As the water warmed up so I could wash up the few dishes in the sink, there was a knock at the front door. I glanced at the dishes, hating that they were going to sit there until tomorrow. I raced to answer it, nearly bashing myself in the face when I flung the door open.
My brow furrowed in confusion at the sight of the totally normal, almost casual man in front of me. Blake chuckled. “Well, that’s not exactly the greeting I was hoping for.”
Oh crap. Now he thought I wasn’t excited to see him when I totally was. I worried my bottom lip, realizing I might have totally misread the situation. “I’m sorry, Sir. I was surprised is all. I was expecting…something different.”
My ears felt hot, and I dipped my chin as I cleared my throat. I hadn’t asked what Blake did for a living because I’d been so damn sure he was a cop or something equally important. He seemed like the type of guy who would have a job helping save people. Maybe he was a firefighter or something. His broad shoulders were definitely strong enough to haul someone out of a burning building.
“I’m sorry to disappoint,” he teased, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me into a deep kiss. I tensed, worried about who might be in the hall watching us. No one had given me a reason to think they were homophobic, but I wasn’t as comfortable with PDA as a lot of people I’d met since moving to Annandale. “Hopefully, you’ll still be willing to go out with me tonight. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“Me too,” I admitted. It was unhealthy how much time I spent thinking about Blake. Obsessing was a better word. He consumed both my waking and sleeping thoughts, which scared the shit out of me. “And yes, I will absolutely still go out with you tonight. I don’t think you could do anything to make me change my mind about that.”
Blake bent down to pick up my bag. The smile he flashed when he stood was blinding. His eyes smoldered with intensity as he gripped my neck. “Does this mean what I think it means? Are you coming home with me tonight, sweetheart?”
“If you play your cards right,” I teased. Yes, I was feeling bold tonight. I sucked in a deep breath because I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so confident speaking my mind. Blake popped me on the ass, and I gaped at him. “What was that for?”
“You’ll learn it’s not smart to tease your Dom,” he warned me. “Now, let’s get out of here, and you can explain to me why you were so unpleasantly surprised when you opened the door. Seriously, the way your face fell would give a lesser man a complex.”
“Oh, but not you?”
Blake kept his hand in my back pocket while I locked the door. This was a dance we’d gotten good at. When we were together, he was constantly touching me. Sometimes it was a gentle brush of his fingers down my arm, but his hand gravitated to my ass more often than not. He led me down the stairs, digging his fingers into my flesh, as if that would keep me from falling to my doom if the stairs gave way.
“No, you managed to humble me long before the first time we were together.”
“How so?” I couldn’t think of anything I’d done to make him think I wasn’t interested in him.
Now it was Blake’s turn to flush with embarrassment. “I don’t mean to sound cocky, but it’s been a hell of a long time since a sub made me work as hard for his attention as you did. I honestly thought you weren’t interested with the way you blew me off every week.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I insisted. “I thought you were just trying to be nice to me. You never pushed beyond letting me know I could talk to you when I was ready.”
“Because that’s what you needed at the time.” He held the door open and ushered me through. I waited while he opened the door of the car, accepting the kiss that had become a routine for him to give as he held the door open for me. “I knew rushing wasn’t going to get me what I wanted.”
“And what’s that?” I was pretty sure I knew, but I wanted to hear him say it. My fractured heart needed confirmation that he wanted the same thing I did, because the month since our scene at the club had done one hell of a number on my resolve to not get into another relationship.
He held up a finger and closed my door. I watched as he jogged around the front of the car to climb in. He stayed silent until he was buckled, then turned to face me. He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed the backs of my fingers. “If I have to spell it out for you, I’m afraid I’m not doing a good job showing you what I want.”
“Or maybe it’s my fault,” I offered. I wrapped my arms tightly around my torso after he released me. “It’s hard for me to trust my own feelings because of…”
I’d never uttered Michael’s name to anyone in Annandale, and I wasn’t going to allow him to ruin our first date.
I cleared my throat and jutted my chin out. “Anyway, yeah. Sometimes, I need things spelled out for me because it’s easier than assuming.”
“Thank you for telling me.” He combed his fingers through my hair, and I shivered. “I will try to remember that. And since you asked, my hope is that we’re starting something that’s going to be deeper than sex. I spent a lot of years thinking it would be easier if I simply played at the club and parties, but then you came along and changed everything. I want to make sure I spend the time getting to know you and earning your trust before we rush into a sexual relationship.”
I snorted, quickly drawing my fist in front of my mouth. I couldn’t help it; we’d sort of jumped right into the deep end of sex that first night.
Blake rolled his eyes. He twisted his fingers in my hair, yanking my head so I couldn’t help but look at him. “You know what I mean, brat. Yes, we started out that way, but I don’t know that you would have believed I wanted anything more than a scene with you at the time. If I’d rushed after that, your doubts would have lingered. You need to trust that you’re worth someone putting your needs first. Only then will we reintroduce sex.”
“Ugh, you make it sound like it’s going to be forever before we fool around again,” I complained.
He wouldn’t let me jerk off, which meant I hadn’t hadanyrelief in a month. An entire month! If you’d told me before Blake that I’d go this long without coming, I would have laughed. It couldn’t be healthy.
“If you’d like, we can go to members-only night tomorrow,” Blake offered. “I won’t penetrate you with my dick, but there’s plenty of other fun we can have.”
“You’re not going to give in on this, are you?”
“You said you were going to trust me to lead whatever happens between us,” Blake reminded me. “Are you changing your mind on that?”
“No, Sir.” I slumped down in my seat, causing Blake to laugh again.
