Chapter 201

Cassian froze. This was the first time Anastasia had ever been this bold with him.

But they were still in the backseat with his driver literally right there.

The driver caught Cassian’s stare in the rearview mirror and went completely stiff, probably wishing he could just evaporate.

"Boss, just give me the word and I’ll gouge my own eyes out."

“Eyes on the road,” Cassian’s voice came out husky and commanding.

“Absolutely, Mr. Rhodes. I’m not seeing anything back there,” the driver stammered, white-knuckling the steering wheel.

Just as Cassian started leaning in, Anastasia had already conked out against his chest again.

Cassian looked totally chill on the outside, but inside? Complete chaos.

By the time they got home, Anastasia was still dead to the world.

Cassian figured he’d help her get changed, but the second his fingers hit her shirt buttons and accidentally brushed her skin, it was like getting hit with a live wire.

His whole body tensed up, and he had to swallow hard.

He stared down at her—completely out of it and totally defenseless—and let out the most frustrated sigh of his life.

“Maria! Get up here and help Ana change,” he called out.

“Coming right up, Mr. Rhodes!”

Cassian didn’t hang around to supervise. He headed straight for the coldest shower known to man.

Seriously? There he was with the woman of his dreams in his bed, and he couldn’t touch her. Life was cruel.

The next morning, Anastasia woke up gasping. Her head felt like someone was jackhammering inside her skull.

What the actual hell?

Something shifted next to her, and she whipped around defensively, only to come face to face with Cassian’s stupidly perfect features.

Right. She was married now. To this gorgeous bastard who looked like he’d stepped off a magazine cover.

Except right now, her drop-dead gorgeous husband looked like a kicked puppy.

Anastasia’s throat went dry. Please tell her she didn’t do anything mortifying last night.

“Uh… babe? How’d we get home?” she asked weakly.

Cassian just stared at her. “You seriously don’t remember?”

Anastasia shook her head, then immediately wished she hadn’t as her brain tried to escape through her ears.

The second Cassian saw her wince, his pouty expression vanished. “Shit, you okay? You were absolutely trashed last night. I tried getting some hangover stuff into you so you wouldn’t feel like roadkill this morning, but you were completely unconscious. Like, totally gone.”

Anastasia could just picture herself passed out like some college freshman, and her face went bright red. “Couldn’t you have, like… mouth-to-mouth fed me or whatever…”

Her voice got smaller and smaller until it was barely audible, and she couldn’t look him in the eye.

Seeing her all flustered, Cassian cracked up. “Are you kidding? Kiss you when you were puking everywhere? Yeah, no thanks.”

Honestly, last night when things got heated, even clean-freak Cassian hadn’t given a damn about any of that. But then…

“You gotta stop binge-watching those stupid rom-coms—they’re frying your brain. You actually think mouth-to-mouth feeding is a real thing? A freaking straw would work better.” Cassian reached over and flicked her forehead playfully.

“Ow!” Anastasia slapped her hand over the spot.

“Shit, did that actually hurt?”

Cassian had barely tapped her, but he immediately looked panicked that his idea of gentle might not match hers.

Seeing him get all worried over nothing made her heart do this weird little flip.

“Relax, I’m just giving you a hard time,” she grinned.

When she pulled her hand away to show him she was fine, they both spotted the little pink mark on her forehead.

“Jesus… you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m literally fine,” Anastasia laughed.

She stood up and suddenly noticed someone had changed her out of last night’s clothes.

Her eyes shot to Cassian, who apparently read her mind. “Maria helped you get changed.”

“Oh,” Anastasia mumbled, her cheeks burning as she practically sprinted to the bathroom.

That’s when she saw what had Cassian looking so guilty. There was definitely a faint pink mark where he’d flicked her.

She stared at her reflection and muttered, “What am I, made of freaking paper?”

After getting properly ready, she came back out to find Cassian had vanished. She checked downstairs but he wasn’t there either.

Maria appeared with the explanation. “Mr. Rhodes already left for work. Emergency board meeting or something.”

“Ah, okay. Thanks.”

“He had me make you some steel-cut oats with honey,” Maria added. “Said your stomach would be all messed up from last night, so you’d need something gentle.”

Anastasia’s stomach was actually growling for exactly that kind of comfort food.

How the hell does he always know exactly what I need?

After polishing off the oats, Anastasia grabbed her stuff and headed to work.