"Ashley Steve, it is time for you to leave that room."

"Leave me alone," she grumbled in response. And as she clutched her stomach which grumbled as well and cried for help, Ashley darned her pride which refused her legs a chance to walk out of that room.

"You have been in there since yesterday morning and I am pretty sure the chips I stacked in there were not enough to quench your hunger. So," she could hear him lean his weight further into the wooden door, "do yourself a favour and get the hell out of that room."

Scrunching her lips, Ashley's eyes roamed to the left where layers and layers of empty chips wrappers lay just beside a few empty bottles of water. Clutching her stomach as the hunger alarm struck again, Ashley decided it was quite stupid to put herself in such a situation.

After all, if one had to be honest, her anger was not justified. And, Dave was right the day before, she was overreacting. And she said things she didn't mean.

Did she say she didn't want him in her life?

Nonsense. Pure nonsense.

At that point, she was already attached to the man and having him leave was not an idea she sat with comfortably.

After heaving a sigh, Ashley gave in to her hunger.

With her teeth taking a soft dig into the flesh of her lips, she dumped her anger and frustration and got down from the comfortable bed. Once she opened the door, Dave's tender eyes were the first thing she saw. But she quickly dashed past him before she could capture more of his image.

"Do you feel okay now? Or do you need me to drop some sense into your head so that you can understand that you are not jinxed?" Dave asked.

"Something like that," she mumbled. "I feel better."

"Good."

After settling on the couch where a meal of fried rice was waiting for her, Ashley looked up to give Dave a smile of appreciation. While returning that smile, his feet took a few steps closer. And, when he stopped walking, he folded his arms and placed his attention on her. "I went to your house today," he said.

"Uh?" Ashley's eyes squinted. "Whose house?"

"Yours. It was only the ground floor that suffered the most, so I was able to slide through to get your stuff."

"Uh?"

"You heard me."

"And by stuff, you mean?"

"Thing you wear? Clothes and the likes." Dave shrugged.

"Does that include my under...?" Ashley stopped her question and all the two did for a few seconds was stare at each other.

"Under what?" Dave's voice was filled with amusement.

And, Ashley quickly relaxed her intention to inquire about the things he did in her almost destroyed house. It was not as though it mattered to her that a man packed her stuff. But if that man happens to be the one giving her a mental turnabout as well as a sexual one, Ashley just had to feel like someone just increased the room's temperature.

"Never mind." Ashley went back to her food and began to satisfy her hunger.

"I also got some of your toiletries. Now that I remember," Dave moved two steps closer and Ashley started to feel his heat, "I stumbled upon a very inteeresting collection of yours."

Her brows quickly quirked and she wondered what he was talking about. "Collection?" she asked after a few seconds of pondering, her eyes meeting that of the man with the teasing expression.

"Your lingerie collection," he suddenly dropped and a smirk followed his response. "I must say, you have good taste. It is a shame though, they looked untouched. Is it safe to assume that you never wore them for your ex-husband?"

"Dave, please." The manner in which he spoke made her feel more flustered than she felt the first time she was with a man. The way he talked made her feel shy and as she took in morsel after morsel of food, she darted her head to the side and evaded those gorgeous eyes of his.

"It is good to see you smile again." Ashley didn't even know that the sides of her lips were dancing with glee amid the intense heat she was feeling. "It is also good to know the effect my teasing has on you."

She rolled her eyes at his cockiness.

"So, you didn't find my collection. You are just lying."

"Oh, I did. I found them. Very nice things to look at."

Shaking her head, Ashley re-focused on her food and hoped that he would bring up something else. He did.

"Anyway, jokes aside. Since I won't be allowing you to stay at a hotel no matter how stubborn you might be about it, I decided to change your environment in the meantime."

"Okay?"

Dave rubbed his palms together as though he was about to spill a juicy gossip. "Well, Ashley Steve, don't bother to unpack your load tonight, because we are going to the beach."

"If I am going to the beach, I don't think I should unpack. It is not like I will be putting on all my attire for one day at the beach."

Groaning, Dave shook his head in disbelief. "Why, Ashley Steve? Why do you always do this?"

Trying to hide another smile, some sort of honest innocence etched in her eyes, she asked, "Do what? What do I do?"

"You were supposed to react happily to the sentence not query it. So much for telling you things."

Hands surrendering, Ashley chuckled as she said, "Okay, okay. I am sorry." She began to wiggle her hands in the air. "Yay! The beach!"

"I could tell that was fake." She gave him a sheepish grin. "But to answer your query, just don't unpack your things. Tonight, you will find out why."

"Aye, aye, Dave Scott."

That gorgeous smile of his appeared and Ashley felt more relaxed. That smile of his was starting to feel like some sort of home.

"It is good to see you cheerful, Ashley Steve," Dave said.

Ashley nodded and went back to eating. She allowed a smile to grow on her lips as Dave watched her, but truthfully, her heart was still knees deep into the sadness business.

And it seemed things were going to be that way for a while.

