“I don’t like it,” she argues, her brows furrowing. “It makes me feel gross.”
I reach across the table and take her hand. She softens when I give it a squeeze. My thumb caresses her soft flesh as I admire her sweet, pouty lips.
“I hate to break it to you, but you enjoy it. It embarrasses you that you do, but your pussy doesn’t lie, Ash.”
She looks over her shoulder, as though making sure no one heard my crude words. It pleases me her face blushes crimson. “Fine,” she whispers. “I guess, to a certain degree, I do like it. But that’s fucked up, Win. Why do I like it? How do I live with myself?”
I let go of her hand and pull out my wallet. After setting a few bills on the table, I stand and help her to her feet. She links her arm with mine.
“You’re my pleasure partner,” I say, amusement in my tone as we exit the bistro. “It’s an agreement between us. We sort out the details. It’s something we play together. Our games. No one else’s. As long as I’m happy and you’re happy, does it really matter if it’s weird or not a kink you’re familiar with?”
She stops and looks up at me once we’re outside. The sun shines on her pretty face, highlighting a splash of freckles on her nose. “It makes me feel like you don’t like me. Like I’m just this thing you want to hurt and come all over.”
I stand facing her and cup her cheeks with my hands. “Look at me and hear me well.” She nods, her hazel eyes wide and searching mine for answers. “I want you for so much more than that.”
Her bottom lip trembles. “But you didn’t want me to sleep in your bed. After everything . . . I thought . . .”
So young.
“That’s my issue, not yours,” I say gently. “I’ve been ice cold my entire life. Thawing for you is something I crave, but it won’t be easy.” I kiss her supple lips that taste like the lemonade she drank at lunch. “I’ll try to be warmer for you. This is give and take after all. You’ve been giving so graciously, so it’s only fair I give back.” I take her hand in mine and thread our fingers together. “Do you like this?”
A shy smile tugs at her lips. “It seems cheesy after what we did today.”
“My girl likes cheese with her whine.” I lean forward and nip at her bottom lip. “Now let me buy you a present.”
Her eyes roll and she shakes her head. “You don’t have to buy me anything.”
“I’m a rich old man with nothing better to spend his money on. Indulge me, Cinderelliott. Besides, you have a birthday party to attend not this weekend but the next. I can’t have you showing up and not looking the part.”
“The part? Your assistant? Your maid?”
I bark out a laugh. “We both know you’re much more than that.”
It isn’t until we begin walking toward some high-end shops that I speak again. “My birthday party will be an over-the-top affair my mother puts on. She’s obsessed with spoiling her children on their birthdays and rubbing it in everyone’s faces that they’re not a Constantine. Everyone praises her while she parades her children around like exotic pets no one is allowed to touch. It’s been this way since my first birthday, and it’s this way for every Constantine child.”
“My birthdays were certainly nothing like that,” she comments. “Sounds intense.”
“You have no idea. Everyone will talk about who wore what and who was invited. I’ve invited your family, but I want to invite you in case Manda hasn’t mentioned it.”
“She didn’t mention it,” she grumbles. “No surprise there. I bet she told the Terror Triplets.”
“Don’t worry, beautiful,” I assure her. “They won’t be a problem at the party.” I stop in front of the dress shop and give her hand a squeeze. “There will be one issue. One I’m not ready to address with my family. I’m a private man.”
“I wonder why,” Ash deadpans, making me want to bend her over right there and smack her ass.
Ignoring her sassy remark, I blurt out what needs to be said. “As far as everyone’s concerned at the party, you’re my assistant. Yes, you’ll dress much better than anyone there, but we can’t show up arm in arm.”
Her features fall. “Oh.”
“And it’s not because of whatever shit you’re spinning in your head right now,” I growl. “It’s because the moment people get wind I’m officially with someone, we’ll get hounded. Not just from reporters and magazines but also by my family.”
“Okay, I’ll Uber there, I guess.”
I cringe at the thought of Ash inside a disease-infested shit car in a dress that costs ten grand. “Don’t insult me, little girl.”