Page 117 of For Your Consideration

She bit her lip, her eyes trying to read mine. I wasn’t going to tell her the lengths I would go to for both of them, but she must have believed what she saw there because after a moment she nodded.

“What do you need?” I asked, keeping her head between my hands. She kept it together well but I could see the stress in her smile, in the way she held her arms over her stomach like she was holding herself together.

She let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know.”

I grabbed her hand, pulling her behind me toward my bathroom. “Sit.” I pointed toward the counter, then went to the bath.

They’d put in a large clawfoot tub when they’d done the renovations. I didn’t care as I’d never taken a bath in my life. But I was glad I had it today. In hopes of having Sutton here, I’d bought a bunch of bath shit. She’d mentioned liking baths on one of our calls but that hers hadn’t been really worth soaking in.

I got the temperature right, put in some bubble bath, and then looked at her. She was sitting on the counter, watching me with a happy look on her face. “I’m going to go grab the baby monitor, then pour you a glass of red wine, and you’re going to have a bath,” I demanded.

When I turned to go, she reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to a stop. I looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. If she was going to argue…

“Thank you, Ash.” Her tone was soft, and it looked like there were tears in her eyes.

“Please don’t cry.” I leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her nose, getting a small laugh out of her.

“They’re tears of appreciation.”

“How about just not tonight.” I sent her a look before I started out of the room again. “Get in the tub,” I demanded.

Four minutes later I came back to find Sutton in the bath. The bubbles came just above her breasts and her head was resting on the back of the tub, her hair piled into a bun. I enjoyed the view for a moment, relishing in the fact that I was able to give her a place to relax.

I placed the baby monitor on the counter and then made my way over to her. Her eyes opened, watching me. She took the glass of wine I passed her and I cleared my throat.

“I’ll take the monitor so you can—”

“Do you want to join me?”

“I want you to relax.”

“I’ll relax with you.” She gave me a shy smile.

“I’ve never had a bath,” I said, my voice gruff.

“Not surprised you aren’t a bath kind of guy.”

She was laughing until I started to get undressed. She just watched as I shucked off my shirt, unbuttoned my pants, and then was standing in front of her naked.

“No wonder I’m sore,” she muttered as she stared at my cock, getting a smirk from me. It was already hard but my focus was on her.

So if she wanted me in this bath, then I was going to get in the fucking bath.

“Move forward,” I grunted as she moved toward the middle of the tub. I got into the water, hissing as the heat hit my skin. “It was not this hot when I started it.”

She chuckled as I settled behind her and she came to rest on my chest. “I know.” She let out a contented sigh as my arms wrapped around her. “I turned up the heat because it wasn’t hot enough.”

I placed a kiss on her neck and then shook my head. “Feels like I’m sitting here just to boil myself alive.”

She snorted. “I think you’ll be okay.” Her hand had come up to grip my forearm while she used the other to run her nails up and down my arm, sending shivers down my spine.

As we sat there in comfortable silence, there wasn’t any sexual tension. Well, I always wanted her but this was about comfort, making sure she was cared for. It was a testament to our deep connection that I could sit here without feeling like I wanted to crawl out of my skin.

Her head was resting on my shoulder and she let out another sigh. “I can’t imagine today without you and your friends. I mean, I guess Maya wouldn’t be my lawyer at all, but I hope you get what I’m saying.”

“I get it,” I assured her. “So, Soph turns one next week.”

She moved her head, tilting back to look up at me. “You remembered that?”