Chapter 124

Ashton's pulse surged, his body burning with an intensity that made him want to tear off his shirt, rip off his coat, and set fire to his trousers. The source of the heat was currently wound around him like a vine, rubbing against him like a cat marking its territory. After she kissed him—long, hard, as if reclaiming all the oxygen he'd stolen from her earlier—she clung to him like a tree sloth. He held her there, standing. They stayed like that until she began to nod off. Gently, he tried to pry her hand from his neck. "Come on, you need sleep," he murmured, his voice rough. "No..." she protested, her grip tightening on him. "Clothes. Off." "You want me to take off your clothes? Change you into pajamas?" He was dying to oblige. "No. You. Clothes. Off." "Mira—" "Off." She began demonstrating, as though his hesitation was due to a lack of understanding. Ashton sighed as she popped off the top two buttons of her silk blouse. "At least this time it's your own clothes," he muttered. Not th