Page 116 of Axe Marks the Spot

He raises an eyebrow. “So because you didn’t mean to fall asleep, now you need to leave as fast as you can and be in pain?”

He makes a good point, but I argue anyway. “I’m okay, really. It’s just…you probably have things to do.” I motion to where he set his laptop.

It hits me that he was probably talking to his other submissives. Not that it’s any of my business—it is his job, even if the thought makes me question what exactly I am to Dane. A lot of things were said last night, but in the morning light and with my brain now coming back online from sleep, all my insecurities begin to bubble in my chest like lava.

I clear my throat. “I do, too. So, I’ll get out of your way.” I remove the hand that was still on his forearm and start to climb out of bed. I don’t make it far, though, before I’m being tugged back and Dane is rolling on top of me, pinning my arms above my head.

“Did I say I wanted you to leave?” Dane’s voice is deeper in the morning, if that’s even possible.

“Dane,” I mutter.

His hazel eyes are dark, and framed by his glasses, they somehow pop more than they usually do. “Lindsey.” He parrots my name in the same tone. “Did I say I wanted you to leave?”

I run my tongue along my teeth and groan. “No, you didn’t.”

“Do you want to leave?”

I suck in air, allowing myself to feel the comforting weight of Dane’s solid body and his strong hands holding my wrists above my head. I’d woken up and started thinking too quickly. I didn’t even get to enjoy the fact that this is the first time I’ve slept next to someone who wasn’t my kid in years.

Now that I really think about it, that was the best and deepest sleep I’ve had in…I don’t remember. I feel good, despite the soreness of my nipples and my ass, but even that feels good in a different kind of way.

Dane’s hands tense against my wrists, and my eyes refocus on his questioning gaze.

“I asked you a question.” His breath, which smells like mint, fills my nostrils, and I curse him for waking up before me and getting the opportunity to get rid of his morning breath.

“I don’t want to leave,” I say honestly. “But…”

“But?” he asks when I take too long, and I’m surprised he didn’t tell me to use my words.

“I had a plan of things I was going to do today before I work tonight. I was going to wake up early and do my routine then clean my house and maybe start on a project I’ve been wanting to do. Maybe nap.”

He smiles at the last one. “It’s only eight. You have plenty of time to do what you need to and take a nap. Even if you don’t rush out on me.”

“When did you get up?” I ask. “I thought it was way later than that.”

“Around five.”

I scrunch up my nose. “Is that a usual thing for you?”

“It is. My body naturally wakes me up around that time.”

“Is that a Logger Dane thing or a Dom Dane thing?”

His grip on my wrists tightens, and his knees, which are bracketing my legs, pull in tighter against my thighs, his way of reminding me we’re in a precarious position. One where he has all the power.

“It’s a Dane thing.” He smirks.

I swallow hard, and his gaze flicks down to watch my throat. The memory of his hand there, cutting off my air supply while he made me come, sends a lightning bolt to my core. Before I know what I’m doing, my hips shift up as if I’m trying to hump him, and Dane’s warm laughter fills the air.

“None of that,” he tuts. “You said you have things to do, and playing with me wasn’t one of them.”

Dane gets up as quickly as he pinned me and rolls off the mattress so he’s standing near the side of the bed. That’s when I see the damn man is only in a pair of gray boxers. My eyes drag down his muscular body, noticing everything is cut and massive. When my gaze reaches his thigh, I find a black-and-gray tattoo of a large stag, the tops of the antlers covered by the hem of his underwear.

He clears his throat, and I sheepishly meet his gaze. “I like your tattoo.”

“Is that all you like?” he asks cheekily.

I almost roll my eyes but stop myself. I don’t need another spanking right now, even if the idea does make my pussy wetter than he already made it by pinning me to the mattress and being stupidly hot in those damn glasses.