A vision of her restrained against the St. Andrew’s Cross, with fresh red marks decorating her beautiful pale skin, made him instantly hard. It was all he could do to walk away from her last night, when he wanted nothing more than to take her to bed and lose himself inside her heat until the sun rose.
But that wasn’t what was best for Kate. She had needed rest and time to recover.
That didn’t stop him from wanting her.
It had been only a short time since he’d met her, and already she was burrowing inside him. She dominated his thoughts and drew him to her in a way no sub ever had.
Before he could dwell too much on that, he searched the cabinets for a large coffee mug. Once he found one—green, of course—he poured her a cup, adding a liberal dose of cream and some of the vanilla syrup. He also unwrapped one of the bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwiches and found a small plate to put it on.
He took everything into the living room and set it on the coffee table in front of the sectional before sitting beside Kate.
She hadn’t moved since he’d left to gather her breakfast. Her chest rose and fell in a slow, even rhythm. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders and fanned around her face, beautifully tousled from sleep. Her full lips were slightly parted, sending his mind back to the sensual thoughts from last night.
He considered just letting her sleep. But she needed food, and he wanted to make sure the two places on her back hadn’t gotten worse. Once those two things were done, he could tuck her into bed and let her sleep for as long as she needed.
Gently stroking her cheeks made her eyelids flutter, but not fully open. So he gave in to the temptation to slowly kiss her awake.
Degree by degree she began to respond and kiss him back. She looped her arms around his neck, and her long fingers brushing against the short hair at his nape sent fire shooting through his veins.
He held himself in check to keep from pulling her under him right here on the couch.
Soon, he promised himself. Soon, he would slide inside her and watch the passion in her eyes as she convulsed around his cock.
Finally, she moaned and her eyes fully opened.
The way she looked at him made his chest tighten and broke a sigh from his lips. “Hey, beautiful. I would say good morning, but it’s already noon.”
Her gaze became more intense. “I have to check on my clients.” Her voice was soft and husky and she looked deliciously rumpled, but still exhausted.
“You won’t be any good to your clients in this state.” He pushed the button on the power recliner to slowly lower the footrest and straighten the back of the chair. “I made you some coffee and brought you a breakfast sandwich. I hope you like bacon, egg, and cheddar on an egg bagel.”
She made an “mmm” sound in the back of her throat that made him smile as he handed her the coffee.
She glanced at the cup and then took a slow sip. “Yum. You even made it vanilla.” Her words were stronger, but still a bit slower and thicker than normal. “It’s great. Thanks.” She took another long sip and then set it on the side table next to her.
Dex handed her the small plate with the breakfast sandwich and she watched him as she rested the plate on her lap. Her green eyes were still heavy with sleep.
“Did you already eat?” she asked him.
Dex shook his head. “No. I bought another breakfast sandwich and some egg bagels and cream cheese. I can grab one of those after you’re finished.”
Her brows bunched and she pinned him with a sleepy gaze. “Go get some food. You can eat while I do. There’s no reason to watch me to make sure I eat. I’m starving.” She gestured with the plate toward the kitchen, making him laugh.
“All right. You start, and I’ll be right back.” He grabbed the other breakfast sandwich and a cup of the coffee from the kitchen and returned to sit next to Kate while he ate. He noticed she had already eaten a quarter of her sandwich, and he smiled his approval.
“Thanks, this is really good.” She took another bite and a long sip of coffee, but then she set them both aside and frowned. “I need to check on my clients. I have a ton of texts and emails from them this morning.”
Dex resisted the urge to tell her what to do. He might be her Dom, but she was still a grown woman, and an independent one at that. Besides, if he was going to get her to talk to him more about work, he didn’t want her to shut him out. He sensed that work was one area where she would balk at being dictated to.
“You can check email while you eat, can’t you?” He reached over her to pick up her empty cup. You keep working on that and I’ll get you another cup of coffee. Deal?”
She smiled up at him, her eyes clearing a bit more, and her expression became more animated. “Thanks for taking care of me, Dex. I really appreciate it.”