Untying my dress shoes, I slipped them silently from my feet.
I wasn’t clumsy.
I didn’t make a noise as I shed my clothing and padded toward the bed. Tess would never know what time I arrived home or how long I’d lain beside her.
All she needed to know was I would be with her in the morning.
Maybe then, we’d talk.
Swallowing my groan, I slipped into the cool cotton sheets and lay still, gauging how unconscious she was.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears, waiting…
When her breathing didn’t change or a rustle indicate she’d woken, I slid closer, wrapping my arm around her hips and dragging her back to my front.
Some days, I woke her up like this. I bit her neck, touched her wetness, and gave her no choice but to accept me.
But not tonight.
Tonight, I was tired and in no mood to play.
All I wanted to do was fall asleep with my esclave in my arms and dream happy dreams.
I didn’t want to be sad anymore.
I didn’t want to run from my thoughts.
I should be happy.
I was happy.
I had everything I could ever want.
Not everything.
Gritting my teeth, I cast aside such undermining frustration and forced myself to sleep.
“SUZETTE, STOP. I can manage.”
Suzette scoffed, repositioning the hamper on her hip as if it were a child and not a bulging feast with delicacies only Mrs. Sucre knew how to make. “Stop being so pushy. I want to help. So let me help.”
I rolled my eyes as we made our way through the back quarters of the house, past the swimming pool I didn’t know existed until I’d returned to Q, and into the humongous parking garage housing prized possessions.
Q hated these cars as they’d once belonged to his father. I understood why he felt that way, but once upon a time, the chateau was his father's, too. However, ever since the day Q took power, he’d turned something grotesque in its usage into something so pure and wonderful.
Just like these vehicles. They weren’t alive. They had no soul. Their lot in fate was to belong to either nice or naughty, and Q was a little bit of both.
Grabbing the keys to a limited edition Aston Martin something-or-other, Suzette and I manhandled the food into the boot. Once it was wedged in place, I slammed the lid with a muffled thump.
I brushed my hands together. “Now for the luggage and the man, then we’re ready to hit the road.”
“Won’t he be mad that you haven’t told him about this? That everyone is in on it but him?”
“No. A surprise will be good for him.”
“Last surprise he went on a killing spree to find you.”
I smirked. “Yes well, this isn’t a bad surprise.”
“Define bad.” Suzette wrinkled her nose. “Q has to be in control of everything. He hates celebrating his birthday and doesn’t do well with functions run by others. You’re doing all three and expect him to be grateful.”
Looping my arm with hers, we traversed the garage and headed back into the slumbering house. Dawn had just crested, and our ensemble of silk and flannel pajamas were the only movable things in a home where everyone still slept.
“He’ll be grateful.”
Suzette snorted. “Grateful to have an excuse to flog you, you mean.”
“Oh, that will come later.”
She scowled. “I know way too much about your sex life.”
I laughed as we stepped through the corridor and into the main foyer. “And I know way too much how besotted Franco is with you and how you want him to be a bit rougher than he is but you don’t know how to ask for it.”
Her eyes widened. “Hush it.”
Pecking her cheek, I let her go. “How about you stop hushing it. Then we both might get what we want this weekend.”
Leaving her gasping for a retort, I flew up the staircase to wake my master and bear his rage once I informed him of my plan.
* * * * *
My ideas of kissing Q awake and then a morning quickie dismantled into splinters as I entered our bedroom and found him stalking from the bathroom with steam curling from his skin and droplets running down his chest to soak into the towel wrapped around his sexy waist.
I’d lived with the man for years, yet I never grew tired of Q naked.
His inked skin with its birds and storms. His muscles that weren’t decoration but merely talismans for a life he fought every damn day. He was freaking stunning.
I shivered as his eyes met mine.
“Where the hell have you been?” His gaze drifted to my scantily clad frame. It might be freezing outside with snow blanketing the countryside, but the chateau was toasty warm in every room. I never needed jumpers or dressing gowns thanks to Q’s fastidiousness to ensure our ‘guests’ were comfortable after years of discomfort.
“None of your business.”
A thrill tingled my spine as he stepped silently and slowly toward me. “I think you’ll find it is my business, esclave.”
Every part of me begged to fall to my knees in our code word for pleasure. For so long, he’d fought me bowing at his feet, saying he didn’t need the submissive gesture. But now, it was all he needed to let down his barricades and free his monster.
However, his green eyes burned with a different type of passion this morning. A sweeter, less complicated desire.
I sucked in a breath as he hugged me tight. His damp hot body soaked into mine as I reveled in his embrace. “I hate waking up and finding you aren’t beside me.”