Page 27 of The Royal in Room 3

My bedroom was usually off-limits to my subs. If they needed comfort, this took place in the guest bedroom, which they occupied for the length of their stay. I wasn’t ready to give up that rule yet. I’d already changed one major thing in the contract: that we could have sex when it was discussed and mutual consent was given.

“How about we make a clause that the decision can be revisited?”

He frowned, not seeming too happy with the arrangement.

“It doesn’t mean we can’t share a bed occasionally,” I added. “But we’ll do so in your bedroom. It’s important that you feel safe in your space and I feel safe in mine, though as your Daddy, I hope that you wouldn’t deny me entry into your room unnecessarily.”

“I guess that’s fine then,” he said, caving in. “Where do I sign?”

“Before you do, there’s just one more thing. You can dissolve this contract at any time by telling me you want out. Otherwise, it will continue on a thirty-day rotating basis until I’m satisfied with your growth. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Oh, the sweet sound of that word on his lips. I didn’t expect it to come so easily to him, to feel so right. The word settled deep in my chest, warm and possessive, stirring every protective instinct I’d spent years learning to keep under control.

“Then sign here, my little prince.”

I handed him the pen, and he didn’t hesitate to sign his name and return the pen. His signature was beautiful in its flourish, drawn beneath the line where he’d printed his name: Soren Kline. I quickly scratched my signature on the opposite side, and it was done.

He was mine.

“That’s it,” I said softly. “Tomorrow I’ll⁠—”

But Soren was out of his chair and climbing onto my lap before I could finish. His arms came around my neck, hanging on to me as he buried his face in the crook of my shoulder.

“Daddy,” he breathed softly.

He was so needy for connection, which wasn’t something I was used to from subs right away. I’d had subs in the past I’d never even given a hug, mostly because they came to me damaged and hadn’t trusted easily, but Soren was sweet and so different. He didn’t come across as someone who had been deprived of affection all his life but the opposite. Instead, he seemed to be someone used to affection who’d lost it and was now seeking it again in the arms of any man available—in my arms.

After a while, I squeezed his waist. “We should probably get going if you still want to take a walk along the beach.”

Soren lifted his head from my shoulder, his expression soft and a little sleepy. “I do.”

We left the dishes where they were and stepped out through the back of the house. The sky had gone dark while we’d talked, leaving only a faint strip of fading color along the horizon. Moonlight caught on the water, turning the waves silver as they rolled toward shore. It was beautiful, just like the young man at my side.

For a while, neither of us spoke, and we didn’t need to fill the silence with chatter either. A peace came over me that I wasn’t prepared for. For the first time, I thought about soulmates—and how much of it was true—because it oddly felt as if the young man at my side might be exactly that.

Soren walked beside me with his shoes in one hand, letting the damp sand sink beneath his bare feet. Every so often, the breeze tugged at his shirt and the waves rushed in to splash us.

We walked along the shoreline until the lights from my house looked smaller behind us, then stopped near the edge of the water. Soren lowered himself onto the sand, and I sat beside him.

The ocean filled the silence between us. Although we could glimpse other people farther down the beach, it still felt like we were alone in our little world. One of us must have moved because we’d sat with inches between us, but soon our shoulders were nearly touching.

Then our hands did. At first, it was just a brush of our fingers, but neither of us moved away. A slow heat fired up in the pit of my stomach, warning me that I still had time to douse the flames before they burned too brightly and out of control.

Slowly, his hand shifted closer.

So did mine.

Our fingers brushed again, then rested together on top of the sand.

I turned my head and found Soren already looking at me.

“Soren.”

“Hmm?”

“This isn’t something I usually do,” I said softly, my words almost swallowed up by the sound of crashing waves.