“Yes,” I tell her more emphatically, “you’re right. And I am so going to get my sex on.” My voice is confident, but not too loud because I would die if Asher heard me.
“Hell yes you are. My job here is done. I knew I felt a need to call you for a reason.”
“I’m glad you did.”
“Me too. Now don’t overthink it again. Go with the flow. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn’t, okay. But take a deep breath, enjoy the attraction between the two of you and go be a unicorn.”
“Did you say a unicorn?”
“Yes. A unicorn. Go get your horn on. Get it?”
“Oh my god.”
“I know, right? I’m amazing. In fact, I think I’m going to put that on a t-shirt. No wait, maybe a necklace. Or a mug!”
“Alright, Katie. I’m going to hang up so you can go get started on your merchandise store.”
“You laugh, but you just wait and see. You’ll totally want a necklace too.”
“Bye, Katie,” I say while she continues to talk to herself, mumbling something about tote bags and pens and who knows what else.
“Okay, bye!” she says and I giggle.
Wrapping a towel tight around my body, I finally leave the bathroom wishing I had thought to bring clothes in with me. Stepping into the room, I find that Asher is awake and propped against the headboard flipping through the TV channels. “You’re awake?”
He nods, “Have a nice shower?”
“Yes,” I reply.
He finally turns to look at me and does a double take when he sees I’m only wrapped in a towel. For one crazy heart stopping moment, I think about dropping it, but I don’t. He stands up and moves in front of me, his eyes devouring every exposed inch. Tracing a finger along the top of the towel, he smiles, “How likely are you to let me take a picture of you right now?”
My eyes narrow, “Not very.”
He sighs regretfully, “It was worth a try.” He grins and then places a soft kiss on my lips. “But seriously, it should be a sin to look this good in only a towel, princess.” He runs his fingertips down the side of my arm and it leaves goose bumps in its wake. “Did I hear you talking to someone?” he asks glancing at the phone tucked in my hand.
“What?” I ask still looking at his fingers on my skin.
“Were you on the phone?”
“Oh. Yes, Katie called me.”
“She okay?” he questions and I love that he even asks.
“She’s great. Just checking in.”
“Ah, okay. Well, I’m going to get in the shower myself and when I’m out, let’s go to dinner. Sound good? You’re hungry, right?”
“I am,” I nod.
“Okay, I’ll hurry,” he leans over and gives me a lingering kiss on the lips and I can’t help but feel like it’s a prelude to later.
After he grabs some clothes and goes into the bathroom closing the door behind him, I rifle through my own clothes trying to decide what to wear. Selecting a coral sundress I hold it in front of me and look at myself in the full-length mirror located inside the closet door. The neckline cuts into a low v and tapers in at the waist before it falls to the tops of my feet. The right side has a slit all the up to my upper thigh – it’s perfect and will definitely look amazing against my tan skin. After I’m dressed I add simple gold earrings and a bangle bracelet before sliding my feet into gold strappy sandals. I briefly think about pulling my hair up, but decide against it and swipe coral lip gloss across my lips to complete the look.
The water in the bathroom has stopped running, so I know Asher will be ready to go in no time. Walking to the window, I open the curtain a little and take in the view. The sun is setting and it’s casting the sky in gorgeous orange and pink tones, I can’t get enough of the sunsets here. Sighing at the sight, I’m so caught up in the vision it creates that I don’t hear Asher come up behind me until his arms are wrapping around me. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” I ask him.
“Yes, you are.” Turning to him, I find him looking at me with a sexy smile, the look in his eyes heated.
“Thank you,” I murmur then appreciate the view of him in a white dress shirt rolled up his forearms with a few buttons open at his chest. He’s paired it with tan pants and sandals. The white shirt against his sun kissed skin makes his skin glow and his dark hair is styled to perfection. I watch transfixed as a random bead of water still clinging to his chest drops and disappears under the fabric. Swallowing hard, my eyes meet his. “You look very handsome.” We hold gazes for a few beats before he kisses me on the forehead, then takes my hand.
