His Slave

34. Surprise!

Withholding the truth from James doesn't sit well with me. I don't get much sleep that night, so I'm only half asleep when he leans over and presses a kiss to my forehead.

"Good morning, Erin," he whispers, tenderly brushing a strand of hair out of my face. He got up a while ago but I was too tired so I stayed in bed.

"Good morning, Master," I reply sleepily.

"Happy birthday."

Oh yeah. It's my birthday. March 29th. I would have completely forgotten if James hadn't remembered. I hadn't even told him when my birthday was. He must have looked it up in my file.

"Thank you," I reply, forcing myself to sit up. I meet his gaze, smiling softly.

He gives me that rare, genuine smile that makes my heart flutter. "Go get ready," he says, sliding his fingers from my neck to the edge of my jaw. He pulls me in for a soft kiss, setting my insides on fire. I'm disappointed when he pulls away.

"I have a few surprises for you," he adds, brushing his thumb across my cheek. He has surprises for me? Excitement and anticipation well up inside of me and I nod as I throw the covers off, getting out of bed.

I'm quick to dress in a short black skirt and a flowy white top with iridescent sequins, before fixing my hair and brushing my teeth. I step out of the bathroom, dropping to my knees at James' feet. It might be my birthday, but I don't think that means I get to disregard the rules. He smiles down at me.

"You look lovely as usual," he says, holding out his hand to me.

"Thank you, Master." I smile as I reach up and slip my fingers between his. He helps me to my feet.

"Shall we?" He asks, his fingers still intertwined with mine.

"Yes," I say, excitement welling up inside of me. He has surprises for me.

James leads me down the stairs, holding my hand the entire time. Anna sees us and she gives me a knowing smile as we leave the manor. What does she know that I don't?

The drive into the city is quiet. Too quiet, and I find myself thinking about what Riley said yesterday.

If they're successful at disbanding the debt program, I'd be free to do whatever I want. But helping them requires betraying James and I'm sure I would be able to even do that.

I need the distraction from my thoughts about the A.E.D.P. so I turn on the radio, hoping he won't get mad at me for breaking the rules since it's my birthday.

Normally, I'm only allowed to pick the music if James says I can. Otherwise, I'm resigned to listening to his raunchy, explicit rock music, which has admittedly begun to grow on me.

Still, I flip to the alternative station, and James glances sidelong in my direction, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Getting a little bold there, aren't we, slave?" He asks, his words playful and edged with just a bit of warning.

"It is my birthday," I protest, whining a little for effect.

James chuckles. "Fair enough," he concedes. He takes me out to breakfast first, to a restaurant that has extravagant coffees and pancakes that are amazing, though still not as good as the ones James made for me a few weeks ago.

Then he takes me to an enormous square building marked with the words 'Book Palace'. I let out a small giddy laugh, unable to hold it back. I've wanted to come here for as long as I can remember, but debtors aren't typically allowed in places like this.

"I've wanted to come here for forever! How did you know?!" I ask him, turning to look at him.

James shrugs. "Nobody told me. I just figured, if I was going to take you to a book store for your birthday, it might as well be the biggest one in the country," he replies.