“Thank you.” Houston didn’t seem to understand what was funny, but he didn’t question what he probably thought of as my insanity. He cleaned more than anyone I’d ever met. I didn’t seem to drive him crazy, even when I put something away in the wrong spot or accidentally left stuff lying around, which I was grateful for. It was just distracting.
I’d leave my keys in the kitchen or on top of the dryer, and he’d go behind me, putting them away where they belonged. Remembering to look for things where they were meant to go was hard. I was supposed to walk all over the house looking for my keys, not just to the table by the front door. His goal seemed to be to keep me organized, but it felt like he was trying to take care of me. It made keeping my distance even harder.
“Yes, Sir” had already slipped out entirely too often, and I was eventually going to say something stupid if I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that he wasn’t a Dom.
Actually remembering to set my keys on the little table where he preferred, I headed toward the kitchen. Houston always did the dishes when I cooked, so there was nothing to clean up, but I took a few minutes to get organized and check the sauce before I got started with everything else.
The slow cooker recipe wasn’t my personal favorite, but it was what I’d had time for, so I tried not to worry. Houston was going to love it. He’d been eating jarred sauce, so there was really no comparison, anyway. Adding a few last-minute seasonings, I turned off the pot and started getting everything out.
Houston’s voice coming from the doorway startled me. “Is there going to be leftover sauce?”
He laughed when I jumped and scowled at him. “Make more noise.”
“Sorry.” But his devilish grin said he didn’t feel bad.
Giving him a frown, I set the eggs on the counter. That could have made a mess. “A little, why? I usually make several batches at one time, but this slow cooker isn’t that big.”
“Just curious.” He walked over to the table and sat down. “I’ve been smelling it all afternoon, and I’ve got a list of things it would probably taste wonderful on.”
“There should be enough to go on a pizza later this week or something like that.” Maybe even a baked ziti or spaghetti. My mental wandering was stopped by Houston’s low moan.
Fuck.
“That sounds delicious.” He licked his lips and gave me a long look. “You sure it’s not too much work for you? I don’t want you to spend all your extra time trying to please me.”
Food, he was just talking about food.
“It’s fine. I…um, I like…cooking for you.” If he wanted me to get the recipe right, he was going to have to stop doing that to me. Distracting me was one thing, but the way he watched me put crazy images in my head.
It’d clearly been too long since I’d subbed, or just fooled around with someone, because turning away from him and going back over to the counter was harder than it should have been. Focus. I needed something to get my mind out of the gutter…or the dungeon, in my case. “How was work today?”
He gave a dissatisfied grunt. “I was looking at taking on a new client. He wants to do an internet startup and needs help with his business plan. I asked for his research and copies of what he has so far. All I got were photocopies of Starbucks napkins and a crazy mind-map type drawing that I think I remember doing in elementary school. Nothing that makes sense, and he’s really not understanding why that isn’t going to suffice.”
Chuckling, I glanced back at him. “Napkins?”
“Yes.” Houston sighed dramatically. “Little notes everywhere. It might be a good idea, hell, he might change the internet, but I can’t understand enough to make sense of it all.”
“What did he say when you told him to redo it?” I gave Houston a sideways glance. “Because I know there was no way you danced around the topic and said it nicely.”
Houston laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I just snorted and waited for him to keep going. Finally, he grinned. “Alright, so I might have suggested that he put some time and effort into really planning the business if he wants it to succeed. Then I gave him some tips. I was very helpful.”
“So you gave him tons of homework and fussed at him for turning his assignment in half-done? I had teachers like you in school.” I grinned as he chuckled but didn’t deny the comparison. “I’m betting it was a very long list.”
“Several pages—and then I sent him a bill for wasting my time.” Houston shook his head. “He was just trying to get someone else to do all the work for him. I made it very clear up front I was not designing his business or finding a new job for him. He chose not to listen.”
“Do you think he’s going to follow instructions and actually get back to you with real information?”
“Possibly. With some people, it’s hard to know if they’re just looking for…help or someone to actually take control. It could go either way; I’m still trying to figure it out.” His voice was odd, and glancing over, I saw he was giving me a curious look.
I smiled at him. “You’ll figure it out. You take charge well enough that I’m sure you’ll have him straightened out in no time.” The curious look continued, and I fought the urge to look down and see if my zipper was open.
His response came out in a steady voice, but something about it made me want to squirm. “I’m hoping I will.”
I was saved by the phone.
We both jumped as the buzzing got louder. Pulling it out of my pocket, I quietly cursed as I saw the name come up on the caller ID.Trouble. Eli’s new nickname in my contact list. Swiping my finger across the screen, I didn’t even say hello. “What did you do?”
