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  “Should you talk to the doctor? I thought the drugs — ”

  This time her sigh was definitely more peeved than patient.

  “The drugs are not some miracle cure. It’s rough in the morning for most people with RA, no matter what medications they’re on. I’m always going to have pain and stiffness, especially in the morning. It’s the nature of the disease.”

  “Will a hot shower help?”

  She nodded. “That was next on the agenda.”

  He helped her to her feet. “Do you get up every morning and lie on the floor to stretch?

  Her gaze slid away and she shrugged.

  His eyes narrowed. “No, you don’t, do you? You do them in bed. It’s painful otherwise, isn’t it?”

  She dipped her head.

  “Then you do them in bed with me.”

  “I’m not going to wake you up — ”

  Asher reached for her and tucked her gingerly into him. “It’s not going to wake me up and if it does, too bad. If you need to stretch first thing, you do. Agreed?”

  She nodded against his chest.

  “Now let’s go take a shower.”

  Chapter 13

  Maddy pushed open the door to Asher’s master suite, clothes spilling out of her hands. He’d offered to move her things to his bedroom, but she refused. Ella was desperate to have Uncle Asher throw her around in the pool since they’d arrived back in California this afternoon.

  She wandered into the walk-in closet, a closet almost the exact size and shape as the living room in her apartment. There were elaborate wood shelving units and bureaus, and though she’d rarely seen him in anything other than jeans, concert t-shirts and combat boots, the space was nearly filled. Everything was neatly hung and folded.

  It was a bit like being in a store. Surely he didn’t arrange the closet? A laugh escaped her. No, this must be the housekeeper or a stylist’s doing. Asher was no slob, but he was not this organized. She laid the clothes, about seventy-five percent of her wardrobe, on the ottoman in the center of the room.

  She thought she’d gotten used to Asher’s level of affluence as his employee. Transitioning to girlfriend, living with him, and sharing a closet was completely surreal. Add to that the fact that he was still paying her to take care of Maddy and it made things awkward — at least for her.

  Asher appeared in the doorway, a shivering towel-wrapped Ella in his arms.

  “Maddy!” the little girl exclaimed, grinning in spite of her blue lips, “I’m freezing.”

  Asher cocked his head. “Everything okay?”

  She nodded, and held her arms out to take Ella.

  He shook his head. “No, I’ll pop her in the tub to warm up. You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Need anything?”

  Her smile was a bit forced. “No.”

  He studied her. “Let me get the bath running.”

  “I need Ariel and Ken,” Ella demanded.

  Maddy’s smile broadened. “Are they an item now? I’ll get them.”

  They disappeared and Maddy retrieved the dolls from Ella’s bathroom. She handed them to a naked Ella, sitting hugging her knees to her chest at the bottom of the giant tub.

  When the bath was full, Asher turned off the taps. “Be right back, love, gotta change out of this wet suit.”

  Asher drew Maddy out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, leaving the door ajar in case Ella needed them.

  He took Maddy into his arms. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, really. I’m good.”

  He leaned away, eyes boring into hers.

  She bit her lip and broke the contact.

  “Maddy.”

  “It’s just weird, Asher, I mean I’m your employee and I’m living with you. Like, in your room.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Isn’t that weird to you?”

  He shrugged. “No.”

  Maddy retreated and sat on the bed, staring at her hands. In Virginia, it was easier to think of him as Asher, not Asher Lowe. Coming back to LA, living in this house, it was impossible to forget what he was.

  He strode to the far side of the room, dropped the towel and peeled off the wet boardshorts.

  “Asher!” He glanced up and grinned. “Whaddya expect, Maddy? I got hard ‘cause I was holding you.” He grabbed a pair of cargo shorts from the chair and stepped into them.

  Maddy cast a scandalized look toward the bathroom door.

  “Relax. I’m not going to try anything.” He had trouble with the zipper of his pants and gave a muffled laugh.

