I wasn’t.
“Asher.” I covered my mouth with one hand. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t ask
Sebastian Laurent to make that cake.”
“No. His pastry chef made it.” Asher grinned. “I wanted something memorable to cap off our evening. I hope you like it.”
“Like it? I love it.” I dragged the second plate closer so I could examine it in detail. My voice bubbled with laughter. “I’m just not sure I can eat it. It’s too beautiful.”
The buttercream-frosted cake was large enough for six people. A golden yellow fondant figurine of a certain cartoon dog adorned the top, next to a picture of a tiny planet. And beneath that picture, written in neat, blue frosting cursive, were three words.
Justice for Pluto.
ASHER
I hated to admit it, but my father was right. I was distracted.
I just didn’t care.
It was summer. I had a few weeks before the season started, I was in great shape training-wise, and I wanted to soak up every moment with Scarlett while I could.
Once the season was underway and her brother returned to town, our dynamic would change, so fuck focus. I’d worked my ass off for over a decade; I could afford a little time off.
“You’re unusually quiet,” Scarlett said, trailing her fingers up and down my thigh. “What are you thinking about?”
“You.” I wrapped my arms around her from behind and rested my chin on her shoulder. We were lazing in her bathtub, the lavender-scented bubbles barely covering her curves as we luxuriated in the quiet evening. It was Thursday so we didn’t have training, but I didn’t need that as an excuse to see her anymore. “Your practices are going well. You nailed the choreography yesterday.”
In addition to her Tuesday cast rehearsals, she was practicing pieces of
Lorena on her own after our trainings.
“Do you even know what the choreography is supposed to look like?” She sounded amused.
“Yes. It’s supposed to look like how you did it yesterday.”
Scarlett turned her head, her face stamped with good-natured exasperation. “Asher Donovan, you are too smooth for your own good.”
“Am I?” I skimmed my mouth over the curve of her shoulder and up her neck, savoring the silky-smooth feel of her skin. “Or am I just telling the truth?”
She let out a sigh of pleasure when I captured her mouth in a kiss. She tasted like sugar and strawberries, and when she slid her tongue against mine, my entire body reacted with instant, visceral need.
Every time we kissed felt like the first fucking time. There was always another layer to unpeel.
I bracketed her waist with my hands and turned her so she wasn’t craning her neck. The friction of her body against mine sent another jolt of lust from the head of my cock to my aching balls.
“Fuck.” I groaned.
The vibrations from Scarlett’s laughter didn’t help my situation. “You’re wound tight today,” she murmured. “Let’s see if we can take care of that, shall we?”
She kissed me again, winding her arms around my neck and rocking against me with delicious, deliberate movements that made my brain short-circuit.
I’d always preferred showers to baths, but not anymore.
Screw showers. Baths were the best.
I cupped the back of her head, holding her steady as she ground harder against me. Another tortured groan traveled up my throat.
We didn’t have condoms with us, and I didn’t want to break our embrace to grab them from her bedroom. But she was so slick and soft, and she tasted so good, that if I didn’t get inside her soon I?-
A sharp gasp bled into our kiss-not of pleasure but of pain.
I instantly pulled back, my lust puddling into panic when Scarlett winced, her brow crumpling. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
“No, nothing like that,” she reassured me. She shifted her weight and took a deep breath. “It’s this position. I got a sudden twinge in my leg. That’s all.”
“Fuck.” I ran a hand over my face. Of course her tiny tub wasn’t a good place for foreplay. I was usually hyperconscious of how and where we had sex in case it aggravated her chronic pain, but I’d gotten too lost in the moment. “I didn’t think…”
“It’s not your fault.” Scarlett gave me a quick smile. “Usually it’s not so bad, but it’s been a long week. I’m more sensitive than usual.”
“I should’ve thought of it,” I insisted, mentally kicking myself for the oversight. “We don’t have to stay here. We can move somewhere more comfortable if you need to rest.”
I hated that I’d played a part in her discomfort. I’d pay any amount of money to take away her pain-not just her physical ones, but the mental and emotional ones too.
But money couldn’t buy peace. I, of all people, knew that.
“Stop. This isn’t on you.” Scarlett’s fingers skimmed over my mouth, soothing my grimace. “I want to have sex. I like sex. I also like this tub, and I like what we were doing in here. I just needed a little…adjustment before we continue. If I truly need to stop, I’d tell you.”
I must’ve looked unconvinced because her mouth flattened into a stubborn line. “Don’t,” she said. “Promise you won’t treat me like I’m a porcelain doll you’re afraid you’ll break. That’s not what I want.”
I brushed my lips over hers in the lightest of kisses. “So what do you want?”
“I want to stay here.” I felt her smile more than I saw it. “I didn’t pour a quarter of my fanciest bubble bath for nothing. That stuff is expensive.”
Relief and humor laced my chuckle.
She’s fine.
Like she said, she’d tell me if she wasn’t, and I didn’t want to assume I knew her body better than she did. If there was one thing Scarlett couldn’t stand, it was people pitying or babying her. She didn’t need that. Regardless of her physical condition, she was one of the strongest people I knew.
“Then we’ll stay, and I won’t treat you like a porcelain doll.” My lips grazed hers with each word. “I promise, I’ve never imagined doing to dolls the things I’m going to do to you.”
My mouth curved at her sharp intake of breath.
“Turn around,” I said.
She obeyed, and I waited until she’d settled into a comfortable position before I grabbed a loofah from next to the tub and dipped it in the still-warm water. I squeezed it over her shoulders, letting the foam-tipped beads drip down her back, before I rubbed them in with long, languid strokes.
Our conversation tapered into her soft sighs and the gentle splash of water as I worked my way over her body. White sudsy trails trickled down her bare skin, and she looked so beautiful and content sitting there, her limbs heavy with desire, that I could’ve spent the rest of my life doing this.
I’d never bathed anyone before, but the intimacy of it destroyed me more than sex. To have Scarlett trust me enough to take care of her when she was at her most naked and vulnerable…it was a gut punch in the best way possible.
After I finished lathering her back, I ran the hot water again before I moved the loofah around to her front. I glided it up her thighs and over her stomach to her chest. The water lapped against the sides of the tub with every movement, creating a rhythm that was almost hypnotic.
Steam rose from the freshly heated water and curled in lazy tendrils around us. The air was redolent with the scent of lavender and soap, and an aching tension muffled any noises that might’ve bled over from neighboring flats.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.