After changing into the bathrobe, Leah Sinclair stood before the mirror and finally got a clear look at herself. Her left cheek was still swollen, the handprint starkly visible, and there was a small cut at the corner of her mouth. She sighed. 'I wonder if it'll be gone by tomorrow. If it's not, I probably can't go see Grandma.' She found the hairdryer and quickly began to dry her hair. She had taken too long and was afraid of displeasing Asher Keating. The events of the evening had been terrifying; she couldn't bear the thought of staying at Azure Bay. A moment ago, she'd been wondering if she could bring herself to ask Asher Keating for a loan to leave that place.
Asher Keating had been reviewing some documents when he heard the hairdryer start. He glanced at the time on the bottom of his computer screen. Leah Sinclair had been in the bathroom for nearly an hour. 'Anyone would think she'd fallen asleep in there.' Leah emerged when her hair was mostly dry. Seeing Asher Keating sitting at the desk beside the bed, she nervously shuffled over. "Young Master Keating," she murmured, "I'm finished."
Asher Keating looked up at her. With her heavy makeup washed away, her frame swallowed by his bathrobe, the swelling on her face only made her look more innocent and pitiful. His Adam's apple bobbed. The fire he had just suppressed seemed to flare up again. He gestured with his chin. "There's an ice pack in the fridge in the next room. Go get it for your face. I still have some work to finish."
"Oh." Leah Sinclair let out a soft sigh of relief and hurried into the adjacent room to find the ice pack. When she pressed it to her cheek, the biting cold on her tender skin made her hiss in pain. Clutching the pack to her face, she returned to the bedroom. Asher Keating was still engrossed in his documents, and not wanting to disturb him, she simply sat on the edge of the bed. After a while, she grew bored and found her gaze drifting toward him.
He was resting his chin on one hand, the other gliding over the mouse, the light glinting off his glasses. Leah stared, completely mesmerized. 'I have to admit, Asher Keating is the most handsome man I have ever seen, even more striking than any celebrity on TV.' His lips were thin and pressed together, the bridge of his nose high and defined. His intense focus seemed to envelop him in a soft glow. 'It really is true,' Leah mused, thinking of the song lyric, 'a serious man is the most beautiful.'
'Beautiful' and 'man'—they seemed like two words that shouldn't go together, yet on him, they fit in perfect harmony. Leah sighed silently. 'Is he what they call an unattainable ideal, an ascetic god among men?' But the word "ascetic" immediately brought to mind the events of the previous night, and her face burned. 'He's not very ascetic at all, is he?'
Asher Keating knew Leah was watching him. In his peripheral vision, he could see her on the bed—staring blankly one moment, sighing the next, then suddenly blushing. He was privately amused, and his work pace quickened slightly.
While Leah was still lost in her reverie, the ice pack was abruptly pulled from her cheek. An instant later, Asher Keating had her pinned beneath him on the bed, his mouth claiming hers and stealing her breath. She tried to push him away but failed, her hands helplessly clutching his shirt. Asher's voice whispered beside her ear, "Relax."
It was the same word he'd used last night. Back then, it had no effect. But today, at the sound of that single word, Leah truly felt herself begin to relax. She forced herself to clear her mind of its chaotic thoughts and focus solely on Asher. Doing so, however, only amplified her senses. As he moved against her, an unbearable heat coiled within her, and she arched her back. Asher seized the chance to wrap a hand around her waist. She was so slender. His thoughts drifted to a classic phrase: 'a waist one could encircle with a single hand.'
He rolled onto his back, pulling Leah on top of him. She remained dazed for a moment until he, without a word, simply raised an eyebrow in suggestion.
It took Leah a moment to realize what he wanted. Forcing herself to recall the previous night, she leaned down and removed Asher's glasses. She found herself captivated by his eyes. They were gorgeous, with pronounced double eyelids, irises as black as ink, and thick lashes that framed the upward tilt at the corners. Without the glasses, however, his entire aura seemed to grow colder. She swallowed nervously and slowly, hesitantly, pressed her lips to his.
Asher waited, but when she didn't make another move, he remembered she didn't know how to kiss. A soft chuckle escaped him. Flustered, Leah immediately sat up. "You... I don't know how."
"Want me to teach you?" Asher asked, lacing his fingers behind his head as he gazed up at her.
Leah was too embarrassed to say yes. Instead, she tried to recall how he had kissed her earlier. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her lips to his again. But it was less of a kiss and more of a clumsy gnawing; she nearly broke the skin on his lip. He grabbed the back of her head, deepening the kiss and plunging his tongue into her mouth. He didn't pull away until she was gasping for air. With a small smile, he murmured, "Now *that's* a kiss."
Leah's face was burning, her heart hammering in her chest. She collapsed weakly against him. Asher, however, was in no hurry. His long, slender fingers traced a path down her spine, light as a pianist's touch on ivory keys. Leah bit her lip, trying to stay silent, but a few soft whimpers escaped despite her efforts.
Asher rolled her onto her back again, pinning her beneath him. "Don't bite it."
"Y-Young Master Keating," Leah stammered, her voice trembling.
"Call me Third Brother."
"...Third Brother, mmph—" The two words had barely left her lips before Asher began to move in earnest. Under his relentless assault, Leah felt her body turn to water. She discovered she had no control at all. Every time she tried to bite her lip, he would deliberately deepen his thrusts. In the end, she had to surrender, her voice calling out his new name on instinct.
From the bed to the shower, then back to the bedroom. The sofa, the bathtub, the bed again. Leah lost count of how many times they made love that night. All she knew was that by the end, her voice was completely raw. Only when the corners of her eyes were red-rimmed and she was whimpering for him to stop did Asher finally relent. Afterward, he was the one who carried her to get cleaned up. 'I can do it myself,' she wanted to say. 'Someone like you shouldn't be doing this.' But she was too exhausted to speak, the words caught in her throat.
Once she was clean, Asher carried her back to the bed. Leah was already fast asleep, her brow furrowed just as it had been the night before. He reached out and gently smoothed the crease between her eyebrows. Miraculously, his touch seemed to work. Her expression softened, and she murmured something that sounded like a sigh of contentment before sinking deeper into sleep. Asher said nothing. He simply walked to the window, lit a cigarette, and gazed out into the darkness.
The next day, Asher drove Leah home. The entire way, she never found the courage to ask about borrowing money. She felt that after last night, he probably didn't hate her. If she asked, he might even agree. But every time she was on the verge of speaking, she would stop herself. 'It feels like if I ask for money, it'll change things between us,' she thought. The idea made her feel ashamed of herself.
Just before she got out of the car, Asher spoke. "It's been taken care of."
"Thank you, Young Master Keating." With that, Leah threw open the car door and bolted like a frightened rabbit.
Asher clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had been about to ask if she needed a loan to leave Azure Bay for good—better she owe him than that place. But she had bolted faster than a rabbit, as if he were some kind of terrifying beast. He lit a cigarette, no longer in the mood to say anything else, and drove away.