“Come on. It’s not like that.”
“What’s it like then, being needed all the time?”
“It’s…” She accepts the water automatically, her eyes goingvague as she seems to consider her answer. When she doesn’t move for a second, I nudge the bottle to her mouth and watch her down half the contents. “It’s good to know they’re safe.”
That answer surprises me. “Safe?”
“My family. The people I love.”
“Drink more. Finish it.”
She obeys. I wipe a rogue drop and move closer, using her belt to draw her into my body. I feel… unready for it to be over. “You should stay. Let me… care for you.”
“Oh. Aftercare.” A breezy wave of her hand. “I’m good.”
Frustration rips through me, and I cinch the belt further, bringing our bodies in tight. “I’ll drive you.”
“What?” A laugh. “No. No, I’m fine.”
“You can’t drive after… that. You need time.”
“I drank my water.” She holds up the empty bottle like a kid proving she’s taken her meds, eaten her veggies, done all her homework, and now can she play? Except with Rae, I know… I justknowshe needs the aftercare. More than that, she needs a shoulder to lean on. Someone to make sure that she’s eaten after she’s fed half the world.
It pisses me off. “Listen to me, Sunny. This is how it works. If you’re going to be my sub, you need to let me take care of you.”
“Am I?” Her brows lift high. “Going to be your sub?”
“Do you want that?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll listen. You’ll do what I say.”
“Okay. But… the scene’s over. Right? And I’m… free to go. Unless I’ve grossly misunderstood the boundaries here. I haven’t, have I?”
Dammit. She’s right. Why am I pushing so hard? This isn’t who I am.
I step back, into the skin of a Dom who uses power exchange to get my rocks off. Nothing more.
The last thing I want is to tie myself to anything or anyone for longer than the time it takes for one of us to get off. This is a messed-up reaction to mixing business with pleasure.
“You’re right. Apologies.” I breathe deeply, relaxing my spine and my shoulders. “If we’re doing this, though, we’re doing it right. In the future, no shortcuts. Got it?”
Her eyes go slightly fuzzy, her mouth soft. “Yes. Got it.”
“This is the last time you run off without aftercare.”
“So, we’re doing this? Are you my Dom?”
Yes, my body shouts. “Text me when you’re home safe,” my mouth says. “We’ll discuss.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Rae
MY PHONE VIBRATES ASI get home three hours later, sore and exhausted. All the adrenaline burned off while I raced over to Hannah’s with electrolyte solution and ginger ale and crackers, which I dropped onto the porch when she warned that they’re now all sick. Even Schaffer, which is wild, given that he just got home today. Like he somehow magically got the exact same bug while he was in Milwaukee or whatever, and now he’s home and it’s obviously morphed into the man flu, which is worse than Hannah’s and the kids’ combined.
Pissed as I am at my brother-in-law, there’s still a shadow of that postcoital glow, and let me tell you, I have not yet stopped trembling. It’s the glowiest I’ve ever felt from sex. Or foreplay. Or… well, if I’m being honest, anything at all.
