Page 43 of Taming Her

He rushed to the door, onto the landing then took the stairs two at a time. If she’d gone home he’d damn well go and get her. They couldn’t throw away what they’d achieved so far. She’d cleaned up, a flicker of life had filled her eyes when she’d talked of the garden yesterday, plus the dom in him knew she was starting to accept his control of her, his rules, and his discipline.

He couldn’t let that go to waste. It wasn’t an option. Ava would hit a wall soon if she carried on with her wild ways and it might be a crash she didn’t survive.

That thought squeezed his heart further and he raced into the kitchen.

Then came to an abrupt halt.

Ava was standing beside the island whisking eggs. She was also humming.

Her hair was messy, and she wore her new fluffy pink dressing gown, but she’d never looked more stunning.

The fist released his heart and blood flowed freely again. The clench of dread in his stomach took a hike and he exhaled.

Thank you, God.

“Oh, you’re awake.” She smiled at him. “You were totally out of it.”

“I was?” He raked his hand through his hair.

“Er, yes.” Her attention lingered, as if soaking in the sight of his bare chest and taut abs. “You were.” She cleared her throat. “I’m making breakfast, I found eggs. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure.” He stepped deeper into the room, stopped behind her, and took a lock of her long hair between his fingers. He rubbed it gently, splaying out the strands. He wanted to tell her he was relieved she was there. That it had been the single best thing to happen to him in a long time to find her in his kitchen cooking eggs. But he didn’t, because she didn’t need to know that. He knew it and that was enough.

“Tea?” he asked.

“Please, kettle has just boiled.”

He moved away and set about making the tea. For a few sweeter than sweet moments everything was perfect. Bliss.

“I need to go home,” she said.

He bristled. “Why?”

“To get some things.”

“I bought you some stuff?” He set a mug of tea beside her.

“Yeah, but not much, and that’s not the shampoo I like, it gives me an itchy scalp.” She paused. “I don’t want to keep wearing Bethany’s old clothes.”

“They’re not old, they’re just spare, for when she visits, which isn’t very often these days.”

“Oh, why not?”

“I’m usually working, shifts are not easy to plan social occasions around.”

“Well, that’s beside the point, I want my clothes, and my personal stuff.”

“Want is not a need, what you have here is perfectly fine for you to wear.”

She frowned. “Stuff, I needmystuff.”

“Like what?” He suddenly thought of something. “Pills? Do you need your pill?”

“What?”

“You know, contraception.”

She hesitated, then, “No, I have a coil.”

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