“Ready? I’ve got dinner reservations all set.”
“You think of everything.”
He shrugs, “Only when it matters, and I believe great food is on our agenda this week, remember?”
“Yes, I do.”
We walk to one of several alcoves on the property where a phone to call for a golf cart resides. We wait quietly on the nearby bench. When we’re dropped off at our destination, Asher takes my hand. He instructed the driver to bring us to the resort above ours on the bluff, The Sunset Beach. We walk through the lobby and follow the signs to a restaurant called La Nao. A chalkboard at the entrance declares tonight seafood night, and as soon as Asher gives his name, we’re led to a table in the corner on a large patio and the ocean is alongside us. We’ve arrived just in time to get an even more astonishing view than we had in our room of the sun’s disappearing act.
After we order, I look at Asher with a smile, “So, you came here with a group of friends for a bachelor party and a wedding. I’m surprised we haven’t run into anyone. Do you know what they’re all up to?”
“No, not really. I’d imagine a lot of drinking, partying and whatever trouble they can find.”
“Are they upset you aren’t hanging out with them? I kind of feel bad for monopolizing all of your time.”
“No, don’t. Some of the guys have left already, and a few are still here. The bachelor party was the weekend we arrived, the wedding the day before ours,” he says with a grin and I roll my eyes. “A few of us planned to stay a little longer, but it’s cool, the truth is I don’t care what they think. And they’re likely too busy making fools of themselves to even miss me.”
“Making fools of themselves, how?”
“Oh, I’m sure they’re trying to one up each other in their attempts to score with random chicks.”
“Ah, so hitting on girls is usually the thing you guys do together?” It’s a justified question after his comment, but I almost wince. I sound slightly irritated or perhaps jealous. Am I jealous? Irritated? I don’t think so. Maybe. Ugh.
He’s no fool. His grin turns wicked, “Jealous, princess?”
“No,” I tell him but considering my denial sounded more like a question than fact, I don’t think he believes me.
“Don’t worry, baby. I didn’t marry any of them.”
“Hmm, is that for lack of trying?” Dammit, Ella, you still sound jealous. It’s not like this marriage is even real. What is wrong with you?
“Nope. You’re the one and only. Besides, none of them had your super power.”
“Super power?”
“Yep. One time between your thighs wasn’t enough. I had to marry you immediately.”
I gasp and giggle, “If I remember correctly, we got married before that transpired.”
He laughs, “Yes we did. Good point. But it’s still your fault.”
“My fault? It was your idea!”
“It was, that’s true, but that’s only because of your eyes.”
“My eyes?” I ask in confusion.
“Yes. The first time I looked into your eyes at the pool they called to me like a siren. Something in them seemed to contain the other part of my soul. I looked at you and saw my most important role yet.” I’m not sure if he’s serious or not, but regardless I find it hard to breathe. “Plus they also screamed fun and great sex.”
Somehow I find my voice, “Oh, is that right?”
My water glass practically falls from my hand and of course at that moment the waiter comes up to take our order. I choke and begin coughing. The waiter and other diners look over to make sure I’m okay. Asher gets out of his chair and rubs my back. Eventually, I calm down and somehow manage to order but I’m so embarrassed I’m shaking. An egg could be fried on my hot face it’s so heated. When the waiter leaves, I wipe the tears from my eyes and try to find words, “I am so embarrassed.” I put my face in my hands. “I can’t believe you heard that.”
His hands pull mine away from my face, “Don’t be embarrassed, it was funny and I know you and Katie were drinking. Besides, don’t worry, I won’t hold you to it.” He winks at me and I know my face must redden further because he laughs outright. “Don’t be mad or embarrassed, seriously. I couldn’t resist teasing you.”
“Totally too late for that,” I mumble still unable to look him in the face once more. He chuckles again and I simply shake my head not knowing what else to do. Somehow, and I have no idea how, I manage to change the subject, “I told you about my family. Please rescue me from my slow death from embarrassment and tell me more about yours.”
