They were silent for long moments, only looking at one another without words. Luke switched off the lamp beside the bed.
“Luke?” she asked when it was dark.
He could hear the sleep in her voice. “Yes,” he answered, petting her hair.
“What now?”
“Now?”
She nodded.
“Now, you sleep for a while. When you wake up, we’ll have dinner. What you’ve been through the last few days, Emma, it has an emotional toll, not to mention physical. That punishment was not an easy one. Not for either of us,” he said. “Rest now, there’s plenty of time to talk later.”
The room was dark when Emma opened her eyes. She still lay on her stomach, but Luke was gone. It was almost ten o’clock. She moved to rise and flinched at the throbbing pain on her backside. She’d have bruises, there was no doubt about that.
Slowly, she got herself to the edge of the bed and, biting her lip, climbed to her feet. She found her way to the bathroom, switched on the light and met her reflection in the mirror there. She washed her face and, finding his toothbrush in one of the drawers, brushed her teeth. Her hair was still a little damp from her bath, but he’d combed it through well enough that there weren’t too many knots.
Once she was reasonably satisfied with her reflection, she slowly turned her back to the mirror and sucked in a breath. Her backside was crisscrossed from the middle of her thighs up to the tops of her buttocks from her whipping, each stroke a clear stripe on her otherwise pale skin. This was going to leave a mark, at least for a little while.
Her stomach growled. She’d had lunch hours ago and now felt ravenous. She went back into the bedroom and rummaged through one of his drawers to find a long t-shirt of his and slipped it over her head. She couldn’t wear panties if she wanted to and imagined sitting was going to be more than a little difficult. Switching the light out, she went to find Luke.
Soft music came from the living room, but he wasn’t there. The light in the kitchen was on and the scent of simmering curry drew her to the stove. She lifted the lid off the pot and, taking the wooden spoon nearby, stirred, then sampled.
“Yum,” she said, savoring the rich flavor. Indian food was her favorite and apparently, Louisa could cook.
Replacing the lid, she checked the pot next to the curry to find basmati rice seasoned with cumin seeds and a yogurt raita in a pretty bowl on the counter. She dipped her finger into the mixture and tasted. She’d need to find Luke fast because she wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.
“Luke,” she said into the apartment. No answer. She walked toward the balcony, but the door was locked. He must be inside somewhere. She found another bedroom, empty again, knocked on the bathroom door, which was empty, then reached the last of the doors. “Luke,” she said when she got closer, but he still didn’t answer.
She pushed the door, which wasn’t closed all the way. He had his back to her and was talking to someone on the telephone.
“I don’t know why you thought you should call me, Evelyn. You know I don’t care.” The door creaked open and he turned. He froze when his eyes met hers. His expression told her he’d been unaware of her presence. “I’m sorry; I have to call you back.”
A few moments later, he hung up.
“Emma,” he said. Although his expression went a little softer at seeing her, she could see he was worried.
“What was that? Who’s Evelyn?” she asked, sounding more jealous than she intended.
“Do you always lurk in doorways and eavesdrop on people’s private conversations?” he asked, rising to his feet.
“I try not to make a habit of it,” she said, watching him closely. She didn’t want him to be angry with her, but she’d obviously walked in on something she shouldn’t have overheard and wanted to know more. Especially about Evelyn. “Everything ok?”
“How long were you standing there?”
“Not long.”
He studied her as if trying to figure out if she were lying. “Everything’s fine.” He stood. “I’m hungry. How about you?” he asked, leading her out of the study.
“Starving.”
“Let’s eat, then.”
“I’m not sure I can sit for a meal,” she said, a hand on her bottom.
He smiled. “You weren’t going to be sitting anyway,” he said.
She followed him to the kitchen. He took a large plate out of the cupboard and loaded it with rice and curry. “Can you grab the raita and get some beers from the refrigerator? Louisa makes a spicy curry. We’ll eat out on the balcony.”
“What do you mean I won’t be sitting?” she asked, taking the items and following him outside. The balcony was large and wrapped around two sides of the building. The view was remarkable and she was sure she would have enjoyed that had she not been so busy with what she’d just overheard and the sitting down comment.