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I take the hint and use context clues in order to answer. “Certainly not. You’re definitely a winter, and electric blue is a summer color.”

She pulls her lips between her teeth then covers her mouth with the fingertips of one hand, her eyes twinkling down at me. “You’re so adorable when you speak makeup terminology to me, Neil,” she says with a little giggle, and then she sobers. “Uhhh… yeah.”

Fuck, I love it when she says my name. After years upon years of being called Doc, the use of my real name from her lips is both jolting and heartwarming, as if it’s a term of endearment that only she uses.

“So… legwarmers?” I prompt, seeing she’s floundering after having called me adorable to my face.

She shakes her head. “Mm-mm. No on the legwarmers.” I stay exactly where I am, kneeled at the feet of my queen, but I pull my hand away, resting my elbow on my thigh. “But um, yeah. This class uses a ballet barre and techniques as a combination cardio and weight training class, and I thought maybeee…” She pulls back her lower lip to bare her teeth in a little endearing cringe. God, she’s fucking cute. But I’m not going to give in. She has to ask me what she wants.

“You thought maybeee…?” I prompt.

She gives me a little frown and then huffs, sitting up straighter on her stool and squaring her shoulders. “I was wondering if you might accompany me to the free trial class they offer at this gym nearby,” she finally gets out, looking over my head instead of in the eye. But then she automatically starts to backpedal. “I mean, I know you already go to a gym, clearly, because my God, look at you. No man looks like… you, all muscly and ripped and like you could bounce quarters off your—” She clears her throat, and my dick gets hard. “I mean… obviously you don’t need to go to some girly barre fitness class. You already know what the hell you’re doing. Clearly. You could be a stunt double for freaking Thor. But I—”

I put her out of her misery, even though I could listen to her ramble all day about the appreciation she has for the work I put into my body. “Set it up and we’re there.” This would be good for her. It would force her to take the steps to make something she wants happen.

“Really?” She perks up.

“Of course, goddess.” I smile gently.

She pushes her hair back behind her ear. “Um… I’ll have to look at the schedule, but I think they have them several times a day, even on the weekend. So then it wouldn’t have to interrupt like… your work or anything and—”

“Astrid, I’ll go any time you want. Just tell me when, and I’ll make sure I don’t have an appointment, even if I have to move my schedule around. I’ll be there,” I tell her, and her eyes get a dreamy look for a moment before she seems to snap herself out of it. I see her do this often, as if what I say affects her, and she allows it to sink into her for a moment before she activates a shield, kicking it out and rejecting it. And it makes me want to slit that motherfucker’s throat for making her this way.

“So, are you free all weekend? I… I think it’d be a good idea to schedule it ASAP so I don’t have time to talk myself out of it,” she confesses, and it makes me proud to see her wanting to fight her hang-ups.

“I’m free any time you need me, goddess,” I reiterate, and she blushes and nods.

I finally stand, allowing myself, while she’s in this rather relaxed and receptive state, to lean over her and place a gentle kiss to her forehead before backing away. She swallows thickly, shuddering at the contact, and she turns back to face her plate of food. I’d already wolfed mine down it was so delicious. I reach across the island and grab my plate to the tune of her telling me she’ll clean it up, ignoring her as I take it to the sink and rinse it off before placing it in the dishwasher along with my fork. I brush my palm along the small of her back as I pass by her on the way to the stairs, enjoying her little shiver of response, and pause long enough at the foot of the steps to say, “Going to shower. You want to watch a movie or something after?”

She nods shyly, surprising me. Usually she wants to hide in her room once we’re done eating. “S-Sure,” she murmurs, and I try to stay calm on the inside, even though I’m bursting with excitement at this small step in her coming out of her shell. When really, this is a huge, huge night for her. Asking to do something not only outside the house but something resembling an activity from her past she used to love? So major.


Tags: K.D. Robichaux Romance