He froze. She didn’t think he breathed. And then he nearly growled, “Bloody hell, Sasha,” and took her lips in a deep kiss she felt in her toes.

She whimpered in a combination of bliss and need, pleased that his only reply was to pull her closer. Her fingers tangled in his hair and he moaned when she gave it a tug. Damn it all, she would never get enough of his kisses.

The chime of the doorbell made them both jump.

Not ready to meet his eyes, she buried her head in his chest. But as always, he wouldn’t let her hide.

“Look at me, Sasha.”

She peeked at him, but couldn’t read his expression. “Sir?”

“I’m not finished with this conversation. When everyone leaves, we’re picking right back up where we left off.” He kissed her quickly on the forehead and then left.

The exchange left her weak kneed and shaky and she was grateful for the few minutes she had to compose herself. Her focus needed to be on the upcoming tea service. Her talk with Cole would have to wait.

A few of the senior Doms stood in the living room, talking. Daniel and Evan were off to the side talking to Nathaniel. Jeff was sitting down, texting someone. Probably Dena. She didn’t see Master Greene. Sasha’s role was to be on the lookout for ways to help, but to remain as unobtrusive as possible. And she wasn’t to speak to anyone without Cole’s permission.

Cole inclined his head slightly at her entrance and the right side of his mouth lifted in a hint of a smile. Sasha gave him one of her own and then glanced around the room to ensure everything was in order. She noticed Kelly Bowman, the female Domme, had watched the exchange between her and Cole.

She turned around to check on the table for the third time and when she turned back to the group, Kelly was at her side.

“Master Johnson,” she said, getting his attention. “May I have your permission to speak with Sasha?”

“You may, but keep it short. She’s busy.” He looked at Sasha. “You may talk for five minutes.”

Sasha felt like dragging Kelly down the hall so they could talk in private. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed girly conversation. Talking to Julie or Abby on the phone wasn’t the same as being in the room with someone. Besides, with the tea party being a group event, she wasn’t at liberty to gossip with the Domme.

Kelly pulled her to a quiet corner. “You look good. Everything going okay?”

“I’ve rarely felt more content, Ma’am.”

“As soon as word gets out I’ve seen you, Julie and Dena are going to be hounding my ass for details. For the next five minutes, I’m just Kelly.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “If you feel that’s too disrespectful, do it anyway and I’ll tell Master Johnson you’ve been a naughty little slave so he can punish you.”

Sasha laughed. “Thanks, Kelly. Seriously though, I really don’t want this time to end. It’s been eye-opening and insightful and he’s, well, he’s incredible.”

“Dear Lord, Julie will go batshit crazy.”

“Most likely.”

“Have you talked to Cole? Does he know how you feel?”

“We’re talking tonight, when everyone leaves.”

“I hope you get everything you want, Sasha. You’ve been through a lot, but you took a bad situation and you learned from it and grew stronger.”

“Thank you. I feel stronger.”

Kelly leaned in close. “There’s no feel about it. You are stronger. Own it. Own it with pride.”

•   •   •

Cole was only half listening to the conversation among Daniel, Nathaniel, and Evan. The majority of his attention was focused on Sasha’s conversation with Kelly. The Domme had said something that made Sasha laugh, but the rest of the conversation must have taken a more somber turn; she only laughed that one time. They spoke for a few more minutes until Sasha glanced at a wall clock, hugged Kelly, and made a turn around the room to ensure everyone was content.

Kelly stayed where she was and looked him over as if observing him for the first time. He sort of felt the way he did when meeting a girl’s father, back when he was a teenager. He fought the urge to fidget and instead raised an eyebrow in Kelly’s direction. She studied him a few seconds longer before turning her attention to her phone.

Assured nothing in the room needed her attention, Sasha shifted her focus to him. Finding him looking, she smiled briefly before dropping her eyes. Still, he watched her as she moved to stand near one of his couches. Out of the way, but available if needed. Watchful, but not overbearing. The dress he’d picked out hugged her in all the right places, and he was pleased to note she’d lost both the gaunt and the lost looks.

All in all, she was transformed from the cowering submissive he’d first met in Daniel’s playroom. She was sharp, strong, and sexy as hell. She accepted him for who he was, and took everything he’d thrown at her in the last week and a half.

She’d shocked the hell out of him when she admitted she didn’t want to leave, because he didn’t want her to leave, either. He could no longer imagine working without her in the room, catching up on the news without her knitting by his feet, or pushing her body to its limit. He loved watching her experience unknown pleasure before he brought her back down. And how could he go to sleep without her snuggled against him, awed by her trust in him?

He couldn’t imagine it, and he wouldn’t do it. When everyone left, they would talk and somehow work something out so she wouldn’t leave. If she didn’t want to wear his collar permanently, they would find a middle ground.

She glanced his way with a slight frown and he realized he was late moving everyone to the dining room. Bloody hell, she was probably worried about the food and timing the water. He’d made her worry, and that had never been his intent. He was supposed to support her, not cause her undue stress.

Sorry, my fault, he mouthed, and the worry lines left her face. He gave her a nod and she hurried to the kitchen while he rounded everyone up and led them to the dining room.

As everyone sat down and Sasha started serving, he let out a relieved breath. Everything was going great. She’d been worried the last few days. He’d done his best to reassure her, but knew deep down that only actually doing the service would erase the doubt.

His eyes followed her around the table with an odd mixture of pride and desire. Bloody hell. What was it about a slave serving tea that turned him on so much? He could watch her forever and fortunately, everyone was talking among themselves so he didn’t feel the need to make small talk.