“Maybe you need a better doctor. I can—” Asher is offering something he knows nothing about.
“It’s irreversible. It’s over.” I cut him off. “I inquired. Went to the best doctors. Sought the best therapists. The hand is shot. My career is over.” I step back from him and continue our walk.
Asher follows me, his long strides catching up with me quickly. “What will you do now?”
“Oh, you know the saying. Those who can’t do, teach.” Bitterness is oozing out my pours. I hate the fact I’ll spend the rest of my life teaching music when I wanted to be the one playing.
Asher grabs my arm, jolting me from my step forward and pulls me back. “There is nothing wrong with teaching.”
My chest slams against his when I land. I look up into him. His brow is creased. Crap, this guy just told me his mother was a music teacher. Of course, he’d be insulted. “It’s nothing against teaching. It’s a noble profession. You don’t understand what this is like for me. I love playing the violin. No, I live to play. I gave up my entire life up until the accident so I could be the best. I was on my way to being the best. Do you know what its like to have something you love ripped away from you? To have your dreams crushed in a single night?” My eyes well up with tears, but I fight them back. I breathe to regain my focus on the present. I cannot lose myself right now.
But I do because Asher leans in and kisses me. His mouth crashes against mine, parting my lips in two, invading my personal space. Those luscious lips wrap around mine, pulling them in, tight.
I don’t move. I can’t move. I stand here, stunned, waiting for him to back away. Instead, his tongue slides in and moves against my own, causing my body to jolt with heat and excitement. His kiss goes deeper when his lips move, sucking on mine and going back for more. I haven’t had a first kiss in over four years. And even that one wasn’t as powerful as this. This kiss is filled with need, desire, and complete yearning.
Asher wraps both hands around my head and takes me in further. I can’t help it. I lose myself into him and kiss him back with every bit of anger I’ve been holding onto the past six months. Every emotion, every feeling I have been holding is let out in the form of passion.
My fingers brush his sides and grip him, pulling him in closer. His groin lines up with my belly and a need for everything Asher consumes me.
When he pulls away, I am left lost. My lips still perched for more kisses, but he is backing away.
My hooded eyes slowly open to see a grinning Asher. “What did you do that for?”
“You needed to be kissed.” His thumbs graze my cheek. His skin smells of soap and sea, again.
My daze is slightly lifted. “I told you I wasn’t ready.”
“I was.” He says, leaning in for another kiss. “Now, let me feed you.”
Asher slides his hand around my back and leads me toward the Piazetta Umberto I. We had been walking and talking for so long, I hadn’t realized we were in the city center.