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He motioned to the fridge with the spoon. “There’s some white wine in there if you want to open it for us.”

She shuffled to the fridge and pulled out the bottle and turned to pull down wine glasses. With a smirk, he watched for several seconds as she struggled to reach them. When she started jumping to try to climb on the counter, he took pity on her and reached above her head to hand her the two pieces of stemware she was trying to grab.

“I could have gotten it,” she said with a huff, setting the glasses down on the bar a little harder than necessary.

“Watch it,” he said in a warning tone. “No need to get huffy. It wouldn’t kill you to ask for help every once in a while you know.”

To his surprise and pleasure, she murmured an apology.

Setting the spoon down, he turned the heat off on the stove and turned to face her. She had her back to him pouring wine, so he slipped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“I missed you,” he whispered. “I’m really sorry about our day.”

Turning in his arms, she smiled up at him. “It’s OK. I promise. We had fun,andI got to admire your great ass. The day wasn’t a total loss.”

His arms still around her, he pulled back and quirked one eyebrow up at her. “A great ass, huh? Why are you just now noticing my ass?”

Her hand slid down and pinched his butt through his slacks as she waggled her eyebrows. “I’m not usually focused on your ass during… activities. And you always wear suit jackets or untucked shirts, so I’ve never gotten a good look. But when you wear jeans…” She fanned herself as her voice trailed off.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.” He dropped a kiss on her nose before turning back to the stove.

Soon they were dining on bread, pasta, and to Peter’s great pleasure, roasted veggies.

Carrie asked for seconds, which Peter happily got for her.

“I told you so,” he said when he handed her the plate. Her tongue poked between her lips and she wrinkled her nose at him.

His palm twitched, so he settled into the chair across from her and eyed her pointedly. “I have a serious question.”

“That can’t be good,” Carrie teased between bites.

“I usually spank subs who stick their tongue out at me. We’re still exploring our dynamic, so how do you feel about that?”

Instead of getting angry, or shy, or any of the other things he expected, Carrie appeared thoughtful as she swallowed a mouthful of pasta. “If I say it turns me on, are you going to spank me now?”

Peter shook his head. “No. Because you didn’t know my rules about not sticking out your tongue. I just want to know where we stand for future reference.”

That answer seemed to satisfy her because she said, “OK. I consent.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. You’ve been low-key domming me since we met, and I told you I was willing to try more. So far I haven’t hated anything we’ve tried. Except the clothespin on the tongue that was a bitch.”

“You’ve delighted me. If you check the freezer, you’ll find a present.” He winked and went back to his plate as she jumped up and headed to the kitchen.

“Aww. You’re so sweet it’s disgusting sometimes,” Carrie said with a squeal as she found the carton of raspberry brownie ice cream. Peter chuckled when she came back to the table eating a spoonful of the stuff.

After dinner, they worked together to clean up the kitchen.

“Where’s the package?” Carrie asked as she finished wiping down the counter.

Peter grinned and thrust his hips provocatively. “I’ve got your package right here, baby.”

“Oh, my God. Did you just make a dick joke?” Her eyes were wide with incredulity.

Peter laughed and pulled the envelope out of a kitchen drawer he had stashed it in earlier. “Get your mind out of the gutter woman.”

At the kitchen table, Peter carefully opened the envelope as the dishwasher whirred behind them. Inside, was a flash drive, and a note addressed to Peter.

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