The Assistant (18 page)

We left the small restaurant, which was not very far from the beach house, and arrived back home in under 10 minutes. Adrian locked the front door behind us once we entered, before grabbing my wrist and tugging me along with him upstairs. He opened the door to our room and pulled his shirt off and grinned at me.

“I have the perfect game for us to play,” he announced, before leaving me in the room alone. I decided to strip out of the dress then – and locked the door once I remembered it was still wide open, before tugging on Adrian’s shirt.

His smell instantly overcame my senses, and I smiled happily before unlocking the door and going over to sit on the bed. Adrian walked in a few minutes later holding a packet of
UNO
cards, and I instantly broke out into a grin.

“Now, I have to warn you,” he said cockily, “I’m pretty fucking good at this game.”

He smirked down at me once he realised I had changed into his shirt. He threw the packet of cards onto the bed before taking off his jeans and climbing in with me – taking a position directly opposite. I pulled down the shirt to try and cover my thighs – as well as the bright red thong Amy had left in the suitcase for me to wear – before I began to shuffle the deck.

“Bring it on, Adri-poo,” I declared, giving him a wicked smile.

***

I don’t think Adrian took the fact that I was a
very
competitive player into account until I kept demanding that we’d replay games. The score was a tie by midnight, and as he packed the deck away while I lay in bed, I came to the realisation that maybe he let me win the last game, just so we could stop playing.

“You let me win, didn’t you?” I asked Adrian with a slight glare once he re-entered the room and shut the door behind him.

“What? No! You won – fair and square, Shortcake.” He climbed into the bed and instantly pulled me over to him. He smirked before raising the shirt up from my back and looking down to my underwear. I felt his chest jerk, like he was choking on his own saliva.

“What?” I asked, my eyes widening in embarrassment as I looked down at the pair of red lace underwear.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, keeping his gaze glued to the flimsy material that barely covered my private area. I blushed before pulling the shirt back down, snapping him out of his gaze on my lower region. “Emily,” he muttered as his eyes met mine once again.

I squirmed slightly under his intense gaze, blushing. “Y- Yes?”

He shook his head and pulled me closer into his torso, before placing a kiss on my hair. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he mumbled, making my heart rate soar.

C
hapter Twelve

I woke up the next morning to the refreshing beach air, and instantly inhaled the peaceful smelling aroma while stretching my limbs after a comfortable sleep. Adrian groaned beside me and stirred a little, making me look over to him to check if I had accidentally woken him up. Once his breathing fell even, I slowly pushed myself out of bed, careful not to make much sound or movement.

Once I successfully escaped the room quietly, I made my way over to the main bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face, before descending the long staircase to make my way to the kitchen.

My stomach grumbled slightly as I scanned the contents of the cupboards, before walking over to fridge and pulling out the loaf of bread that was sitting in the corner of the top shelf, along with 4 eggs and the jar of strawberry jam. I cut the loaf into even pieces before popping the cut pieces into the toaster while turning on the stove for the eggs.

I heard Adrian yawn loudly just as I finished spreading jam on one of the cooked toast, and turned around to find him staring at me with a sleepy smirk.

“Good morning, Housewife,” he greeted in a husky morning voice, making me blush lightly at the statement. “Is this for me?” he asked, pointing at the eggs and toast in front of him.

It was actually mine, but he took a bite from the toast before I could respond. I glared, placing a hand on my hip. “That was mine,” I said, huffing.

He shrugged and smirked in my direction before sitting on the bar stool and taking another bite from
my
breakfast. I gave him a look of disbelief before sighing and turning around to continue his eggs – that were now going to be mine.

Once I was done cooking, and after pouring Adrian a large bowl of cereal, I sat across from him and began to eat my own breakfast, closing my eyes as I savoured the taste. Once my eyelids fluttered open again, I found Adrian staring in my direction with a small smile on his face, making me blush.

“What?” I murmured, shaking my hair slightly so that it fell onto my face to hide my embarrassment.

“I’ve noticed something about you, Shortcake,” he stated, still wearing the warm smile on his lips. I raised my eyebrows in surprise before nodding my head cautiously, indicating for him to continue. “Your eyelids flutter close and you let out a small sigh every time you experience something you enjoy. You just did it now, and you always make that small sigh in your sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night and wrap my arms back around your waist.” He finished his comment by shoving a spoonful of sloppy cereal into his mouth.