A look of pure love and devotion crosses his face and if he never said another thing I would already know exactly how he feels toward them. “My mom and I are really close. I mean, how could we not be? She raised my sister and I on her own after my dad bailed when we were kids.”
“Bailed? That’s awful.”
“It was, but my mom protected us from it as much as she could.” He takes a drink of his water and clears his throat. “I only ever saw her cry over him one time, and it was the day she finally told us that he wasn’t coming back. When I was walking to my room I heard a sound in hers. The door was ajar and I looked through the crack to find her sitting in a corner, knees pulled up against her chest and tears falling down her face.” He looks lost in the memory for a while, his eyes unfocused.
“He just left you all? Do you know where he went?”
“No idea. He told my mom he was going to get some cigarettes and beer at the store and never came back. When he first left we asked her where he had gone and she told us he went to go visit some family. A few days later, I think when it was clear to her he wasn’t returning, she sat us down and told us the truth. We never really talked about him after that and we haven’t seen him since. If my mom knows where he is or what happened to him, she isn’t saying, and I don’t care to know.”
“I don’t even know what to say, Asher, I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“There’s nothing to say. It’s his loss, no use in being angry over it. Besides, my mom more than made up for my shitty father.”
“She must be amazing that you would say such a thing.”
“She is,” he smiles.
Horror washes over me, “Oh god, she must be so mad at you right now.”
His smile falls and I know immediately I’m correct. “There may have been a phone call with some yelling.”
“Oh no,” I whisper and stop myself from apologizing because it isn’t my fault. It isn’t his either. We both did this and it is what it is but I still feel bad. Though, I was the one who posted the wedding announcement on Facebook.
Before I can analyze it further he states fairly indignantly, “She’ll get over it.”
“And your sister? Did she yell at you too?”
He laughs and it surprises me. Our food is brought to the table and as soon as our waiter leaves he picks up where he left off, “Allie? No, not at all,” he laughs again. “She called me and thanked me for eloping because it saved her from having to deal with attending a long drawn out wedding with my nieces.”
“Did you tell them that it’s just for a week? Or would that make things worse?”
“No. I didn’t tell them that.”
“No doubt that would only upset them further.”
“I’m an adult and while I love them, my decisions are my own.”
Nodding my understanding I smile and ask, “How old are your nieces?”
“Isabella is three and Francesca is five. The other two bracelets I bought today? They’re for them.”
“Aw, beautiful names. I bet they love their uncle very much.”
“As long as I supply them with lollipops and ice cream they think I’m the best uncle ever, of course.” His grin makes me laugh because it’s pure cockiness.
“Of course,” I laugh agreeing. “And no doubt you supply them with plenty of both.”
“Absolutely. Especially since I get to give them back to my sister afterwards.” He laughs, takes another bite of his food and then asks me, “Do you like kids?”
“I do. I used to wish for a little brother or sister.”
“Do you want children of your own some day?”
“Definitely,” I reply immediately.
“Well that’s good to know, given our marriage. These are things I need to know,” he says with a lift of a brow. Neat trick – my brows can’t do that.
“Most people learn these things about each other before they get married,” I joke back.
“True. But I think I prefer our unconventional way of going about this.”
Rolling my eyes, I don’t respond and we continue to make idle conversation. He tells me stories about the trouble he and Allie got into as children, and I tell him some of my favorite memories about my parents. It’s a nice dinner and the food we eat is fresh and delicious.
When we leave the restaurant Asher takes my hand. He does that every time we walk somewhere, the gesture becoming familiar. When we walk back up to the lobby we pass a gift shop, but I stop and turn back, “Can we look for a minute? Do you mind?”
“No, not at all.”
