Marquis was quiet in the morning, which was why Olivia liked the early hour. To her surprise, she wasn’t completely alone though. She came in through the back rather than the front, thinking she would be, but Nick and his sous chef Avery were already there as well.

“Good morning,” Avery said cheerfully, looking up from whatever she was chopping.

“Morning,” Olivia said, giving her and Nick a wave. Whatever they were making, it smelled good, which boded well for the restaurant. Since Avery went right back to work and Nick had barely looked up, Olivia didn’t stop to chat.

She headed upstairs to her office, smiling as she walked through Marquis’ main floor. It was all cleared out again since the submissive class wouldn’t return until Tuesday. Every time she walked through she got a little proprietary thrill, especially in the mornings when everything was quiet and no one else was there.

When she stepped into her office, her footsteps slowed as she saw there was something waiting for her on her desk again. Two boxes. No flowers. Moving closer, she could see a raspberry chocolate bar placed next to them, and her lips immediately curved into a secretive smile.

As she came close enough to see what was in the boxes, she had to laugh.

One anal training set with gradually larger plugs, five in all, and a very large tube of lube.

Well that was one way to make a statement.

She was still giggling when her phone went off, and somehow she wasn’t at all surprised to see Luke’s name on her screen. Choking down her laughter, she hit the call accept and lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Do you like your present?” he asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice, the teasing. He sounded more himself, not as forced as he had been since the scene in her apartment.

“That depends, who am I supposed to be using these on?” she parried, giving him a little of his own back.

Luke just chuckled, and her body warmed to the sound. “Me.” He paused. “Not immediately, maybe, but yes, me.”

“Are you sure?” she pressed a little harder, her amusement fading away because this was a serious conversation even if he’d initiated it in a lighthearted manner.

“Yes. I wasn’t before, I’ll admit. Not all of this is easy for me.”

“I don’t want to make you do something you’re not truly into, just for me,” she said, running her finger over the plugs. They were a nice set. The largest one was just a little larger than her favorite strap-on dildo. “That’s not my kink.”