“Yes,” he admitted quietly. “I did.” Her heart slammed hard against her ribs. Jonnas lifted one hand slowly and brushed his thumb across her flushed cheek.
“You know what I remember most about that night?” he asked softly.
Dani shook her head. “The way you relaxed every time I took control.” His voice dropped lower. “The way you looked at me when I praised you.” Heat curled low in her stomach instantly. “You don’t have to be embarrassed by that,” he murmured.
“But—” she started. He covered her lips with his finger, stopping her from saying what she was going to say next.
“Baby girl.” His voice turned firmer. “Look at me.” She did instantly, and the second she obeyed, satisfaction flickered across his face, and that tiny reaction shattered her, because she liked that look. God, she liked pleasing him. She liked the calm approval in his eyes, and Jonnas seemed to notice all of it.
“You trusted me that night,” he said quietly.
“I barely knew you,” she said.
“And you still trusted me,” he pointed out. Emotion tightened her throat unexpectedly because he was right. Somehow, even drunk and reckless, she had trusted him instinctively—more than she’d trusted anyone in a very long time.
Jonnas’s thumb brushed her cheek again. “You don’t need to be ashamed of wanting comfort, Dani.” The gentleness in his voice nearly undid her.
She looked up at him helplessly. “What if I want too much from you?” Something dark and possessive flashed through his expression before he leaned down slowly until his forehead rested lightly against hers.
“You let me worry about that,” he insisted.
Jonnas
Jonnas had negotiated million-dollar contracts with less tension than standing forehead-to-forehead with Dani Hart in his office. “You let me worry about that.”The words hung between them heavy and dangerous, and judging by the way Dani’s breathing hitched, she felt it too.
Jonnas kept one hand against her cheek while he tried very hard not to completely lose his mind. She looked wrecked in the prettiest possible way—flushed cheeks, wide eyes, swollen lips from nervously biting them all afternoon. All because she accidentally admitted she’d called him Daddy during sex. His cock had been half-hard since she whispered it in the hallway, because yes, he remembered. He remembered every soft sound she made that night and every needy little look. And most of all, he remembered the exact moment she relaxed completely beneath him after saying it, like something inside her finally clicked into place. The realization had haunted him ever since.
“You’re thinking too loudly again,” Dani whispered.
Jonnas let out a low laugh. “You say that like it’s my fault.”
“It usually is,” she grumbled. She was cute—way too fucking cute.
His thumb brushed slowly along her jaw. “You know what’s dangerous, baby girl?”
Her breath caught instantly at the nickname. “What?”
“The fact that you still blush every time I call you that.” Her entire face turned even redder, and Jonnas’s chest tightened painfully. He was in serious trouble with this woman.
“You enjoy embarrassing me,” she muttered.
“No.” His mouth twitched slightly. “I enjoy the way you respond to me.” Dani looked away immediately, and that reaction told him everything. “You’ve spent a long time hiding parts of yourself, haven’t you?”
“Yes,” she breathed. The quiet honesty in her voice hit him harder than expected. Jonnas understood that instinct better than she probably realized. The world wasn’t exactly kind to people who wanted things outside the norm—especially not women. And judging by the shame in her expression earlier, someone had made her feel small for it before, and that thought made something dark stir in his chest.
“Look at me.” She obeyed instantly. The automatic response nearly took him out at the knees, not because she was submissive, but because she trusted him enough to follow his lead without fear. That was a big difference, and one he intended to protect carefully.
“There is nothing wrong with the way you respond to me,” he said quietly.
Emotion flickered across her face immediately. “You say that now.”
“I mean it,” he insisted.
“You barely know me,” she reminded.
“I know enough,” he said.
Dani swallowed hard. “You don’t even fully understand what I want.”
