The Perfect Candidate (22 page)

“My housekeeper,” Michael nodded, sighing with satisfaction when they turned off the main road and into his drive.  “God, it’
s good to be home,
”
he said with feeling, helping Ashley out of the car once it had stopped.

“Wow,” Ashley murmured, looking over the house.  “This is amazing,” she said with feeling.

Michael beamed. 
“
I
’
m glad you like it.
”

Ashley felt her heart trip in her chest.  Did he mean that?  Did it matter to him if she liked his house or not?  Well, obviously it mattered
…
but did it
mean
anything else?  Pushing all such silly thoughts aside, Ashley shook her head and followed Michael inside, where she continued to be similarly impressed.

Ashley followed Michael through to the kitchen, watching him chuckle when he looked in the fridge and found a casserole waiting for him.

“I swear Mrs. Martin forgets that I’
m not her son sometimes,
”
he said, looking amused, but not disappointed with his spoils.  He set about heating it up, while Ashley dryly observed that all grown men liked to be mothered on occasion.  Michael held up his hands in mock surrender. 
“
Guilty as charged,
”
he grinned. 
“
Not that you can blame us,
”
he argued.

Ashley chose not to argue. 
“
Is there anything I can do to help?
”
she asked, looking around for glasses or plates.

“No, no, you sit yourself down,” Michael said.  “Can I get you a drink?  A glass of wine perhaps?”

Ashley nodded her thanks.  Michael pored her glass of red wine and then helped himself to a beer from the fridge.  He set out some plates and cutlery, but then starting yawning so badly that Ashley was afraid that he might fall asleep on his feet.

“Sit down!” she giggled, getting up to check on the casserole.  She couldn’
t deny that it smelled delicious.

“But you’
re my guest,
”
Michael argued, although he did actually take a seat on one of the kitchen stools. 
“
I should be looking after your needs,
”
he murmured, unable to keep a devilish twinkle completely from glinting in his eyes.

“You just let me take care of a few of your needs, Mr. Reese,” Ashley said primly, but she flashed him a dazzling smile.

“A few?  That sounds promising.”

Ashley laughed. 
“
I don
’
t think you
’
re in a fit state to do much more than eat and then collapse into bed!
”

“Just so long as you collapse into bed with me,” Michael murmured, kissing Ashley’
s neck.  He had got up from his stool to help her look for the ladle that she was searching for.  He pressed it into her hands and then wrapped his arms around her waist and demanded a kiss in payment for his help.

“You’
re dinner
’
s going to burn,
”
Ashley gasped, swaying unsteadily on her feet when he released her.

“I’
m not hungry,
”
he argued. 
“
Not for food-
”
but than his stomach gave a loud rumble of protest and Ashley giggled.

“Sit down,” she commanded, fetching the casserole and dishing it up.  There was more than enough for two portions, so she served herself a small plate full too, before carrying both plates to the table.

She felt like a little wife, cooking Michael his dinner at home after he had had a long hard day at work
…
  There was nothing sexual about it, nothing really even romantic, but it still left a lovely glowing warmth burning in the center of Ashley
’
s chest.  She liked the cozy atmosphere, and the friendly intimacy.

They chatted about the campaign over the meal, about how Michael
’
s trip had gone and what was still left to do.

“I still need to buy you an engagement ring,” Michael mused.  “I thought about having Norm sort it out, but-” he ground to a halt, as though he had something that he shouldn’
t have.  He cleared his throat self-consciously. 
“
Well, you should pick it out.  You have to wear it and Norm has dreadful taste.
”

Ashley
’
s lips twitched. 
“
Of course,
”
she murmured, trying to temper her sudden delight. 
“
We could go together?
”
she suggested mildly, unable to hide her smile when Michael nodded his head.

They finished what was left of their meal and then Ashley insisted on stacking away their dirty plates in the dishwasher.  Michael offered to help her, but he was sure that he didn
’
t actually have the energy to do anything apart from crawl straight into bed.  Of course, he still wanted Ashley to crawl into bed with him
…
just because he was too exhausted to do anything to her at the moment didn
’
t mean that he wouldn
’
t be ready have her again when he woke up the following morning.

“Come on,” Ashley giggled, gently prodding Michael to his feet, when he started to fall asleep in his chair.  “Let’
s get you upstairs.
”

Michael obeyed, but the effort of just putting one foot in front of the other was
huge
all of a sudden. 
“
I
’
m getting too old for this,
”
he muttered, pausing to yawn.  Ashley wrapped an arm around his waist and urged him on.

“Don’
t be silly,
”
she said dismissively. 
“
You
’
ll feel like a new man after a good night
’
s rest.
”

“I hope so,” Michael groaned, having to take the lead when they got upstairs, because obviously Ashley didn’
t know her way around. 
“
This way,
”
he murmured, leading her towards the master suite.

“Do you want me to go?” Ashley asked, rather stupidly Michael thought.  He turned and stared down at her, his answer clear on his face.  She flushed and shrugged.  “I was only asking,” she muttered, and then fell silent as they continued walking.

18

Michael sighed with relief when they finally reached his bedroom.  He made a beeline for the bed, and fairly collapsed upon it.  He heard Ashley laugh behind him, and then listened to the soft pad of her feet on the carpet as she nearer the bed.

“Let’
s get you undressed shall we?
”
she asked, sounding highly amused. 
“
Here, roll over onto your back.
”

Michael obeyed, although he was sure it had just taken up his last quota of strength and energy, even the gentle flutter of Ashley fingers plucking away his clothes wasn
’
t enough to keep Michael awake.  His eyelids were dipping closed before she even finished unbuttoning his shirt.

“Goodnight,” Ashley whispered, tucking the blanket around his shoulders. She stood to go, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“Where are you going?”

“
I can
’
t stay here,
”
she argued weakly.

“Of course you can,” Michael told her simply, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace.  He wasn’
t ready to get up either; he wasn
’
t ready to sacrifice this intimacy yet.  He nuzzled against her neck, breathing in the sent of her skin as he curled himself around her body. 
“
We can stay here for a little while longer at any rate,
”
he whispered thickly.

‘
A little while
’
actually turned into a couple of hours, and the second time Michael woke up wasn
’
t nearly as pleasant as the first.  He grumbled and trying to bury himself more deeply under the blankets as the sound of a vacuum cleaner buzzed through the house.

19

When the noise woke Ashley, she didn
’
t react in quite the same manner.  She sat up bolt right, looking panicked. 
“
Someone
’
s here?
”
she squeaked, staring at Michael in horror.

“It’
s just Mrs. Martin,
”
he shrugged, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

“
Just
Mrs. Martin?
”
she scoffed. 
“
Michael!  She can
’
t know that I slept here last night!  No one can know!
”

Michael pushed himself up into a sitting position.  He was frowning, as he watched Ashley scurry out of bed and start to pull her clothes on. 
“
I
’
m sure we can trust her not to run immediately to the papers,
”
he said mildly.

Ashley glared at him, but in the end it wasn
’
t Michael
’
s housekeeper who they had to worry about
.

The telephone started to ring, and so Michael dragged his attention away from Ashley.  He leant across the bed to pick the receiver up off the bedside table.  He hadn
’
t even put it to his ear before he heard Norman
’
s irate voice bellowing down the line.  From the panicked look on her face, Ashley had also managed to hear some of what Norm was shouting.  Michael watched her sink down onto the edge of the bed.  She had turned an absolutely ghostly shade of white.