“Why is he lucky?”
“Because you’re one of the most incredible women I’ve ever met,” Tabitha says with a big smile. “And you’re definitely the bravest. I know you’ve been through hell, Mal, but you’ve got this, okay? You’ve got this.”
She leaves the break room, and I’m alone for just a minute. I need to scurry back to my class, but I know I have a couple of minutes before my students arrive, and my classroom is pretty close to the break room. So I take a deep breath, and I close my eyes, and I wonder what I’m going to do.
I’m supposed to go over to Aaron’s tomorrow after work. We’re going to have dinner and talk and...
Maybe that’s when I’ll tell him.
Maybe I’ll admit to him that I’m not what he expects.
But what if he doesn’t accept me?
What if he hates the fact that I’m so inexperienced?
What if that’s the thing that pushes him away from me forever?
Chapter Ten
Aaron
Tuesday is an impossible day.
I have four documents due, three client emergencies, and an assistant who can’t seem to keep her files straight. I put out one fire after another and when closing time rolls around, I’m more than ready to leave the office. I make it home in record time, feed Jiji, and collapse on the couch.
Fuck.
I’m tired as hell.
I thought working for a small company was going to be wonderful, and in some ways, it totally is.
In others...
Well, let’s just say there’s a reason the last translator quit.
I’ve got less than an hour before Mallory comes over and I don’t want to waste a minute of our time together, so I need to start prepping everything. I head into the kitchen and check the crock pot. I set up a roast before I left for work so that I’d have very little cooking to do before she arrived. It’s just about done, so I turn the heat down and set the table.
Then I grab everything I need to whip up a tasty salad, and I get that ready. Some people don’t like salads with their meals, but I’m try
ing to eat more vegetables, and I want to help Mallory stay healthy, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s not taking care of herself as well as she should. She’s incredible, and I want to pamper her and make sure she’s drinking plenty of water and eating right. That’s one of my favorite things about being a Dom.
I love the idea that in this type of relationship, I get to truly take care of my submissive. I love that she truly gets to be taken care of in every way.
Once I’m satisfied with the food, I head upstairs to hop in the shower. I’m not gross or sweaty, but I want to wash away the stress of the day before she arrives. I climb into the shower and just let the water fall over me. Almost instantly, I can feel myself relaxing.
I can’t wait for her to come over.
Coming back to my hometown was a difficult choice for me. It probably should have been a no-brainer, but it wasn’t. It was hard. It was something that I wrestled with for a very long time because I left for a reason. I left because I needed a space that didn’t remind me of everything I’d lost, which in my mind, was Mallory and Matthew.
Mallory was someone I’d lost long before I ever lost Matthew. I never really understood exactly why she hated me so much. Okay, I should have. Looking back, it’s pretty clear what I did wrong. I rejected her when she needed me. I walked away when she craved someone to love her. I was young, though, and ignorant. I was dumb, and even though that kiss is something I’ll never forget, I was drunk as fuck, and I definitely didn’t treat her the way she deserved to be treated.
She deserved to be treated like royalty then, and she deserves it now.
When I’m done with the shower, I get out, pull on a comfortable pair of jeans, and select a plain tee. I run a brush through my hair quickly. It’s getting long, and it’s almost to the point where I need to decide if I’m going to cut it short or let it grow out.
Decisions, decisions.
There’s a knock at the door, and Jiji starts meowing.