“Stop it with the snoring thing,” Ashlyn griped. “I do not snore!”
“Riiiight. Okay. Anyway, I did try to wake you, and you slapped at me, told me to hush. So I carried you in here, stripped you naked, made long slow love to you, then went to sleep myself.”
Ashlyn stared at him blankly for a solid five seconds.
“You did not. I wouldn’t have slept through that.”
Slate had been keeping a straight face, but at her words, he laughed. “Damn straight, you wouldn’t have. I mean, what a slap in the face that would’ve been. Seriously though, I brought you in here, got you comfortable, then climbed in next to you. Slept fucking awesome too. You were like a rock. Once you’re out, you’re seriously out, babe. Works well for me, actually, since I’m a light sleeper. If you were the kind of sleeper who tossed and turned all night, it would’ve sucked because I’d constantly be waking up every time you moved.”
Ashlyn could only stare up at him. For the first time, she realized that all she had on was her panties. Slate had taken off her shirt, bra, and leggings. She wasn’t upset. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her naked before. He’d seen everything she had to offer up close and personal. It was an intimate thing to do, getting her ready for bed, but she couldn’t deny that it was nice of him to take care of her when she’d been so tired.
“So you’re not upset that I stayed the night?” she blurted.
“Did you not hear anything I just said?” Slate asked.
“Um…yeah.”
“Then you weren’t paying close attention, because nothing I said could in any way indicate that I’m upset you stayed the night.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. You sore this morning?”
“Yes.”
“How sore?”
“Um, on a scale of one to ten, about a twelve.”
Slate nodded, leaned down, and kissed her forehead, then began to roll away.
“Slate?” Ashlyn asked, putting her hand out and touching his bare back. He was wearing a pair of boxer shorts and nothing else. The muscles in his back rippled as he turned around to look at her.
“Yeah?”
“Where are you going?”
“Gonna get you some painkillers. Then start a bath for you. It’ll help your muscles relax a bit. How do you like your water? Warm, toasty, or boil-noodles hot?”
Ashlyn swallowed hard. She’d invaded his space without giving him a choice, and now he was continuing to take care of her because she’d overdone it the day before?
“Babe? How hot do you like your bath water?”
“A shade under boil-noodles hot,” she told him.
“Got it. Stay here and relax. I’ll be back in a moment with some water and the pills.”
“Will you be joining me?” Ashlyn blurted.
“Nope. Don’t do baths.”
“What about sex?”
“What about it?” Slate asked with a small tilt of his head.
“I…um…do you want it?”
A wicked smile crossed his face. “Hell yes. But you’re sore. I’m not going to wither away and die if I don’t get inside your delectable pussy this morning. While you’re in the bath, I’ll make us some breakfast. Maybe we can take a leisurely walk along Waikiki Beach before we meet the others at Duke’s. Stretching your muscles will also help. But if you’ve got things you need to do this morning, that’s okay too.”
Something had suddenly changed between them, and Ashlyn wasn’t quite sure how to process it. “It’s Sunday. I’m usually lazy on Sundays, so no, I don’t have anything I need to do before we meet everyone at Duke’s.”
“Great. Stay put. I’ll be back.”
Then Slate twisted a bit more, kissed her on the lips briefly, and stood.
Ashlyn kept her gaze on his back as he disappeared inside his small walk-in closet. He reappeared a few seconds later wearing a pair of black sweatpants and headed for the bathroom door. She heard the water turn on and in a minute or so, he came back into the room. He gave her a smile, then left without a word to go to the kitchen and get her some painkillers.
The second he was out of sight, Ashlyn flopped back on the bed and let out a long, slow breath. She was happier than she could say that he hadn’t flipped out over her still being there this morning. She felt bad that she hadn’t woken up when he’d carried her into his room, but relieved that things between them still seemed to be all right.
She liked Slate. He was a good man. She wasn’t ready for things to end. And it seemed as if she didn’t need to worry about that yet.
Ashlyn had no doubt that eventually they’d get sick of each other. She’d find herself becoming more and more annoyed at things he did. As he likely would with her. It always happened.
But for now, she was going to enjoy Slate taking care of her…and her hot bath.
“You look great!” Lexie exclaimed later that day.
The day had been relaxed so far, and Ashlyn couldn’t remember a better “morning after” than the one she’d shared with Slate. He’d brought her a glass of water and pills—bossily ordering her to drink all the water. She humored him, and only blushed a little when he took her hand and led her to the bathroom. She might’ve had sex in countless positions with the man, but walking around mostly naked in the light of day was a different thing altogether. But he didn’t make it weird. Simply pointed out the extra toothbrush he’d unearthed from a drawer and left her alone in the bathroom.
The temperature of the bathwater was perfect, and she stayed in the tub until she felt like a prune. Then she showered, washed her hair with Slate’s shampoo, and got dressed before joining him in the kitchen.
He’d made a potato, egg, and spinach casserole and pulled it out of the oven as soon as he saw her. They’d talked more about James and the Turner family over breakfast, as well as a new Japanese couple who’d moved to the island and hadn’t quite gotten on their feet yet. He talked about how things were currently pretty intense at work, and that there was a chance he and his team would be deployed soon.
She didn’t like to think about that, but as it was a part of who Slate was, she didn’t shy away from asking him a million questions. He couldn’t answer most of them, and she understood why.
After breakfast, he’d followed Ashlyn to her apartment so she could change and get ready for their outing at Duke’s. They’d walked up and down the Waikiki beach, people watching and making up stories about some of the more flamboyant characters they saw. And now they were at the restaurant with the rest of their friends.
“Seriously,” Lexie repeated. “You’re glowing. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were pregnant.”
Ashlyn nearly spit out the sip of mai tai she’d just taken. Slate had handed it to her when she was talking with her friends earlier. She had no plans to drive for the rest of the day, so she felt comfortable imbibing a bit…and obviously Slate knew that.
“Jeez, I’m not pregnant,” Ashlyn said when she had herself under control.
“I’m with Lexie. You look different. Not bad different, just…different,” Kenna said as she took a sip of her own drink.