Neither said a word as they waited for the carriage to arrive, nor as they rode the four floors up. It wasn’t until they were inside the apartment and he put the Do Not Disturb light on the elevator that he spoke.
Mouth dry with anticipation, he asked, “Do I have consent?”
“Yes.” Her words were strong and sure, and her eyes never left his.
“Safe word.”
“Red.”
“Limits.”
The first hint of uncertainty flashed across her face. “I thought I didn’t get them anymore.”
“Only if that’s what you’re consenting to. You set the rules. I play within them.”
Certainty returned. “No limits. Don’t hold back with me. I want whatever you want to give me, Triumph.”
Since the attack, he hadn’t touched her except to hold her or give light kisses. Direction had to come from her, and she showed no signs of residual trauma from the night in the village or the attack in Elysium once Guillermo and Cesar had been removed as a threat. However, he needed her to come to her own conclusions about how to proceed with her life and with him.
“Be damn sure, Glennon. Is that what you want? No limits?”
“Yes.”
He’d give her what she wanted, but tonight he would go easier than normal. Not because she couldn’t handle him at full force, but because he wanted her to see… No, he needed her toknowshe could trust him to always put her first, even if their relationshipseemedlike it was based on his needs.
He fisted the strands at her hairline and used his hips to press her to the door. His free hand collared her throat with just enough pressure to show he had control.
Her hands scrabbled against his bare chest as she tried to graze her fingernails along each ridge of muscle. They raked down from his pecs to the start of his abs, forcing him to grab her hands and put them against the door above her head.
“That’s not how this works, little spy. Who’s in charge? Who did you give control to?”
She whimpered. “You.”
“That is correct. If you hand everything over to me, you take what I give you, when I give it to you.”
“Yes.”
What he was about to do could trigger her memories of that last attack. However, he had to trust that she knew hewas nothing like Guillermo. He would show her the difference between surrendering and submitting.
He spun her around so that her front pressed against the door, her cheek to the side, and now her hands were in one of his at the small of her back. His other hand swooped around to collar her, holding her head up so it didn’t get cramped at an odd angle. He gave her the chance to safe-word.
“One last time. Are. You. Sure?”
Without pause, she submitted. “Yes.”
“Fuck, Glennon.” He ground his pelvis into her ass and laid his face cheek to cheek with hers, his lips against her skin as he spoke. “You feel how hard that made me? You giving me total consent? That’s you telling me you trust me to know what you want. You trust that I’ll never hurt you. The woman who trusts no one trusts me. Me! That’s the sexiest fucking thing you could ever do.”
He clamped his teeth onto her shoulder. Not hard. Just enough to leave indentations in the soft flesh. He admired his work, using one finger to swipe across the divots. “Very nice.”
He pulled her miniskirt up above her waist, exposing a nude-colored thong. Turning her to face him once more, his hands reached around to cup her bare ass cheeks, and he hoisted her up his body to carry her to their room.
Once inside the bedroom, he slid her down his front and placed her at the foot of the bed.
“Take off all your clothes and put them on the dresser.”
As she complied, he also stripped, purposefully making a pile of his clothes next to hers and setting his boots beside her shoes. When they were both completely naked and facing each other again, he kept his hands at his sides.
What he did was to ensure understanding. She was making a choice on her own, with no coercion from him. In that moment, it wasn’t sexual. No secrets between them.
