He made a sound of disappointment but sighed in contentment right after. “Is it as good as sex?”
“Almost.”
He gasped, and I chuckled.
“Then it must be pretty good. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got planned.” His smile had me mesmerized.
“Oh, it’s fucking amazing.” Well, I didn’t know what his reaction would be, but it would certainly be interesting. Asa was about to learn more about me than most people knew. “Don’t worry, kokhana, at this time of night it won’t take long to get to Manhattan.”
After he tucked away his cock, he laid his head against my shoulder, and not long later, he fell asleep. Soft breathy sounds left his mouth, not quite snores, but close. He was as beautiful like this as he was awake, with his dark lashes fluttering against his creamy, flushed skin. His lips pouted even in sleep and his hand rested on my chest, curling into my shirt.
When we arrived outside my Manhattan penthouse, I thought about letting him sleep, but there was no way to get him to the top-floor apartment without waking him up. It was fun drawing him from his slumber with a gentle kiss to the lips.
He moaned low in his throat and his lashes fluttered open, and then he smiled. “Hey, handsome.”
“Ready to go up?” I asked.
He grinned. “Depends, what’s going up?”
I laughed deeply. “You’re dirtier than you let on.”
“Yeah, professionalism will do that to you.” He took my hand as I opened the door and slid out the back of the Hummer. My soldier was waiting for me outside, his mouth pursed as he kept vigilant. It was his role to be one of my personal bodyguards, and if need be, he would jump in front of a bullet. They’d all been trained this way, and to my men, the job was about honor and loyalty.
Asa blinked at the soldier as he got out of the Hummer, but he didn’t say anything.
I glanced at Asa’s soiled clothing but didn’t worry, for now. We were going straight into the apartment building, and both the workers and the other tenants knew not to stare. Like the waiter at the restaurant, they avoided my gaze and showed me more respect than they would anyone else.
We went through the glass doors, greeted with a bowed head by the doorman, and headed through the foyer toward the elevators. For a Sunday night, it was emptier than usual, which suited me fine. The inside of the building was beautiful; white tiles adorned with shiny gold leaves made up the floor and white furniture filled the shared spaces. The reception desk was manned twenty-four seven and tonight it was Cadence on duty, a young man with blond curls, big blue eyes, and a cleft lip. He was also the only person in this place who treated me like a good man, and so when he saw us, he waved eagerly.
I gave Cadence a short nod and led Asa into one of the elevators that dinged as the doors opened. Cadence must have summoned it from the control panel at the desk when he saw me coming. I hit the button for the top floor. Asa’s eyes were wide when he turned to look at me.
“Wow. This place is nice.”
I laughed. “It’s only the beginning. I’m in the penthouse—” I winked at him. “—and it’s two floors of money-guzzling décor.”
He scrunched his nose but grinned in amusement. “Why do you spend so much cash on it? Doesn’t sound like you’re interested in it much.”
I thought about the answer to that question carefully. He was right. I didn’t care for it. “To fit in. Sometimes I need to bring home egotistical businessmen who need a reminder that I make more money than them. This is how I do it, through my possessions.”
“Do you at least have things you enjoy?” he asked.
I smiled at him as the elevator dinged again and the silver doors slid open. “You’re about to find out.” I guided him forward. Once I reached and unlocked the front door, I swung it open and waved my hand, gesturing for him to go first.
With a suspicious narrowing of his eyes, he walked inside.
“There are no monsters in there,” I teased. No, he’d already met the beast.
He didn’t react to my comment because he was staring at the bottom floor of my penthouse, eyes wider than before and mouth dropped open. He gazed around the room, barely breathing as he took in the clean, simplistic furniture. I’d gone with minimal whites and creams, which made the space look larger than what it was.
This level had an open-plan design. The kitchen was outfitted with stainless steel appliances and a white table. To our right was the living room with a leather U-shaped couch and large ninety-eight-inch TV.
“Wow.” He stood still, and I let him have a moment to take it all in. The child version of me would never have expected to own all this. While Tato had started the business, he hadn’t reached the heights I did. He would’ve been proud, though.
I chuckled and pushed Asa’s back gently, guiding him farther into the apartment. “Do you want to shower? You did get messy in the car.” He shivered at the reminder of all we’d done. “I can get you some clothes.”
He nodded, though it was jarring as he continued to stare at my home in disbelief. I left him to walk up the steel stairs in the far corner of the living room, which took me up to the bedroom floor. There was only a bedroom, walk-in closet, and a bathroom up here, but it took up the same space as the room below.
Once I had clothing for him—a loose pair of pants and gray shirt—I headed back downstairs to find Asa had broken out of his stupor. He shook his head at me.
