I look up at him and notice he’s looking at me. Heat spreads from my neck to my face, but I don’t look away. He makes me feel gorgeous. He makes me feel seen. Which is strange considering all my adult life I’ve tried to hide. But I don’t want to hide with him.
“We’ll eat first, then I’ll give you a tour,” Victor says, interlacing our fingers and leading the way.
Chapter twenty
Victor
Apparently, I like torture because that’s what I’m going through right now. From the moment Olivia opened her door to this very moment of her making delicious noises while eating the chicken parm I made. I endure it though because I’ve never seen her so relaxed and at ease. I’m sure I’m getting to see a side of her no one else gets to see and I’m loving every second. Although I am regretting my choice of pants. She finally puts her fork down and sits back, taking a sip of the chardonnay.
“I can’t eat anymore.”
She sighs and her eyes connect with mine. I want to pull her out of her chair, sit her on my lap, and play with her. Instead, I force those thoughts away and focus on the elephant in the room. I’m not sure if she’s decided she doesn’t want an answer to her question earlier this afternoon, but I’m not one to ignore those types of things. Especially with her. I need to address thisright away because I do not want what happened with Josie to happen with her.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. There is some gelato in the freezer if you’d like some of that later.” She smiles widely at me and the wall around my heart cracks more. I definitely need to talk to her sooner rather than later.
“You’re spoiling me,” she whispers. I lean forward and capture her hand in mine. Olivia doesn’t flinch and I’m tempted to pull her in my lap anyway, but keep myself under control.
“I want to spoil you. You deserve to be spoiled.” I kiss her fingertips and she sucks in a breath as she shifts in her seat. “We need to talk.”
Her tongue darts out and wets her lips. “About what?” I know she knows by the rise and fall of her chest.
“Your question earlier today.” I don’t beat around the bush; there’s no reason to.
She takes her hand out of mine and brings it to her throat. “Oh.” She swallows. “Okay.”
I’m impressed. I expected her to try to get out of it, but she’s not Josie. Olivia’s nothing like Josie. Leaning back in my chair, I watch her closely. She avoids my eyes for a few seconds, but finally focuses on me, and I know I have her full attention.
“What I’m about to tell you is going to be a lot. If you have any questions, please ask them. If it becomes too much, let me know and we’ll table it until you’re ready to hear more. Okay?”
She nods. “Okay.” Her voice is soft, but firm.
“Have you ever heard of a Dominant/submissive relationship?”
She tucks her bottom lip between her teeth as she thinks. “No.”
Olivia shakes her head, but it looks like she’s still trying to figure out what it is. I’m a little surprised considering how big of a deal theFifty Shades of Greybooks and movies were a whileback. But maybe she never read or watched those, which is good because I won’t have to explain how wrong it was.
“That’s okay. The reason I’m bringing this up is that I’m a Dominant and from some interactions I’ve had with you and your responses, I think you might be a submissive. This is something you’ll need to research, that we’ll need to talk about, and come to a decision together on how to move forward.”
She leans forward, grabs her glass of wine, and takes a sip. “Okay. I can do research.”
I lean forward and place my elbows on the table. Steepling my hands to rest my chin on my thumbs, I bring my forefinger to my nose and lips as I think about how to say what needs to be said next. I don’t want to scare her, but I also don’t want her to find information that’s harmful and isn’t helpful.
“I’ll send you some websites, but first I want you to ask me your question from earlier today.”
Olivia looks down at the table and takes a deep breath, but nothing comes out of her mouth. She plays with her napkin for a few seconds before taking another deep breath. “Why do I want to do whatever it is you’re asking me to do when you talk in that deep voice? Why do I want to text you every morning and ask you what I should wear? I have this need to please you, even when I know I won’t see you that day.” She doesn’t look up after she asks all of that.
I sit back and put my ankle on my knee. I wasn’t expecting her to say all of that. “That deep voice is what I call my Dominant voice and I try my best not to use it on you, but it’s hard to control where you’re concerned. There are times I notice you’re having a hard time making a decision and I sense you need direction, so I offer it. Because we are not in an official Dominant/submissive relationship, you can always say no. After you do your research, we’ll discuss the next steps for our relationship.”
Her head pops up. “Our relationship?”
“Yes. If you decide you’re a submissive, I would be honored to train you. I know I’m a lot older than you, so if you’d prefer it be someone else, that’s okay too.” My gut clenches at the thought of someone else training her.
She takes another sip from her wineglass. “Okay, I’ll do my research and let you know, but I want it to be you.”
“Okay,” I agree, as the tension releases in my muscles. “Another thing I’d like for you to do is keep a journal—”
“I already have a journal,” she says, interrupting me and I arch an eyebrow. If she was my sub, that would be a cause for punishment. She leans back in her chair and rubs her hands down her thighs. “Sorry.” That right there is why I’m almost certain she’s a submissive. I don’t have to correct her, she just knows.
