Page 35 of Debts and Desires
A few moments later, Carter slid out of me and headed to his bathroom, returning with a rag to clean me up. I did my best to turn off my thoughts and was starting to drift back to sleep. My eyes were growing heavy. He seemed to notice.
“I’ll wake you when breakfast’s ready.” He pulled on his sweats. I hummed an answer before letting myself begin to drift more. It wasn’t long after that I heard the door open and felt the bed dip, a familiar weight circling at the foot of the bed before settling with a soft sigh.
“Morning, Mac.” Carter was going to be pissed when he came back. But I wasn’t going to let him be mean to Mac. I’d kick his ass first. And that thought had me smiling as I fell into sleep.
Sometime later,Carter came back in, poking my cheek like I had done to him earlier. I swatted at his hands, making him chuckle.
“Breakfast is ready, Buttercup,” he whispered. I stretched a little before opening my eyes. Carter was right above me, staring at me again. Mac was already gone.
“I’ll be right down,” I said. He gave a nod and headed out. I waited a moment before walking out and to my room. I was having a little trouble walking, but I did my best to hide it.
The bed was made with a new comforter and sheets. My face heated, remembering how soaked everything was. He probably thought I was desperate and pathetic on top of everything else.
I did my best to shake away those thoughts, but it was a losing battle. I hadn’t felt this self conscious in a long time. Maybe it would’ve been better to not have orgasmed, because at least then I had something to focus on other than what my body looked like and what Carter thought of it. He did have meturned around the other way most of the time, and that spoke volumes.
Heading into the bathroom, I turned the shower on and looked at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, skin covered in hickeys and bite marks, my eyes had thatfucked goodlook about them, and my hair was a mess. I didn’t look as bad as I thought, but was still self-conscious.
I got under the spray, closing my eyes as the warmth hit my neck muscles just right. I gave myself a few moments to enjoy the water before quickly scrubbing myself. I knew I only had a finite amount of time before he came knocking. My thoughts spiraled again, but this time it was to the hours owed.
If my math was right, I owed one eighty-two now. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to count last night as an hour worked off since he focused mainly on me instead of himself. It was something I’d need to talk to him about. And that thought had me sighing as I got out and dried off.
I got ready for the day, picking one of my longer, baggier shirts and a pair of yoga pants to wear. I put on a little makeup and put my hair up in a pony. I checked the math on my phone, wishing there was an easier way for me to keep track of those damn hours. I headed downstairs, greeted by the smell of bacon. My stomach rumbled as I approached. Mac jumped up from his bed in the corner of the kitchen and sauntered over to me with his tongue out and his tail wagging. It made me smile.
“Good morning, Mac,” I said, patting his head. Carter had his back to me as he plated the food. When he turned, he eyed me up and down for a moment before setting my plate in front of me. A pile of bacon, two slices of buttered toast, and two eggs greeted me. My stomach growled again and I tried to convince it that we weren’t all that hungry—that a little less food would help us look better for Carter.
“That’s a lot,” I said when he sat a cup in front of me.
“Not really,” he grumbled. I looked over at his plate, which was double the amount mine had, as he sat. He was right, of course, but it didn’t help. I watched as Carter constructed amonstrosity of a breakfast sandwich and decided to make one, too.
When I took the first bite, I moaned, my eyes fluttering closed. It had been a while since I’d had bacon. When I opened my eyes, his whiskey ones were on me and I felt that pang of worry again.
He probably thinks you’re a fat ass, moaning at bacon.
I dropped my eyes to the food in my hands before taking a much smaller bite. I did this a few times before setting it down.
Why was my brain doing this to me?!
“Emogen,” he growled, making me look up. I had been lost in thought. “What did I say about you eatin’?”
“I’m not all that hungry.” He sat his food down and looked at me in warning.
“After last night, you should be.” Not wanting more hours, I picked mine back up and took a bite. “That’s what I thought.” He paused. “You need your energy for later.” He winked and I damn near choked on my food.
We were probably halfway done eating when I looked at him again. I’d been thinking about the hours the whole time.
“Uh, Carter?” I felt so sheepish about having to ruin a perfectly quiet morning. He didn’t answer, just looked at me, prompting me to talk. “About last night… Are…” I sighed, deciding to just get it over with, like ripping off a bandaid. “Are orgasms going to cost me hours?”
“Not at all,” he answered, seemingly unfazed.
“Oh, good,” I said with a slightly awkward chuckle. “So, with this morning, I’m at one seventy-nine. I was thinking maybe I should make a chart or something.” The last part was more to myself, but loud enough that he could add his input.
“You can use the computer. And take two more hours off what you owe.” He took another bite.
“You sure?”
“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t say it.”
“O-okay. Thank you.”
