A deeper flush climbed her throat. “That was the first time anyone’s touched me like that. I didn’t even know where to put my hands.”
I’d known it was a lot.
I hadn’t known it was first.
“Oh, baby…” The words slipped out, rougher than I intended.
“See? This is exactly what I didn’t want. You feeling responsible. You’re thirty-one. I’m twenty. I’m not enough?—“
“Stop.” The single word cut through her spiral.
Her mouth snapped shut. I closed the gap until there was nowhere for her to look but at me. My fingers threaded into her hair, thumb resting just under her ear.
“Listen. Carefully.” My gaze held hers. “I don’t have a line-up of ex-subs behind me. No contract archive. I have this.” A tilt of my head toward the bed. Her. The whole mess of my life. “You. That’s it.”
Her brows pinched. “You’ve never…?”
“Had a submissive? No.”
But you’re… you. I’m supposed to believe you’ve never?—”
“I’ve fucked.” No point lying to her. “I haven’t done this. I don’t invite people into my head.” My thumb smoothed along her cheekbone. “This? Asking you for this? Isn’t a hobby. It’s me putting every controlling, protective instinct I’ve got on the table and asking if you want them.”
I wished there was a less possessive. way to tell her that. Her breath hitched.
“So when I say I want you as my sub. I don’t mean I want an experienced toy. I mean I want you.”
“What if I do it wrong? What if I disappoint you? What if you realise this is too much work and you could have something easier with someone else?”
“There is no someone else.”
“You can’t say that. You barely know me.”
My hand flexed at her nape. “I know you spent an elevator ride shaking and still managed to make a joke that made me want to bite you. I know you work twelve-hour days keeping men twice your age from blowing up shipping routes. I know you fall asleep on my chest and pretend it’s an accident. I know you’re the only person who’s ever made me think about a life where I’m not waiting for the next emergency.”
Her eyes searched mine, looking for the trap and not finding one.
“There is no easier for me. There’s you, or there’s nothing. I don’t do casual. I don’t do half-ownership of my own heart. If I take you on as my sub, I’m taking you on as mine. Full stop.”
Her lip wobbled. My thumb slid higher, stroking behind her ear.
“You’re very intense.” She mumbled, blinking back tears.
“Good. I’d worry you weren’t paying attention if you thought I was chill.”
A small, surprised laugh cracked out of her. It cut straight through my ribs.
My hand slid down the back of her neck.
“So Plain language. I want to be your dominant. Full-time. Not just in bed. I want you to let me watch out for you in ways you’re not used to. Let me worry loud, not quiet. Let me say eat, drink, sleep without second-guessing. In return, you stopcarrying all of it alone. You throw some of that weight at me. That’s the trade.”
She moved and kissed me. Her lips barely brushing mine.
“Madeline.”
“Hmm?” A soft hum against my mouth.
“You’re mine.” The truth sat steady in my chest. “From this second on. You can renegotiate any rule. You can call a halt if you ever feel unsafe. You can walk away if you have to. But you don’t ever call yourself not enough in my presence again. Clear?”
