“Do you?” His voice is gentle but firm. “Because from where I'm sitting, you've built a public profile that makes you trackable, predictable, and vulnerable. And you do it every single day without thinking twice. A fan could find you… You are a beautiful woman, Madi. I hate thinking about what could happen. Last night, you posted a video on Snapchat and your location is on. It told me the exact address to where you are staying. That’s dangerous.”
The words sting because they're true. Because I have been thinking about it more lately. Being an influencer comes with some risks. Like, the weird messages, the comments that cross lines, the occasional follower who shows up at events without being invited.
“What do you want me to do?” I ask quietly.
“I want you to delay your posts by at least an hour after you leave a place. I want you to scrub metadata from your photos. I want you to stop announcing your schedule in advance.”
“That's a lot of rules.”
“They're not rules, Madison. They're safety precautions. There's a difference.”
I'm quiet for a moment, processing. “And if I don't agree?”
“Then I respect your choice,” he says immediately. “And I step back. But that doesn't mean I won't worry about you. And, if this goes somewhere, and I hope it does, you won’t have the choice to agree or not agree on safety rules.”
The honesty of it, and the vulnerability beneath the authority, cracks something open in my chest.
“Can I ask you something?” I say.
“Anything.”
“Why do you care? We barely know each other.”
He's silent for long enough that I wonder if the call dropped.
“Because I know what it's like to be exposed. To have people looking for weaknesses. And I know what happens when they find them. I’ve seen evil in this world, and I don’t want you to experience it yourself.” The weight in his voice tells me there's a story there. Something painful. Something personal. “I think we both felt the chemistry between us when we first met. It’s like souls that recognize each other. There’s something about you. This magnetic feel, this pull towards you… Sometimes, you just know. It’s not logical. But, I know. You’re meant to be mine, Madi Baby. I need my girl to be safe.”
“I'm careful,” I say softly.
“I know you are. But careful isn't always enough.”
“So, you want to protect me?”
“Yes. Need might be a better word.”
“And if I let you?”
Another pause. When he speaks again, it’s quieter, “Then I'd take that responsibility seriously. Very seriously.”
My chest tightens with something that feels suspiciously like hope. Like possibility. Like the beginning of something I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for but want anyway.
“I have a book club meeting tomorrow night,” I say, changing the subject because I need a moment to breathe.
His voice warms slightly. “The naughty one?”
Heat floods my cheeks. “You remembered that.”
“I remember everything you tell me, Madison.”
That should not be as attractive as it is. Finding a man who not only listens to me, but actually hears what I say? Oh, yes. Incredibly attractive.
“We're reading a Daddy Dom romance,” I continue, then immediately want to die. Why did I say that? Why am I like this?
But Ty just makes this low sound, it’s not quite a laugh and not quite a growl, a mixture of the two. A deep, rumbly noise back in his throat. “Are you, now?”
“It's for the plot,” I say quickly.
“Of course it is.”
