Page 50 of Minha Dona

“I’ll cook.”

Caitlin raised an eyebrow. “You cook?”

“I can cook. I choose not to, mostly, because delivery exists and I’m lazy. But I can.” Helena grinned. “I should warn you that my repertoire is limited. I can do pasta, I can do a reasonable steak, and I can put together a salad that looks more impressive than it is.” She tilted her head. “I got ingredients in for any or all of them, whatever you’d like?”

“Any of those sound perfect.”

They went to the kitchen and Helena opened the fridge, pulling out ingredients while Caitlin perched on one of the high stools at the kitchen island, watching her.

“What?” Helena asked, catching the look out of the corner of her eye.

“Nothing. I’m just having a moment where I can’t quite believe this. A few days ago we were meeting for a drink in Miami that I didn’t dare hope would go anywhere, and I was planning to be in Barbados by now. Now I’m sat here watching you chop garlic in your own kitchen. It’s very domestic.”

“Is that a problem?”

“It’s the opposite of a problem.” Caitlin rested her chin on her hand. “I like seeing you like this. In your natural habitat.”

Helena laughed. “There’s nothing natural about me in the kitchen.”

Caitlin grinned back and Helena went back to her chopping. Caitlin helped where she could, fetching plates and cutlery once Helena pointed her in the right direction. The pasta was simple, nothing much more than prawns, a little garlic, and olive oil as the sauce, but the smell filled the apartment along with the sizzle of the pan. Caitlin laughed at Helena’s insistence that the prawns needed exactly ninety seconds per side and not a second more, but didn’t interfere even though Helena suspected that Caitlin knew better.

They ate at the dining table, the city lights their backdrop, candles that Helena took from a drawer casting a relaxed glow.

“This is really good,” Caitlin said.

“You don’t need to sound so shocked.”

“I’m not shocked. I’m impressed.” Caitlin took another bite. “You’re clearly a very talented woman.”

“Cooking is not one of my many talents. This is one of the three things I can make without setting the whole building on fire.”

“Then I’m lucky you planned ahead.”

As they ate they talked, initially about the journey and then about Helena’s neighbourhood and their plans for tomorrow. It was easy… relaxed and happy, both completely natural with each other, the same easy vibe they’d had all those months ago back in Houston.

After dinner they cleared the plates together and Helena poured them both another glass of wine.

But… she held Caitlin’s glass just out of reach.

Caitlin looked at her, lips pursed at the sudden change in tone, but with a smile playing beneath.

Helena simply looked back with a similar expression. She gave it a few moments, letting the change in atmosphere settle, that tilt of the room where nothing changed, but somehow everything did too.

“Before I give you this,” Helena said. “I want you to do something for me.”

Caitlin’s breath caught. “What would you like, Minha Dona?”

Helena allowed herself to revel in that. This wasn’t Caitlin’s house or a hotel room or anywhere else they’d been together before. This was her house, her city, her life, and this incredible woman was acknowledging her dominance right here, right now.

“Take off the t-shirt.”

Caitlin didn’t hesitate as she reached for the hem and pulled it over her head, dropping it on the wooden floor. She was naked underneath, the necklace the only thing she wore, and in the glow of Helena’s candles she looked magnificent. Helena couldn’t help the way her eyes were drawn to Caitlin’s gym-honed body so she leaned into it, making it all part of her dominance, showing Caitlin that her body was Helena’s to savour. Caitlin simply watched Helena’s eyes and waited.

“Ajoelhe-se.”

Caitlin sank to her knees on the wooden floor, back straight, hands in her lap, eyes looking up at Helena. She was an absolute, born natural submissive, Helena knew that now, and the best kind… one with the strength to be able to submit completely.

“Good, my beautiful, tame Gatinha.” Helena reached down and touched Caitlin’s jaw. “So perfectly obedient for your Dona.”