He wasn’t wearing a shirt. How had she not noticed that? Was she blind? Dead?
The man was seriously built. Muscles galore. And as he turned, she saw he had a tattoo high up on his back.
Strength over fear.
She wondered when he’d gotten that. And if she could lick it?
Lick it? Jeez, Juliet. You can’t just lick him to lay claim. What are you? Six?
Well, sometimes. But she could also go younger.
She knew she had to tell him about her Little. But not yet.
He slid a plate of something in front of her. Sheesh. Could he fit any more food on here? There was bacon, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, hash browns, grilled mushrooms, sausages, and toast.
He couldn’t seriously expect her to eat all of this.
Another plate was put down next to her and he sat. “Eat.”
She didn’t know where to start. She was overwhelmed. He didn’t seem to have that problem as he dug in.
Then he paused and brushed his hand over hers. “Eat, Duchess.”
Elias and Sterling walked in. Sterling looked more tired than she did, although he perked up when he saw all the food.
“Yes! Brick’s breakfasts are the bomb! No pancakes?” Elias pouted, making her smile. It looked silly to see the huge man pouting.
“Not today. Protein and carbs. Pancakes are too much sugar.”
Elias rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. She didn’t blame him, pancakes were the bomb. The others sat and gave her the distraction needed so that Brick wasn’t all focused on her.
Or so she’d thought. Probably should have known better.
“You don’t have to eat it all, Duchess,” he whispered in her ear, making her shiver. “But you need to eat some.”
The ‘or else’ was left off the threat. But she heard it anyway. She gathered up some scrambled egg on her fork.
“So, what are you kids up to today?” Sterling asked. “Got any idea what to do with your days now you’re no longer working, Juliet?”
Elias slapped him around the head.
“Hey! What?” He rubbed his head.
“Not cool pointing out that she doesn’t have a job.”
“I need to have a word with your boss,” Brick said. “He should hold your job open.”
She looked around for her whiteboard. Damn, where was it?
“Here.” Sterling grabbed one from the top drawer of the kitchen cupboard. She stared at the brand-new whiteboard in surprise. His cheeks grew red. “Ah, hope you don’t mind, but I put a few throughout the house and pool house. In case we needed them.”
“Aw, look at you being all sweet,” Elias teased.
Sterling slapped him around the back of the head this time. It looked like they were about to erupt into a tumble when Brick cleared his throat.
“Don’t worry about them, Duchess. They still think they’re fifteen rather than nearly forty.”
I didn’t like that job anyway.