We walk inside and I take my time looking through the merchandise. Given the shop is here at the resort they have all kinds of self-promotional items with the resort name on them like shirts and hats. They also have tons of swimsuits, towels, sunglasses, and even shoes. Of course there’s a ton of souvenir trinkets like magnets, key chains, and other kitschy things. What catches my eyes are the sarong wraps they have for women in many different colors and designs. Sorting through them, I select one that would look great over a few swimsuits I have. Walking over to where Asher’s checking out the sunglasses we try them on and make duck faces at each other and he even snaps a few photos with his phone. Walking up to the register to pay for my swimsuit wrap, Asher takes it from my hand and pays for it, and a couple pairs of sunglasses we tried on, which elicits a protest from me. “You don’t need to do that. I can pay for it myself.”
“I know you can, but you’re not going to.”
“Um, excuse me?”
“There’s nothing to excuse, princess.” He pays the clerk and thanks them with a large smile before turning to me and holding the bag out for me to take. Standing with my hands on my hips I glare at him making my annoyance clear. He leans toward me and kisses my head. “Don’t be mad. I wanted to buy it for you.”
“It’s not necessary. I don’t expect you to buy me anything.”
“That’s exactly why I did.”
With a soft sigh, I smile and give in, “Thank you.”
He leans forward and kisses me softly on the lips, “You’re welcome, princess.” He takes my hand once more and as if on cue the golf cart arrives to take us back to our building.
We walk slowly down the walkway toward our room, but no words are exchanged between us. The tension between us feels charged – thick and laced with lust and anticipation. I wonder if tonight is the night, will he make a move? Asher unlocks the door and holds it open for me, his hand on my lower back as he guides me inside. After taking a few steps, I stop and stand still, listening to the door close behind us. The room is silent, except for the rapid sound of our breathing, and my own heartbeat poun
ding in my ears.
Asher approaches me, the sound of his steps on the carpet give that away, but it’s the heat of his body behind me that I feel all the way to my bones. My breath hitches in anticipation, and I’m not sure what comes over me, maybe it’s pushing myself past the insecurities I feel about him not wanting me, maybe it’s not being able to take anymore of the sexual tension that’s been between us for hours. No scratch that, it’s been every second since I’ve met him, at the pool, at the fire pit, at the beach and since. Maybe it’s just that I simply want fiery sex and passion to take me away, make me feel nothing and everything at the same time.
Spinning around, I barely catch Asher’s lowered brows and a question of - concern? permission? - on his lips before I drop my purse and the bag from the store on the floor, and push Asher against the door we just walked through. It’s rougher than I intend and his head hits the door and his eyes widen. Before I can doubt myself I put my mouth on his. As soon as our lips meet it’s like kindle igniting. I feel the burn of his lips all the way to my toes. He stiffens and hesitates for a breath, maybe two, and then he’s kissing me back. Our mouths move together in a rhythm that’s solely ours and when his tongue touches mine, we both groan together, the sound music to my ears.
My hands latch themselves into his hair and I tug as I press my body forward touching it to his. His hands glide down from my waist and cup my bottom. Leaning down he lifts me up and my legs immediately wrap around his waist. Quickly he whirls around and now it’s my back against the door, my heels locked around his waist, his thickness pressed against my core. Voicing my pleasure, I’m almost embarrassed by the fact that I could orgasm from this alone. When his lips leave mine, I cry in protest, but release a shuddering breath when he buries his face in my neck then kisses and nibbles his way down to my collarbone.
“I want you,” I tell him.
Pulling back enough so that he can look into my eyes, he stares at me intently before turning without a word and taking us into the bedroom. Placing me gently on the bed, he removes my shoes, and then watches intently as I slide the zipper down at my side. “Wait,” he says and my heart stumbles in my chest. Oh god, what if he doesn’t want this and I’ve just made a complete fool of myself. “No, princess, get that look off of your face.” He leans down and cups my face in his hand. “I want you probably more than you want me, but tonight, this is about you. Only you.”
Charming: A Modern Day Sexy Cinderella Story Page 13
