It was late in the evening, and even though Malcolm had told her he didn’t know when he’d be home, she hadn’t expected him to be this late. At nine, she curled up on the couch, completely nude, because she wanted to wait up for him, no matter how late he came home, and though he hadn’t given her any instructions on how to be when he arrived or even that she was to wait upon him, she wanted him to come home to her. For him to know he mattered, that his needs mattered and that she wanted to please him. She wanted to see the warm approval in his eyes that she’d grown to crave so much that at times it frightened her.
She wasn’t aware of what time she drifted off, only that when she sleepily opened her eyes, Malcolm was standing in front of the couch, his gaze burning over her naked skin.
She
