Chapter Eleven – Addison
“Morning,” I said to the man lazily strolling into the kitchen the next morning. My back was to him, but my body knew that he had appeared in the room. Every one of my nerve endings sparked when he was close by. My personal Asher meter.
When I didn’t hear a response, I turned to find him resting his hip against the island. His eyes looked heavy and tired, but a sincere smile was on his lips, like he was happy to see me that morning.
“Didn’t sleep well?” I asked. I’d barely remembered getting in bed last night, let alone him joining me later. I’d tried to read a book in my new favorite chair, but the words kept blurring together. Setting the romance aside, I grabbed my laptop and began editing some photos, then my mind wandered and I found myself scrolling through magazine job postings. That was the last thing I remembered before waking up to Asher wrapped around me.
He’d held me so close like he was afraid I’d slip away during the night to never return. There was definitely some sort of fear in the way he held me, but it was protective too. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Regardless I loved waking here in his arms.
We had only a couple more days in the cabin before he needed to return to tour and I needed to return to life. So, I was going to enjoy his presence for all it was worth.
“I slept alright. Just a lot on my mind.”
“Your phone was going off all morning. Is something wrong?” I was busy plating some scrambled eggs I’d made and grabbed the bacon from the oven.
“Nope.”
I waited for him to elaborate because just resting in bed for ten minutes this morning, his phone buzzed on the nightstand six times. It was definitely something serious.
The toast popped up from the toaster with a bang and I jumped in alarm.
Instead of pressing him for more because it really wasn’t my business, I added the toast to his plate and then to mine and carried the dishes to the island counter.
“Eat up,” I told him as I walked over to the farthest bar stool.
Asher didn’t sit immediately. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed the container of orange juice. He turned to face me, silently asking if I wanted a glass, but my focus was solely on the gray sweatpants he wore. They sat low on his hips, his V and tattoo on full display, all just the appetizer to the main course outlined by the material.
“Getting your fill?” he joked and I giggled.
“Sorry, there’s just something about gray sweatpants.”
“I’ll take your word for it. Want some?” he asked again and I nodded. Enjoying the view of his backside in the pants almost as equally as the front when he turned to grab the glasses from the cabinet.
We ate in silence and it was nice. We were comfortable enough around each other that we didn’t need to fill the space with words. There was contentment in each other’s company.
I hadn’t realized how much I craved that kind of companionship until I found it.
“So, any plans today?”
I was busy rinsing off the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Asher was standing next to me, lazily running his fingers along the hem of my cropped Edge of Black T-shirt. Every time the tip of his finger touched my skin, I sucked in a breath. It was electric every time.
“Not really. But there is something I had been thinking about doing.”
As I slid the last plate into the washing rack, I straightened and found Asher pressing against my back, his hands splaying across my stomach.
“You,” he whispered, his breath fanning across the skin on my neck. Goose bumps grew down my arms. Asher’s hands slid up to cup my bare breasts.
“I like that plan,” I moaned, my voice growing husky as I thought of all the things he could do to me.”Yeah, that sounds really good, actually.”
“Asher!” I called out from the solarium. I’d set up a couple of sandwiches for lunch and we’d discussed working on a few projects together in the space. For the first time since arriving, it was raining outside. The tinkle of the droplets on the glass panes was soothing and a bit romantic. I was ready to have my own personal fairytale moment. With the twinkling lights, plants, and watery gaze, the room gave off a fairy wonderland appeal.
I grabbed one of the tea sandwiches I’d cut into small triangles and shoved the entire thing in my mouth. My stomach had been growling for the last hour while I made these little offerings. I was putting off looking for jobs.
Searching the house, I found him in the music room on the phone. He held up a finger and I patiently waited just inside the entrance.
“Hey, I’m talking with Jason and I’m going to conference call the guys to schedule a meet-up before the tour. We’re going to talk about. . .everything.”
Smiling at him, I skipped over and pressed my lips against his, wishing I could really show Asher how proud I was of him, but I could hear Jason on the other end of the phone shouting things about logistics and getting the guys on the call.