  Through the door, Ella scolded the Ken doll for some imagined infraction.

  He took her hand and pulled her down to sit next to him on the bed.

  Maddy stared down at their linked hands. “It’s awkward.”

  Putting a long, callused finger under her chin, he lowered his lips and kissed her gently, so gently tears sprung into her eyes.

  Her heart lurched.

  Oh, God. I’m in love with him.

  “What, specifically, is the problem?”

  Maddy covered her face with her hands. Asher put an arm around her. She raised her head and gestured to room with a sweep of her hand. “All this, Asher. How is this going to work? If I’m your girlfriend how can I be your employee as well?” It came out as a wail.

  He settled her across his lap and kissed her again, with more hunger. He tasted of salt and smelled of pool chemicals. Arousal burned through her, turning her limbs to pudding.

  He ended the kiss on a groan and settled her next to him. “What am I?”

  “What?” she asked, head spinning.

  “You said ‘it was easy to forget what I am.’ What’s that?”

  “A rock star? A Lowe?”

  “Maddy, Dee and I grew up with tremendous affluence. Your life has been fairly normal in comparison, judging by what I saw over Christmas. Yes, I’m a Lowe — and I’ve told you there were advantages — I can golf, ski, play polo — both kinds — sail; the things I have a basic proficiency at would surprise you. And the ability to do those things with the children of other rich people, threw open doors of access and opportunity like you wouldn’t believe. Even in my business. Add to that the fact that I’ve had the best education available — formal and informal, all of it---”

  “Okay Asher, it’s just going to take me some time to adapt.”

  “I’m not done. The list of things I don’t know how to do is longer. How to be part of a family, how to care for a child, how to balance life and work and a million other things. I had lousy examples. And mine aren’t even the worst out there. Talk to Shane one day about what it’s like to be a child star — a commodity. You know about my dad. And my mother? I don’t even want to go there. She’s a nightmare. You were raised with the only things that matter. Your mom … ” His voice roughened, and he paused, taking a minute to bring himself under control. “You were luckier than me. You’re still luckier than me in so many ways. The love I gave and received growing up was almost exclusively from Dee. I don’t want to think about what I would’ve been without her. So don’t give me this ‘you’re rich and famous’ crap. Not you, Maddy.”

  “Maddy? Uncle A?” came a little voice. “Ken wants to know what’s for dinner.”

  Chapter 14

  Maddy had barely finished wrapping herself in a towel after her shower when there was a knock.

  “Babe?”

  She opened the door. Asher was standing there, looking sheepish. “Can you come out here a minute?”

  Worry clouded her brain. “Is it Ella?”

  “No, I’m sure she’s having a ball with Justin and Scott.”

  With a puzzled fro
wn, Maddy hitched up the towel. Just past Asher on the bed lay a scarlet dress and the most beautiful shoes she’d ever laid eyes on. Not high, she could never wear heels thanks to her rheumatoid arthritis, but these were perfect. Her eyes welled with tears. He’d even remembered the kind of shoes she needed.

  “Asher,” she said, reverently.

  He put his hands up. “I’d love to take the credit, but it wasn’t me. Scott and Justin picked it up.”

  She crossed over to the bed and ran a hand gently over the material.

  “Wow.”

  “I’m sorry, Maddy, I hadn’t even considered that you might not have something to wear to Shane’s premier tonight.”

  Maddy studied him through narrowed eyes. “I had something okay to wear. I’m not a total pauper, Asher.”

  “No, I know,” he said, hurriedly.

  She turned back to the dress, examining its vibrant hue and clean lines. “But nothing like this. It’s exquisite.” Maddy ran her hands over the dress again.

  Asher cleared his throat, his expression disgruntled. “I wish you looked at me like that.”

  She laughed.

  In two steps he reached her, yanked off the towel and pushed her back toward the bed.

  “No … stop! The dress.” Maddy pulled out of his arms and walked the dress over to the closet. Turning it on the hanger, she hesitated as she caught sight of the low back.

