Suddenly, Anastasia remembered the soup Cassian had downed at dinner, plus that mysterious hag, Lancey, had slipped her. Thinking… could…? Her face immediately burned bright red.

Cassian let out a bitter laugh, giving her a look that was equal parts amused and tortured. “Health to me? Bright. That weather special ‘enhancement’ concoction.”

Anastasia instantly understood, her face flushing. “Oh my God! Your mom, she actually did that?”

Cassian released her hand and pressed his fingers to his temples, sounding completely done. “She’s been dropping hints about grandkids, so I just didn’t think she’d go this far.”

That made Anastasia want to disappear. Seeing how miserable Cassian looked, guilt hit her hard. “Jesus, I’m so sorry. I had no clue what was in that soup.”

Cassian shook his head and managed a pained smile. “Not your fault. How could you have known? And I literally told you to drink it…”

Honestly, he couldn’t even be that mad at his mom. With Sonia hack in town stirring up drama, Lancey was probably trying to lock down the situation. Hence the aphrodisiac soup—she was probably worried her son wasn’t sealing the deal!

An awkward silence settled over the room. Just then, the gift bag Anastasia had brought home tipped over, its contents scattering across the coffee table. Out tumbled a set of black lace lingerie, expensive-looking massage oil, and a note in Lancey’s handwriting: “Time to get busy! I want grandbabies!”

Anastasia’s face went red from her hairline to her toes as she frantically shoved everything back in the bag. When she looked up, Cassian was staring at her with dark, intense eyes.

“Anastasia…” Cassian’s voice was gravelly and rough, loaded with barely restrained desire. Her pulse went absolutely crazy as she instinctively backed away. “Cassian, you… you need to cool down. Let me get you something to help with…”

She turned to bolt, but Cassian caught her wrist. His skin was burning hot, and even though he wasn’t gripping tightly, she couldn’t pull away. One gentle tug, and she ended up in his lap.

“Anastasia, do you really want me to cool down?” Cassian’s voice was right against her ear, low and tempting. Her heart was racing like she’d just run a marathon. She knew she should push him away, but her body felt glued in place. She bit her lip hard and whispered, “Cassian, we shouldn’t…”

Cassian made a soft sound that was almost a laugh, his breath hot on her neck. “We’re married, Ana. This is exactly what we should be doing. And honestly… you don’t want this?”

Anastasia’s brain was completely short-circuiting, with two voices screaming at each other in her head. One was yelling that this was moving too fast, while the other was saying they were legally married, so what was the big deal?

Right when she was about to give in, Cassian suddenly let her go and stepped back, running his hands through his hair. “Forget it. I’m not going to push you into anything.”

Anastasia just stood there, stunned and weirdly disappointed. Watching Cassian fight to control himself, she felt a wave of emotion. She knew he always respected her boundaries, and even drugged out of his mind, he wasn’t forcing anything.

“Cassian,” she said quietly, feeling awful.

Cassian waved her off and forced a tight smile. “I’m gonna take a freezing shower. You should get some sleep.” He started heading toward the bathroom, looking defeated.

Anastasia stood there, her emotions all over the place. She stared down at the gift bag, bit her lip so hard it hurt, and finally made her decision.

“Cassian, wait!” She rushed after him and grabbed his hand.

He turned around, looking totally surprised. “What’s up?”

Anastasia’s face was glowing red, her voice barely a whisper. “I… I don’t want you to deal with this alone. And we are married, so I’m… I’m okay with it.”