Snow’s choked sobs come in waves as she slides off the side of the bed and retrieves her panties from the floor. Once she pulls them on, I watch as she wipes her eyes with the back of her hands as she walks out of my room.
Turning onto my stomach, I let out a wide, tired yawn.
Tomorrow she gets to have two meals and we both know that’s something that she can be grateful for.
And then the lessons can start again.
Chapter Seven
Before I leave the house the next morning, I’m sure to serve Snow her breakfast.
I’ve made her homemade hash browns and a couple of slices of toast with butter. I mixed everything neatly inside of the blender so that it will be easier for her to lick up, then spilled the concoction into her food bowl. I was also kind enough to fill her water one as well even though that’s not considered part of her meals.
However, I know that if I want her ready for another night of discipline, she’ll have to be strong.
“I’m heading to work now, lunch is in the fridge, okay? The red bowl with the saran wrap around it,” I tell her as I watch her crawl toward her breakfast. She looks up at me with her hopeful eyes and I lean down, tilt her chin up toward me, and kiss her gently on the lips.
It’s what she always yearns for before I leave, and sometimes, I don’t have it in me to do it.
But after last night, I figure she deserves a little affection.
“Thank you,” she tells me softly when she reaches her bowl. I nod as I linger long enough to watch her tongue begin to lap the contents out before I turn and walk out of the house.
Today is going to be a better day than yesterday. I can feel it in my bones.
* * *
“Hey, you know what I’ve been dying to ask you?” I say to Sariah as I walk into the shop. She glances up at me with a curious smile on her face.
I get it, though.
I’m usually not so talkative in the mornings so she knows that something’s up.
“Hm?”
“Where the hell are you from? Your accent is pretty,” I remark as I stop by her desk and rest an elbow against it.
Sariah chuckles as she shakes her head slightly, leans back in her chair and grins at me.
“Wellington.”
“Oh. Where is that?”
“New Zealand, Kenji,” she replies with a good-natured laugh.
“And what made you end up here?” I press as I glance toward the door when the bells ring. I nod at Carter who breezes by the both of us with a wave.
“To live the American Dream,” she says wryly.
I grin at her, then pat her shoulder before I walk into the back of the shop.
I fish around my pocket for my keyring, flip through them until I find the one that unlocks the door to my room, then slip it in and turn until I hear the lock click.
“Hey, man! You got a sec?” I call out to Carter before I walk through my door.
“Yep!”
“Be right there,” I call back as I step into my room and flip the lights on. I’ll have to ask Sariah how many people I have booked for today.