But he’d always been incredibly sensitive to her presence.

He suddenly stopped typing and looked toward the door.

Sophie, caught in the act, could only stick out her tongue at him before walking in.

She set the coffee down on his desk.

"Tonight... do you really have to work overtime?" she asked carefully.

"Hm?" Asher Land didn’t get what she meant.

"Oh, I mean, staying up late is really bad for your health. Can’t you leave whatever it is for tomorrow?" Sophie did as Eva Miller had taught her and mustered a bit more courage. She walked over to him, sat down on his lap, her small hands twining around his neck. "Come... sleep with me."

A faint flush crept over her face, and Asher was practically scared silly by her.

So she could also take the initiative and ask him to sleep with her?

"What kind of sleeping are we talking about? The very deep kind?" he teased.

Sophie punched him in the chest.

"Asher Land, are you... sleeping with me or not?"

"Sleeping." He snapped the laptop shut, scooped her up, and headed for the master bedroom downstairs.

He kicked the door open and laid her gently on the bed.

"You want it?" He wanted to hear her say it again.

Sophie couldn’t be bothered about saving face anymore and just gave a tiny nod.

The wicked curve at the corner of his mouth grew more pronounced, making Sophie’s heart start to race without her even realizing it.

He reached out and lifted the hem of her nightdress, sliding her pure white panties down.

......

"What’s wrong, your eyes are telling me you’re still not... satisfied?" he joked.

"Asher Land, what’s that supposed to mean?" Sophie turned over to face the other way, back to him. "Do I not turn you on?"

Not turn him on? How was that even possible?

He grabbed her and rolled her back to face him. She looked... a little hurt. Asher lightly scraped the tip of her nose, chuckled softly, and spoke with helpless affection.

"The reason I haven’t touched you lately... there’s more to it than you think."

More to it?

"What’s wrong with you?" Could it be that he... couldn’t?

Asher saw right through her thoughts, and it pained him so much that Sophie’s eyes almost filled with tears.

"You’re not allowed to doubt your husband."

"I get it, okay? Let go." Sophie pried his hand off. "Then just tell me, what’s this ’more to it’ you’re talking about?"

Asher lowered his gaze, hesitating for a moment.

"Say it..."

"I had a vasectomy."

Sophie’s body went rigid, her eyes full of disbelief. Her lips parted slightly, her brows knitting up—clearly scared by his sudden revelation.

"Why?" She didn’t understand. "Didn’t you say you still wanted another child? How come..."

"I’ve decided I don’t want any more kids." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"But I remember you clearly saying before that you did want one."

"Just because I want one, you’d go through another pregnancy for me?" He drew in a deep breath from his chest. "What about you? Do you still want to give birth again yourself? Childbirth is really painful for women. You’ve already gone through it once—I don’t want you to suffer a second time."

"Before, I was too selfish. I didn’t care about how you felt, and I didn’t care about how Alexander felt either. I’m sorry."

A wave of warmth and emotion surged up in Sophie’s chest. After a long moment, she lifted her head and主动 pressed a kiss to his sexy, thin lips.