His whole body tightened at my words. "I'm here to make sure you don't fall, babe. That shit, it wasn't exactly our fault," he ventured carefully, and rightly so.

I leaned back. "The man getting shot by your brother was not your fault?" I repeated.

"He put his hands on you. Almost killed your best friend. What the fuck did you expect me to do?" he bit out.

"Call the police instead of discussing the dumping of his body?" I suggested.

Asher's face was granite. "Shit that Tucker's connected to, means half the police are in his pocket," he said.

It was my turn to freeze. "What do you mean, shit that he's connected to?" I repeated. "And how do you know Dylan's last name?"

Asher seemed to contemplate something before speaking. "Everyone knows the Tucker family, babe. They're crazy sons of bitches with a lot of money and a heap of power. Crazy plus power plus money means dangerous. Dangerous as fuck to be exact," he clipped. "His family is into everything. Prostitution, drugs, arms. You name the pie, their fingers are in it.

"Dylan's rich?" I asked in disbelief "He never even chipped in for groceries when he was here, regardless of the fact he ate everything in sight," I complained. "What a ... dick," I said finally.

Asher raised his brows in amusement. "I'd say dick is a kind word to call him, though you're focusing on the wrong details, babe. He's dangerous. His family is off the charts crazy." His face turned serious. "The fact he's been in your presence, in your house without you knowing who he is, what he is," he grimaced, "fuck babe." He ran his hand over his mouth.

"Well, I don't exactly run in those type of crowds, I just thought he was your regular run-of-the-mill douchebag," I explained, not liking that yet again I was a clueless nave girl needing to be saved.

Asher's face softened, as he stroked my cheek. "Of course, you didn't know, babe, I didn't expect you to...." he paused, "Bex would have. It's not a secret, and she does run with those type of crowds, Lily. As much as you wouldn't like to admit it," he added, seeing me open my mouth to argue, "she should've been smarter," he said tightly.

I leaned back. "So you're saying it's her own fault that she got beaten up?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"Shit no, flower, of course not. The blame for that lies firmly on Tucker's shoulders. Any man that does that shit is no man..." he paused again, "but she should've known the danger in getting involved with a man like him."

My anger was tamped down slightly. "Bex doesn't exactly live a cautious life. You don't know what she's had to go through," I defended my friend.

Asher gazed at me. "No, babe, I don't. Everyone has their own demons. I know that. I don't presume to know hers. But when her demons cause my woman to get involved..." he stroked my face ... "to get hurt, it gets to me, flower. I don't want you to face any more demons, your own or anyone else's. I'd slay dragons for you, babe," he murmured quietly.

I stared at him, a cocktail of emotion swirling in my belly. How do you respond when someone says that to you?

"You scare me," I said finally.

Asher didn't betray any emotion at my strange response, nor did he say anything.

"Saying things that like, it terrifies me," I confessed. "Having you come in with your brothers, talking about bodies and killings like it's a plan to go bowling, that scares me, too," I whispered. "I feel afraid all the time. Afraid to be with you. Be without you. A girl that's always afraid, that's broken, isn't ever going to be strong enough for that life. For your life," I told him. "Bex was wrong before. I wasn't going to do it. Shoot him. Even if it meant he hurt us, killed me even, I wouldn't have had the strength to pull that trigger," I choked out, feeling ashamed.

Asher moved me so I was straddling him, his hands grasping my hips tightly.

"You're strong enough, flower," he told me with certainty. "When someone breaks, they heal, twice as strong as before. You were strong before, babe, you're stronger now. You're strong because you're gentle when most people would be rough. You stand when most people would fall. Strength comes in different forms," his hand crept up my hip, "and you would've done it. As much as it pains me to say, you don't have enough sense of self-preservation. You might not have done it for yourself, but you would've done it for your friend. I know that, because you'd do anything for the people you love," he said with pride in his husky voice. "If I could have dreamt up my perfect Old Lady, she wouldn't have been as good as you," he murmured. "And that's what you are. It might scare you, I'm man enough to admit it scares the shit out of me. When the world hands you something you treasure more than anything else you've ever had, all you can think of is the agony of losing it." His hand moved to the waistband of my panties.

I sucked in a breath.

"But the feel of it, of you, in my hands is enough to make me forget that fear," he murmured, his finger moving to caress my bare skin.

My body moved against him, tingles of pleasure radiating to my fingertips.

His eyes blazed with desire as his finger plunged into me. "You want this?" he rasped.

I let out a little moan and started to move with him. "Yes," I whispered.

He sat up, grasping my neck with his free hand. "Then that's all that matters," he declared, flipping us so I was on my back.

I barely registered the change in positions, his finger continuing to move inside me.

"Top off," he commanded.

