Page 45 of Serena

“Good girl,” he praises, then leans in and kisses my neck. Such a simple act, but it leaves me wanting more. More of his touch and his praise.

“My girl has a praise kink. I wonder what else she’s hiding.” I don’t miss the double message behind that.

“None of that. Today is a lazy day,” he tells me as a matter of fact. I’m okay with that.

After yesterday, and all the sexual tension between us, I need to reset.

“Action movie marathon?” I suggest.

“Why am I not surprised?” he says with a laugh that helps ease the tension I’m feeling. I don’t know when, but I fall asleep on the couch again. When I wake up, Ian’s on his phone with a look of concern on his face.

“Is everything okay?”

“It will be. I have to go check on my mother. Would you like to join me?”

Meet his mother. I don’t even know what this is. That’s too much, too soon.

“Next time. One day at a time, remember?” He sighs, and I see his disappointment.

I can’t do this. “Ian, I think we should cancel the date and stop whatever this is.”

“No, but I’m glad you’re admitting that this is something. That’s progress.” He smirks.

“What the fuck does that mean?” I retort.

“There she is. Welcome back, baby.”

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

“Yes,yourasshole. It’s settled. You won’t meet my mother today, but you will meet her soon, and my sister as well. Although I’m nervous about the latter. Another thing, Hermosa, I want you to get comfortable with knives, and I’d like to help.”

That’s not what I expected. I know he’s right. He walks over to the kitchen island and grabs the pocketknife he gave me weeks ago. He hands it to me, and memories of how I touched myself with it come flooding back.

“Here, we’ll start slow.”

I take it from him, inspecting it closely. I hadn’t noticed the initials engraved on the handle.IKB.He takes it from me and demonstrates how to properly hold it. How to flip the blade. “You’re so comfortable with them.”

“Well, my grandfather was a collector. He taught me all about them and got me into collecting as well. When he passed away, I inherited his collection. My siblings never cared for the hobby. This is the first knife he gave me.”

I look down at the small weapon. Shocked. He gave me something that held so much meaning for him.

“Ian, why did you give it to me?”

“Stop asking questions you don’t want the answers to. Or truths you’re not ready to hear.” I don’t know what to say to that, so I focus my attention on the lesson he’s giving me. After a while, I manage to follow his lead.

“I hate to go?—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll see you tomorrow at work,” I say, cutting him off. He doesn’t owe me an explanation.

“Ian, go see your mom. I’ll see you tomorrow at the office. And I promise not to put up a fight about Gus taking me to work.” He tilts his head, waiting for more.

“Can I ask about Saturday? The dress code? I’m horrible with surprises, so I may pester you with questions about it.”

He laughs, and it’s beautiful. His perfect smile with those dimples. If he doesn’t leave soon, I may not let him go without fucking me. He notices me starting. In his sexy as sin voice, he tells me, “Ask away, baby, but I’m a vault.” He gives me a kiss on the forehead and heads out.

Fuck. I need to talk to someone about Ian. Honestly, I’m surprised Theo hasn’t blown up the group chat or gotten to Yuri yet. I can’t remember the last time I went on an actual date without the assistance of a dating app or being set up. I need help.

Serena