Page 46 of Ash

I wasn’t sure yet how I was going to explain where, in fact, I was; however, I would figure it out. I took a shower and got dressed while I wondered what the rest of the day would bring. My bedroom was beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to explore the rest of the house and the gorgeous gardens that had lined the driveway.

That wasn’t all I wanted to explore, of course. Whatever this was between Ash and me, I really wanted to explore it and, despite the danger, or maybe because of it, I had never had so much fun. My inner devil was revelling in the idea that Ash liked me, and I had to admit, the rest of me was too.

I pushed my thoughts away before they could take me to places that would make me blush. I was so looking forward to seeing Ash again I could hardly contain my excitement as I hurried downstairs in time for lunch. As I got to the bottom, I noticed Sonia entering a door up ahead. I followed her, guessing it must lead to the dining room. It did, indeed.

When I entered, Sonia beckoned me to sit next to her. I was a bit nervous when I saw Ash wasn’t there yet.

“Hi,” she said, and her friendly smile made me relax as she asked me how I liked my room.

“It’s lovely, thank you. And very kind of you all to look after me here. I hope it isn’t too much trouble?”

“Nonsense, it’s no trouble at all.” she insisted.

“Anyhow, you are only in trouble because of us, and you saved my brother’s life, so that makes you practically family in our eyes. Besides,” she smirked, “Ash is totally enamoured with you, and so you may actually be family soon anyway,” she remarked matter of factly.

Wow! Woah! Really? Bit fast!I was not sure what to think about that declaration. The man was gorgeous, and there was a definite connection between us, but it was still early days; we hadn’t even done anything but kiss yet. It was a bit soon to be thinking of becoming part of their family.

As if thinking about him conjured him up, Ash walked in. He kissed Sonia on the cheek and did the same to me.

I turned to look at him, and he took that as an invitation to kiss me again on the lips this time.

“Nice nap?” he asked.

I flushed as my mind flashed back to my dreamy and rather naughty thoughts about him, and I realised I must look a bit guilty when a knowing look entered his eyes, and he grinned seductively.

“I certainly did!” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, making me blush again before taking a seat next to me and pulling it so close that our legs were touching.

All the while, Sonia grinned knowingly at us.

It was all very disconcerting and overwhelming. I was about to move my chair away from Ash when his brothers and Romi came in. Deciding that moving now might create a scene and embarrass me further, I stayed where I was and tried to ignore the feeling of his leg against mine. It wasn’t easy; the warmth seeping from his body was heating me up in all the right places. Oh my!

Ash introduced me to his younger brother Marko, who shook my hand and winked, then laughed as Ash made a growling sound under his breath.

My eyes flicked towards him, and the sound immediately stopped, but I noticed he’d moved his chair even closer to me.

My cheeks heated, but I ignored them and concentrated instead on listening to the men as they chatted quietly.

A short while later, an elderly woman came in carrying a big serving dish with what looked like Spaghetti Frutti di Mare. It smelled delicious. She exited and returned quickly with a platter of garlic ciabatta and a large bowl of salad. Oh, yum was all I could think as my stomach rumbled quietly.

While we waited for whatever else she was bringing, Sonia told me that the woman was called Maria. Apparently, she had been their mother’s nanny when she was a child in Italy and had then followed her out to Russia when she married their father. Maria had become their housekeeper. However, she was always more like a member of the family, and they thought of her as a grandmother, called her Nonna, and loved her to bits. I thought that was sweet. I’d never known my own grandparents, so I thought it was nice that they all had their Nonna.

When Maria joined us to eat, Ash introduced us.

“Beautiful as well as brave!” Nonna stated, looking at me, then she turned to Ash, nodding at him approvingly.

“You must call me Nonna too, dear,” she said to me in a thick Italian accent.

I smiled warmly at the woman I knew I was going to like.

Ash beamed, and I noticed the others did, too.I guess I met with the family’s approval then.I smiled inwardly at the warm fuzzy feeling that thought invoked.

Nonna’s cooking was as amazing as it looked. We all ate heartily. I hadn’t eaten much since yesterday, so I was very hungry and stuffed myself.

I didn’t think I could eat another thing, until she brought in dessert. I did love my dessert.

There was a plateful of delicate sugar-coated pastries and another with cannoli crepes. I loved sugary desserts, and they looked terrific, decadent actually, and I couldn’t decide what to have. As I sat pondering over them, Ash took matters into his own hands and put several small pastries and a crepe onto my plate.

I blushed and raised my eyebrows at his forward behaviour in front of his family, but a quick glance around told me that nobody else seemed to care. It was as if they had already accepted me as his, and so his overt displays of possession and entitlement were expected. Normal even. I thought briefly that I should be bothered by his display, but I wasn’t. I liked that he was taking care of me. I liked it a lot, in fact.