Just One Taste (Topped #2)(44)

He sighed and stepped back, holding out a hand. “Is that all? I thought it was serious. Come on. Let’s get you upstairs. I have to do the farmer’s market run in the morning because Sean is taking Carys for a checkup.”

She took his hand, oddly disappointed that he wasn’t making a bigger deal out of this. She’d kind of expected him to offer to fix the problem, but he seemed more concerned with getting home to bed. That was good. Wasn’t it? He recognized that she could handle herself. It was good.

It wasn’t Eric. It was kind of shitty.

She followed him upstairs, her key in hand. She would start studying now. She would do it on breaks and during her very nonexistent off time, and she would maybe skip a training class next week. Surely Master Ian would understand. It would all work out if she tried hard enough.

Eric watched her walk inside. “How many days do you need?”

She could start studying tonight. Who needed sleep? “For what?”

He chuckled. “For studying, silly girl. How quickly your brain moves on to other things. How many nights do you need off so you can feel ready for your test?”

“Oh, I was only looking for one. I was trying to take next Thursday off since I take the test on Friday.”

He nodded and leaned over, brushing a kiss across her lips. “You’re off Wednesday and Thursday. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll handle it. You study and pass because I kind of need a smart girl to help me out. One of us needs to finish college. Lock the door, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Eric, I…”

“Goodnight.” He pulled the door closed. “Lock it.”

She twisted the deadbolt and put her hand against the door, standing there until she heard his truck take off.

What the hell was she going to do with that man?





CHAPTER EIGHT



Eric forced his legs to work. Two straight days of being on his feet for twelve hours a day had damn near ruined him, but he wanted to check in with Deena. The last week had been rough. She’d been studying like crazy and getting ready for the end of the term. He’d backed off after offering to help and being gently rebuffed. She claimed she wasn’t able to concentrate while he was around. He wasn’t sure if that was a point in his favor or one more obstacle between them.

There seemed to be so damn many of those.

She’d accepted his help but then he’d felt the distance between them again. Deena hadn’t turned cold exactly. She was still accepting his rides to and from work, still sitting in his lap, and still getting hot for him when he turned on the D/s sex. Unfortunately, she managed to turn all sex into D/s sex. If he tried to kiss her, she pushed him until he dominated her.

He had to face facts. A D/s relationship might be all she wanted from him. Was he willing to accept that? Was he willing to sign another contract with her?

He stopped on the landing and sighed. Yeah, he probably was. He was willing to do almost anything to stay with her. What did that make him? He wasn’t sure it was making him happy.

He glanced down at his watch. It was past midnight. He should be back at Top eating with the crew, having a glass of whatever Sebastian had paired with the duck they’d served tonight, but no, he was here stalking a woman who didn’t truly want him.

He was about to turn and walk back to the parking lot when her door flew open.

“Eric?”

He put on his best face. Caught red-handed. That was him. “Hey, I was coming to make sure you had everything you needed.”

She put a hand over her chest and took a long breath. “I heard your truck, but then you didn’t knock. I was worried something had happened. Come in. It’s not the best neighborhood.”

Eric found himself being led into her tiny apartment. He’d had some fairly dirty sex in that apartment, but he hadn’t slept over and she’d found a reason to refuse overnight invites to his place. He stepped inside as she closed and locked the door behind them. To his left was her small dining room table. It was covered with books and papers. It looked like Deena was burning the midnight oil. “Which is why you should think about moving.”

It was a sketchy part of town, but it was likely all she could afford, and he doubted offering to let her move in with him would work at this point.

She walked into the kitchen. “I’m going to do that once I graduate. How about you? Are you going to make the commute into Fort Worth or are you moving?”

It was the most interest she’d shown in him in days. “I’m looking for a place close to the restaurant, but we’ve got a couple of months before we’re ready to open. The lawyers are coming in next week to finalize the deal.”

Her eyes had flared and for a moment he’d thought she was going to ask him questions about the restaurant, but she turned her attention to the teakettle on the stove instead. “I would have thought you would be eating at Top right now. Did we close early?”

He hadn’t wanted to chance missing her. He’d figured she would still be awake at this point, but she did have a test in the morning. “Everything ran all right, but I’d been there all day and I wanted to head home. I thought I’d check on you. I can see everything is going okay so I’ll get out of your hair.”

She stepped out of the kitchen. “You worked my shifts, didn’t you?”