Crawling on my hands and knees between two large ornamental grasses, pulling weed roots and stirring soil, I get an overwhelming sense of being watched. I back out slowly, focusing my gaze behind me, I see a very amused Prince. He's watching me with crossed arms, his eyes are sparkling.
Sitting back on my heels, I laugh, "Enjoying the view, Mr. Nelson?"
"Matter of fact, I am," he surveys the area I've been working on, nodding in that slow manner that he does, "You've been busy."
I stand and walk to him, excited to share what I've found so far. He listens attentively, happy that I'm pleased with the find.
"Thank you for sending breakfast," I stroke my ungloved hand from his shoulder to his elbow. I feel the need to touch him and I settle for this simple contact since I'm a sweaty, dirty mess.
He smooths some out-of-control hairs from my face, "You're welcome," he leans in to kiss me.
I pull away, "I'm filth..." is all I manage to get out before his hands pull my face back to his, at first he 'tastes' me, that is the best way I can describe it. A small open mouthed kiss, then instantly he's back for a deeper one. I'm careful not to touch him as we kiss, so I don't transfer any dirt.
Just then, my timer goes off in my pocket, startling us both. We jump, laughing, breaking that second kiss off prematurely.
"I need a shower," I explain, "Marcus will be here in an hour to pick me up."
"Change of plans, Sugar, I'm driving, but you need that shower anyway," he pinches his nose, making a face. We laugh again, I love when we're laughing and comfortable.
He follows me to put the garden tools away. As we enter the garage, I spin, "Do we have a housekeeper?"
"Not exactly, I had the women who clean my suite at Paisley come out while we were there Sunday morning. Why?"
I point to where the stain was on the floor, "I was relieved to see that gone."
His expression borders on serious, "I did that, before I came back into the kitchen Sunday morning, to see if you could be ready to go in an hour," he jogs my memory.
That's how he appeared out of nowhere that morning, I whisper, "Thank you."
He nods, following me again as we head into the house. I'm subdued by the thought of him on the garage floor scrubbing up that stain, he really must love me.
Once in the kitchen he asks if the women did a good job, always monitoring his employees, I let him know that they did. I keep quiet about finding the toy by the sink, although I'm sure they've seen a few things if they've been with him any length of time.
He continues to follow me upstairs and into the bathroom, I look at him with questioning eyes, his following reminds me of an attention starved puppy. He obviously doesn't need a shower, he looks polished and ready to go as always, yet here he is standing in front of me.
"Are you going to watch me shower?" I ask jokingly.
"Yes," he's serious, his eyes never leaving mine.
"Oh," is all I can manage, feeling a bit self conscious.
Pulling the vanity chair over in front of the glass enclosure, he sits, crosses his legs and folds his hands on his lap. Seriously? I think.
His eyes never leave me as I strip down, he's done this before, but never while sitting in a chair like he's a patron at a strip club.
I step under the spray, which breaks my view of those hypnotic eyes. I systematically go through my shower ritual. Any time I glance up, his stare is unwavering. I consider giving him a show, but decide against it. We don't have that much free time, plus we still aren't allowed to do anything.
I turn away to shut off the water, when I turn back, he's no longer in the chair. I spin to see him at the door of the shower, I step out into the towel he's holding up for me.
I figure now is as good a time as any to let him know I'm on top of things, "I have an appointment tomorrow morning with an OB/GYN at 9:00."
"Oh. What about Angel?"
"I'm glad I was able to get the appointment while she's going to be here. I'm sure she'll come with me for moral support," heading into my closet, he follows me.
"You don't want me there?" he stands in the doorway.
"I wasn't going to bother you, since you would probably have to stay in the waiting room, anyway." I explain as I'm flipping through dresses on the rod.
"Why?" he pulls a dress from the rod that I've bypassed because I'm looking but not seeing.
Holding the dress up to me, I actually look at it, with a smile and a nod, I take it from him. There's a lot of blue in the design, and I've noticed he gravitates towards blue when he chooses things for me.
"Why," I finally get to his question, "is because I'll probably need another exam."
"Oh." he looks as pained by the possibility as am.
He joins me as I open a drawer to select a bra and panties, I'm reaching for a nude color, as he selects a soft blue-gray color. I let go of the one I was choosing, and take his choice.
"You like me in blue," I lean over and kiss his cheek, he smiles.
He reaches and pulls my towel, it drops to the ground, "I prefer you this way, but yes, I like you in blue."
I lean to press a kiss to his lips, it's only been a few days, but the need is strong, we are both fighting it and it's making us edgy.
I hurry to cover myself, first panties, then bra, then the dress, all while being watched by Prince's longing gaze. Once the dress falls into place, he deep inhales, then exhales a long breath.
"Soon, I hope," I smile, stroking his cheek as I make my way past him to the vanity, stopping only to retrieve the chair.
Before I can make my way around the chair, his hands skim my waist. Taking a seat, he rests his hands on my shoulders, then leans in towards my ear, "You've lost more weight."
"Have I?" I hadn't noticed, but I don't pay as much attention to my body as he does.
"Um, hmmm," we look at each other in the mirror. "I'll let you finish," he says with a peck on the cheek, "I'll be downstairs."
"It won't take me long," I wink.
It's only a matter of minutes before I hear the piano, which makes the task of putting on my makeup much more bearable.