From Sanctum with Love (Masters and Mercenaries #10)(51)

He was grateful for the distraction. He flipped the omelet one last time before easing it on to her plate. “Kori’s a vegetarian. I always thought that was a health thing until I saw the pictures of her dogs last night.”

Being inside Kori’s bedroom had answered a whole lot of questions for him. Of course it had brought up a whole bunch more. She didn’t talk about her past. He’d thought she was embarrassed by her sister and an underprivileged childhood—he could understand that. Now he wondered if it was something more. He knew he would have to play dirty to get under her armor.

He’d started last night. He’d walked in thinking he would basically tell her that now they were a couple and they would work things out. One look at the fear in her eyes had made him completely change his plan. He needed a mix of hard and soft play with her. Sure she enjoyed a rough hand on her backside, but she craved someone who cared enough to be gentle with her, too. Not that she would say that. She likely didn’t recognize the need in herself, but then she wasn’t the most self-aware woman he’d ever met. It was all right because he was honest enough for both of them.

“Ooo, breakfast.” Mia hopped onto the seat beside Sarah and clapped her hands together. “Is this made to order or should I accept anything you put in front of me? Because I can do either. I am not picky when it comes to men feeding me.”

He could use this time to get to know the mysterious Mia better. “I’m here to serve Kori’s friends whatever they would like. Unless you want a meal that requires anything more than eggs, cheese, ham, and a surprisingly healthy amount of veggies.”

“I will take what Sarah’s having. Yum.” Mia smiled brightly, belying any hangover she might have. “You’re up bright and early this morning. I thought the two of you might sleep in.”

Sarah shook her head. “I’m telling you they didn’t do the nasty. I heard absolutely nothing.” She blushed. “Not that I was trying to, but the walls are thin.”

“We were tired last night. It had been a long day.” He wasn’t about to tell them that he’d actually planned on trying to seduce her, but he’d decided she needed comfort and security more than another orgasm. He started cooking the ham and spinach. It was a trick Sean had taught him. Cook the ingredients first and then add the eggs around them. Back when he was a kid, he’d simply thrown a bunch of stuff into a pan and prayed it didn’t catch fire.

You make the best grilled cheese, Kai. Jared would stand beside him, his eyes wide because the kid had always, always been hungry. He’d been a bottomless pit.

Take care of your brother, Kai. He needs you more than you know. You’ve been his father his whole life.

He forced his mother’s dying words out of his head. She hadn’t known exactly how well her youngest son could take care of himself.

And there it was. There was that nasty kernel of anger. He thought it had gone away, thought time and distance had healed the wound, but the flame had merely been banked.

There was a knock on the door, pulling Kai back from his thoughts. That was happening a lot this morning. He’d thought about staying in bed, but he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop himself from kissing her and he had plans for that later on today.

Kori was going to find out what being his sub meant.

Because he damn straight wasn’t about to be her “play partner,” whatever that meant. He was fairly certain “play partners” got no kisses.

He wanted some kisses. Like stupidly wanted them from her. It seemed wrong to him that he’d touched her *, brought her to orgasm, and hadn’t kissed her yet.

“I’ll go and see who’s here at a ridiculously early hour.” Sarah hopped off her chair.

“I should go.” He was the guy here. The neighborhood was safe enough, but bad things still happened.

“No, breakfast boy, you’re needed here. Trust me. I’ve opened the door many times.” Sarah flounced off. He wondered if she wore a full-length satin gown and robe with fluffy feathers and kitten-heeled slippers every morning. Sarah looked like she’d rolled out of a 1950s pinup girl’s bed. If said pinup girl wore full makeup and had perfect hair every morning.

“So you and Kori are an item now, huh?” Mia was wearing what she’d had on the night before. When he’d woken up earlier, she’d been using Sarah’s shower, the blankets and pillows neatly folded up.

He wished he could have gotten into her purse, but then again, he wasn’t an investigator. That didn’t mean he couldn’t help the cause. “I don’t think she would put a label on it.”

Mia smiled and nodded. “Ah, so you’re playing around. I guess I didn’t think you were the playboy type.”

So she was protective. That was interesting. Or she simply didn’t like men who weren’t committed. He shrugged. “I definitely wouldn’t call myself the playboy type. I kind of hate that type. Rich. Privileged. I’ve known a few. They’re practically their own stereotype. You know what I’m talking about, right? The young billionaire who thinks he owns the world because he thought up some silly app. Yeah, I’m definitely not like that.”

Her brother was though. From what he’d read, her brother had gone from foster care to the richest man in Austin in a short period of years. Of course he’d also found out that her father had killed himself and Mia’s mother in a murder/suicide. That kind of childhood trauma could f*ck a person up.