  The heat from Asher’s body behind her registered just before he plucked the dress from her fingers, hung it up, and grabbed her.

  She clutched at his powerful shoulders, laughing as he carried her to the bed and dropped her on it. She bounced twice, still laughing. “Caveman,” she managed.

  He growled and stripped off his brown Henley in one smooth motion, exposing broad shoulders, a well-defined chest, slightly furred with hair, and those tattoos. God, his tattoos. What was it about that inked up tanned skin that liquefied her sex?

  Maddy could spend the rest of her life staring at those tattoos, outlining the edges with the tip of her tongue, licking their black and colored centers. He made short work of his well-worn jeans and boxer briefs and glanced up.

  At the intensity in those beautiful eyes, the laugher died in her throat. A surge of lust spun through her and her nipples formed taut peaks under the fluffy white towel.

  He put one knee on the bed and used her ankles to pull her slowly toward him. A shiver ripped through her body at his stark arousal. Would she ever lose her sense of wonder that this beautiful man wanted her?

  His hands pulled apart the edges of the towel, exposing her body to his narrow-eyed gaze. He gently spread her legs at the knees, then trailed long, calloused fingers up her thighs. The temperature in the room bumped up ten degrees. She closed her eyes, embarrassed and excited at being so exposed to him in broad daylight. Heat flooded her damp skin and she squirmed.

  He paused at the juncture to stroke her lightly, teasing her, before his big, warm hands trailed up her belly to cup her breasts. He leaned over and pulled one nipple into his mouth and she gasped. His mouth was so wet and warm, hands moving to press her hips into the bed. Her legs shifted restlessly as the ache became a throb of need. She threaded her fingers through the thick hair at the nape of his neck and pressed his mouth more firmly to her pebbled nipple, gasping. “Asher, please.”

  He raised his head from her breast and grinned wickedly.

  She yanked his hair, hard. He grunted and flipped her over onto her stomach, lifting her hips until she was on all fours. She clenched her quaking thighs together but his firm grasp moved them back apart. Standing behind her, he stroked the curve of her ass, all the way down to her calves, setting off more tremors. The bed sheets captured her moan as his palms made their way up her body with deliciously long strokes, deliberately avoiding the place she needed them most.

  “Asher … ” Hating the desperation in her voice, warmth spread across her upper chest. Finally, one hand paused in its journey, slipping down between her thighs. He pushed two long fingers into her and she clenched around him with a muffled moan. His other hand pushed between her shoulder blades. She pressed her heated face to the soft, cool sheet, supporting herself on her forearms as he explored her, curling his fingers up into her drenched, swollen flesh. Her hands twisted in the sheets and she shifted her weight, pressing back, desperate to take him inside her aching body.

  She was so close, she could feel the telltale throbbing, the weakness in her limbs. She didn’t want to come like this, without him. Maddy clamped her legs together, trapping his marauding fingers, and he grunted, pulling them away. The soft sound of the condom wrapper tearing was followed by his hands, urging her thighs apart.

  The fat head of his cock stroked against her slippery entrance and she pushed back again with her hips, impatient. Her body shook in earnest — excited and inflamed. Her breath caught as he pushed into her, incrementally. Her hips flexed, eager to bring him fully inside.

  It was his turn to gasp as she shifted back, impatient with his tempo. His hands went to her hips to still them, but it was too late. He wasn’t even halfway inside her when she came with a long, low cry.

  He pumped into her, hard and fast as she convulsed around him, his rough palms stroking her ass, gripping it, riding out her tremors. Over and over he stroked into her, slick and hard until she had no recourse but to bury her face into the mattress as she sobbed out another climax. His pace accelerated, his fingers gripped her hips, digging into the flesh over her hipbones, until he came with a low guttural sound.

  Maddy collapsed, too satiated to do more than roll to her side.

