an Everlasting Pursuit

sixty nine

Asra forced me to shower with him for the next five days. He was relentless in not allowing me to wash myself. I liked to shower before I fell into bed, to wash away the grime of a workday. But Asra was always there. I think he knew when I left the kitchen and intently followed me to the bathroom. He was understanding my habits more than I did his. He was still a mystery to me.

Even as I stood bare and sudsy, and his hands ran along the length of my thighs with a fire burning in my belly, I still did not know this man.

That made me nervous.

He stood upright when he finished, with an accomplished smile that soon dropped at my scowl. "What is it?"

"I know nothing about you." I shook my head. "Like, nothing."

He cocked his head, blue eyes darting between my own. "What are you getting at, Tulip?"

"I want to learn more about you. If I am stuck with you like you say I am..." I gave him a pointed look at which he smirked at. "Then I need to know you more... I am standing naked in front of you right now and know nothing but your name and title."

"But I like it when you call me Alpha...."

I scoffed at his teasing. "Stop changing the subject."

"Fine, fine." He chuckled, moving me under the showerhead. "Get rinsed off. We shall talk about it when you are done being delectable and wet."

I scowled at him as the water poured down my face. He shot me a wink before stepping out of the shower and getting dry. Despite being drowned in the shower's current, I couldn't help but admire his body. Veiny, powerful hands clasped the towel around his waist, his scarred, broad shoulders glistening with beads of water. The sharp v of his pelvis that disappeared beneath the towel...

I had to correct myself from drooling. The urge to lick the water from his tan skin was too strong. This bond thing... I had seriously disbelieved that it was a thing. Being more attracted to someone because of it was barbaric, right? But the past few days... It has been harder to keep my mind and eyes from wandering.

Even the simplest of things I found terrifyingly attractive. How he would eat or swallow... How he would stretch, or the placement of his arms and legs. It was getting frustrating. My body was reacting to his more so than usual. I even sought his touch in the night so I could sleep. Asra was being very laid back about it all, pretending it wasn't happening. I just hoped he was having a war with himself about touching, but I highly doubted it. He seemed the type to know what he wanted.

Turning off the shower with an annoyed huff, I watched as Asra left the bathroom, now fully nude. I gritted my teeth before moving to the vanity and getting dry and ready for bed. I plaited my hair, leaving it in two long braids down the sides of my head, before also leaving the room naked.

As I approached the bed, I found Asra already lying on his side. The duvet pulled to the side. I narrowed my eyes at his chilled out reaction to my nudity. He didn't even seem the slightest bit affected by me compared to how I felt about him. I angrily got into bed naked, back to my usual ways. It seemed to catch his attention as I nestled into his newly boxer-clad front, a small growl leaving his throat.

"You are sleeping naked?"

"Nudist, remember?" I tutted.

He hummed, wrapping his arms around me. "Hard to forget."

My body ignited with fire at his touch and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep quiet.

Safe to say that night, I did not sleep without lucid dreams of Asra's post-shower body looming over me.