shy away. When I glanced up at him, the way he stared down at me left me feeling more exposed than
I had been when he helped me change out of the outfit I’d been wearing at the club tonight. I probably
wouldn’t have felt as vulnerable if he had me stand in the center of the club naked as the day I was
born while everyone looked at me.
“I know you do, sweetheart,” he said softly. When he kissed my forehead, I wasn’t sure I’d be
able to control my emotions much longer. I couldn’t remember anyone ever taking this tender care
with me. “You need to make yourself a priority, otherwise you’ll feel even worse when you can’t
carry the weight of the world.”
William kissed me again. His lips were soft yet demanding. I parted my lips, inviting him deeper
but he pulled away. I opened my eyes just in time to see him drop to his knees at my feet.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
“Taking care of you,” he responded. “I get the feeling it’s been far too long since anyone has done
that.”
“Never,” I admitted. Maybe my mom had when I was little but, since then, no one had treated me
the way William did. It would be easy to get addicted to letting him look after me, but that was
dangerous. I didn’t have time. I could never be what he needed. I didn’t voice the argument again,
because I had no doubt he would follow through on his promise to punish me if I tried telling him
what I thought he needed. The irony of that wasn’t lost on me that, if things progressed the way it
certainly seemed they were going to, he would expect me to defer to him when it came to what I
needed.
“That’s a damn shame.” William lifted my foot, resting it on his knee. “You deserve to be spoiled.
You are beautiful and kind and have such a big heart. It’s time you have someone who appreciates
everything about you, Corey, and isn’t afraid to show you just how amazing you are.”
“And you think you’re the person to do that?” I scoffed. I couldn’t help it. The judgmental words
he’d hurled my way in the past still stung and seemed to be bubbling to the surface as my brain
resisted giving in to him. As badly as I wanted to forget all about the picture he had painted of me in
his mind before he knew anything about me, I couldn’t. It wouldn’t do me any good to pretend the past
it never happened.
William pulled off my shoe after untying it, followed by my sock. He bent down, kissing the top of
my foot. I gasped again, swallowing hard. He looked up at me and there was no denying the regret
