“I’m sorry, Kade. I wish this had never happened to you,” she murmured against his chest.
“Shit happens,” he replied casually, trying not to give in to the urge to carry her back to his bed and bury himself inside her warmth, take the comfort she was willing to give. But he didn’t want her that way. He wanted it to be mutual, for her to burn for him as much as he did for her. She continued to cling to him, murmuring words into his chest that he didn’t understand and suspected were Telugu, crooning them softly.
“You realize I don’t understand a word you’re saying,” he told her, trying to contain the tender emotions that were bursting to get free.
“I know. I think it’s better that way,” she retorted, her voice amused. “And I really think you need to get over a few things from your own past. You’re young, you’re incredibly handsome, you can still walk, and you’re alive. You survived. Other than the pain that I know you suffer sometimes, your leg doesn’t matter. How it looks doesn’t matter.”
Kade knew Asha really meant what she said, and his soul began to heal a little bit more. He lowered his cheek to her hair, inhaling her floral scent and closing his eyes.
Kade wasn’t certain exactly how long they stood that way, wrapped up together as though they were connected. He was pretty sure it was a fairly long period of time, but not long enough. His c**k was hard, a reaction that was pretty much a certainty whenever Asha was close enough to feel, close enough to smell, but this wasn’t a moment he wanted to think about his dick. Right now, he just wanted to wallow in Asha’s sweetness, hold her close to his body and drink her in. Being near her had become an addiction, and satisfying her every want and need had become an obsession.
They finally parted and made their way back upstairs. He had to clench his fists to resist the urge to reach for her as she gave him a shy smile and closed the door of her bedroom. Kade flopped into his bed, which was suddenly much too lonely and big. It took him a very long time to finally fall into an exhausted sleep.
Chapter 8
The following week turned into some of the happiest days of Asha’s life. She painted, not feeling rushed to complete the project, and she certainly wasn’t worried about where her next meal was coming from. Kade was almost a pain in the ass about her eating. He was spending time in the Harrison offices now with Travis, but every moment he was home, he brought her food. Plying her with chocolate, decadent pastries, and calorie-laden desserts seemed to be one of his favorite activities. In between, he never seemed to run out of other food for her to try. If she wasn’t careful, she’d soon be popping out of her jeans.
She’d started working out with him every morning, always in awe when he continued to pump weights after he was done with his cardio. Although she did a lot of walking, she was a wimp next to him, doing her time on the treadmill and the bike, completely exhausted when she was done. She finished, huffing and puffing, before Kade had even broken a sweat.
Stopping to stretch her back, Asha sighed as she stared at Kade’s bedroom wall. After finishing the painting of a leopard in a rain forest on his den wall, she’d moved up to the master bedroom, still contemplating exactly what would fit here. There was nothing really intimate about his bedroom. It was a minimalist type of room, just like the rest of the house, and it lacked color.
She smiled as she remembered Kade telling her to paint every wall in the house, and his grimace as she’d told him that doing every wall was overkill. He could use some accent and color, maybe one wall in most rooms, but he didn’t need every wall painted. Unhappy with her answer, he’d grumbled, but he hadn’t mentioned it again.
He lets me be free to use my talent. He trusts me with his home.
Kade valued her opinion and he listened to her when she had an idea. He made her feel…important, and she carried that emotion close to her heart. No one had ever made her feel appreciated or valued, and Kade was slowly showing her that she had worth, that she was worthy of far more than she’d experienced in the past.
“Asha?” A deep baritone sounded near the door, startling her, and pulling her abruptly from her wandering thoughts.
Her eyes flew to him, and her breath caught as she saw Kade standing in the doorway with an amused grin.
Her hand to her chest, she said, “Sorry. I was thinking.”
Looking incredibly handsome in the suit and tie he’d worn to the office, her heart lifted at the sight of him, still managing to be uniquely Kade by wearing a colorful maroon shirt and a tie with very ornate cornucopia for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. On Kade, it looked nothing less than masculine and splendid, an image that always made her heart smile. He had his own style, and he was completely comfortable with it. It was one of the sexiest things she’d ever seen.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked curiously, shedding the jacket of his suit and tossing it on the chair.
You. What else do I seem to always be thinking about these days?
“Your wall,” she answered hastily, turning her eyes back to the wall she had been contemplating. She was way too preoccupied with Kade, and she needed to get him out of her brain. He was a client, and maybe a friend. But she couldn’t think of him as anything more than that. “Did Travis like your new image?” she asked curiously, wondering what his twin had thought of Kade’s bright shirt and tie.
Kade let out a bark of laughter as he undid the knot on the tie around his neck. “No. He said the tie and shirt weren’t really a step up from my shirt with the dancing hotdogs that I wear to the office occasionally.” He yanked the tie from around his neck and tossed it on top of his suit jacket. “How did I end up with a brother with no sense of style?” Kade asked mournfully. “Nothing but dark suits and ties. He looks like a funeral director. The only one who saves him from being completely morbid is his secretary, Ally, who he still insists on calling Alison even though she hates it. Or if she’s really annoying him, she’s Ms. Caldwell.”
Asha laughed. “And what is she mostly?” She’d met Travis just the day before, and although he was cordial, he was rather intimidating. It was almost difficult to believe he and Kade were brothers, much less twins. The two of them were incredibly different.
“Ms. Caldwell. She’s almost always in trouble with Travis,” Kade answered wickedly. “But she challenges him. She’s good for him. I think she’s one of the few people in the office who isn’t terrified of him.”