My eyes widened in shock as his words sank in, and I began blushing furiously at the fact that Adrian noticed something so irrelevant. “O- Oh, really?” I stammered, fumbling with my reply.

He nodded before looking up at me with a smirk. “Don’t get me started on how many times you’ve done it when I’ve touched you,” he added while his smirk grew at my horrified expression.

“Shut up!” I exclaimed in a squeaky voice, before jumping out my seat and taking our empty plates to the sink. He just chuckled as he chomped on more soggy cereal.

“We’re going to spend the day on the beach again,” he stated while I began to wash the plates under the running water.

“Okay, fine with me,” I replied, washing off the soap.

“We’ll eat lunch there too,” Adrian continued. “We need to make the most of it since our flight is at 5AM tomorrow morning.”

“
5AM?!”
I exclaimed, turning around to give him another look of disbelief. I almost choked.

He nodded, before getting out of his seat and placing the bowl into the sink and giving me a pointed look. “It’s a five-hour flight, so we’ll already be missing most of the morning in the office.”

I nodded in thought, feeling slightly disappointed at the fact that I was going to be leaving this place. “I understand,” I said, sighing slightly before turning off the tap. “Let’s go up and get dressed then. I want to soak up as much sunrays as my pale skin can take in before we go back to hell.” I grinned at him.

He returned the cheeky look and bit my shoulder playfully, making me squeak in surprise, before we both raced up the stairs of the beach house, laughing loudly.

***

“Feed me!” Adrian demanded, glaring at my exasperated expression.

“Adrian, you’re not two! Feed yourself!” I snapped back, glaring at him. His glare deepened before he pulled me into his seated body, making me scream out in surprise. “Are you insane?!” I exclaimed, looking down at him and watching as his glare transformed into a smirk.

“Feed me,” he repeated, lowering his voice. I looked around the crowded beach in shock, hoping no one was watching our encounter as I felt his hand slide down to grip my rear end, making me gasp lightly. “There you go again!” he said in a sing song voice, pointing out the small gasp he’d noticed from the morning.

I blushed furiously before shoving three pieces of fries into his mouth grudgingly, distracting him long enough to be able to extricate myself from his shirtless body. I stumbled away, feeling a little clumsy but nevertheless free.

He chuckled at my lack of coordination, making me glare at him again as he chomped onto the fries smugly.

“You are so obnoxious,” I mumbled loud enough for him to catch my statement.

“Are you sure you want to be saying that to your boss’s face?” he asked with a smirk, raising his eyebrows playfully.

“Absolutely!” I grinned, then pulled my tongue out at him. He chuckled and gave me the same small smile as he did in the morning, before getting out of his seated position. “Really?” he questioned again, walking towards me in a threatening manner.

My eyes widened and I began to walk backwards as my eyes landed on his smug smirk before trailing back up to meet his gaze. I gulped and let out a loud squeal just as he began charging at me, making turn around and run towards the water as quickly as my legs would take me with a heavy stomach.

Suddenly, I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around my waist, and before I could try and wriggle out of his old, I was hoisted over Adrian’s shoulder while he chuckled.

“Adrian!” I squealed, “Put me down!”

“Apologise,” he said. I could hear that smirk of his in his voice as he reveled in my misery.

I grumbled before pounding my fists on his bare back, scowling down at his red swim shorts. “Adrian!”

He began to chuckle again but stopped abruptly once an admiring sigh sounded from the side of our bodies, causing us to both freeze in shock and confusion.

Adrian turned to the source of the sound, making me scowl at the fact he was turning me even further away from it, before stopping.

“How long have you two been married?” a soft, feminine voice asked, making my eyes widen in shock as I went limp in his hold.

“We’re not married.” I laughed nervously, responding before Adrian could. I wiggled in his grip and tried to get my lips as close to his ear as possible. “Put me down, it’s rude!” I hissed into his hair, getting sand on my lips in the process. Adrian began to loosen his grip on my waist slightly as he let me slide down his body, but kept me plastered into his side once my feet touched the floor.

My eyes finally met the source of the voice, and I smiled at the middle-aged couple politely, blushing slightly at the fact that Adrian wouldn’t let me go.

