Page 98 of Wicked Little Thief

When Liam asked if she minded having lunch with him, she hadn’t been lying when she told him no. But she hadn’t expected to feel like she was in a fishbowl either. Every time she took a bite of salad, she was self-conscious about having food on her face or taking too big of a bite to fit easily into her mouth.

This must be what celebrities feel like when they go out to eat.

She wondered how often Liam ate in the cafeteria.

While Utah was far from famous, she would probably be considered notorious, at least to those in the know at Boston General.

Liam needed to take that into consideration. She didn’t want to ruin his reputation.

She wasn’t sure how to bring that up to him. This new dynamic of theirs was turning out to be trickier than she expected, at least outside the bedroom.

While she liked the idea of belonging to him for the next four months and the contentment that provided; the part about having to watch what she said?

Yeah, not so much.

She’d been trying to be careful to be a good submissive when she wasn’t naked, but she knew it was just a matter of time before that went to hell in a handbasket.

She could be quite opinionated.

As much as she enjoyed submitting to him sexually, it really wasn’t her nature to be a “good girl” twenty-four/seven.

Hopefully, by the time she did blow it, she’d have established enough of a track record with him that he’d be willing to overlook it.

A gorgeous silver fox wearing blue scrubs and holding a tray approached their table without reservation, making Utah believe the man was familiar with Liam.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Liam looked up with a smile and said, “Hey, Parker!” then gestured to one of the empty chairs at their table. “Have a seat.”

The man set his tray down and held his hand out to Utah with a smile so sexy, it was disarming.

“Parker Preston. I’m the chief of staff, here.”

She took his hand and replied, “Utah Douglas—I’m the new IT consultant. It’s very nice to meet you.”

The way Parker cast a sideways glance at Liam when she introduced herself and her position, told her the man knew exactly who she was.

Parker segued into the next topic, asking Liam, “Did you make your reservation for Friday?”

Liam shook his head. “Not yet. I haven’t decided if we’re spending the night or going home.”

“Well, if you end up staying, maybe we could have brunch on Saturday.” Parker directed his attention to Utah and confirmed her suspicion about him knowing exactly who she was. “My girlfriend, Alexandra, works for ARF, so she knows your sister. She was very excited to learn she’s going to meet you on Friday. Although, just a heads up, she’s going to try to recruit you to volunteer with ARF.”

What’s going on Friday?

Her gaze darted to Liam, and his subtle nod let her know he’d fill her in later.

She smiled brightly at Parker. “I would enjoy volunteering with them. I should have more time after the beginning of the year.”

“Why don’t you carve out some time now, ba—” Liam caught himself and coughed into his hand before continuing, “Utah.”

Having become used to him calling her babe or some form of the word bee, it was a bit disconcerting to hear him use her given name. It sounded weird.

His suggestion surprised her. “Do you think that would be okay?”

“Of course. If that’s something you’re interested in doing, you should do it.”

“The organization could definitely use more volunteers,” Parker commented. “Then maybe Alexandra wouldn’t have to work so damn much and could pay more attention to me.”

Judging by his grin, she could tell he was trying to sound like he was kidding, but something told her he really wasn’t.

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