Page 68 of Prey Tell
Before I can respond, he’s grabbing his phone from the living room. When he walks back in a second later, he’s holding it to his ear as he gestures for me to sit down.
“Luna. Yes, everything’s fine. How quickly would I be able to get some food sent up to my room?” He glares at me as he nods. “One of everything. I have a feeling she’s ravenous.”
After he hangs up, he walks over to where I’m sitting—rather uncomfortably.
“Lay down on your stomach,” he commands. I hesitate, and his jaw clicks. “Let me take care of you, Juliet.”
“I’m fine—”
“You’re shaking,” he growls. “It’s normal. It’s called a sub-drop. The adrenaline causes a crash in your endorphins. Please, lie down. I assume your research was thorough enough to include the importance of aftercare, yeah?”
“Okay,” I acquiesce.
I lie down on my stomach, and then I hear him walk into the bathroom and rummage around for something. A minute later, I hear him unscrew a lid, and then the bed next to me sinks down. My eyes fall closed automatically, and he moves the hem of my robe up high enough to see where he spanked me.
“This should help,” he says softly, and I grit my teeth as he rubs some kind of lotion into my skin. But then… it begins to tingle. The pain numbs a bit, and it feels nice.Soothing.“Vitamin E to help the healing process, and calendula to help with the burning. You will be sore for a few days…”
His voice drifts off. My body relaxes into the bed further, and I feel my legs fall open slightly before he carefully pulls my robe back down over me. The curtains in his room are mostly closed, and that mixed with the smell of the lotion, the warm bed, and the feel of Chase’s warm body next to me lull me into a relaxing nap.
* * *
I wake up with a start, pushing up onto my arms and looking around. The light coming from behind the curtains is pink, and when I take in the unfamiliar bedroom, the memory of earlier slams into me. Sitting up quickly, I wrap my robe tightly around myself and wander out of Chase’s bedroom. I expect him to be gone—to be ashamed of what we did—even though we signed a contract. However, he’s sitting on the couch, bare feet propped up on the coffee table as he types something out on his computer. It’s oddly domestic, and it does something funny to my stomach.
“Sleep well?” he asks, closing his computer and setting it off to the side.
I lean against the frame of the bedroom door and cross my arms. “I was told there’d be food,” I tease. “One of everything, if I’m not mistaken.”
His lips quirk up, but he doesn’t quite smile. Instead, he stands and stretches, and I wonder how long I’d been asleep.
“Yes, well, the food came… and went. I’ll order more. Still like cheeseburgers?” he asks, pulling his phone out.
“Sounds perfect.”
He orders two cheeseburgers, and I look around the living quarters. A few pieces of paper are scattered over the dining room table. His flannel is laying across one of the chairs. His shoes are lined up by the door.Has he been here the whole time?
When he hangs up, he walks over to where I’m standing.
“I thought you would’ve been gone…” I trail off, realizing how silly I sound.
“Where else would I be? I wanted to be here when you woke up.”
His statement is oddly sentimental and sweet.
“Why?” I ask, my voice smaller than I intended.
He gives a half shrug as he shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans.ThisChase—rumpled, wearing jeans, smirking like a cocky asshole—thisis the Chase I remember as a teenager.
The notion makes my heart beat wildly in my chest.
“It’s part of my aftercare. I never leave, and I never make my submissives leave before they fall asleep if they’re tired. It’s important that we check in with each other.”
Oh.
Right.
I open my mouth to ask him if he does this with every submissive, but he sighs.
“No, actually, that’s a lie,” he admits, raising his hand and rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t always care about checking in emotionally. And to be fair, it’s not always needed in casual play.”