“Oh! Sorry, how long have you two been dating then?” the woman asked, returning my gesture as she wrapped an arm around the man – who I assumed to be her husband – next to her.

I opened my mouth to respond but Adrian beat me to it this time, cutting me short with a peck on the cheek. “Three years. Funny you bring up marriage, actually. I’ve proposed to her three times, and she still insists on rejecting and publicly humiliating me every single time it happens.” Adrian pouted, making me snap my head up to meet his amused expression.

“I-” I began, but was cut off once again.

“It’s really getting to me, you know?” Adrian continued, “I don’t know what to do anymore. My heart feels like it’s going to explode from the inside out every time you say no to me.” He looked down at me with a self-satisfied expression, just as the double meaning behind his words registered in my mind. He was talking about the fact that I say no every time he asks me to sleep with him!

I glared up at him, blushing furiously as the couple watched us with amused expressions.

“I mean, sometimes I think you’re only with me for the sex, apple,” Adrian stated, giving me a look of disbelief that only I knew was false.

I continued to glare at him and even pouted a little myself. “Well fuzzy bunny, I didn’t want to have to tell you this… but since you’ve brought it up… I don’t want to marry you because you’re kind of… lacking… in that department.” I let my gaze trail down to his crotch area.
Two can play at this game
,
I thought smugly. He looked back up at me and glared.

“I’m sure he loves you very much, sweetie,” said the woman, giving me a comforting pat on the shoulder and a warm smile. “No matter how… um, lacking he is. That won’t matter at the end of the day! I mean, from the way we saw you two act towards each other all day today, we can tell how much you’re fond of each other. I think you should accept the next time he proposes.”

I began to feel guilty at the fact that we were lying to such a sweet couple, just as the man spoke up, directing his advice to Adrian. “Any maybe you shouldn’t propose somewhere so public next time.” The man winked, grinning.

The lady and I laughed at his statement, before I looked up at Adrian, who was smirking down at me. “I’ll keep that in mind for Take #4. Is that alright with you, fluffy munchkin?” he asked, raising one eyebrow as he waited for my answer.

I almost gagged at the nickname he gave me, before placing my palm on his chest and gasping. “That would be amazing!” I gushed, grinning as widely as I could.

The couple exchanged amused glances before the man bent down to place a kiss on the woman’s lips, making her blush.

“Well, we’d best be off,” said the man, “We have to make the most of our 25-year anniversary without the kids around as much as we can.” He looked down at the woman with an all too familiar expression I had seen on Adrian’s face when I’d be in my underwear. The woman began to blush even deeper before waving at both Adrian and me, and they continued their stroll near the waves, holding hands.

“You’re an idiot!” I scowled as soon as they were out of earshot, making him smirk down at me as I struggled to free myself from his hold.

“A pretty convincing idiot,” he said, grinning proudly at himself. “They ate up the lie like it was their next meal!”

I gawked in disbelief before slapping his muscled arm. “That’s because you told them we’d been dating for three years and that you’ve proposed to me!” I scowled, frowning.

“Oh, you’re in
no
position to talk, Shortcake. ‘Fuzzy bunny’?” he repeated, breaking into a fit of laughter. I tried to glare up at him, but ended up joining his laughter. “That almost cracked me – I’ll give you a point there,” he declared after we had calmed down.

I smirked before biting my lip in thought. “Hmm. I believe that now makes the Tally board Kingston: 1. Johnson: 2 – I’m including my UNO win as a part of my score.” I grinned up at him smugly.

“I let you win,” he confessed, making my nostrils flare in anger.

“I
knew
it!” I shouted out, jumping slightly. “You couldn’t stand the fact that you were about to be beaten by a girl, so you decided to let me win on purpose so your ego wouldn’t – oh my god! Is that a crab?!” I exclaimed excitedly as I spotted a red animal crawl across the sand sideways.

Adrian gave me a confused look before his gaze travelled over to where all my focus was suddenly averted to, and I ran over to the crab in excitement. “Oh my god. It’s a real crab! Look! It has hands and it’s walking sideways and it looks angry and everything! A real crab!” I squealed excitedly, grinning down at it as it continued to scurry sideways along the sand. I sighed happily before looking up to grin at Adrian – who I found staring at me with that funny, small smile on his face once again. His usual playful expression had softened, and he was watching me with a glazed expression over his features.