She grins. “Let me know.”
“We will.” Asher gives her a thumbs-up, and we start moving again, carrying Cirella across the marble floor toward the grand staircase.
“Are you guys going to carry me the whole way?” she asks as we start ascending the stairs.
“Obviously,” Asher scoffs. “You’re a princess after all. You should be carried everywhere you go.”
“Fawned over,” I add.
“Worshipped,” Asher promises, a deep rasp in his voice.
“Devoured.” I refrain from growling, already feral with her proximity. “Isn’t that what we are for?” Turning my head, I kiss the outside of her thigh, digging my fingers into her leggings.
“It’s our main life purpose actually,” Asher says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
Glancing up at her as we walk down the straight hallway to our wing, I find her eyes hooded and lips parted, watching us with curiosity and intensity burning in her sky-blue stare.
“Speechless now?” I tease her with a smirk.
“No. I just don’t have anything to add.” She purses her lips playfully.
“Hmm,” Asher hums as we bend at the knees, low enough so her head dips beneath the doorway as we pass through. “Princess speechless? I find that hard to believe.”
Our pace speeds up as we rise to our full height, and I wonder what she’d do if we took off running to the other end of the hallway at full sprint.
Probably pull at our hair so hard that we’d go bald. But it could be fun doing it anyway, knowing the joyful sounds she’d make would be worth it.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Asher suggests as we approach my room.
Slowly, we lower her to the ground, and she turns to look at us, her face flushed to the max.
“You’re fucking cute when you’re blushing like that,” Asher murmurs, stepping closer to her and sliding his hand around the side of her neck. He bends down, lining his lips up with hers. “I wonder how red you’d turn if I told you I’ve been thinking every second of every day about how delicious you tasted when we shared you in the gazebo.”
Her lips part, and she sucks in a breath, her pupils dilating. The pink in her skin darkens to a burning fire.
“Look at that. At least ten times redder, if you ask me.” Asher steps toward her, and she watches him with those big doe eyes. “Can’t you just stay up here with us forever?”
“No.” She smirks. “I would need Gus too.”
Asher chuckles, the sound deep and gruff. “Want to make a bet?”
“Unlikely. But enlighten me.” She gestures with her hand for him to continue.
“A race. You get a five-second head start. To the end of the hallway. First to touch the wall wins.”
She studies him with narrowed eyes. “And the prizes?”
Ash leans back against the wall, kicking one foot up. “What do you want to win?”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “I doubt you’ll agree.”
He exhales breathlessly. “Fuck, Ciri, I doubt there’s anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
“You have to take over cleaning your wing for a week with paid time off to the staff.” Ciri stands up proudly, which is fucking hot. “If you win,” she retorts, “what will it cost me?”
Ash smirks. “A kiss—for each of us, of course.”
I expect her to argue, to negotiate the terms, but she doesn’t. “Deal.”
