Sleepily, Tessa heard Ian give a little groan, and then she felt his lips caressing the nape of her neck while his hand stroked her shoulder. She sighed in utter contentment just before burrowing her face deeper into the pillows.

The amusement was evident in his voice. “Trust me, love, a nice long nap with you cuddled up against me sounds like heaven. But we need to eat something, Tessa. You’ve been, ah, burning a lot of calories lately and need to keep your strength up. Especially,” he added lasciviously as he rolled her onto her back, his big body looming over hers, “since the night is still young.”

She giggled in response, twining her arms around his neck. “Okay. After all, I have to keep up with you somehow. And here you were afraid I’d be the one wearing you out.”

Ian’s hazel eyes twinkled down at her merrily. “As I said, love, the night is still young. Come now. Let’s have a shower and then I’ll order dinner. Is Chinese food all right with you? And not,” he added in a mockingly stern voice, “from that greasy spoon in your neighborhood. If it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer to order from a place where I’m confident I won’t get food poisoning.”

“It’s not that bad,” she assured him as he helped her sit up. “Though I’m pretty sure anyplace you recommend is going to be fine. You have amazing taste in everything, Ian.”

He pulled her from the bed and gave her a quick kiss. “Especially in women,” he murmured against her lips. “Or at the very least, in this woman.” He squeezed her waist before ushering her into the bathroom.

They took a quick shower, with Tessa noticing that Ian somewhat intentionally kept a distance between them as they washed up. It was probably a wise move on his part, she thought ruefully as she washed, especially since she was definitely a little on the tender side. Her body, and in particular her private parts, was still not quite used to the domineering, possessive way in which he made love to her. But there was no way she would ever ask him to hold back, to take things slower or more gently. Not when she could see how much pleasure it gave him, and certainly not when he returned that same pleasure to her tenfold.

After drying off and wrapping one of those plush, oversized bath sheets around herself - he seemed to have an endless supply of them - Tessa followed Ian inside the cavernous walk-in closet to where her clothing was stored. For a relaxed evening at home, where they planned to eat takeout and watch a movie, she pulled out clean lingerie, a pair of comfy yoga pants, and a thermal top. Tomorrow morning they had an appointment to meet with Marlene Brennan at Neiman Marcus so she could try on more clothes, and she sensed that Ian planned to buy out half the store for her.

She was just about to drop her towel and begin to dress when Ian opened one of his dresser drawers and exclaimed, “Ah, I nearly forgot about this. Here, love. A little surprise for you, one that I think you’ll enjoy.”

Tessa glanced at his outstretched palm, frowning in bemusement when she saw the tiny laminated card. “What is it exactly?”

Ian smiled. “It’s an I.D. card, believe it or not, a very compact one to be sure. You scan it whenever you go to a class. This is the yoga studio that you like, isn’t it?”

She studied the tiny card that she now realized would clip to a keychain, and gasped in surprise as she recognized the SF Flow logo embossed on it. “Oh, my, God, yes! You - you got me a class card there? Ian - that place is so expensive. I only went there twice, and that was because Julia got me a free pass.”

He smirked. “Darling, I can very easily afford something like this, trust me. And it’s not a class card - it’s an unlimited membership, paid up for an entire year. You can go to a class whenever you like, as often as you wish. Ah, and I picked up a few other things while I was there, though I’m afraid I harassed the desk clerk just a bit. I only had a few minutes to spare, and wanted to make sure I was getting you only the best. I think the young woman was very happy to see me leave.”

Tessa shook her head. “Somehow, I doubt that. I would have to imagine that female sales clerks are more than happy to assist you no matter the circumstances.”

Ian gave a careless shrug. “Well, I’m not so certain about that, especially when it was very clear that I was buying these things for the special woman in my life. If you don’t like these, Tessa, or the size isn’t right, go ahead and exchange them for whatever you prefer.”

She stared in disbelief at the half dozen brand new yoga outfits that were now hanging in her section of the closet - an assortment of pants and tops, all in coordinating colors, and all with the price tags cut off, naturally. But she knew that everything sold at the SF Flow store was expensive and top of the line. As was the brand new black yoga mat and a purple print mat bag that rested against a wall of the closet.

“You picked all of this out for me yourself?” she whispered, running her hand over a pair of black boot-cut yoga pants. She’d admired this particular pair more than once but had cringed when she noticed the price.

“Yes. Does everything look all right?” he asked somewhat anxiously.

She launched herself against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and nuzzling her face against his bare chest. “Yes, everything is perfect,” she murmured. “It just amazes me how thoughtful you always are, how much attention you pay to all the little details. Thank you, Ian, this is a wonderful gift.”

He hugged her close, pressing a kiss to her damp hair. “You’re very, very welcome, love. And it gives me a great deal of pleasure to be able to do these little things for you, to give you everything you’ve had to deprive yourself of for so long. I never want you to go without something ever again.”

She reached up to kiss his cheek. “I have everything I’ll ever need right here - you. But I do like all of this - very much. I’ll be the best dressed student in class!”

Ian grinned. “Well, now, I have very little doubt about that. You’re the most beautiful woman in the room no matter where you are, no matter what you might be wearing. Which reminds me.”

He released her, and she watched as he lifted a black dress from the clothes rack and held it up for her inspection. It shrieked class and sex at the same time, a combination she wouldn’t normally have believed possible. The dress had long, tight-fitting sleeves and a deep V-neck, off the shoulder, neckline. It was starkly simplistic, with nary a button or bead for embellishment, and the fine matte jersey fabric would be certain to cling to every curve of her body. It was most assuredly a woman’s dress, and one that could only be worn by a female who was very comfortable in her body.