She walked to the centre of the room and tried to remove the gown. But oh heavens! In that moment she realised the simplest but the most beautiful and elegant gown she had chosen had thousand and one buttons at the back. Button which she hadn't paid any attention to. Buttons which were there in that position so that they can only be removed by someone's assistance and not by the bright herself.

"What the hell was I thinking when I chose this gown?" She tried once again to pull the buttons but all her attempts failed miserably.

Finally when left with no other choice she decided to go to Sam's nursery and ask the maid for help. When she opened the door of Sam's nursery it was just Sam in his crib sleeping soundly and the maid was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe she left to her room now."

Sighing, she closed the door behind her and walked into the kitchen hoping to find a maid there but there was not even a single soul to be seen.

Feeling like a lost warrior she walked back to her room and once again tried to fight her battle with those buttons at the back of her gown while searching for a pair of scissors in the room at the same time.

"God, damn these!" she almost screamed in agony.

"Now who dared to irritate my beautiful wife?" she heard that deep drawl which had now succeeded in registering the face of its owner in her mind.

She turned around in complete shock almost collided with his hard chest.

When had he walked into the room and stood so close behind her, she had wanted to ask but before she could do so he snaked an arm around her waist as he closed the what little little distance was there between them.

She looked up in his eyes, half in shock and half frustrated.

"W- What are you doing here?" she almost stuttered and hated herself for it.

"I was just heading to my room when I heard my dear wife cursing something or... someone." he said as his grey gaze pierced her brown orbs.

"Err... that...I couldn't get these buttons at the back of my gown off. I went to look for the maid to ask for her help but even she isn't anywhere to be seen. A then..." Just then she realised his hand was still around her waist.

"Why are you standing so close to me?" Placing a hand on his chest she got out of his hold and created some much needed distance between them.

"The maids went to their quarters. If you need some help you can ask me." he said shrugging his shoulders.

Well... that hadn't struck her mind yet. She would have appreciated his kind offer if he was someone else but since he was Ashton King, asking him for this kind of help felt way more intimate and uncomfortable then it should have been.

" I will manage." she said hoping for him to leave quickly.

"Don't you think you have already lost the battle you were fighting against those buttons?" he pushed his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

He had removed his jacket, Lilly noticed. As he rolled his shoulders a little his shirt stretched outlining his hard muscles. She quickly averted her gaze and said, " I was about to look for a pair of scissors."

"Ah. But it would be a pity to shred such a beautiful gown into pieces."

Well, it was, she acknowledged but she had no other choice.

He took a step towards her and she quickly took a step back and that made him stop in his tracks.

"If you tear the gown into pieces what would the servants think when they will start cleaning tomorrow morning?" he asked as his lips lifted from a corner in a small smirk.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to understand the meaning behind those words. He took one more step towards her and this time before she could get a chance to move back he held her shoulders and made her turn around.

Now her back was touching his front while their eyes met each other's in the mirror.

"If we want to keep Sam with us then we will need to act like a good couple. To act like a lovey dovey couple we need to learn to smile at each other. So stop scowling at me each and every time you see me Mrs King." he said looking into her eyes in the mirror.

"I never scowled at you." she protested even though she knew the truth.

"So you say." he said as he undid the first button and moved on to the second.

"The second thing you need to keep in mind is that as a couple we would need to at least hold hands when we are in public."

She had wanted to say something whether it was a protest or a simple nod saying 'yes'. Anything. But the heat that was coming from his body was entering in her slowly. As if trapping her in a warm bubble and no matter how much she wanted to deny that sensation but her body seemed to be enjoying the close proximity.

As he undid the second button she felt his fingertips brushing against her skin Her breath almost faltered along with her heartbeat at that small little touch. She could feel the blood rushing from her toes to her hair tips.

He went down to the third button and her ears and cheeks were on fire. Trapping her lower lip beneath her teeth she tried to divert her attention from those strange sensations towards something else. Maybe thinking about flying sheeps and aliens will help, her brain suggested but her body had its own ideas.

As he undid the third button and moved on to the next, the dress parted a little, exposing her creamy flesh.

As he worked on the next button of the gown she worked on quietening her steady pulse, telling her heart to calm down a bit and her body to behave a little.

But she felt his fingertips brush against her flesh once again and her nerves started there chaotic dance again.

His next little brush made her almost gasp.

"What happened?" he asked in a low voice. She wasn't sure if her ears had lost their ability or was his voice just a whisper.

"Just the cold breeze. I guess someone left the windows open."

"But the windows are closed." he chuckled and his voice seemed to reverberate in her body.

'How many more hours is this unbuttoning thing going to take?' she had wanted as he worked slowly in his pace.

May be using the scissors would have been a better idea.

Finally when he reached to the last button, a little above her waist she quickly placed a hand on the front of the bodice and with the other at the back she tried to keep the dress together. Turning around she looked into his eyes.

There was something in his eyes that made her fear but fascinated to him at the same time. She quickly lowered her eyes as she said softly, "Thank you. I will manage the rest."

"Hmm." he nodded slowly but still didn't move. He stood there watching her lowered head, her lowered gaze which showed how long her eyelashes really were, her pink cheeks which were only growing darker with every passing minute and those lips whose taste still lingered in his mouth.

She looked up at him wondering why he was still standing and the moment her enormous pupils met his brooding gaze she regretted her decision in that very instant. For his eyes looked so dark she felt scared of getting lost in them.

But before she could speak a word Ashton turned on his heels ready to leave the room. Lilly, taking a deep breath tried to calm her haywire nerves as she turned to the mirror but all of a sudden she felt being pulled by her wrist and the next thing she knew was Ashton's lips crashing on her pink tainted lips.

With one hand trapped in his hold she tried to push him away with the other one. But with just one swift movement he held both her wrists in his one big hand and snaking an arm around her waist he pulled her closer to him. He angle his head slightly so that the moistness of his tongue replaced her own as it swept slowly but arousingly across her lips. When he finally let her go she was a breathless mess.

''The third thing you need to remember is that as a couple we might need to kiss and you need some practicing."

She looked at him. Speechless. Her heart in an overworking state while her head started to search for a word she could throw at his face.

"You...you are-"

"Awesome?"

'This man!' she seethed angrily and then she noticed how the bodice of her gown had slipped several inches lower and was now exposing half of her breasts. She pulled it up quickly and threw him an angry look.

"Incorrigible!"

He just chuckled and looking past her gave a devilish grin.

"Good night." he wished as he looked into her fiery eyes. And with that he turned around and left closing the door behind him.

She scurried towards the door and locked it securely in case he changes his mind again and comes back to talk about a fourth rule she needed to remember in this marriage of convenience.

"Good night my ass!"

When she turned around she noticed her reflection in the mirror. Though she was holding the bodice in front but the gown from the back had come undone making a deep v that now exposed way too much of her flesh.

"So when he was looking past me... he was actually looking at my exposed back!? Damn that bastard!"

She took a few deep breaths to calm the the anger down and finally when she regained some control she pushed the gown and removing the remaining pieces of clothing from her body she entered the hot bath. All she wanted at the moment was to soak away the stress. To enter that moment of oblivion where nothing else and no one mattered.

She had wanted to forget about the past 90 hours in which her peaceful and well planned life had taken an unplanned 180 degree turn. And she especially did not want to think about that man with the beautiful eyes who was responsible for chaos in both her life and mind.

His image once again flashed in her mind and she remembered the kiss they had shared... hot and demanding. Unknowingly her fingers touched her lips and a slow heat creeped its way up her cheeks.

"Damn that Ashton King!"

Pics of the wedding attires of this trio on special demand! ❣️