Disobedience and Devotion - Chapter 4 Sneak Peek

Over the passing of a fortnight, Lena became accustomed to Kara’s bed and presence beside her. It proved to be a harder separation than she anticipated when the alpha returned to work earlier than planned.

Bundled in the bedsheets with Kara’s strong fragrance all around her, Lena awakened to the soft sound of the door closing. The alpha must have given the servants instructions not to disrupt her rest. She dragged her eyes over the pillow on the opposite side of the bed, where Kara had been not two hours ago. Running her fingertips over the silk pillow cover, Lena sat up and turned to find a breakfast tray with a steaming cup of tea waiting for her.

 

Putting on her dressing gown, Lena moved to Kara’s chair and drank down the tea. She could see from the window that Kara’s carriage was still missing. 

Earlier, the servants had knocked on the door to deliver a letter and Kara left straight away to handle some urgent business.

Lena was to stay at home, but her slow growing fondness for Kara filled her with a strange longing to venture in to town. She had only ever visited Kara’s offices when she carried out errands for her mother or Lex, and not as someone who could enter the back rooms freely and get a sense of what her “husband” did for a living. 

Kara owned several businesses, but her primary trade was banking, which had earned her much respect in their town.

Hurrying back to her own bedroom, Lena brushed out her curls and pinned her hair up. She put on her corset and Nia came in to help her lace it, then Lena dressed in a gown with long flared sleeves and sheer layers of fabric that brought out the wintergreen color of her eyes. The gown showed off her bosom and she laughed at Kara’s taste in clothes for her. Nia brought her a gold sash to tie around her waist.

“Clark must have purchased this from some dressmaker in the southern provinces, because I’m going to freeze,” Lena softly complained, although she smiled down at Nia, who was crouched to fix the petticoat beneath the dress. 

“I actually made it,” Nia confessed with a sheepish red to her cheeks as she ran off to fetch a fur collared coat, which she draped around Lena to keep her warm.  

 “Oh,” Lena stated and scrunched her eyebrows together, nodding once as she admired the gown again. “Well—it is lovely workmanship, but I do have breasts.”

 

She chuckled good naturedly as Nia froze up, almost uncertain over whether or not to join her in a laugh. 

“I thought Clark would find you captivating in this dress,” Nia explained with a shrug, and then offered Lena a muff with black, thick fur to cover her hands. “Speaking of Clark, he never told us that he had invited you into town today.”

“He must have forgotten since he was rushed out of bed this morning,” Lena idly replied. She found it difficult to lie to Nia, who only wanted to serve “Clark” to the best of her ability. 

If they arrived in town to find Kara indisposed, Lena figured that they could always wait in the office, or otherwise visit the shops. What harm would it really do to show up unannounced?

She found out a short while later, when she stepped foot into Clark’s bank only to find many  tense alphas standing around.
 

The smell of stress and despair made Lena stumble as though from illness and cover her face with a handkerchief.

 

Lately the slightest scents bothered Lena, and Nia placed a hand on her back to usher her out into the fresh air.

They barely crossed the threshold back onto the street when “Clark” bustled through the crowd to reach them. Kara’s  eyes blazed a trail from Lena’s face to her bosom then back again. 

 
“Lena, I must say it’s a surprise to see you,” Kara glanced at Nia, who guiltily lowered her gaze, but there was no trace of anger in her voice. “A pleasant one at that.” She walked around her slowly as if appraising her from all angles before coming to a stop back where she began. “I see Nia has outdone herself. You look beautiful.”

 

Kara’s eyes were back on the milky skin of her breasts and Lena experienced a rush of heat that went far beyond her cheeks. She made a mental note to thank Nia with a gift for creating such a dress that would have ‘Clark’ so openly infatuated.
 

The stench of desperation wafted into the street and Kara sighed. “Though I would rather spend time in your company, I’m afraid business cannot wait another second. It’s been a dreadful morning.” Kara’s humorless tone sounded weary and she wore her exhaustion in the lines of her face. She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a small bag of coins that she pressed into Lena’s palm as she insisted, “One you needn’t worry about. Why don’t you both do a spot of shopping, and I’ll see you when I return home?”

Underneath the mask of Clark, Lena could see every little glimmer of Kara now. She stared at her done-up alpha with a soft crinkling of amusement around her eyes and one brow raised as she considered Clark’s public demeanor. 

“I had hoped to see where you work,” Lena admitted and glanced down at the coins in her hand—a very generous amount to waste on frivolous spending.
 

She knew straight away what she would do with it, and after pecking her alpha on the lips, she clutched Nia by the hand and rushed her away to the baker’s shop.

 

It might not have been the best idea to interrupt her alpha twice in one day, but Lena bought all of Kara’s favorites, and plenty of meat pies to feed the anxious men in the bank.

Lena was grateful for Nia’s assistance, but she also offered some of the coins to a child in tatters and recruited his help to carry it all back. 

The terrible smells in the bank seemed to lighten after Lena handed out the food and then she was able to slip into Clark’s office. She removed her gloves and placed a few wrapped goods on the desk, then leaned against it.

“I know I shouldn’t interrupt you during your work day and I promise I won’t make a habit of it.” Lena smiled and glanced down at where Kara’s hand was still poised with a fountain pen. “I’m going back out with Nia in a moment, but you left ever so quickly this morning. We didn’t have time for our usual way of waking up.” 

With steady fingers, Kara set the fountain pen aside with the kind of precision that came from years of practice and angled herself toward Lena to look at her directly. “How foolish of me,” She intoned, the suggestion of a smile twitching at the corners of her lips as she reached out to snare Lena’s wrist. “I should rectify this mistake before you see it as a flaw of character.” She rumbled throatily, and with a deft, though careful tug of her arm, brought Lena onto her lap to sit as if side saddle.

 

Kara’s quick fingers found their way under Lena’s skirts, ruffling them as they bunched up around her forearm. She traced the curvature of Lena’s toned calf muscle and followed it up, tickling over her quivering thigh until she found the dampness of her undergarments.
 

“I see you have brought me evidence of your neglect,” Kara murmured, an intensity to her gaze as she stiffened beneath Lena’s backside. Her free arm secured around Lena’s waist to hold her fast as she rubbed her fingertips over the slick fabric.