“Hey, baby. I'm in the middle of something. Can I call you back?”
“No. Uh…um…that’s not necessary. I just wanted to tell you I love you.”
“Are you okay? You sound freaked.”
“I'm great, actually. Really, really great,” I tell him truthfully. I know happiness because of him, his family, and mine.
He is quiet and I hear him take a breath. “Love you too, baby.” His voice sounds gruff.
“Good,” I whisper, closing my eyes.
“Good,” he whispers back. He is quiet a minute then he tells me, “I’ll see you at home.”
“Okay,” I whisper again.
“Later.” He chuckled and that made me giggle.
“Yeah, later.” I hang up before I am an even bigger dork. I look in my rearview mirror and see my smile. I am going home. Home. To a home I have with Asher and Beast. I put my car in reverse and drive.
***************************
“No,” I whine to Asher, who is behind me in bed. It’s Saturday and he’s been trying to get me up for the past hour. I'm ready to strangle him.
“Baby.” He laughs, shoving his face in my neck.
“Asher, I'm telling you right now, if you don’t leave me alone, I'm going to kill you.”
“That’s not very nice.” He chuckles.
“I don’t care. Go away. Geez, you have three brothers and a boat load of friends. Can’t you find someone else to bother?”
“I'm not going to ask one of them to shower with me.”
“Oh my God!” I yell. “Go away. I'm sleeping.” I shove my head under my pillow, trying to block him out.
“You sound awake to me.” I hear his muffled reply and I can tell he’s smiling just by the tone of his voice.
“That’s it.” I roll over and straddle him. His face lights up and he smiles. I smile back then grab my pillow and hold it over his big, stupid face. His hands run up my sides and start tickling me. When I finally call mercy, we’re both breathing heavily.
“Now, are you going to shower with me?” he asks, his eyes shining with laughter.
“You are seriously relentless, you know that, don’t you?”
“I like showering with you.” He shrugs.
I shake my head and start laughing. “No, you don’t. You like getting off in the shower.”
His face goes serious and I hold my breath. “No!” His voice is a low. “I like taking care of you. I can f**k you anytime. I'm not always able to take care of you.”
I feel my face go soft. I swallow against the lump in my throat then lift my head, pressing my mouth to his. “Let’s go shower,” I whisper against his lips.
He carries me to the bathroom and takes his time taking care of me. Then, I take care of him. It’s beautiful.
Standing at the kitchen counter, I watch Beast eat while I finish my coffee. Asher walks around the corner wearing his overwashed jeans that hang low on his hips, no socks, and the T-shirt he’s going to put on is in his hand. My mouth goes dry. I squeeze my hand into a fist at my side to avoid reaching out and running it down his chest and abs. He shakes his head and I know he knows what I'm thinking. It is really unfair. No one should have that much power over another person.
Once he reaches me, he bends over and kisses me softly. Then, he kisses my nose and grabs a mug from behind me to make himself a cup of coffee while crowding me against the counter. His jaw has a few days of stubble that makes his face look more rugged, and something about that look makes my tummy melt. I can’t help myself, so I run my fingers from his hair, down the side of his face, feeling it prickle against my fingers. I remember how it feels when it rubs between my thighs. I squeeze my legs together and drop my hand.
“You okay, baby?” I nod my head, but don’t say anything. I'm happy, more than happy. Some days, I wake up and wonder how I spent the first twenty-five years of my life. I had no clue what real happiness was. Or maybe that was happiness, and now I'm living in bliss. “You look like you’re really in your head. What’s going on?” he asks, taking a bite of a bagel.
“Nothing.” I grin. “So, what are we doing today? Can we go riding?” I ask excitedly.
“No, someone’s coming over in an hour,” he says, wiping his mouth.
“O…kay,” I say slowly, waiting for him to tell me who is coming over. He doesn’t say anything, just smiles. “So, who is it?” I ask after he still doesn’t say anything.
“You’ll see.” He shrugs.
“So, you’re not going to tell me who it is?”
“Nope,” he says, putting his cup and plate into the sink without rinsing it. He starts to walk away, so I clear my throat to get his attention. When he looks at me, I nod my head in the direction of the sink and he raises his eyebrows. So, I nod my head in the direction of the sink again. “Do you have a tic, baby?” he asks, his mouth twitching.
I narrowed my eyes. “I'm not your maid, Asher.” He straight out smiles, giving me the dimple, then walks to the sink, takes his plate and cup out, still without rinsing them, and places them in the dishwasher. “You have to rinse it before you put it in the dishwasher,” I tell him, feeling and sounding like a total nag.
“It’s a dishwasher,” he says slowly, walking towards me.
“Ye—” Before I can get the words out, his mouth is on mine. The kiss is deep, wet, and so yummy, that when he pulls his mouth away, my hands are wrapped around his neck and my legs are around his hips. I'm in an Asher fog so deep that he could tell me that it’s not a dishwasher, but a microwave, and I would agree with him completely.