Offered to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter-48. Flowers

[Xanthea]

Asher remained silent, contemplating me as though he were drinking in every minor detail of my face.

His gaze turned stoic as they skimmed over the flowers.

"Let's just say... I've found a new hobby," he said.

I tried to read his eyes, his face, but failed. Except for the soft warmth in his eyes, I couldn't get a glimpse of his soul or his thoughts whatsoever. "Hobby of collecting flowers from the earthly realm?" I asked.

Asher looked at me with a faint smile and gave a curt nod.

"Hobby of collecting flowers from 'your' realm," his voice was just as caressing as the breeze flowing around us.

I couldn't tell if my heart skipped a beat at the way he said those words or at the way he held my gaze and I felt lost and found at the same time. "Oh!" I briskly averted my gaze as soon as I realized he had somehow seized my breaths and stolen words right off my lips.

With a quick gulp, I cleared my throat.

"Makes sense," I smiled awkwardly. "Umm. There... there are many other beautiful flowers in my realm."

I was breathing, but there was a pleasant suffocation in my chest, something that made me breathless, as if I had just run a hundred miles.

"Is that so?" he peered at me.

Gathering whatever courage I could amidst my pounding heart and heating cheeks, I looked into his gray eyes. But that was a wrong decision, a very wrong decision. Asher stepped closer to me.

"I wanna know the names of all the flowers you like. Every single one of them."

With a gentle touch, he delicately scooped a few strands of my hair, cradling them between his fingers.

The intensity of his gaze was far beyond my endurance. My chest heaved faster as I turned around and nervously ran my eyes over the flowerpots.

I could feel his body heat on my back, and I knew he was standing closer.

"Umm. Well. There are many... umm... roses, tulips, peonies, lavender, daisies, carnations, dahlia. There must be thousands of them and each with hundreds of varieties," I said in one long, cold breath. "My house would be too small to collect them all, right?"

I looked at him.

"Well... you can collect the flowers that mean something to you. Which you think might add value, beauty and positive energy to your house," I said.

He looked in deep thought as he glanced at the flowerpots.

flowers because they added something to your life?" He

faltered and faded away as I felt a little more comfortable

"Their presence in my life somehow filled the absence

followed was a prolonged silence between

long... have you been

I said with a

flowers were the companions of

and looked at him

the companions of my

I took in the beauty of the horizon

not like I never felt lonely. I did. But I preferred my peace over wrong companionship. And I found peace

said. "I'll put them back. They aren't happy to

a deep breath and kneeled in front of

can get more light." I pointed towards the other picture window on the other side of the room. "They'll be

so? Can you help me make them feel at home? I wish to feel their companionship as well," he said in his deep voice, maintaining the

out of them when I felt Asher's firm grip on my frantic wrist from over the curtain. "Stay still," he said.

tumbled on the floor as the

wrapped around my head just in time,

and helped me out

floor, I stared at him blankly as

the flowerpots," I said, cradling the flowerpots against

seconds later, but I

my mind could comprehend what he just said, he got up from me,

off the soil that

as they grazed past my nipples. I took a silent gasp, shutting my eyes when he withdrew his hand from me. "The

at the spot where I

shade so they'll be better like this." I slid the pot of forget-me-nots in jasmine's shadow. "How do you water them?" He

those plants and

and then

uncertainty lacing my words as I struggled to maintain eye contact

my hair and tucked them

followed him as

his palm before me. Taking his hand, I

be your

"My?"

nodded, tilting

my mother adored them. They were her favorite flowers," I said,

about 'your' favorite flowers,

said. "Uh... what's