6. Ariel - Pottery 2

I let out a sigh. “While I enjoy your company more than I should, I’m not ready for a one-night stand.”

His hold on me tightens. “I’m keeping you forever, Muffin. So you don’t need to worry about one-night stands because there will be only nights of passion between us.”

His voice sounds sleepy, and it doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep. Now I feel bad for not offering to help him get off.

While I’m beyond tired, I can’t sleep. After lying in bed for a while, I wiggle my way out of his embrace, grab my glasses, and make my way to the kitchen since I’m hungry. Maybe that’s why I can’t sleep.

The muffins are where Khai left them. I grab the one I took a bite from earlier, and go to the fridge to see if they have milk. The only kind of milk I find is the soy kind, and while I scrunch my nose, I take it out of the fridge and drink right from the carton because I’m too lazy to look for a glass. It doesn’t taste that bad, I suppose.

After I eat half of the muffins and finish all the milk, I finally feel tired enough to fall asleep, so I try to make my way back to Khai’s room, but this place is big and I lose my way. Instead of Khai’s bedroom, I end up in a pottery room.

Shelves with different objects made from clay, like mugs, plates, and vases, are placed all around the room. Some look like they were made by a small child, while the rest were made by someone who is a master in this craft.

A potter’s wheel is in the middle of the room with some clay still on it. I sit and try to mold the clay into something, but it takes only a few minutes for me to give up when it’s more than obvious that I’m not good at this.

“Of all the places in the house, did you have to choose this one to invade?” Asher’s angry voice comes from behind me.

I tense up. “I didn’t mean to invade anyone’s space…” I chew my bottom lip before I say, “I couldn’t sleep, and somehow I ended up here.”

I stand and turn to face him. He’s wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants, and fuck, he looks so good. “I’ll go now,” I say and try to leave the room.

When I’m passing by his side, Asher grabs my wrist and pushes me against a wall, trapping me with his body.

I don’t know what to expect, but him burying his face in the crook of my neck takes me by surprise. His body trembles against mine, and it has nothing to do with being cold.

“This week has been so hard; only you can chase away my demons. Let me hold you for a bit,” he says against my skin.

“Alright,” I say.

Several seconds later, he asks, “Could you hug me back?”

“My hands are dirty with clay.”

“I don’t care.”

I wrap my arms around Asher’s back. He’s so warm.

“You feel so good, Ariel,” he murmurs as he presses his lips to my skin.

A soft moan escapes my lips.

Asher lifts his head. His pretty lilac eyes are sad. “Why do you keep tormenting me like this?” he asks before his lips capture mine, and he kisses me like a starving man.

His hands move under my shirt and grab my ass. I get wet again. I can’t believe how horny I am. Well, the guys are so damn hot it makes sense that I want to fuck them.

I bite his bottom lip, making him groan with delight before my tongue slips into his mouth.

Suddenly, he spins me around and presses my front against the wall.

“I need to be inside you, Princess.”

This is wrong. This is going too fast.

Asher starts pushing his pants down his hips.

“Wait!” I croak. “I…I can’t.”

I expect him to pressure me into having sex with him, but Asher peels away from me. He turns his back to me—a big black dragon is inked across his skin—and his shoulders tremble.

“I don’t think I can keep doing this. It’s killing me.” His voice cracks as he speaks.

I take a step toward him. “What’s the matter?”

Asher takes several deep breaths. “Everything.” He turns around and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Sorry for my outburst. As I mentioned, this past week has been one of the worst of my life, but your presence here makes things better.”

He seems so vulnerable. So sad. It breaks my heart.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Asher shakes his head back and forth but then says, “Actually, yes. Do you want to make something with me?”

I narrow my eyes. “Do what?”

“Pottery.”

A smile erupts on my face. “I’d love to.”

Asher goes over to the potter’s wheel. “Come here.”

I oblige him. We sit—I in front and Asher behind me. His scent wraps around me, making me dizzy and lightheaded. I want to kiss him all over his body.

“You smell so good,” I moan before I even realize I said that.

His very hard dick pokes my back.

“Ignore that,” he says.

“That is a little too big to be ignored.”

Asher clears his throat. “You need to get your hands wet,” he says into my ear. His mouth is so close to my ear that his breath sends shivers down my spine.

A bowl of water is on a table nearby, and I dip my hands in it.

“Now, let’s make something,” Asher says as his arms come around me. His lips graze the shell of my ear, and I bite back a moan because I don’t want to give him the wrong impression.

“Like what?” I ask.

“Whatever you want, Princess.”

My eyes dart around the room. “How about a mug?”

“Sounds good.”

After Asher gets his hands wet, he makes the wheel spin.

“What do I do now?” I ask.

“Now we give the mug the shape we want,” he says as he guides my hands to the clay.

We spent the next half an hour making and remaking the mug. Maybe because I’m having so much fun, and I don’t want it to be over—not yet, at least. But then my eyelids start to feel heavier and heavier.

“I kept you awake long enough. How about we get some rest?” I ask after we finish making a decent mug.

Asher presses his lips to my temple. “Go to bed. I’ll do the same once I’m done cleaning here.”

“Do you need any help?”

“It will take me five minutes tops. I got this.”

Before I leave, I say, “Thank you for showing me how to do pottery.”

“You’re welcome, Princess.”

I’m looking for Khai’s room when Killian pulls me inside his bedroom.

“Gotcha!” he says before he locks the door behind him. “Is that Khai’s shirt? Take it off. Now!”

I want to tell him to fuck off, but the look in his blue eyes tells me that he will rip off my clothes if I don’t do as he asks.

I arch an eyebrow and get naked. It’s a good thing I’m not a prude. “What now?” I challenge him.

Killian drags his hand down his face. “Take a bath with me.”