  Asher fell next to her and spooned up against her. He licked a spot between her shoulder blades and she shivered. “Okay?” he asked softly.

  “Two orgasms and the playboy wants a critique?”

  He propped his head on his elbow and pulled her tighter into the heat of his body. “You know what I’m asking.”

  She turned her head to meet his concerned gaze with a level one of her own. “I do. But you don’t need to ask every time. Maybe you should talk to my doctor. ‘Doc, tell me, can people with RA make love like regular people? Should I use bubble wrap instead of a condom so I don’t injure her?’”

  His lips tilted up in that half-grin that she found so unbelievably sexy. “Kink, Maddy? I like it.”

  Her body responded with a throb. She closed her eyes. Unbelievable. They had just finished and she was ready to go again.

  She rolled onto her back. “How ‘bout this? If what we do is too much or uncomfortable before, during, or after, I’ll let you know. Trust me when I tell you I don’t enjoy pain. Will that work? It takes something away from the magic to be asked if I’m okay every time.”

  A smug smile settled at the corners of his lips. “Magic?”

  She rolled her eyes. “It should be. All the practice you’ve had.”

  His eyes bored into hers. “Ah, my past. That’s two references to my reputation in as many minutes. You want to talk about it?”

  Maddy bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to tip him off to her insecurities.

  “Maddy?” he repeated. There was so much tenderness in his expression.

  “A smidge,” she admitted.

  “It’s different with you.”

  She tensed and her stomach lurched.

  He gave her a gentle shake, correctly interpreting whatever expression had registered on her face at his words. “Not bad different, fantastic different.” He rolled onto his back and raised his knees. She shivered at the withdrawal of his body from hers. He sat up, leaned over her and pulled the comforter over her, tucking it under her body.

  “I’m not doing this very well, am I?” he said.

  She turned her head and sneaked a glance — he was staring at the ceiling. “Nope.”


  “I thought I’d had every kind of relationship there was, from hook-ups to committed. I’ve had a few long-term monogamous things that were … satisfying.” He turned his head to study her and she shifted to lie on her side. “But this — with you — is different. I’m different. It’s more.”

  Her heart leapt.

  He reached over and tugged her toward him.

  She caught sight of the clock on the dresser. “Asher! Is that the time?” She detangled herself from his arms and the blanket and scrambled from the bed. “Hurry, we can’t be late for Shane’s premier.”

  Chapter 15

  Maddy poured coffee into the travel mug and slipped on her boots. Her follow-up appointment with the doctor was in an hour and she needed to stop for gas. That early morning romp with Asher was bound to make her late. Happy, but late.

  Smiling she grabbed her keys and purse and hollered up the stairs, “See you later, baby!”

  Without waiting for a reply she let herself out the front door and hurried down the steps to her car. She started the engine, humming to herself, and flipped on the radio.

  It was set to a pop station courtesy of Ella. Maddy was an alternative rock kind of girl, but whenever Ella was in the car they listened to her music, and Maddy was coming to know all the tween pop stars and their infectiously upbeat songs.

  She put the car into drive and froze as she heard Shane’s name mentioned by the two shock jocks while they discussed his premier at Grauman’s Chinese Theater last night.

  They gossiped about Shane, his latest girlfriend and the cheating, speculated about his scandalous past — he had quite a history, apparently …

  Poor Shane.

  The iron gates to the house were swinging open when Asher’s name came up.

  “And what was that with Asher Lowe at the premier?”

  She stared at the radio as she inched through the gate.

  “Some celebrity website said he’s banging the nanny.”

  “Man, did you get a load of her?”

  Maddy’s hand left the steering wheel and went to her throat. Asher warned her. She hadn’t listened. It wasn’t as if they knew anything about him or her or their relationship for that matter, but hearing people discuss them … She tried to pull all the way forward to let the gates close behind her but a long black limousine was blocking the driveway. She glowered at the limo parked in front of her, gave a half-hearted honk and put the car in park.