Page 66 of Dangerous Men

If having Jade see what was in there embarrassed me, it’s nothing compared to the mortification of watching Ash as he peers down into the box.

“Huh,” he says, both eyebrows raised and face unreadable.

“I think it’s a joke,” I tell him quickly, reaching for the lid to cover it up again. “An inside joke between the two of us.”

“The only joke is the idiot didn’t think to include any lube,” Ash says, straight-faced.

Oh.

My fingers pause mere inches from the lid. I look back into the box. I guess he didn’t, did he?

“Maybe that was on purpose,” Ash says, voice dropping an octave. “He knows first-hand how soaked you can get with the right motivation.”

My thighs squeeze together, a flash of heat going through me.

“Have you tried any of these yet?” Ash asks, looking over at me. God, his eyes are so intense suddenly. When he looks me over, gaze slowly moving down my body and then back up, I almost feel like he’s touching me.

I shake my head.

“It… it just came this morning. I’m not in the business of getting myself off at work. Think that would be a whole different type of job,” I say, laughing. I surprise myself when I say it. I never make sexual jokes. Chase always said they made a woman sound cheap.

Ash grins and turns his attention back to the box. After a few more seconds of staring into it, he sets it aside, next to him on the couch, and I breathe a small, shaky sigh of relief.

But no.

“We’re going to need room for this,” he says in a husky voice, stacking the empty takeout containers and grabbing his plate. “Have you finished eating?”

I look down at my forgotten plate, clenched in my hands. It’s empty.

“Uh… yes,” I say.

He hesitates. “You’re sure? There’s plenty more. And I can wait.”

I don’t think he can. Ash looks ready to explode. But he patiently stands there while I consider it.

Finally, I shake my head, and he takes my plate, carrying it to the kitchen. I hear the tap turn on, followed by the sound of him rinsing our dishes and placing them in the dishwasher. A few seconds later, I can hear him putting the leftovers into my fridge.

When he emerges, I shrink back on the couch, slightly unnerved by the intensity in his gaze.

“Do you want to tell me why Alec sent these to you?” he asks, setting the box on the table in front of us and sitting back on the couch. He’s closer to me now, our legs almost touching. “I don’t think he would have done something like this out of the blue. It’s not exactly his style.”

“We uh… he called me last night,” I admit in a small voice.

The look Ash gives me, full of naked lust, lets me know he understands exactly what sort of phone call we had.

“He wanted me to… use a toy,” I continue, voice barely audible even to my ears. “But I didn’t have any.”

Ash’s brows raise in surprise.

“Not even one?” he asks, stunned.

What is with these men? Are women out there hoarding sex toys and I’m the only one crazy enough not to own one?

Making a mental note to check that with Jade, I shake my head.

Lips curving to a grin, Ash nods slowly. “So, he sent you a variety,” he says, understanding. “For you to try. Smart.”

He reaches into the box, plucking an item out of it.