~

When Dave talked about taking her somewhere, Ashley did not imagine the place she had just walked into. Dave Scott indeed finds a way to amaze her at every chance.

Staring at the playful waves ahead as well as the beautiful sunset that settled at the end of the ocean, Ashley felt a small smile form on her face. This smile was genuine.

"I can't believe I am on a private beach. Perks of being rich, uh?"

Dave gave a short nod, a smirk playing on his lips. "Perks of being rich. Come, let's go inside. We have a lot to talk about."

"Don't tell me we are back to fixing me." Ashley grabbed the hand that he had extended towards her.

"We never took a break, Ashley Steve. And now that I think about it, I think it would be better if we said that we are trying to heal you."

"That's what I have been trying to say. You can fix pipes, but you can't fix humans."

"You are totally right." He began to swing their enjoined hands. "So we are going to continue our quest to heal your wounds this evening."

When they got to the porch of the beach house they'd be residing in, Ashley could not help but admire the structure. It was nothing huge, but it was elegant either way. The bungalow had a thatched roof and there was a delightful use of bamboo here and there. After Dave unlocked the entrance door, Ashley noted that there were chairs on the porch and that was a perfect spot to watch the ocean from a distance.

A cosy living room that was decorated with light colours greeted them and Ashley asked, "Do you come here often?"

"Not really. I am usually too busy to take a break. I had a cleaning agency take care of the place yesterday, though." Dave dropped their bags which he picked from the entrance, and went on to settle on the nearest couch that was part of a four-set furniture arranged in an l-shape way.

After a loud exhale, he looked in her direction and motioned for her to come to sit beside him. She did not resist. Her legs rushed to his side as though they had been waiting for that call.

Snuggling into his side, Ashley took in the intoxicating scent he gave off. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the bliss of that moment. Then, she said, "Dave?"

"Hmm?"

Her eyes travelled ahead to the TV that was attached just above the fireplace which was not functional at the moment.

"I want to apologize for being sort of rude yesterday."

"You mean the day you told me you don't want me in your life?" Without looking in her direction, he began to draw strokes on her hand.

Ashley cringed. The thought of him not being in her life still didn't sit well with her. "Yes. I was just angry, so angry I took it out on you."

"I know, Ashley. There is really nothing to apologize for." She looked up at him and decided to follow the direction of a tiny voice in her head. Without stalling her intention, she wrapped her arms around her waist and continued to admire his face from that angle. When Dave noticed how prolonged her stare was getting, he turned his head towards her. "What is it?" he asked.

With just one thought in her head, Ashley placed her chin on the hardness of his lower abdomen and she grew a smile on her lips. Then, her voice a whisper he could not afford to ignore, she said, "I want you, Dave."

"In your life?"

"No. Well, I do. But, that's not what I am talking about." She tugged at his shirt in protest and he questioned her with a lifted brow. "I mean," her voice went back to being a whisper, "right now. I want you right now."

"Oh, Ashley," was all he said and the next thing she knew, she was responding with haste to the way he placed his lips on hers. As their mouths danced to feel more of each other, their bodies did the same. Without wasting a second, the duo meshed their bodies together and silently told each other how much they wanted that moment. Pulling away for a second, Dave asked, "You are sure about this, right?"

"Yes." Ashley took her top off, exposing her bare, swelled chest. Dave's eyes lit up in reaction and Ashley grinned. Then, she concluded her response, "Yes, I am sure."

And he took her lips again, this time with increased need.

His hands playing on her back and drawing her closer to him, Dave took control of the moment and laid Ashley down on the couch. He hovered over her stretched figure, and the affection that always oozed off him appeared by settling in his eyes.

"Oh, the things I am going to do to you, Ashley Steve," Dave groaned as his left hand began to tour her skin in a way that awakened things within Ashley. His touch persisted for a while and that was enough to have Ashley wiggling beneath him. Though she began to want more and more, the way she felt just because of his touch became a memory she wanted to keep forever locked in her mind, body and soul.

Dave's wandering hand soon found her groin, and as he cupped her there, her lower body jolted off the couch in reaction, and a sharp gasp left her lips. She was more than alive down there, and the fact that things were about to get more interesting made her cream a little.

Dave went on to press his fingers onto her clit despite the obstruction her jean trouser created, and her breaths became shaky in a way neither could ignore. That torturous hands of his found her lower belly, and his fingers played on her skin in a way that ushered in more waves of desire.

Ashley, who closed her eyes to relish the amazing thing she was feeling, felt Dave lower his body. She opened their eyes and the proximity of their faces made her cheeks flush.

Occasionally, his semi-hard groin brushed hers, teasing her in a way that almost made her beg for the climax of that intimate moment. But he had plans for her. Leaning closer to her ear, Dave continued with a slow, sexy, and intending voice, "I am going to make you feel so damn good, you will think of no other man but me for the rest of your life."

His words, his breaths... They tortured her as his touch did.

And, he really was just getting started.

As he moved even closer and caressed her hardening nipples with his clothed chest, Dave nibbled on her earlobe and Ashley just had to cry, "Dave, please. I want you!"