More Than A Favor

Chapter 173

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I needed to come up with a reason… The phone in my hand vibrated twice. It was a message from Nora. It was a GIF of a woman in a sexy nightgown striking a seductive pose after a bath.

Nora had added a note:

“You could give it a try.”

I rolled my eyes and sent back a facepalm emoji. Though I scolded Nora internally for being inappropriate, I couldn’t deny that her suggestion had merit. It wasn’t a terrible idea–I just needed to come up with a good excuse to show Ashton this side of me.

I walked to the bathroom to shower while brainstorming ideas.

Using Jeremy’s message as an excuse wouldn’t work–if I mentioned it, Ashton would surely stop me from responding. Asking him to fix the water pipes was out too, as there wasn’t anything wrong with them (and I couldn’t exactly go breaking them).

Saying I was hungry and asking him to cook seemed like the best option.

With this plan in mind, I hurried through my shower. When I finished, I pulled out the sexy nightgown I had hidden away in the back of my closet.

The nightgown was one I had bought when Logan and I got engaged. Back then, I had imagined us building a life together, sharing our home, our dreams… and moments like this. But Logan had never even seen it. Now, Ashton would.

The black silk fabric hugged my curves perfectly, its sheen accentuating my figure in all the right places. The delicate lace trim added an air of mystery, and the way the fabric contrasted with my fair skin made it impossible to ignore.

Even I found myself staring in the mirror, thinking, This is enough to make anyone’s mouth go dry.

“Knock, knock.”

A knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. At this late hour, it could only be Ashton.

My cheeks flushed instantly. I raised a hand to pat them, trying to calm myself as I glanced at my reflection one last time. Then, I walked to the door, calling out, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me. I made you a bowl of oatmeal.”

deep, pleasant voice carried through the door, muffled but

Ashton’s timing was impeccable–he had saved me the trouble of finding an excuse

straps of my nightgown a little lower for good

the door.

hungry,” I said, leaning casually

on me. I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard. His reaction was immediate and obvious.

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floated by: It’s working. It’s

(–)6882) Mery

reached for the bowl while playfully praising him, “You’re really on

He handed me the bowl, but

brushed, I felt the bowl tremble alightly in his hands before he steadied it.

look sent a shiver down my spine. Suddenly, I had a bad premonition that things

my hand back, but Ashton didn’t

from my chest. I had been the one to start this, to provoke him, but

I stammered, my

but this only allowed him to move into the

against the shoe cabinet, trapped between Ashton and the wall. Both of us still held the bowl of oatmeal, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how not a single drop had spilled despite the tension between us.

there, impossibly

myself to meet his eyes. A wave of regret washed over me as I thought, Why did I think this was

me, but she had also warned me that men couldn’t resist being teased. I had acted on a whim, and now I was paying

to stay calm. I could tell Ashton was holding himself

to maintain control.

here. You can go now,” I said, trying to sound composed, though my voice wavered

ightly.

Ashton didn’t move.

“Ash-”

and hoarse, like a feather

like they were

reply, though my voice came