“Good morning, Kyle, Hutch. I hope you both slept well,” she said.
“It was hard to sleep when you two were…” Kyle began.
Hutch snatched the coffee mug out of his hand. “You can get your own, asshole.”
Noelle had gone the sweetest shade of pink as she approached the bar. “I thought we were quiet.”
“I’m your bodyguard.” Kyle got a mug and simply poured another cup. “I don’t sleep deeply when I’m on assignment. I woke up when Hutch went onto the balcony. I was willing to let him die, but then you joined him. Could the two of you find a place that isn’t out in the open with at least five sniper perches available? Don’t blush, Noelle. Or maybe do. Get it all out of your system because on Thursday, the freaky stuff starts.”
She hauled herself up on the barstool. Had he been too rough with her? She’d been through a lot the day before and he’d spent the whole evening twisting her around so he could get his dick inside her.
He got her a cup of coffee and her sugar jar and put it in front of her. “Do you want some cream, baby?”
Her eyes widened slightly, as though she was surprised by the affectionate name. Well, she’d better get used to it.
“No. Just sugar, thank you. And thanks for making breakfast. I usually skip it.”
Not while he was taking care of her. “No problem. Breakfast is my specialty. I’ll make some pancakes tomorrow.”
“That might make up for what I went through last night,” Kyle snarked under his breath before sitting down next to Noelle. “So are you going to call Kai and tell him or should Hutch do it?”
“Tell Kai what?” Noelle asked.
Hutch plated her eggs and gave her a piece of toast, sliding it in front of her before plating his and Kyle’s.
“I’ll deal with Kai.” He wasn’t going to make her explain to Kai, who would likely tell her she was moving far too fast.
He took a bite of his toast and thought about trying to move them all to her dining room table. There was a spot for him at the bar, but he liked sitting across from her.
“Why would you deal with Kai?” Noelle stirred sugar into her coffee before reaching for the toast and butter. “I’ve had all my appointments with him.”
There was a lot of butter in her fridge. Salted and unsalted, and a crock on the counter. She also had a ton of baking ingredients. They would make an excellent team. He would make dinner and she could be…make…nah, no matter how he looked at it, she was dessert.
“To let him know you don’t need the training class,” he explained. “It’s okay. You can train with me in private and get the same certification you would at the end of the class. It’ll be fun.”
She went still for a moment, and he got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“Hutch, I’m not leaving the class,” she said quietly. “I want to take the class. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time, and I’m not giving it up. I don’t know why you would think I would.”
Kyle hopped off his chair, taking his plate with him. “And I’m out of here. I’m going to finish getting ready and we’ll head into the office.”
Hutch ignored Kyle. Maybe he wasn’t understanding her. Or she wasn’t understanding him. “You agreed to be with me last night.”
“Yes, last night.” She carefully enunciated the words. “I didn’t think that meant I had to quit my class. I don’t see what the two have to do with each other.”
Good, this was merely a misunderstanding. He could fix that. “You’re not quitting. You’re taking a different route to get to the same place. It’s okay. I can give you the same training.”
She shook her head. “But you can’t. It’s not the same at all. I want to go to the class and be with other people who are starting out. You know everything already. The relationship would be totally different. And honestly, I was looking forward to making some friends. I enjoyed last night, but I didn’t think you were offering me anything permanent.”
And it struck him suddenly that she didn’t want anything permanent.
How had this gone so wrong? He’d looked at her and thought this was a woman who would need some permanency. “I was offering to take care of you the way I would a sub.”
“But I’m not a sub yet,” she corrected. “I haven’t taken the class. I can’t know for sure.”
She thought a class could tell her that? He already knew the truth. This was a woman who would enjoy being sexually submissive, and honestly, who could use a partner who would top her from time to time in real life. “Trust me, you’re a sub. It’s okay. I told you I would take care of you and I will.”