Chapter Three
Juliet
Picking up my cup, I sipped the coffee. It was a little strong for my taste, but right now, I needed the jolt of caffeine. As Nate waited for my response, I savored the drink and tried to unscramble my thoughts. I didn't know how I'd expected this meeting to go, but it was taking us down a path I wasn't sure I wanted to follow. I supposed I'd thought, if he agreed to marry me, we would live entirely separate lives, that his ring on my finger would be enough to deter Garrett Kane.
As I considered that, I realized Garrett wouldn't be so easily put off, not when he seemed to feel entitled to have me by his side. Nate probably knew it too, which is why he offered me his protection instead. The question was, did I want it when it came with a set of rules and consequences? That wasn't something I could agree to readily.
And yet, I wasn't running for the hills. Why was that?
Perhaps it was because the alternative was to go back to a life that had been quietly suffocating me for years. I didn't want to resume the wearisome performance of being Juliet Caldwell, socialite. I wanted to be myself, whoever she was.
I glanced up at Nate who was watching me with a patience that was both reassuring and mildly unnerving. He wasn't going to rush me, but he wasn't going to soften his terms either. What he'd put on the table was his final offer.
"All right." I hoped I wouldn't come to regret my decision. "I accept."
The corner of his mouth twitched, but he didn't break into a smile. "Good."
"I do have one concern." Way out of my comfort zone, I struggled to keep my voice steady. "The consequences you mentioned, going over your knee." I cleared my throat. "I've never, uh, I don't have experience with that."
"I didn't think you had," he replied. "Does the idea of being disciplined scare you?"
Being disciplinedmade it sound so much more clinical than it really was.
"A little."
Nate nodded. "That's natural, but I promise you, Juliet, I don't hurt women. Well not more than they want me to."
"Okay, so do I get a safeword?"
"Of course. Do you want to choose one now?"
"I guess so."
It needed to be something I had no reason to utter during a spanking. I thought for a moment. "Cosmetics."
"Cosmetics." He arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because I hate cosmetics with every fiber of my being."
"You do?"
I offered him nothing more than a tight smile. Explanations about why I resented getting glammed up for Caldwell Cosmetics every day would have to wait until I was convinced my emotional baggage was safe in his hands.
"Okay, then." Nate seemed to understand I wasn't going to elaborate. "Cosmetics, it is. So I assume we have an agreement?"
"We do." I nodded decisively. "Should we put it in writing?"
"That's entirely up to you." He picked up his cup and looked at me steadily over the rim. "My protection comes with conditions. But I would never take advantage of you."
For some reason, I knew I could take him at his word. I already trusted him on some level. Something had made me turn to this man for help, after all.
"No, I think we can just shake on it."
Nate's lips twitched as I stood and offered him my hand. He rose and took it, holding on a moment longer than necessary, caressing my wrist with his thumb. A shiver of excitement went through me before he let go. The breath caught at the back of my throat.
"Well it's been quite a night, Juliet, and I for one need some sleep. Let me show you to your room."
For a second, I felt disappointment that he wasn't expecting me to share a room with him. I chastised myself for the silly thought. Of course he intended for me to have my own space. We were little more than acquaintances after all.
