Page 20 of The Dragon’s Good Girl

"What is that?"

Soren goes completely still, and the sound stops. "Nothing."

I turn enough to put my palm against his chest. A few seconds later, the vibration starts beneath my hand again.

I look up at him. "Are you purring?"

His expression suggests he'd prefer we discuss anything else.

I bite back a smile and settle against him again. His arm tightens slightly around me, and before long the purr returns, low and steady against my back.

I like it far too much.

Eventually I get dressed, although leaving takes longer than it should. Before I go, Soren stops me near the door.

"I'm giving you three rules until I see you again. First, you eat breakfast every morning. A real breakfast, sitting down, not something you inhale on your way to work."

I open my mouth to defend perfectly respectable breakfast bars, but he's already holding up a second finger.

"Seven hours of sleep a night. Minimum. And once every day, you're going to say no to something you would normally agree to."

"That last one seems a little—"

"That's the one you're going to struggle with." There's the faintest hint of amusement in his voice. "The other two are straightforward. That one requires you to disappoint someone occasionally."

Well. When he puts it like that, I hate it even more.

"If you manage all three, there'll be a reward when I see you next session. If you don't, you tell me what got in the way and we deal with it then." He tips my chin up with one finger. "Can you do that for me?"

Yes rises automatically. It's the answer I give Richard when he drops something on my desk at four in the afternoon, the one I give Mom when she needs something handled and Bree when she promises she'll pay me back next week.

This time, I stop before I say it.

Three breakfasts. Seven hours of sleep. One no a day.

I can do that.

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl."

The words stay with me all the way outside.

By the time I reach my car, my hair is still damp and my skin still carries the warmth of Soren. I get behind the wheel, start the engine, and sit there instead of putting it in reverse.

I don't feel relaxed exactly. That word seems too small for whatever has happened to me in the last two hours. Mostly, I feel present in my own body in a way I haven't for a long time, aware of the weight of my hands in my lap and the warmth still lingering beneath my clothes.

I should go home. There's work I could get a head start on, Mom will probably call, and Bree has been suspiciously quiet all day.

Instead, I take out my phone.

I stare at it for a moment before opening the booking page. Soren's name appears at the top, followed by his available appointments, and whatever argument I'm supposed to have with myself about whether coming back is a good idea never gets started.

I book another session before I even leave the driveway.

The confirmation lands in my inbox a few seconds later, and this time, I don't consider canceling it.

Chapter Four