Asher: Heartless Devils MC by Kathryn Thomas Page A

contented sigh, she snuggled in and breathed deep, just able to detect his lingering scent. He pulled the plug on the tree’s light on his way to his room, and she smiled into the darkness, until the darkness of sleep took her.
     
    ***
     
    Christmas morning they both rose early and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of French toast and eggs. Jenny presented him with a box from under the tree, something she had ordered from the same leather shop where she purchased her own riding leathers. It was a long black leather jacket with what first appeared to the Harley-Davidson logo embossed on the back, but closer inspection revealed that Harley-Davidson had been replaced with Heartless Devils .
     
    Asher slipped into the coat, tugging at it, and approved of the fit. It was too long to be much use while riding, but it was a fine piece, and he would wear it proudly.
     
    “Thank you, Jenny. You didn’t have to do this.”
     
    “I know. But I wanted to. You look stunning in that. Dangerous, but sophisticated. Very sexy.”
     
    With a grin, he reached to the back of the tree and returned with a small box in his hand. He handed it to her, and she opened it excitedly. Inside, she found a ring and bracelet set on the finest silver chain. The two pieces were connected by another length of the same chain that split into a “V” in the center of the back of her hand and connected to the bracelet at the edges of her wrist. At the bifurcation was a small pendant with a delicate carving of her motorcycle on it.
     
    “This is stunning! Wherever did you find it? And with my bike on it, too!”
     
    “I had it custom-made. I took them a picture of your bike, and they engraved it.”
     
    After she worked out how to put it on, she admired the way it appeared on her hand and decided it was by far the sexiest piece of jewelry she owned. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes at his thoughtfulness and pulled him into a hug.
     
    “Thank you, Asher. Thank you so much.”
     
    “It was my pleasure,” he whispered softly as he held her. When she stepped back, they moved into a chaste but lingering kiss almost by instinct.
     
    Wearing their gifts from each other, they decided that getting the rest Jenny’s present giving out of the way was the first order of the day. They loaded her car up with the dozen or so presents and drove around the city delivering gifts and cheer to her friends. The last stop was the small townhouse her father had taken near the clubhouse. He had moved out of their big house, putting it on the market, unable to face the home without Melissa in it.
     
    They found him with a group of his longtime friends from the club, all sitting around sipping at their liquor and celebrating the day.
     
    “Dad!” Jenny exclaimed as she let herself in. “Merry Christmas!”
     
    “Merry Christmas, Jen,” he responded, clasping her in a hug before shaking Asher’s hand. “Will you be staying?”
     
    Jenny grimaced, as her father compressed her sore ribs, but her smile was back when he released her. “No, I’m afraid not. We just thought we’d swing by and drop off your presents.” She smiled around at the four other guys in the room. “You look like you’re having fun,” she said, as she handed over her father’s gifts, an iPhone to finally welcome him into the technological age, and his standard bottle of Glenlivet 25-year-old scotch. He accepted them with a beaming smile, which would surely change once he opened the phone. Then, he handed them each a glass, pouring a splash from last year’s bottle.
     
    “Nice coat,” he said as he looked over Asher’s attire. “Are you two getting along better now?”
     
    They glanced at each other awkwardly before Asher responded, “I don’t know what you mean, Boss. We’ve always gotten along.”
     
    John had a good laugh at that, and they all chatted a while before Jenny and Asher made their departure.
     
    “Don’t you spend Christmas with your family?”