I quickly complied, wrenching my tee off. The moment I'd tossed the fabric to the floor, Asher's mouth fastened on my nipple. My hands drove into his hair and I arched my back slightly, moaning as his teeth grazed my sensitive peak. The cold air bit my bare skin as Asher's mouth left my breast to travel downward.

"You're going to come in my mouth, Lily," he instructed, pulling his finger out of me.

I writhed in frustration at the loss, but my fingers grasped the sheets in expectation from Asher's words.

"You're going to come in my mouth, then you're going to come on my dick," he growled.

"Yes," I hissed, my voice husky with desire.

I cried out as his mouth fastened on me, licking me, working his magic. My back arched even more, and my hands fisted the sheets ever tighter at the blinding pleasure that erupted from the base of my spine and shattered through the rest of me.

Asher moved from between my legs, his body moving atop mine and grabbing my legs so they were pressed up close to my ears.

I felt him poised at my entrance and he paused. "This is us, flower, all that matters," he declared before plunging into me.

I cried out once more, this angle intense on my sensitive flesh. Asher held my ankles, pounding into me mercilessly. The pleasure was all-consuming, almost too intense, almost to the point of pain. But it danced that glorious line. Asher released my legs so he could settle his body completely atop mine and slow his strokes. His hands cradled my head and his mouth claimed mine. I could taste myself on his lips.

"Open your eyes, Lily," he commanded.

I did as he commanded, not even realizing I had them squeezed shut.

"This is one of them," he whispered while he made slow love to me. "One of the million and one moments that makes the fear worth it," he continued as he built me up to my second orgasm.

"Every second, every moment I'm with you, it's worth it," he said, the cords in his neck tight, his eyes tender.

I didn't say a word, my climax hit me without warning, and I rode it without tearing my eyes from his. I rode the wave of pleasure while my heart pounded with the power of his words, of his gaze. And when I was done, the aftershocks started all over again as he poured into me without moving his eyes from mine.

"It's worth it," I whispered in a small voice after minutes of loaded silence. "Every moment."

Asher pulsed inside me and his mouth covered mine. We didn't speak any more that night.

"This is a change," Asher observed lazily from his spot in my bed.

I glanced at him over my shoulder as I buttoned my blouse. "W-what is?" I stuttered slightly over my words at the view I was getting. Asher was propped up on pillows, shirtless, with the entirety of his muscled form on display. The background of my mom's mural intensified his beauty.

"Me lying leisurely in bed while you rush off." He frowned. "I don't like it," he added.

I stood, slipping my feet into my mules. "Well, I wouldn't be rushing if someone had let me get up when my alarm went off," I scolded lightly.

His eyes turned dark. "Your beautiful, naked body was pressed against me. You're lucky I only fucked you once. That I let you leave this bed at all," he growled.

My stomach dipped with desire, despite the fact I'd had a thoroughly satisfying orgasm not moments ago. I distracted myself by piling textbooks into my tan slouchy leather bag. My one beautiful, designer accessory-one I'd never be able to afford in a million years-a Christmas present from Gwen and Amy.

"Jesus, how does someone as tiny as you carry around all of those books?" His tone was drenched in disbelief as he watched me stretch the expensive bags seams to the limit.

I eyed the beautiful bag in distaste. "With great difficulty," I answered truthfully.

Asher put his hands behind his head, my eyes attached themselves to his biceps and appreciated the way they flexed with this movement.

"Maybe I should blow off the club and walk around carrying your books all day," he suggested.

I laughed. "Yeah, and then we'd have a trail of drooling girls following us wherever we went," I teased.

Asher rolled his eyes. "I'm more worried about the drooling boys," he shot back lightly, though his eyes weren't as teasing as they were moments before. "One boy in particular."

I raised my brow. "You're not going to let that pretty face be distorted by a green-eyed monster are you now?" I asked sweetly.

He didn't answer, and his eyes traveled down the length of me when I straightened.

"I thought you said you had classes all day," his tone was questioning.

"I do," I replied, scanning my messy desk for anything else I might need. My gaze stuttered over a forgotten flyer. One promising miracle cancer results. A blade went through my heart.

"And you're wearing that?" Asher's question jolted me out of my pity party.

I glanced down at my outfit self-consciously. "Yeah, what's wrong with it?"

My white blouse was a reminder of the days I worked at Gwen's store and could get some pricey items at a serious discount. It was white silk, and I had it half tucked into tight white jeans. The shoes were also a gift from Gwen after she had to clean out her closet when moving in with Cade. They were tan mules with a chunky heel, and I loved them.

Asher pushed out of bed, stalking over to me. It didn't escape me that his ability to stalk naked was impressive and drool worthy. His finger traced over the bandage hiding under my hair, his other hand on my hip.

"Not one single thing is wrong with what you look like, apart from this," he told me, lightly touching my injured forehead. "You're beautiful," he stated, his eyes running the length of me again. "I just thought college girls wore ripped jeans and baggy hoodies," he continued, his tone teasing.

