Husband With Benefits
Chapter 678: A Plan

Chapter 678: A Plan

Erasmi and Caius were already in bed when Ava returned from dropping off Hannah. With a sigh, Ava closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She didn’t know why, but finally, now that she’d decided to fight back, she felt different.

The first thing she did, after entering was to clean the couch and the area around that. She didn’t know why but somehow it felt catharic to clean what ever that bit*h had touched.

Next, she went into Cai’s room and smiled. Her little boy was still the same even though he was growing up and was almost as tall as her. He would sleep with the blanket on him but then somehow how, the blanket would end up under him while he shivered with cold. Carefully, she pulled the blanket out from under him and tucked it around him. Quickly he burrowed into the blanket as if he’d been cold for a while, but the next moment, his foot shot out from under the blanket. She grinned and kissed his forehead before carefully adjusting the temperature and then walking out of the room.

At the door to her own room, she paused, feeling butterflies in her stomach. Tonight was the first time, she was going to make a move on Eramsi. Always, she’d been a willing participant but she’d never had the courage to actively seek him out. She knew the reason of course. It was her own complex feelings about his past and hers.

She inhaled slowly and walked into the room, determined. She had to make sure that Erasmi would be with her, see her as someone who wanted him and did not just tolerate his presnce in her life. She was sure that if he was convinced that she wanted him and desired him, he would not look at another woman. Love or not, Erasmi was a person who was loyal to the core.

Inside the room, the lights were dim but he’d left a night light on for her. It was what he did when she was late to come to the room. She smiled softly as she walked towards him. His breathing telling her that he was already asleep.

For a moment, she just stood there, absorbing the quiet intimacy of the moment, the way his chest rose and fell with each breath, the peacefulness that seemed to surround him. This was the man she had fallen in love with, without even realizing her own feelings. She’d fallen for his quiet strength and his determination in protecting her.

He’d stood by her side, patiently, as the doctors had poked and prodded at her. All because she was the mother of his son. She knew he could have taken Cai away with a click of his fingers. Nothing could have stopped him, even if she’d fought tooth and nail. But instead of taking what he wanted, Erasmi had given. He’d given his understanding, trust and everything she could have asked her.

As she carefully, slid into bed, she could not help but turn on her side. Rising on her elbow, she placed her head on her palm and continued to watch him. He was a deep sleeper. She sighed. It seemed her plan to seduce him would have to wait for tomorrow. She lay her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. But in the next moment, she knew she would not be able to sleep. Unless...

Closing her eyes, she slowly inched towards the man who was still asleep on the bed, until she was hugging his arm her head on his bicep. Carefully, she opened her eyes a bit and peaked, reassured that he was asleep.

The warmth of his skin and the steady rhythm of his breathing made her feel safe, grounding her in the moment. Slowly, almost absentmindedly, she began to trace a word on his arm with her fingertip.

"Mine," she whispered, her finger outlining each letter with a featherlight touch. The word was a declaration, a quiet affirmation of what she was feeling. Happy at having ’branded’ him with her ’doodling’, Ava closed her eyes. Tomorrow, she would seduce him and have her way! For sure.

As she traced the word again and again on his arm, unawaredly this time, she felt herself growing drowsy, the tension in her body slowly melting away. Her breathing evened out, and soon, she drifted into sleep, her hand still resting on his arm.

But Erasmi wasn’t asleep. He had been awake the entire time, his eyes closed as he felt her approach. His own feelings after today had been a mess and he’d found himself unable and unwilling to face Ava. But as he felt her shift close to him, resting her head on his arm, his heart moved with some undefined emotion.

ently, he slipped his arm out of her grasp, trying not to wake her. Then, with deliberate slowness, he turned onto his side, facing her.

For a moment, he just watched her, reminding herself that this was the mother of his child. The only person he was to be with until Cai grew up. There was no way, he could let anyone or anything interfere with this. Especially not some fickle attrac... He shook his head, hardening his resolve.

Determinedly, he reached out and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as he held her close to him. She stirred slightly in her sleep, instinctively snuggling closer to him, her body molding to his and he closed his eyes, pushing away a few thoughts far away from his head. He breathed deeply, letting her scene envelope him and sighed.

With her in his arms, he finally allowed himself to relax, his own breathing slowing as he drifted off to sleep, reassured that he would not give in... Erasmi finally let sleep claim him, clinging to the warmth of the woman in his arms as if she were his anchor in the storm raging inside him unaware that the real test was yet to come...

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