Page 138 of Wicked Little Thief

Liam had set their plates and silverware on the table. The smells coming from the sitting area made her mouth water.

Sitting down in one of the chairs, she let out little moan at the sight of the tater tot casserole Janice had made for dinner.

“Oh my god. This looks like a plate of cheesy potato goodness.”

“She makes it about once a month. It’s good.”

Utah set a napkin in her lap, then took a bite—closing her eyes with a moan as the flavors hit her tastebuds.

“So. Good.”

As she took another bite, she lamented, “Probably not the best thing to eat the night before I’m supposed to wear my new dress, but…”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

She put her fork down. “I can show you right now.”

“No, baby. I meant tomorrow. You can show me tomorrow after you get ready.”

“Okay.” She awkwardly gestured to the meal in front of her. “Thank you for bringing this up.”

“Of course.”

As they ate in silence, the air felt heavy, like they both wanted to say something.

Finally, Liam broke the quiet.

“I don’t like having to hide our relationship, but it’s in both our best interests to keep it hidden.”

“I know.”

“But for the next four months, can we agree that even though we have to pretend we’re not together at the hospital, as much as you belong to me, I belong to you?”

“You belong to me?”

“Yeah, little bee. I’m not interested in anyone else. You don’t have to worry about that. Until your house arrest ends, I promise, I’m yours, and only yours.”

She felt the corner of her mouth hike up.

“Can I call you schmoopy?”

“If you want another spanking.” He wasn’t smiling. “Make no mistake, I’m still your Master. I promise to take care of you while you fulfill my kinky desires, but I want to make sure you never again doubt how much I treasure the time we have left together.”

She noticed he was making sure to punctuate that they had an expiration date, but she appreciated he wanted to ease her insecurities while they were still together.

“Thank you, Sir. I like how you take care of me.”

In that moment, Utah decided she wasn’t going to worry about what happened once December thirty-first came. Instead, she was just going to enjoy their time together.

He threw his napkin on his plate and sat back in his chair.

“So, other than fixing Parker’s computer, do you have anything pressing at the hospital you have to do tomorrow?”

“No. Actually, before…” she paused as she struggled to come up with the right words until finally deciding upon, “the lunch incident, I had planned on talking to you about when I could start working from home. Roger granted me remote access, so I will only need to go to the hospital for meetings.”

“Perfect, I think you should start tomorrow, right after you go see Parker. Kathy scheduled your appointments at Bella Salon tomorrow afternoon.”

Utah paused her bite.

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