I regarded him. "When have you ever seen me in a baggy hoody?" I asked him seriously.

Asher pondered. "Every time I've had the pleasure of seeing this tight little body, it's always been encased in a delightful package," he replied, nuzzling my neck. He pulled back, his eyes serious. "You sure you're okay today?" He brushed the bandage once more.

I nodded. "I'm more worried about Bex, you'll check on her before you leave?"

Asher nodded tightly. "Yeah, flower. Not that I think she'd admit to me that she wasn't okay. Seems like that girl could be bleeding from a bullet wound and cover it with a Band-Aid and declare there was nothing wrong," he said seriously.

"Well, at least I know what a bullet wound looks like should that ever happen," I replied, looking at my feet. The events of yesterday invaded my mind. Worry that seemed to pile on top of everything else weighing me down.

Asher seemed to sense my growing panic. His hand tightened. "I'm gonna take care of this, flower. I'm gonna take care of you," he promised.

I didn't want to, but I sank into his hold, into the warm cocoon his words provided. I should have argued. I should have told him that I would take care of myself, that I had to. Otherwise, I'd get lost in him. But I didn't.

He kissed my lips gently. "See you tonight?" he asked when I reluctantly pulled back.

"I'm working tonight," I groaned. "And the next, and the next, maybe until the end of time. Or until Bex heals and I don't have to cover both of our rents." I frowned at the prospect of surviving all of this even more tired than I usually was. At how I was going to keep my GPA high enough to keep my scholarship. Pressure hit my chest, and I felt a vice around my lungs.

Asher's jaw tightened. "I said I'd take care of you, Lily. That means you don't have to work at that place anymore," he told me flatly.

My panic was momentarily forgotten. It would never be truly forgotten, the pressure on my chest told me that. But anger seemed to be a good distraction.

"I'm late," I snapped. "That means I cannot articulate everything wrong with that sentence. I'll condense my rant. You won't pay my rent. You won't turn me into a helpless woman reliant on you for everything from orgasms to electricity bills," I informed him in a tight voice.

His face turned hard at my words, and I didn't give him a chance to respond.

"I've got to go," I said tightly, hoisting my bag onto my shoulder, and turning my back on him.

Asher's hand fastened around my wrist, and he yanked me back into his body, plastering my lips with his before I could protest. It was embarrassing that even though I was annoyed, I didn't fight one bit.

"You don't get it, flower. I'm the one who's reliant on you," he murmured against my mouth. "Just trying to find a way to even the scales."

My anger dissipated in an instant. My fragile emotional state had my state of mind in a precarious position.

"You're late," he reminded me gently.

"I'm late," I agreed.

He rested his forehead on mine for a moment longer before I sighed and used all my willpower to walk out the door.

"Lily?"

It took me a moment to register my name being called. I jerked my head up from its position bent over a medical textbook.

"Aids?" I blinked at the sheepish figure standing beside the table I'd claimed in the corner of the library. All of my books were scattered atop of it. I think most of my wits were hiding amongst the pages.

"Mind if I sit?" He gestured to the seat across from me.

I shook my head, moving books around.

He sat, regarding me anxiously. "I'm surprised you're talking to me. That you didn't just tell me to screw off," he said slowly.

I tilted my head. "Of course I'm talking to you, why would I tell you to screw off?" I asked, perplexed.

He frowned, then the sheepish look returned. "That night, outside your work? I met your boyfriend's fist? Said some pretty ugly things to you. Some things I want to apologize profusely for," he said.

I nodded. "Oh that, sorry, my head's not exactly doing its best with the whole thinking thing," I joked lightly. "I'm the one that's sorry. Asher was out of line." I inspected his nose, thankfully it was still straight and perfect. I hadn't seen him since that night, hadn't heard from him. I was a bad person, I didn't even try and contact him. I should have. He'd been a good friend to me. But with everything else going on, I'd just never found the time. I was surprised I was only just running into him now, after being back for almost a month. Then again, I was almost always hurrying to my next class or camped out in the library.

Aiden shook his head. "No, he did the right thing. I was out of line..." he paused, "I was just surprised. You looked so different, you were acting so different and him," he looked at me in the eye for the first time, "he's not someone I ever expected you'd be with," he said carefully. His eyes ran over me. "You look more like yourself," he pointed out.

"You mean I'm sober and not wearing midriff-baring outfits?" I asked with sarcasm.

Aiden's face changed slightly at my response. He wasn't used to replies like that from me.

"Um ... yeah. That's one way to put it," he said slowly. "I'm so happy that you're back at school. It's where you belong. You're better now? Doing okay?" he asked with genuine concern.

It was the genuine concern that stopped me from laughing coldly like I felt like doing. Was I doing okay? After burying the only family I had left? After witnessing a shooting, after being assaulted the night before?