Stray by Erin Lark Page A

“You awake?”
    “Mmm?” He mumbled something I couldn’t understand before flopping onto his side to look at me. Without opening his eyes, he lifted an arm so I could curl up against him. I happily accepted the invitation, sighing when his body pressed into mine. “Can’t sleep?”
    “Not really.” I hugged one of his arms to my chest. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until the end of the week.”
    “We cut it short by two days.”
    I rolled onto my back, smiling when he kissed me. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
    “I wanted it to be a surprise.” Dylan propped himself up on an elbow. “Besides, we really didn’t know until last night. Figured I’d save you both the hassle of picking me up at the airport. You already had enough going on.”
    “Thank you for this.”
    “Thank you for letting me. Did you get everything in okay?”
    “For the most part. Everything else can stay there, for all I care.” I stifled a yawn. “Sorry.”
    “It’s all right. I’m feeling about the same.”
    “What about Marnie?”
    “What about her?”
    “Shouldn’t you…you know?”
    “I will, but I wanted to spend some time with you first.”
    “Dylan, you were asleep.”
    “Like I said, I wanted to spend time with you first.” He kissed me on the lips, his smile melding into mine. “I didn’t say I had to be awake for it.”
    “What about work? Don’t you need to go back in the morning?”
    Dylan shifted his weight, hugging me to his chest. “You really are a worrier, aren’t you? Look, don’t concern yourself with that kind of thing. I’ll worry about work. In the meantime, you need to get some sleep. I refuse to flog a sub when she’s half-awake.”
    I shuddered, and as he cradled me in his arms, Dylan stroked his fingers through my hair. Closing my eyes, I breathed in his cigarette smoke, his aftershave and the scent of whatever he’d worn on his flight home. I fell asleep shortly after that. Everything else would have to wait until morning.
     

Chapter Eleven
     
     
     
    The next two days had gone by in a complete blur. Dylan had worked longer hours than usual, or so Marnie had said—possibly to finish whatever paperwork was left from his trip. And even though it would’ve been nice to have him as my Master once he’d got home, he’d been lucky to get his shoes off before he’d crawled into bed.
    And tonight was no different. When Dylan finally made it up to our room, Marnie was right behind him, removing bits of clothing whenever she could. His tie ended up somewhere in the doorway. His shirt on the dresser. His pants on a bed post. As he crawled into bed, I threw back the covers to remove his shoes, giving Marnie a sympathetic look.
    “Does he have to work tomorrow?” I asked, leaning over to set the alarm clock on my side of the bed.
    “Luckily, no. He has this Saturday off. A mental health day.”
    I nodded and made sure the alarm was turned off before rolling back over towards Dylan, who had already fallen asleep. My heart sank, and I had to wonder when Marnie would get the attention she needed from him. He’d been sleeping with me every night since he’d got back, and even though we were still very new, I knew Marnie had needs just as much as I did.
    She can have him tomorrow. I don’t think either of us was willing to wake him up just to move Dylan between our rooms.
    “I’ll be across the hall if you need me.” It was Marnie’s nightly routine, dismissing herself from the room before closing the door behind her.
    I lay back down and combed my fingers through Dylan’s hair. He stirred but didn’t wake. He may have been my Master, but I was more than happy to look after him for the night. Saturday meant we could sleep in, which also meant I could stay awake.
    I arced my thumb over his cheek, smiling at the stubble I found there. Short, but ever present. It was a part of him as much as the suit he would’ve worn to bed, had Marnie not removed it.
    Shoving one of my