A moment later, her body fell completely relaxed in my arms, letting me know she was out. I was still filled with a little too much adrenaline to sleep. Of course, it wasn't much of a hardship to hold her slender body in my arms, and I didn't mind being awake for it. She was equally beautiful in her sleep and by far the most engaging woman I had ever been with, making all others pale in comparison. Her quick wit and honesty on most issues pulled me in, making me want to learn everything about her. I couldn't help wishing she would trust me enough to confide her secrets. Her lies about never having a serious relationship had bothered me more than I had expected. I knew my response had confused her as I had fought to control my anger. The fact that she felt she had to lie made me want to hunt my employer down and beat him to a bloody pulp. What had he done to her to make her want to run away? I lay there for what felt like hours pondering several scenarios through my head, trying to make sense of why she was hiding the truth. Finally, my own exhaustion got the better of me, and I gave up trying to solve the mystery for the night. My last coherent thought before I succumbed to sleep was that it would be a cold day in hell before I allowed anyone to hurt her again.
Chapter 17: The next day
Ashton
I woke the next morning to the sound of my front door opening. Seeing I was alone, I sprang from my bed like someone had set off a firecracker. Everything we did last night was great, but hanging out in my birthday suit in broad daylight was a whole other issue. I hurried to throw on a pair of yoga pants and cream-colored t-shirt when Nathan walked in. As per usual, hurrying never worked out in my favor, as evidenced by my head stuck halfway through one of the sleeves of the shirt and my inside-out and backward yoga pants.
"New fashion statement?" he asked, holding a bag from the bakery in his hand.
I glared at him through the opening of my t-shirt sleeve as I tried in vain to pull the hem of the shirt down to cover my exposed chest.
"Here, let me help," he said, setting the bag down on top of my dresser.
"I got it," I said, backing away in embarrassment, but of course I misjudged the distance between my bed and me and wound up falling backward onto my bed in an unceremonious heap. Well, at least it wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. Ironically, I'd never been a klutz prior to meeting him. It was as if my brain didn't transmit the appropriate messages to my limbs when he was around.
"You sure?" he asked, suppressing a laugh. "You know, darling, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," he added, sitting on the bed beside me. "If it helps, last night was one of the most erotic nights of my life," he said, running a hand over my bare stomach.
"It was?" I squeaked out, finally finding the neck of my shirt.
"Was it for you?" he asked seriously, letting his fingers trail up over my ribcage.
"Of course," I answered eagerly without hesitation. Although, I'm sure I should be acting like it was no big deal. "It was nice," I added lamely.
"Nice?" he asked, bending over to kiss my stomach.
"Really nice," I murmured as his lips skimmed over my belly button before dipping lower.
"Not erotic?" he asked, running his tongue along the skin just above the top of my pants.
"Yes, it was erotic," I gasped as his tongue found its way beneath my pants.
"The most erotic?" he coaxed, pulling my pants down slightly.
"The most," I agreed as he ran his tongue up the length of my torso.
"Fantastic," he said, hiking up my pants and hauling me to my feet in one fluid movement. "We'll have to explore that later. I have plans for us today," he said, giving my bottom a slight shove toward my bathroom. "Get ready, daylight's a wasting," he added.
"What?" I sputtered, confused how in the span of a moment, we'd gone from a talk about what was erotic to being hauled to my feet and being told to get ready.
"You told me you'd spend a few weeks with me, so I've made some plans," he said with a devilish grin.
"How do you know I don't have to work?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips.
"I checked with Fran when I dropped off her picnic basket. She was kind enough to tell me your days off."
"Her picnic basket?" I asked. "I'm not surprised. That explains her behavior yesterday. She looked like she'd swallowed a canary most of the day," I added.
"She's been extremely helpful."
"I bet. Where else did you go this morning?"
"I went to get the stuff we left after our late-night picnic. I figured I'd beat Mr. James to his property so he wouldn't see the mess we left behind."
"Did you beat him?" I asked in a small voice, just imaging what conclusions someone would jump to when they saw the remains of our evening.
"Funny enough, I didn't know that Mr. James likes to fish on his property every morning. According to him, 'the early bird gets the worm.'"
"Oh, god," I mumbled. "Well, everyone knows now," I said, sagging against the bathroom doorway.