The Brownstone

Part 16

It was still early when I heard the rustling of the sheets and cracked my eyes open from a restless sleep. The first rays of dawn were creeping into the room bathing it in a muted glow. Lifting my head I saw hers peek out over the edge of the bed.

"Don't make me punish you again, I don't enjoy seeing you like this." She beckoned me with a gesture and I held back a huge sigh of relief as I crawled up from the floor and into her arms. Her fingers over my back as I fought to gain control over myself before finally drifting into a deep sleep, emotionally exhausted.

We woke late to the sound of a knock. I pulled myself from bed to fetch the brunch from whatever patient soul was waiting. I nodded politely at the gagged naked man who handed me the tray and retreated back into the dimness of the room. I carefully brought the tray over and sat it gently onto the bed, watching her squirm to sit up as she rubbed the back of her hands across her eyes. I waited a moment before handing her the plate of avocado toast, fruit and yogurt. I avoided her gaze, still feeling awful about yesterday.

She said quietly, "It's in the past Evan. No need to sulk around all day."

"Yes, Mistress." I sat down with my own plate, watching her take a large drink of apple juice.

"So Jacob decided to go back up?" I asked tentatively. I was eager to find the easiness between us again.

"No. He wanted to stay with Aja so we worked out things between us last night." She stretched her arms over her head before picking up her fork. I noted the slight marks over what I could see of her from last night. I sighed, closing my eyes and pushing the thought away before grabbing my own fork.

"You're very interested in him." She said casually.

"Curious more than anything." I responded.

"Really? Hmm. So things have changed since you came to me?"

I furrowed my brows in confusion and looked over at her.

"I thought you weren't interested in men?" She asked, the surprise clear in her voice.

My eyes almost bulged out of my head. "What? I'm not!" I ran the exchange through my head trying to figure out why she would think that. And it clicked. "Oh my god, no. I'm not curious about being with Jacob, I'm curious just about...everything here."

The puzzlement on her face cleared and she let out a clear loud laugh. She downed the rest of her juice and hopped out of bed.

"Change the sheets, I need to shower quickly before Elodie shows up. You can join me if you're quick enough."

We stepped out into the garden an hour later. I followed her to a small table under a canopy and knelt by her side, Damien already waiting.

"Late start for you Madeline." He always spoke slowly as if he had all the time in the world. His deep rich voice was one of the most relaxing sounds I had ever heard. I'd watched many women, and some men, perk up in his presence over the weekend, but, he seemed content to focus his attention on Kai. Who I now realized was not at his side. I glanced around curiously for a moment but didn't see him.

"These retreats aren't for early mornings. At least not the parts of them I'm interested in." She grinned and motioned a server over to fill her glass with water.

Within minutes Cassian swaggered up and took a seat at the table, his eyes lighting on me at her side.

"You haven't sent the boy to play? Poor thing." He said smirking at me.

Her gaze slid over to me and I looked up at her expectantly, as she seemed to be deciding something in her mind.

"Head down the stairs there." She pointed to some stairs to our left. "Go into the garden, you'll see it on your way down. Find Kai, he'll explain."