night, just messing with his head due to worry or whatever obsession he had.
"So. . ." She made note of how close he was too her on the bed.
How long has he been sitting here? How long was he watching me sleep? Was he watching me, or did I wake up, right as he sat down?
He cleared his throat. "I should probably go."
She looked at what he had on.
Wasn"t he wearing that yesterday?
"How was your sleep?" he asked, without getting up or moving away.
"More important," she gestured to his day old outfit. "How was your sleep?"
"I didn"t go to bed."
"Clearly." She let out a nervous giggle. "Hopefully, you didn"t stay up all night, sitting in here, and watching me."
"Yes. Hopefully." Heat lingered in his gaze. "That would just be crazy."
"Yes," she muttered.
"Regardless, I didn"t get much sleep last night, but then, as they say, who needs rest anyway. I can sleep when I die."
Something imperceptible fell over his face as if he wanted to both cringe and laugh. Diana thought she knew everything Asher was about, but she was figuring out how very wrong she was.
"So. . ." She took her time, sitting up. She"d worn nothing to bed and only slept under a thin sheet. It barely concealed anything-providing a lovely view to Asher of her shape and so much more. Even worse, her dark nipples had stiffened with hunger and were presently poking at the thin material over her chest.
She cleared her throat. "So."
Asher stared down at her breast and inhaled the air in front of him. "So?"
"I"ll just get ready and meet you downstairs?"
"Okay." He didn"t move. His gaze stayed glued to Diana"s chest. She felt stuck, naked under the covers with Asher staring at her like he wanted to devour her.
"Asher?"
"You are a very beautiful woman. Did you know that?"
Diana pursed her lips together.
His behavior was odd, but he was being nice-more than nice-but it also made her squirm to be under his watchful, judging eye. Plus, she probably had bad breath and morning hair. She didn"t think beautiful was the right term for him to use.
"Um, thank you."
"You"re aware of what you do to men like me, yes?"
Diana shifted beneath the covers and held them closer to her skin. "Are you referring to the intimidation men like you feel in my presence?"
Asher laughed and it shook the bed. "I"m sure you intimidate many men, but no, Diana, you don"t intimidate me. You fascinate me."
"How so?" She asked, a small but recognizable desire expanding in her belly.
"Your eyes light up when you talk about hunting Cupid. You"re dedicated to your job. And those lips appear to be deliciously kissable and yet. . ." His voice trailed off making Diana wonder what he meant to say.
She needed to hear the rest of his words. The burning desire was beginning to work its way up her limbs. "Yes?"
"Let"s just say, you should be kissed and by someone who knows how."
Diana arched her eyebrows. "Why, Mr. Bishop, you couldn"t come up with anything more exciting than a well-used line from Rhett Butler?"
Asher didn"t laugh or smile, he just looked at her with intensity raging in his eyes. "Although a fictional character, Rhett"s words don"t mean any less hundreds of years later, Diana. He meant them to Scarlett and I mean them to you. You"re a woman who deserves more than . . .what you"ve been given."
"You barely know me."
"I know enough." He leaned his head toward hers and captured her mouth.
Oh my G.o.d.
Diana"s body waged a war inside of her. Her brain told her to stop him. To remember the craziness of him being in her room like he was. She wanted to pull away before their lips became forever intertwined, but the thump, thump, thumps of her heart told her to stay still. To let Asher Bishop kiss her like she"d never been kissed before.
And he did.
His lips smashed into hers and every vein inside of Diana thrummed.
Every sensation, every sound, everything was amplified.
There was magic in a man"s mouth.
Asher traced her jawline with his thumb. Like a thirsty man, he yanked away her sheet and cupped her right breast with his other. Jesus, he was fast.
He knew what he was doing.
He knew how to rile Diana up without even f.u.c.king her.
He"d been right when he made the statement at The Cove.
She had never been taken care of properly by a real man, never experienced a kiss like his before.
An all-consuming hunger filled her stomach, lungs, and heart.
She starved for him, desired more and more.
Asher pulled back and Diana"s sheet lay in her lap, exposing the top half of her body to him. Those perky brown b.r.e.a.s.t.s greeted his eyes.
Diana didn"t reach to cover herself back up. Her nipples and everything else were his for the taking, in that moment and he seemed to consider it.
But instead of taking her right there, he reared back, a scowl lining his face. "I"m sorry. I shouldn"t have."
"What?"
"I"m sorry." He jumped up, his hard d.i.c.k pushed against his pants and caught all of Diana"s attention.
She wanted to touch it, see his c.o.c.k in real time, instead of imagining it over and over in her head. "What do you mean, you"re sorry?"
He edged away from the bed.
"What"s wrong?"
And then he raced from the room.
Diana opened her mouth, and for the second time that morning, had nothing to say.