Page 180 of The Sidekick

“What are you thinking about, angel?” Asher gently rubs the cloth over my flesh, making my nipples peak and I shift restlessly with a whimper.

“W-what?” I blink at him, the question suddenly not making any sense.

His eyes narrow as they meet mine, his lips no longer smiling. “You looked sad. What were you thinking?”

“Um,” my voice breaks as the massage continues and my breathing gets heavier. “I can’t think.”

His hand withdraws and he stands. The outline of his erection is blatant and I bite my lip.

“Let’s talk,” he says firmly and I frown up at him.

“Now?” The word comes out more whiny than I intended. I wince, dropping my chin.

“I promise I’ll bathe you as much as we both want. Fair warning, I’m going to want it a lot.”

The serious way he speaks confuses me. Why would that be a problem? He’s basically a walking fantasy to me. It’s not like I’m going to say no.

“Up, angel.”

I look up to see his extended hand and take it so he can help me rise. He reaches for a towel and dries me tenderly, setting it aside to pull the drain on the tub. As he leans over, I can’t help reaching out to touch a purple and yellow dahlia. Before I make contact, my hand freezes and my brow furrows again.

“You can touch me, angel, I promise,” he says over his shoulder. I snatch my hand back.

“How did you know?”

He rises to face me with a smirk. “Come on.”

Asher takes my hand and leads me into the living room. My eyes widen as I start trying to backpedal.

“I can’t go out there like this,” I whisper in dismay. I don’t know why I’m keeping my voice down. It’s not like anyone else is here.

“The blinds are closed, the locks are changed, and no one else is here. I double-checked. I want you to stay this way until it’s time for me to go.” He looks back at me as I chew my lip, my nerves rising up to try and take over.

“You’re beautiful,” he says quietly, almost reverently. My eyes meet his as he turns and places a thumb over my lip to pull it away from my worrying teeth. “I want to see as much of you as I can before I go to work. It might get me by for the next few hours.”

His words become self-deprecating and I step closer to him. My tension hasn’t left me, but I kiss his cheek and hesitantly relent, “Ok.”

“Would you believe me if I told you that you’re every fantasy I’ve ever had made flesh?” He says so seriously my eyes widen in surprise.

I want to say something flippant back. He can’t possibly mean it. My words get stuck in my throat as his eyes flick between mine. I realize this is a set-in-stone statement, not some line he’s feeding me.

“That’s not possible,” I say doubtfully.

“I didn’t think it was either, yet here you are.” He begins tugging me by the hand as he walks backward until he reaches the counter. One of the chairs gets pulled into the kitchen, facing the stove and he guides me to sit like I’m a queen and he’s about to serve me. The thought makes me blush at how unlikely it is.

He leaves me to start some coffee and rummages around in the fridge, producing a few eggs and then some cantaloupe. I cross my legs and watch as he learns where everything is with a bemused smile. It’s obvious he’s cooking something but what am I supposed to do?

“Is there anything I can help with?” I ask nervously as I fidget.

“You can sit right there and watch me. Talk to me. Anything you want as long as your perfect ass stays in the chair.”

“If I did a little victory dance back here, you’d never know,” I taunt him with a shy smile. It’s weird to sit around naked. I end up swinging the seat back and forth while he cooks. He laughs without looking behind him to see if I’m doing it.

“We need to set up a few rules for us,” he starts chopping the melon as he talks, multitasking like a beast. “I’ll tell you what I’d like, and you’ll do the same. Then we’ll hash out what’s comfortable for both of us and work from there.”

“Ok?” I lean forward a little to pay attention. It would be nice to have everything laid out for me but what is he going to say? What will I agree with? If I hate something, will I have the courage to speak up?

“I want to be the only one that feeds you. That’s mine, and I don’t want anyone else interfering.”

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