Chapter 20

Alexander could not help but laugh out loud at Heather's displeasure. On the other hand, Heather was completely caught off guard by the unexpected sound of his laughter.
She was absolutely surprised at his abrupt burst of laughing. He did not laugh in a manufactured or forced manner as she had frequently seen others do; instead, Heather felt her heart spring from his belly as he laughed right to her heart.
After hearing no response from her, he was tempted to peek at her, but when he did, all he saw was her admiring gaze. He was used to seeing women desire after him more frequently than ever, but he had never before witnessed a woman look at him with such love and admiration.
The feeling was completely different in every way.
"I wasn't making fun of you," Alexander remarked, "just so you know." His face was lit up with a big grin.
Heather made an effort to seem irritated, but she was unsuccessful, as she could not pull it off. "I honestly doubt so. Because it was humiliating rather than hilarious."
He did not need to have known Heather personally for decades to realize that she was jesting with him. He sighed softly, "Oh Heather, you, my darling, can never humiliate yourself. If you had not reciprocated my adoration, it would have been rather embarrassing and a sad truth for me."
“Who says I do, now?” She challenged him.
He should have been disappointed and filled with self-doubt by her statements, but he was aware of Heather Crown's nature. She is not the sort to manipulate someone's emotions for her own amusement. She was incapable of treading on another person's sentiments.
“So, you don’t, huh?” Alexander slid his fingers nearer to her cheeks, just grazing the tips rather than entirely touching them.
Her lips flew open in response to his overt action, and she uttered, "Alexan..."
“Look into my eyes and tell me, Heather Crown, that you do not return my adoration,”
She wanted to say yes right away but held her tongue back. Instead, she tried to trick him with her words, but this did not calm her anxiety or slow down her increasing heartbeat, “Why don’t you kiss me and find out?”
As she pressed her face closer to his, he mimicked her movements. Their lips were almost touching, and she was just about to completely touch her lips onto his when he whispered, “Nice try, Heather Crown. When I kiss you for the first time, it won't be in the tub when you're bathing in a mixture of portions to help you restore your health.”
She felt herself internally upset by his words, but she twisted her lips into a sheepish grin.
“You are something else, Alexander Diadem,” She said softly.
“Only for you.” He winked at her as she returned to her former position in the tub, trying to sit comfortably.
After five minutes, Alexander said, "Times up."
He stood up from the floor next to the bathtub and went to the little cabinet over the sink to get her a new towel. He was happy to see a white towel large enough to cover her and shield his eyes from her exposed body. For both of their sakes—their sanity—he did not want her to discover how strongly he desired her. It was kind of embarrassing because she had no clue of the effect she had on him.
Alexander ensured Heather's back was facing his front, and his eyes were focused on the nape of her neck as she carefully ascended to the top, water dripping from every pore of her body and immediately falling into the tub. He took a step forward, hardly a foot apart from her, when he whispered loud enough for her to hear.
“Could you lift your arms for me,”
She complied with his words, and he spread the towel totally out, covering her from behind, under her arms, to her front as she gradually turned to face him.
On the other side, Heather didn't move to take the towel from Alexander's hand and secure it because she was too caught up in the moment and feeling Alexander's presence. Alexander was more than glad to do her task. He didn't care when his fingertips accidentally brushed her cleavage as he tucked the towel's edge.
But the heat emitting from her body overcame him, and all he wanted to do was kiss and lick the moisture off of her body.
Heather's response of "thank you" jolted him out of his not-so-prudent musings about her.
He then helped her get out of the water and led the way to her bedroom while he went to fetch another clean towel.
He said, "You are still dripping with water."
He carefully wiped the wetness off her face and the exposed flesh without asking her permission as he had in the past. She was unable to breathe the whole time, but she did not want him to stop—especially when she felt his tongue's tip taste the skin on her shoulder blade before massaging it with a dry towel.
He repeated it on the opposite side before dignifiedly drying her exposed body. He then knelt down to dry her legs, after which she said, "You don't play fair,"
Alexander directly looked into her eyes when he spoke, “What is the joy in playing fair when you get an opportunity to be wicked without feeling the thought of illicit intentions from either party? It is a win-win situation for both of them.”
“I still don’t like it,” she pouted, which only made him want to kiss her more.
“You would someday. So Miss Heather Crown, my clothing or yours?” He queried her.
“Yours is more comfortable. However, you would have to assist me. I'm still worn out.” Heather said as she sat in the middle but on the edge of the bed.
Alexander understood precisely what she was up to, but two could play this game even though he knew who would win and lose in the end. He grabbed his shirt despite his conflicted emotions.
“To assist you in wearing it, you would have to stand up for me.” He said, standing in front of her with his blue shirt.
Heather obeyed his words and stood up in front of him. Without removing her towel, he made her wear his shirt, which was loose for her. He tucked all the buttons, but it looked funny as the towel was still wrapped beneath his garment.
She laughed and remarked, "I feel strange."
“Of course you do.” He said, laughter dancing in her eyes.
He smiled at her before deftly undoing the middle two buttons and taking out the towel.
“Oh my!” Heather gasped as his hand inadvertently brushed her stomach.
Alexander and Heather both were looking at each other. Although Heather was aware that he wouldn't kiss her right away, they both knew what they wanted.
“I should probably rest on the bed for a while,” As she tried to turn and walk away, Alexander held her hand.
“I was always destined to lose in the end,” Alexander spoke, but his words went above her head.
“I do not understand,” Heather said with a lovely scowl on her face.
He didn't answer her verbally, but instead pulled her in, encircling her waist with his free hand and stroking her cheeks with the hand that was holding her wrist. Then he leaned forward, brought her close, and kissed her on the lips.