“Just ‘Mal’,” I corrected. “When we’re like this, it’s just ‘Mal’.”
She opened her mouth and then clearly bit her lip before glancing away from me. I might be lenient post-orgasm, but I still did not like her looking away. I tipped her chin up, and her eyes flew back to mine.
“We agreed you would be ‘Little Owl’,” I told her gently. “That is fine for now. The fact that I can tell youwantto tell me your name means a lot, but it is still no excuse for looking away from me.”
Her cheeks pinkened. “Sorry. I didn’t realize how used to hiding I was until you kept telling me to look at you.”
I tapped her mask jokingly. “Really? I never noticed.”
She giggled. “Touché.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I could either run a marathon or sleep for the next week.”
It was my turn to chuckle. “Yeah, that’s generally the right reaction. Have you ever reached subspace before?”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so…heady. What did you do?”
I also shook my head. “This time it wasn’t me, Little Owl. I won’t take credit where it’s not due. I think it had to do with you,” I tapped the skin of her forehead above the mask, “up here. What were you thinking or feeling just before you tipped?”
I was coming to adore that little blush on her cheeks. “How safe you made me feel. How I didn’t have to look for an exit with you.”
Fuck, so simple and yet it explained so much. I felt fucking ten feet tall knowing that it wasn’t something I’d donetoher butforher that had allowed her to fly.
Bending down, I took her mouth. I didn’t generally kiss my submissives. Maybe in greeting or in thanks, but rarely did the intimacy between us reach the height where a kissfeltright. Just another way this little owl was so very different.
It had been a long time since a woman had spent the night in my bed, yet I suddenly loathed that we were not at my house, in my bedroom. I knew we weren’t there yet. There was so much that still needed to be said and done between us before we could ever consider reaching that step, but the very fact that I was thinking about it, longing for it, was momentous.
I needed to put some distance between us before I did something ridiculously embarrassing. Master David would bust a lung laughing if he could see just how off my game I was with this woman.
Sitting upright, I reached for the water bottle I had pulled out earlier for her. “Drink the whole thing,” I instructed. “Then up against the wall. It’s time for your punishment. I’m feeling generous tonight, so I’ll say twenty-five swats and call it even. You will be sore tomorrow, which is another reason I dislike not having a way to contact you.”
She accepted the water bottle. “I have your card. Can I call your office tomorrow?”
Recalling her near panic attack from before, I did not push askingwhyshe did not have a phone. She should have one, not just to reach out to me, but also in case of an emergency. Instead, I offered, “Do you need a phone? I can purchase one for you, if that’s the case.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want you spending money on me if you don’t have to. I’ll speak with Master Kade in the morning and then I’ll call your office. I promise.”
I didn’t like it, but it was approaching midnight and there wasn’t much I could do about the circumstances. That compounded the issue, grating on my nerves even more. I pointed to the water bottle in her hand. “Quit stalling, pet. It’ll only delay the inevitable.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Holly
I wincedas the denim of my jeans scraped over my sore ass cheeks as I got dressed the next morning. Maniacal chuckling sounded from behind me. I’d heard Jason enter the apartment and get in the shower a few minutes ago, so I wasn’t surprised by his presence in my room. It was the laugh. Since I’d known the man, I could count on one hand the number of times he’d truly laughed, not faked it to fit into a situation.
Turning, I glared at my mentor. “It’s not nice to laugh at other people’s pain.”
“Hols, that’sallI laugh at.”
He had a fair point. I finished buttoning up my jeans, wishing I had a pair of granny panties to help protect the sensitive skin of my ass. But no, all I had in my underwear arsenal were thongs.
Grumbling, I reached for my bra that was still on the end of the bed. Jason was standing in my open doorway in nothing but a towel around his muscular waist. I was not sexually attracted to the man, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t admire his toned, older physique.
“Roman and Jesse make it in okay last night?” I asked, like they were checking into a hotel room.
“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Jason snapped. He gestured behind me. “I take it your time with the agent went well?”
