Star of His Heart - Brenda Jackson [65]
“You should be hungry by now,” he said quietly, breaking into her thoughts, as well as the silence that had suddenly surrounded them. “I can make a mean beef stew. How about some?”
She smiled. “That sounds good.”
It was better than good, Netherland thought as she spooned the last of the beef stew from her bowl. It had been delicious. Returning to the cabin, Ashton had taken a large stew pot out of the cabinet; then he had expertly moved around the kitchen selecting the key ingredients he needed to make the stew. She had sat at the table and watched him, offering to help, but he’d told her it was something he wanted to prepare alone…for her. So she had talked while he had cooked. She told him about how she had used the money she’d inherited from her maternal grandmother to purchase Sisters with dreams of transforming what had been an empty warehouse into an upscale restaurant and hangout for women.
“It’s a nice place. You should be proud of yourself and your accomplishments, Netherland.”
She smiled. “Thanks, and I am.”
They ate in silence, finishing the meal with a lot on their minds.
“You can help me clean up the kitchen if you’d like,” Ashton said, smiling over at her.
She smiled back at him. “Oh, you like having me around for the heavy stuff,” she said jokingly.
“I like having you around period.”
Netherland’s body reacted to Ashton’s words and the steady gaze that held hers. She tried to inject a semblance of normality and lightheartedness into her voice when she responded, “And what if I refused to help you with the dishes?”
He leaned back in his chair, locked his hands behind his head and continued to gaze at her. “Then I have to think of another way to get you to show your appreciation for the food I prepared for you. I’m sure if I think long and hard about it, I’ll come up with something. And I’ll make sure it’s something we’d both enjoy doing.”
Netherland watched as the pure, unadulterated sensuous look in his eyes said it all. Parts of her body responded as it throbbed and hummed when his eyes darkened. She cleared her throat. “You wash and I dry.”
An easy grin played at the corners of his mouth. “Okay, but later, when you take your bath, I’ll wash and I’ll dry.”
Netherland’s breath caught in her throat, and heat surged through her. The two of them stared silently at each other for a long moment before she finally nodded. Ashton intended to keep that promise, and a sizzle of excitement as well as anticipation raced through her bloodstream just thinking about it.
“Are you ready to help me tackle the dishes?” he asked in a throaty whisper that tingled along her spine and made goose bumps appear on her arms.
“Yes.”
He stood and held his hand out to her. “Come on, then,” he said gently. “The sooner we can finish the dishes, the sooner we can get into other things.”
The cleaning up of the kitchen, like dinner, was done in amicable silence. By the time the last of the dishes had been put away Ashton took Netherland’s hand in his and led her from the kitchen into the living room. He crossed the room to the fire in the fireplace, sat on the floor in front of the hearth and pulled her down across his lap with her legs on either side of his waist.
Netherland faced him and looked into his eyes.
“For starters,” he said, brushing a butterfly kiss against the corner of her mouth. “We’ll talk about our future and where we go from here.”
To the bedroom I hope, Netherland thought as the strong sensations of his fingers stroking her back brought a smile of pleasure