Page 88 of Making Over Maris

Again, wrapped in brown paper.

His interest, and something else, flared.

Seriously? What was his cock thinking? Did he even have any sperm left?

“What’s this?” he asked, twirling the package around.

Sara grinned. “Your homework.”

A thrill shot through him at the tone of her voice. “Ooh. More homework? What is it?”

She sat down and put her feet up on the table against the wall. He tried not to wince. He had a half-done mini-robotics project on that table. Just a little something but still, it was important. The table wobbled. He plucked up the pieces and set them carefully on his desk.

“By the way, Jack, I was kind of pissed off at you last night.”

He froze. “You…were?”

“Yes. It became very clear to me that you’ve seen that book before.”

Oh. That. He nibbled his lip. “Maybe.”

“Jack, no one could have known all those answers. Not after having the book for a day. So come on. Fess up.”

He flushed. “Okay. Maybe I have a copy of that book.”

She gored him with an accusing finger. “I knew it.” And then she hissed, “Seriously? You already had that book?”

“Yes.”

She studied him. “For how long?”

“What?”

“How long have you had it?”

He shrugged. For some reason he didn’t want to make eye contact. “I dunno. A year?”

“A year?”

He didn’t understand her tone, her intensity. He didn’t understand why this was so important to her. But something, some tiny voice, whispered that it was. That he ought to be honest. Or come close. “Okay. Longer than a year.”

“Why?”

“What?” Why what? Damn. Sometimes women were a lot of work. Why didn’t she just come out and say what she was thinking?

“Why did you have that book?”

“Because I liked the book.”

“That’s not what I meant, Jack. Why did you buy that book?” He opened his mouth to respond but she stopped him. “And don’t say because you liked it.”

Well, hell. “Sara, what are you asking? I mean, what are you really asking?”

She fell silent and studied her entwined fingers and huffed. He let her work through whatever process she was working through because, frankly, he didn’t know what else to say. Finally she answered him.

“How long have you been into female domination?” She looked up at him then and he saw it, there in her eyes. The uncertainty that had caused this whole circuitous conversation. And a flicker of what might have been…hope. Something within him released. And he said it.

“Forever.”