"We could try desensitizing you to it," Caspian pushed.
Now that he had gotten to hear what he wanted and more, he wasn’t letting it go.
Sure, Asher’s past flings on the blogs had gotten gifts of lingerie from him but none of them could say that wearing it drove him crazy.
So, he was very smug as he stubbornly refused to let the conversation die off.
"Let’s not," Asher turned him down.
"What about special events? Like our anniversary, or your birthday... when is your birthday?"
"We’re not doing any of that," Asher returned the favor by helping him clean the icing from his cheek, but he didn’t use a paper towel, he just leaned in and straight up licked it off.
Caspian giggled, slightly tickled by it. "That’s unsanitary, use a towel."
Asher was unbothered by the scolding, leaning forward to lick another stripe on his cheek, metal ball flashing.
His plan was to distract Caspian from the conversation they were having, and it worked because his mate was laughing and trying to bat him away.
Afterwards, they focused on eating the cake, Asher needing to stop Caspian because he was groaning about how full he was, but he kept on taking bites.
When the dishes were all cleared out, and they settled on the couch so that they weren’t immediately going to sleep right after eating...
Caspian focused his full attention on him, his pretty face scheming. "So, are plain panties acceptable? Thigh-high socks with lace trims?"
With every word he spoke, Asher died a little bit inside, realizing now that he wasn’t going to be spared this discussion.
He placed a gentle hand on Caspian’s shoulder, his thumb found his tender mating mark and applied pressure, massaging in a circle.
That was enough to get Caspian to dissolve into moans, the Omega going boneless and falling forward into his arms.
Asher caught him easily, pressing a kiss into his fragrant hair.
He loved him, he really did, but the conversation needed to end there.
"Want to watch a movie?" He asked harmlessly, smiling down at Caspian when the Omega looked up at him with a cloudy look in his eyes.
"Yeah," Caspian sighed, and Asher had never been so relieved to have him go quiet.
He didn’t even mind that Caspian was immediately trying to get under his skin by snuggling so close, scrolling through channels even though he knew they wouldn’t focus on it.
He felt a little guilty about using such underhanded tactics, but it had worked, and Caspian wasn’t mad - he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
Asher had been very meticulous about keeping his thoughts free from anything that would cause another episode.
In his defense, it had been so shocking and maybe he would handle it better a second time, but Asher wasn’t about to take that chance.
He didn’t like lingerie that much - But there was something dangerous about Caspian wearing it.
That was the end of the conversation that night, and in the morning, Caspian woke with the sunrise just as Asher was about to get out of bed.
"Are you going in to work today?" He asked sweetly.
Asher was very close to saying ’no’ because he very much didn’t want to leave his mate in bed and go out.
"Yeah," He reluctantly admitted.
"Alright,’ Caspian smiled sweetly, getting comfortable on his side of the bed and drifting back to sleep.
He woke up again momentarily when Asher gave him their routine goodbye kiss, dozing off one last time.
Caspian was fully away by mid-morning, and as he admired his new mating mark in the bathroom mirror, his expression was devious.
He wasn’t about to do anything irrational... yet.
Asher really should have just taken the day off, because that would be the only way he wouldn’t get the chance to carry out his evil schemes.
But before he schemed for his mate’s return, he needed to drop in at the kitchens and get a report from Patty... It was his day as usual.
Caspian didn’t realize how obvious a change his new mating mark was going to be, not until he was drawing in everyone’s stares, the house staff generous with their well wishes.
It made him giddy, and it felt like he was walking on clouds the entire day.
He already had the domesticity with Asher, and although the Alpha never really put a label on their relationship, they were obviously a thing.
But having the symbol of a mating mark just made everything so much better. Hopefully the obvious mark at the juncture of this neck and shoulder would keep pesky Alphas away.
Asher called at lunch time as usual, and Caspian didn’t even mind that he called to apologize that they wouldn’t be able to eat out.
They had a large kitchen outfitted with three chefs, eating out most times felt like a downgrade.
But with them, it was less about the food and more about spending time together.
So he spent the afternoon in his bedroom, taking the second shower of the afternoon because there had been a heatwave out of nowhere.
It had started out as a really pleasant morning, but as the sun got higher in the sky, the clouds became scarcer and scarcer.
It had Caspian seeing sense in Jael’s extravagant demands of an outdoor pool.
It fortunately cooled down substantially by sundown, Asher and Jael both sharing grumpy looks when they were all seated for dinner.
"Are you both... are you both sunburnt?" Caspian asked in disbelief, staring at their visibly tan faces that had to sting.
"We had to be downtown for a hands-on mission," Jael gave him a response, grimacing.
Caspian hadn’t noticed it on Asher because their bedroom lights had been dimmed when the Alpha showed up, but in the bright lights in the dining room, it was clear to see.
He was about to demand why they didn’t wear sunscreen and decided not to because he could see exactly why.
Asher would rather suffer a heatstroke than take his coat off, putting on sunscreen was simply asking too much of him.