Page 19 of Salacious Devotion

She shakes her head.

I lift the T-shirt. “Arms up.”

She relaxes marginally when it settles over her.

I turn on the water and let it warm for a moment before wetting a washcloth and wiping the mascara and dried tears from her face.

She closes her eyes and lets me work. It takes several rinses to get most of it off. Then I pull a new toothbrush from the drawer, open it, squeeze a small amount of toothpaste on it, and run water over it.

I reach for her with my other hand. “Can you stand?”

She pulls up as though it’s a chore. She takes the toothbrush from me with shaking fingers and brushes her teeth.

When she’s done, I lift her chin. She’s dazed. Still in subspace a bit. “You need to pee, baby. I’ll step out.”

“’K.”

I don’t close the door all the way, but I do let her pee with some privacy. Good timing because there’s a knock at the door. I hurry over to open it.

Drake hands me Paige’s bag. “Everything okay?”

“Yes. We’re going to sleep here. We’ll both call in sick tomorrow and figure out what to do next.”

Drake nods. He gives me a wan smile and grips my shoulder. “I know you’re out of your mind right now, but for what it’s worth, we’re so fucking happy for you. No matter what happens after this.”

“Thank you.” I don’t bother telling him I already know what will happen. I’m never letting her out of my sight again.

“I know we have a strict policy about people staying over in these apartments night after night. That’s to prevent anyone from using them as a place to live or keeping a submissive in them indefinitely, but I hope you know this is a special case. You do whatever you need to here indefinitely.”

“Thank you.” I appreciate his words. I would expect nothing less from the owners of Edge, but it does give me peace of mind having him say it out loud.

We won’t be staying here any longer than necessary. As soon as I can make arrangements, Paige will move into my penthouse. But I’m not sure how long it will take to make that happen.

I shut the door and turn around just as she emerges from the bathroom. I hold out her bag. “Do you have any contact solution in here, baby?”

“Yes.”

I bring it to her. She heads back to the bathroom and sets it on the vanity before rummaging around to pull out a contact case and solution. I watch while she removes the blue contacts. I can’t wait to see her real eyes. It’s been eerie staring into those blue ones.

Finally, she tips her head back and smiles. “Better?”

I sigh. “Much.” I pull her into my arms and hold her close. “Scrunchy?” I know she always liked to sleep with her hair pulled on top of her head.

She gives me a bigger smile and holds my gaze, not moving. “You’re going to make me cry again.”

“All because I asked if you have a scrunchy?” I joke, grinning.

She nodes, wiping at tears. She turns away and digs around again before producing a scrunchy. “Too bad I didn’t bring clothes.”

“You came to the club wearing the corset and skirt?”

“Yeah. I took an Uber. It’s not like I was naked. People go to all kinds of clubs dressed that way. The outfit didn’t scream fetish wear.”

She’s right. And it doesn’t upset me that she has nothing to wear. I keep a few shirts here. I also have some shorts and sweatshirts. Nothing for a woman. Just a few things for nights when I’m too exhausted to go home.

I guide her to the bed and head for the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. After turning out the lights, I remove my pants and join her in only my boxer briefs. I immediately pull her into my arms, spooning her once again. We used to sleep like this after a scene. She didn’t usually like me to touch her overnight on regular nights, but when we went to the club and did a scene, she needed the aftercare spooning continued to provide.

Suddenly, I remember something important. “Happy birthday, baby.”

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