At noon, Mateo and Emma still hadn't woken up. The kitchen smelled of hash browns and eggs. There were cherry tomatoes in the oven and avocado cut and ready on four plates. It was all Gideon's doing, and I couldn't wait to eat.

It wasn't often I got food made by my friend, but it made it that much better when I finally did. Though, I was sure he'd done this more for Emma than for us.

I knocked on the door to the playroom before opening it to find them in the same position they had been in when I left, with Emma sleeping on Mateo's chest.

Walking inside, I stroked Emma's arm, waking her gently. The touch made her eyes open, and my chest tightened at how she looked. Having just woken up, there were no barriers in her eyes; no insecurities or overthinking going on in that beautiful mind of hers.

"Breakfast is ready," I whispered and leaned down to give her a quick kiss on her forehead. The move was instinctual and not something I even registered doing before I'd done it. She smiled at me sleepily and made a cute sound.

"Wake Mateo and get your asses to the kitchen." I winked and left them alone.

Gideon had already served enough food for two men on each plate by the time I got back. Groaning at the smell, I sat down.

"Man, I've missed your cooking," I said as I stared at the food in front of me. I had a hard time not reaching for the knife and fork, but I wanted to wait until Emma got here. I didn't much care about manners around Mateo, so if she got here first, you'd bet your ass I'd already started eating before he showed up.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait for long. Emma walked in front of Mateo, though walked was a nice way of putting it. She more like staggered and winched every couple of steps. She had to be sore from yesterday. That thought made my dick twitch in my pants.

Emma wore one of Mateo's t-shirts and nothing more. Both of my friends had some spare clothes in their rooms here, just in case they'd sleepover. Mateo didn't do it that often, but since Gideon lived a while away, it was always convenient for him to crash here if it was too late to drive home.

My eyes took in Emma greedily. Fuck, she looked good in that t-shirt. It was a little see-through, showing just a hint of the curves she had hidden under it. Her dark blonde hair had been put up in a high ponytail, displaying a makeup-free face. Our girl looked like the most beautiful woman–at least, to our eyes.

I smiled when she took a seat beside me and inhaled the delicious aroma that steamed from her plate. Damn, even that small act was cute.

We sat in silence for a while, digging into our food. The mood around the table was relaxed and comfortable. It was almost surreal how perfect Emma fit in with us. These guys were more like my brothers, and we were used to each other, but I had always curious how it would be if we ever brought someone else into the fold. We knew that it would eventually happen, seeing as we'd agreed to share a slave, but I could've never dreamed how well it would go.

Us guys, we were different. Mateo was the easygoing, chill person who could crack a joke and ease the tension in a room. Gideon, well, he was practically the opposite; his sullen mood usually made people weary. And me, I was the one who took control over any situation. Emma's presence made our differences smaller, all our attention was on her.

"Mmm, I can get used to waking up to this kind of food," Emma commented as she enjoyed the hash browns. "Don't you think I will forget that you agreed to teach me how to cook," she said, her eyes on Gideon.

My eyes widened, and I could see Mateo's mouth gape from his seat opposite me. Gideon teaching her how to cook? Had hell frozen over? I'd never thought it would come a day when he would purposely spend quality time with someone who wasn't us and do something so...mundane. He wasn't one to spend time with people, except Mateo and me.

Sure, we all knew BDSM was more than what happened in the bedroom or scene, but it was still a massive step for him to take–to not only focus on what happened in a scene, but also outside of it. I was glad to see that he wanted to bond with Emma.

"We'll start next time you're at my place," Gideon agreed, even as his fingers whitened by the hard grip he had on his fork. I knew it wasn't easy for him to let others in, but I was proud that he was trying.

After breakfast, Mateo had another appointment with his father. From Emma's large eyes, she knew how strained the relationship between them was strained.

"Will he be okay?" she asked as she sat down on the couch between Gideon and me. Typically, at this time of the day, I would be at the gym–same with Gideon–but we didn't want to waste any time we had with our girl.

"Yeah, don't worry. He'll be back after the meeting," I assured her. It wasn't my place to fill her in on what was happening with them, so I didn't say more than that.

Noticing her tense shoulders, I arranged her on the sofa, so her back was to me. Placing my hands on each of her shoulders, I started massaging her muscles. I felt the knots under my thumbs and worked on them.

Emma's head lolled forward as she let out a hiss, followed by a moan. Someday I would give her a full-body massage with heated oils, like a proper massage, and not just foreplay.

"Tell me if it hurts too much," I advised her and continued kneading the tension away.

"Don't stop. It's perfect," Emma groaned, and I smiled. It wouldn't often happen that I let her tell me what to do, but for right now, I would happily oblige.

Feeling the coach move, I looked up to see that Gideon had put her feet on his thigh and had started rubbing them.

By the time we were finished, Emma was like putty in our hands. The stiff muscled had loosened its grip on her shoulders, and she looked utterly relaxed.

"Thank you, that was amazing." I could hear the smile in her voice, and just that simple thing made my chest warm with an emotion I didn't look too closely on.

I put a pillow on my lap and made her lie down. Giving her the remote control to the tv, I let her find something to watch on Netflix while I used my phone to answer a few e-mails. She picked a series called The Witcher and settled better on my lap–her feet still on Gideon's.

Absently stroking her arm with one hand while I tapped my phone screen with the other, I felt my own tension slip away, and I could finally breathe. I cherished this feeling of contentment. Right now, I wasn't thinking about all the things I was keeping from her. I was only spending quality time with our girl.

Emma had started the series on episode four. While I hadn't seen the previous three episodes, I couldn't help but watch with her–my phone was open on an e-mail and forgotten in my hand.

Moments like this made having a submissive rather than a slave worth it. Because Emma was, without a doubt, worth everything I might be missing–without her, I would be missing so much more.