“Great.” She beams, turning fully so she’s now opposite me. The bath is deep but her nipples are peeking just above the water line and it takes all of my control not to harden again at the sight. Her long, wet hair drips water down the slopes of her breasts and I drag my gaze back to her eyes as she smirks at me.
“Do you have lots of, er, playmates at Salt?” she asks out of nowhere. I blink and consider my reply.
“I have friends that I play with from time to time,” I reply, evenly, tilting my head slightly as I meet her curious eyes. She nods, thoughtfully.
“How many are you playing with at the moment?” she pushes and I raise an eyebrow.
“None at the moment,” I admit. “Just you.”
“Oh.” She bites her lip. “Ok.”
The silence between us drags on for a beat too long.
“We can go to the club next time, if you like?” I offer. “If you want to try restraints then some of the playrooms are well set up for different types of bondage.”
She blushes at the word ‘bondage’ and I fight the smile that tugs at my lips. She’s still a tourist in my world but I don’t want her to feel patronised. I want her to feel confident in navigating this space, especially for her life beyond our little arrangement. I swallow down a flicker of jealousy at the idea of her exploring her sexuality with someone else. I was only ever meant to be the doorman to this world after all.
“That sounds good,” she says, that shy smile returning. Before I can say anything else, she stands in the bath and gives me the glorious view of her naked body, still soapy with bubble bath. She reaches for a towel from the shelf, wrapping it around herself then turning back to me.
“Thanks for tonight, Luke,” she tosses over her shoulder, sashaying out of the bathroom.
I stay put, my mind whirring. I hadn’t really stopped to think about the fact that she’s the only person I’m sleeping with at the moment. It’s not like it was a deliberate decision, it’s more that it just seemedwrong, somehow, to not make her my only priority. The idea of being with anyone else at the moment is jarring, which only confirms to me that my heart’s on very thin ice.
I stay in the bath until long after the water has cooled and her scent finally fades.
CHAPTER 28
Emmy
“Wait,so you’re telling me that Luke Pullmanwashed your hair?” Sloane’s mouth hangs open as I recap my night. She’s sitting cross legged on the sofa with a pint of ice cream in her lap, which I promptly steal.
“Yup,” I say, grinning as I shovel cookie dough into my mouth.
“Girl, what have you done to the Big Daddy Dom? Are you seriously still trying to convince me this is a fuck buddy situation? Because this is giving insta love,” she says, cocking an eyebrow at me.
“Itisa fuck buddy situation,” I reply, handing back the ice cream. “He’s just into aftercare, that’s all.”
Her eyebrows flick up.
“I can’t believe I’ve been sat here with Ben and Jerry and you’ve been getting dommed by the hottest daddy in London,” she says, with an exaggerated pout. “I didn’t predict when we became roommates that you’d be getting so much more action than me. Especially since you didn’t even know about Salt when we met!”
“I know,” I laugh, giving her a smile. “Things have all happened rather quickly, eh.”
It’s all happened so fast – moving in with Sloane, tumbling into this thing with Luke – but nothing feels wrong. There are no internal flares signalling me to slow down or run for cover.
“Well, you be careful, ok? Who knows how many people he’s juggling at the club. I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
There’s a pause and I bite my lip.
“He’s not actually seeing anyone else,” I say lightly.
“What?”
“I asked if he had other playmates at the club. He said it’s just me.”
Sloane sits in silence, looking at me with raised eyebrows.
“Say something,” I reply. “You’re creeping me out.”
