Chapter 5 - Enid's POV

I left him standing in the space believing he would remain still just as he always insisted he could restrain himself. I ought to have been wiser. Asher was things but faithful to his own principles was not among them. I hurried along feigning ignorance of the leaves rustling behind me pretending the sounds of footsteps were merely, in my mind.

They were not.

He followed me all the way back toward the compound, keeping just enough distance to pretend he was not doing exactly what he was doing. I could feel him watching me. I could feel the tension rolling off him like heat waves, heavy and bruising, as if he were fighting himself with every step.

The frustrating thing was that it didn’t seem dangerous. It seemed safeguarding. Overly safeguarding.. I despised how strongly that caused my chest to constrict.

The route to the apartment complex was dimmer than normal the lantern near the steps wavering as if fighting to keep burning. Perhaps it sensed my mood. My boots touched the base step. I ascended, each step seeming more burdensome, than the previous. The sound of the party was faint now softened by the trees and the space between.

Halfway up my toe snagged on the step’s edge. I faltered forward. My breath hitched in my throat and before I could even swear Asher’s hand gripped my elbow.

Comforting. Consistent. Recognizably familiar, though I hoped it wouldn't be.

He hauled me to my feet his fingers pressing firmly on my skin and for an instant everything, within me fell silent. His fragrance surrounded me—pine, smoke and a warmth that perpetually churned in my stomach. I despised that it soothed me. I despised that it resembled home.

“You alright " he inquired. His tone was soft, scarcely louder, than a whisper. Not insistent. Not upset. Simply concerned.

Worried was somehow worse.

“I am alright " I murmured. Though my voice quivered as if it held a mind of its own.

His gaze briefly dropped to my lips before he stopped himself. I noticed the tension gripping him, intense and agonizing as though he was suppressing a tempest. His jaw. For a moment I was convinced he nearly tried to touch me once more.

He released instead.

The chilly evening surged in where his heat was.

He took a step back immediately facing the stairs as if intending to leave and act as though none of this had occurred. That was his behavior. He walked away as if emotions were negotiable. He had chosen not to participate.

I was unable to permit him to repeat it.

“You sense it well don’t you " I exclaimed, detesting how needy it appeared , how vulnerable it left me.

He paused halfway through his step.

He neither turned nor spoke.

He merely remained in place his shoulders stiff, breathing irregular.

That quietness stretched out between us. Dense. Thunderous. Response sufficient.

I folded my arms across my body sensing the ache embed itself in my chest.

He sensed it.

He continued to act as if he didn’t.

He remained motionless, on the step his shoulders stiff head bowed as if debating with someone I couldn’t hear. Perhaps his wolf. Perhaps himself. Perhaps both. The quiet weighed on my chest heavily I could hardly draw a breath.

Something, within me broke.. Dissolved.. Maybe both.

Without thinking I moved closer extended my hand and kissed him.

It was careless. It was foolish. It embodied everything I had fought desperately to avoid experiencing. My hands moved up his torso my fingers clutching the material of his shirt. His body was warm, sturdy, known in ways that caused my heart to hurt.

For a moment he remained motionless. He stood completely frozen his breath held, his lips, against mine. A sudden dread surged within me. I had misunderstood everything. Perhaps quiet was not the solution I believed it to be.

After that his hand rose.

His hand cradled my jaw, warm and tender in a manner that dismantled every barrier I had raised. His thumb swept across my cheek deliberate, nearly uncertain. Then he returned my kiss.

It began gently. Then his lips pressed firmly on mine and a spark ignited within me like a fuse lighting up. The kiss grew more intense, slow and eager drawing a noise, from me that I attempted to stifle. His other hand shifted to my waist supporting me as though he feared I would break. He kissed me as if he had been holding his breath for ages.

I experienced a sensation of lightness. Heated. Full of life.

Then he abruptly withdrew, causing me to lurch ahead. His breaths were irregular. Mine were uncontrollable.

“You ought not to have done that " he remarked. His tone was rough, worn around the edges.

The words struck with force than was warranted.

“Oh " I murmured, the ache returning more.

He moved backward creating distance, between us as though that could erase what had just occurred. He averted his gaze brushing his hand through his hair as if he required air.. Separation.. Something that wasn’t me.

“I’m serious " he stated. "This must not occur.”

He pivoted, seemingly intending to leave as he usually did.

I steeled myself urging my heart to quiet urging my wolf to settle convincing myself that this was sufficient that least I was aware he sensed it.

However Asher remained where he was.

He moved forward with one step. Followed by another. Then he turned swiftly to face me clasped my face with both hands and pressed his lips against mine with an intensity that drained me completely in an instant. Breath. Thought. Awareness.

This kiss lacked gentleness. It was, without reservation. It was urgent, fierce as if he had come to a limit. His fingers gripped my hair drawing me nearer until I sensed his pulse crashing against mine.

I dissolved into him clutching his shirt mirroring his urgency instinctively. Every fiber of me recognized this kiss. Desired it. Had longed for it.

When he eventually withdrew our foreheads pressed together. We were both breathing heavily.

He murmured, "This must not occur again.”

Yet his thumb continued to caress my cheek.

And we both knew he was lying.