I finish cooking the eggs and plate them on the large platter. My cook, Michelle, looks on from the counter, smiling and sipping her coffee.

“This is a first,” she says as I finish up. “You cooking and me watching.”

“You’re enjoying this too much,” I say.

She shrugs. Michelle is in her fifties, rotund and possibly my favorite person in the world. She’s been working for me ever since I started making serious money, about two years before Jenkins came. I don’t know how I could manage my life without her. It’s very rare that I want to actually cook for myself, but when I do she’s always around for a chat and some tips. I haven’t cooked anything in a couple years, though. I’ve been too busy.

Today feels different, though. It’s around six in the morning and I know Aria is probably asleep, so I want to surprise her. I’m not sure why. I just want to spoil her.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you cook, that’s all,” she says. “Cooking is good for you. Good for the spirit.”

“Of course you’d say that,” I respond, grinning.

“Look at you. You’re practically glowing.” She leans toward me over the counter. “I assume this is all for her.” She gives me a knowing look.

“Gossip moves fast, I see,” I say, frowning.

“What can I say, Ethan. You brought a woman home.”

“So? I bring women home all the time.”

“But they don’t stay until the next morning. And they definitely don’t get the second best room in the house.”

I sigh, not wanting to engage in this, but I do need to say something. Aria is going to be in the house for the next month and the staff is going to be curious.

I trust all of them. They’ve had opportunities to spread gossip in the past, but they never have. The ones that were more loose-lipped were fired a long time ago, and things are in a very good place right now. But still, I need to tell them something.

“Her name is Aria,” I say. “And she’s going to be staying here for a month.”

Michelle looks surprised, her eyebrows raised in little arches. “A month?”

“One month. The staff is to treat her as if she owns the place. Any request will be granted. Understood?”

She nods, a bewildered smile on her face. “Yes, sir. Right away, sir.”

I sigh. “Just be good to her, okay?”

She nods, face softening. “I’ll make sure she feels welcome.”

“Thank you.” I put a cup of coffee on the tray and heft it up in my arms. I carry it over to a little cart, put it down, and head over to the elevator. I hear Michelle getting started on the dishes, which makes me smile. There are some nice perks to being rich.

I get into the service elevator and ride it up to the third floor. I feel like a bellhop as I wheel the cart down my own hallway, stopping outside of Aria’s door. I knock softly then open the door. I wheel the cart inside and shut the door behind me.

Aria is sitting up in bed, sheets wrapped around her, and I stop for a second, taken by her. The night before she was all done up for the auction and was absolutely gorgeous, but this morning she looks simply like herself. Her hair is a bit messy and she’s not wearing any makeup.

And she’s beautiful. Fucking gorgeous. She smiles slightly which makes my heart race as I wheel the food into the main room, stopping next to her bed.

“Good morning,” she says.

“Morning.” I gesture at the tray. “Breakfast in bed.”

Her smile gets bigger. “Is this going to be a normal thing?”

I shrug and cross my arms. “It can be, if you want.”

She looks at me strangely. “I don’t understand this.”

“What’s confusing about breakfast?”

“I mean...” She trails off. “All of this.” She gestures at the room. “Why give me this?”

I smile at her and sit on the edge of the bed. I reach out and gently run my fingers through her hair. She watches me with her gorgeous wide eyes.

“I told you,” I say softly. “I want to spoil you.”

“I don’t mind being spoiled.” She smiles.

“I’m going to keep you in here. In this room. And I’m going to spoil you as much as I can.”

“If that’s what you want,” she says softly, watching me.

“You’re my pet now, Aria,” I say. “I’m going to keep you in this little cage and use you however I want.”

“Okay,” she says, practically a whisper. I can feel excitement coursing through my body and as I look at her, I wonder if she feels the same thing.

Her face looks excited. I can see a slight flush in her cheeks and her breath comes quickly. But I don’t know if that’s because she wants me as much as I want her, or if it’s because she’s just good at what she does.

“Are you hungry?” I ask.

“It smells really good,” she says.

“I made it myself, actually.”

“Really?” She laughs lightly and takes the mug of coffee from the tray. “A rich man that cooks and looks good in the morning.”

I laugh and take the second mug, sipping the coffee. “I do what I can.”

“I could get used to it.”

“Good. That’s what I want.” I nod at the food. “Go ahead and eat.”

She reaches out and takes a piece of toast, biting down into it. She chews for a second and seems to realize that she’s actually hungry as she reaches out for a fork.

“I have to go to work soon,” I say. “You’ll be stuck in this room all day.”

“That’s okay,” she says. “It’s a big room.” She eats some eggs and smiles huge. “This is really good.”

“Butter,” I say. “And a little whole milk.”

She laughs. “You really are spoiling me.”

“Only way to make eggs.” I grin at her. “Like I said last night, you can have whatever you want. But you still have to get permission to leave this room from me directly. Understand?”

“Okay,” she says. “That’s fine.”

“Good.” I watch her eat for a moment, trying to see past her exterior. I can’t tell if she’s enjoying it or if she’s eating just to please me.

That’s going to be the problem. I’m going to have to be on my game when it comes to her if I want to really see past her acting. She’s meant to do everything she can to please me, which means she’s going to suppress her own desires to do what I want.

To an extent, I expect that. I expect her to obey my rules. But I don’t want her to simply do what she thinks I want her to do.

I need her to want this. That brings me more pleasure than she could possibly know.

I stand up and she watches me as I move across the room. “Have a good day, my pet,” I say to her. I watch her reaction to the little nickname, and smile with satisfaction.

She clearly doesn’t like it.

“Have a good day,” she says.

I cock my head at her, grinning, but decide not to say anything. I turn and head back out into the hallway, smiling to myself.

She’s already acting, but I can see through some of it. I’m going to figure her out and soon I’ll give her exactly what she wants. She won’t be able to resist showing herself to me.

Only when she’s completely stripped bare in front of me will I finally give her what she really needs. I grin to myself and can’t think about anything else on the entire trip into the office.