Min-joon: Are you okay? Need a rescue?
Ginevra: I’m good. Really good. Enjoy your night with Jeff.
Cormac held his hand out for the phone. With a raised eyebrow, I handed it to him. “Your roommate’s a good man,” he said.
“We’ve known each other for a long time.”
I played with my food, but the butterflies in my stomach and my fluttering heart made it impossible for me to swallow.
“Go get a cushion from one of your couches.” My eyes flew to his. “Now, Ginevra,” he snapped when I didn’t move. I scrambled to the living room, looking for something suitable for what I thought he had in mind. I grabbed a wide throw pillow with tassels on the corners and scurried back.
“Set it by my seat,” he commanded. “Now, kneel.”
Sinking slowly, as if I were moving through honey, I fell to my knees onto the pillow to his left. He bent down and stroked my cheek with one finger. “You’re so fucking precious to me, Ginevra. Never doubt that.”
When he fed me a slice of steak on his fork, I chewed and swallowed it. The rest of the meal progressed in the same manner, bite by bite, as he fed me, until I was full and leaned my head against his thigh, basking in the warm comfort of his presence.
“Don’t move, darling,” he commanded as he stood, clearing the table. I waited, fidgeting, but not making a sound. When he returned, he rotated his chair so that I knelt between his thighs. He fed me berries and cream, one spoonful at a time, his eyes darkening with lust each time I licked the sticky liquid off my lips.
“Wait for me on the couch, okay, love?” he said when we finished, offering his hand to help me up. I clung to him.
“Come with me?” I whispered.
Cormac grinned. “Let me do the dishes first.”
“I’ll wait for you in the kitchen,” I answered decisively. His brown eyes flashed with amusement, but he didn’t stop me from sliding onto one of the bar stools and watching him as he tidied up my house.
He tucked my hand in his as we walked to the living room together, and I luxuriated in the feeling of not being alone. I knew it wouldn’t last. Cormac was here to check on me, and in a few days, he’d have to return to Yorkfield. The business needed him, just like my company needed me.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked as we settled into a comfortable couch. I pulled my knees up under me and snuggled into his chest, his arm wrapped around me in a warm hug.
“How long are you staying?”
He sighed. “Rian and Liam will be here in three days, on Saturday.” My heart jumped at the sound of their names, at the idea that they’d be here, and then I hardened it once again. “Stop thinking, love, whatever’s making you tense up like that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Pretty sure being my dom doesn’t mean you get to regulate my thoughts.”
He kissed me on the forehead. “We shouldn’t have let you go off on your own after what happened. Fucking let me help you get back on your feet again. Please.”
They were going to break my heart all over again when they left, but I couldn’t bring myself to put a halt to it.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Okay?”
“Yeah, Cormac. Help me put myself back together again. God knows, I’m doing a shit job on my own.”
Cormac trailedhis fingers up and down my sweatshirt clad arm as we watched some ridiculous action movie. The careful movement was more affectionate than sexual, comforting me, soothing me. My phone beeped from his pocket at 9:45, just as the credits to the movie rolled.
“Time for bed,” I whispered into his chest.
Cormac handed me my phone. “I’ll close up the house. Go get ready for bed and call Liam.”
Fifteen minutes later, I’d washed my face, changed into pajama shorts and a camisole, and tucked myself under my covers. Cormac knocked on the door, his face uncertain. “Can I come in?”
I rolled over from where I was fiddling with my phone set-up, blinking at him. He leaned against the doorframe, looking good enough to eat in a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else. “I’d assumed you were,” I answered with a sleepy smile.
His smile lit up his face, the beauty of his joy absolutely breathtaking. He took the side of the bed closest to the door, sliding his gun out of where he’d tucked it into his waistband and setting it on the bedside table. I hit the call button, and Liam answered right away.