Leah, mortified, pulled his jacket over her head and mumbled, "I'm sorry. And thank you."
Asher Keating opened the window and lit a cigarette. "Do you know when you were drugged?"
"...I think it was in the fifth drink. I felt something was off after I finished it, but I didn't think too much of it at the time. I went to make myself throw up after I left, but I didn't expect the drug to be this strong," Leah replied after a moment of silence.
"You've got some serious self-control."
Asher was a little surprised. No wonder she had been pinching and biting him. The drug took effect fast.
He had just arrived when she was on her fifth drink. From the moment he got there until he left, and then her going to throw up... for her to hold out until she was in the elevator before it fully hit must have been her limit.
Leah didn't say anything. She felt awful. She didn't know how things had ended up like this. She still felt dizzy.
Desire was still coiling deep inside her, and she shamefully drew her legs in, trying to make herself smaller.
Asher glanced at her, finished his cigarette, and moved to the driver's seat. He had to get back first. The drug came in waves.
Even though Leah seemed mostly clear-headed now, he estimated the effects would return within the hour. It wouldn't stop until it had tormented her for the entire night.
Sure enough, as they were nearing the villa, the drug's effects surged back. At first, she could still force herself to endure it with all her might.
But slowly, she lost control, curling up in the back seat and clawing at the upholstery. Asher glanced in the rearview mirror and sped up.
All night, Leah cycled between lucidity and delirium. Asher took her from downstairs to upstairs, and he himself couldn't quite remember how many times he'd had her that night.
By the time Leah finally drifted into a deep sleep, it was almost four in the morning. He lit a cigarette and stood by the window, looking at his phone. Sean Yates had already retrieved Leah's contract—a direct buyout for eight hundred thousand.
Ethan Shaw and Riley Sterling had texted to tease him, telling him to take it easy. A faint smile touched his lips as he replied to them with a single word: "Fuck off." He then sent a message to Sean Yates, telling him to bring the items over in the morning. After a thought, he added, "And a set of women's clothes."
After sending the messages, Asher took a drag from his cigarette and looked back at the person on the bed. He suddenly recalled their first night together. It had ended around the same time as tonight.
Except on that night, he had been the one to cluelessly drink the drug this girl had originally prepared for him. For some reason, he was suddenly glad he'd come back today.
Otherwise, if this girl had been taken by Morgan Sterling, he would have been seriously pissed off. He had no interest in sleeping with the same person as an acquaintance. It was just gross.
When he lay back down on the bed after finishing his cigarette, Leah somehow snuggled up against him. He froze for a moment. Her brow was still slightly furrowed as she mumbled "Third Brother" in her sleep.
Asher felt his heart soften unexpectedly. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the space between her eyebrows. Leah's furrowed brow slowly smoothed out.
He watched her quietly for another moment. 'Similar? Heh, I really don't see the resemblance.'
When Leah woke up, she felt like she'd been beaten up all over again. The events of last night slowly replayed in her mind.
Including how she had demanded a kiss from Asher in the elevator, right in front of Ethan Shaw and the others. Mortified, she pulled the covers over her head. 'Why did it have to be so socially catastrophic? Can't someone just cover me with a white sheet and let me die on the spot?'
The person beside her, Asher, was woken by her movements. He sighed softly. Then he felt her stiffen. Leah slowly lowered the blanket and saw Asher looking at her with the grogginess of someone who had just woken up, which only made her more embarrassed.
Asher leaned against the headboard and habitually reached for his glasses. He suddenly remembered what she had said yesterday and asked with a cool glance, "So, men who wear glasses are 'gentlemanly scumbags'?"
"I was just trying to piss off that guy, Sterling," Leah said softly, clutching the blanket.
"So the compliments for me were also to piss him off?"
"...The compliments were true. Pissing him off was also true." Leah wanted to bury her head under the covers again.
Asher suddenly leaned over and pinned her down. Leah clutched the blanket, tensing up.
Asher pulled her hands away. "What are you hiding from? We've already seen, touched, and done everything there is to do. What's there to hide?"
Leah's mind went blank with a ROAR. Asher watched leisurely as her entire face turned red at a visible rate.
"I... I... I..."
Leah stuttered for a long time but couldn't form a coherent sentence. Her flustered state, however, piqued Asher's interest. He leaned in and kissed her directly, his hand slipping under the covers to wrap around her smooth body.
Leah accepted the kiss, her mind hazily wondering if she'd even be able to get out of bed later. But she didn't have much time to think about it, as Asher was already masterfully leading her to explore the most primal of pleasures.
Later, when Leah finally got out of bed, her legs were literally shaking. Sean Yates had already delivered the items, and Asher went to get the clothes for her.
After she had gotten ready, Asher was waiting for her in the dining room. A housekeeper had already come and prepared a meal. Asher usually lived in the villa alone, and a housekeeper would come over to cook for him when he was here.
When Leah came downstairs, Asher gestured for her to sit and eat. She glanced at the table—it was quite a spread. She had thrown up everything after drinking last night and was indeed feeling hungry.
She said her thanks and began to eat. The housekeeper was a good cook, and everything tasted delicious. As Leah ate, her mood improved considerably.
Asher caught sight of her happy expression out of the corner of his eye. Her eyes were curved into crescents and shining brightly, giving her the innocent and guileless look of a recent graduate.
He couldn't help but curve his lips into a smile as well. After they finished eating, Asher handed her the contract from Azure Bay. Leah was stunned when she took it, looking at him in disbelief.
"Young Master Keating, what is the meaning of this?" Leah asked blankly.
"What, did you forget what I said yesterday?" Asher lit a cigarette and watched her.
"Yesterday... my mind wasn't very clear. I don't know which words you're referring to," Leah said directly. Her mind really had been a mess yesterday.
"You're honest, at least," Asher chuckled.
"So, this is..."
Leah grew nervous, her mind racing. 'Did Asher Keating buy out my contract? How much have I already paid back to Azure Bay? If he did, how much do I have to pay him back?'
"Yesterday, in front of Morgan Sterling, I said you were my woman. Since you're my woman, your contract obviously can't remain at Azure Bay," Asher replied coolly.
"I have an apartment at Europa Gardens. You'll live there from now on. I'll give you a sum of money every month—think about how much you want and let me know. As for anything else you want day-to-day, as long as it isn't too outrageous, I can provide it for you."
"All you have to do is be ready for me whenever I want it. Either wait for me, or come when I call. The day I decide we're done, we'll be even. I won't ask for any of the things or money I've given you back."
Asher recalled the place she lived when he'd taken her home last time—a small, old, run-down apartment. He had no desire to go looking for her in a place like that.
"Does this mean... you're keeping me?" Leah asked in a low voice, clutching the paper.