I grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. Hard. “Keep that up little girl, and this meal will wind up getting cold.”
“I thought we had things to discuss.” She said in a whisper as she quickly turned away.
The tension in my chest cracked. I watched her pour the wine, watched her fold the napkins like we were at a five-star joint, watched her set the table with the care of someone who wanted everything perfect but not too perfect. It was like watching a storm organize itself into something beautiful.
I pulled out her chair and waved my hand for her to sit. I followed her, sitting at the head of the table.
“You okay?” I asked. “After last night, I mean.”
She looked at me, eyes wide. “I’m more than okay. I—” She hesitated, looking down at her plate. “I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
“Thinkinggood, or thinking you want to press charges?”
She snorted. “Good, Finn, Jesus. I just… I have a lot of questions.”
“Ask,” I said. “That’s what tonight’s for.”
She took a sip of wine. “You really want honesty?”
“That’sallI want. I insist on it.”
She set her glass down and took a breath. “I’d never felt like that with anyone. Not even close. It was like every nerve in my body lit up at once, and I just wanted—” She broke off, looking down at her hands. “I just wanted to be good for you. I still do. Is that…normal?”
The words punched through my chest, sharp and sweet. “Yeah, little girl. That’s normal. For you, for me. I’ve never wanted anything more than to see you like that.”
She looked up, and there was something fierce behind her shyness. “Does that make me a sub?”
I leaned back, smiling. “Makes you mine, is what it makes you. But yeah, that’s what the word means. If you want it.”
She nodded fast. “I do. But I also want to know… why is it like this? Why does it feel so big? Is it just the sex, or is it… the mate thing?”
My fork stilled on the way to my mouth. There it was.Thequestion I’d been waiting for.
“So you’ve felt it too. The mate bond. That’s what this is,” I said quietly. “I knew it the first time I saw you. There is no denying we’re mates; fated by the Goddess.”
Her face softened. “I felt it too. Not right away, but… I knew something was different. I think my trauma kept me so out of tune with things. But my wolf kept pushing me at you, even when I was being impossible.”
I grinned. “Youareimpossible. But that’s one of the things that makes you, you.”
She threw a carrot at me. “Butthead.”
I caught it and ate it, never breaking eye contact.
She looked down again. “So last night… why didn’t you… finish it?”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
She bit her lip. “You know. The bite. The knot. The… whole mating process.”
My face went hot. “You want the truth?”
She nodded.
“Because I wanted you to know what you were getting into first. Because I wantedyouto choose me, not just your wolf. But what you got, that’s all me. The entire package, Maverick. I’m a man, a wolf, and a Dom. I need your submission. It feeds the need inside of me to protect you and yes, to be in charge of your pleasure and your pain. That is one hundred percent true in the bedroom and to an extent in our everyday life. I don’t want a slave. I want a partner. I will always respect you, your opinions, your wants, and concerns. But my hope is that your trust will extend beyond the bedroom to the other areas of our lives as well.”
She was quiet for a long moment. “I can do that. I love the idea of being strong enough to take care of myself, but I also revel in the idea of being taken care of. Does that make sense? I’m all for women having the power of their own agency. And if that means they choose this, then that can be celebrated also.”
I set my fork down. “Then you’ll get both. But you have to be sure.”
