Page 121 of Axe Marks the Spot

“It will show my commitment to you: that I want to learn and grow with you.”

“And I you.” She smiles, and I softly smile back. “Before we take that next step, I’d like to focus harder on your goals with you, dig into ones we haven’t touched yet. It will help build our trust and deepen our connection further, but it will also help you gain confidence within yourself and with parenting Kas.”

Her face falls a little, and I can understand why. There’s a huge part of me that wants to skip straight to collaring her, too. But she’s showing me how much she needs to build on the things she’s learned so far, to slow things down a bit.

“This isn’t a step back, baby. It’s a step forward. Do you trust me?”

“You know I do.”

“Good. Now, fair warning. With our growing dynamic, you’re going to rethink how perfect I am.”

She smiles and laughs softly. “I doubt it.”

“Famous last words. Now, kneel.”

“What?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. I know you heard me.”

Lindsey stares at me for another moment before she sees I’m serious. A second later, she’s dropping to her knees and into the submissive pose I taught her last night. My chest rumbles in satisfaction, and I touch her head, brushing my fingers over her hair.

“Inhale for me, and relax.” When she’s completed her breaths, I tip her chin up. “That’s my good girl. I want you to repeat after me, understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Already, her eyes are softer and her shoulders are relaxed, showing me yet again that Lindsey was born for submission, and that she’s meant to be mine.

“I may not be perfect, but I’m doing the best I can,” I say.

She swallows then repeats, “‘I may not be perfect, but I’m doing the best I can.’”

“I’m a good mom, and I’m loved.”

Lindsey pauses, and I notice her eyes have gone glassy, but she repeats, “‘I’m a good mom, and I’m loved.’”

“It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but when I do, I will lean on my Dom, my Sir.”

“‘It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but when I do, I will lean on my Dom, my Sir.’”

“I don’t have to do everything alone. It’s safe for me to surrender control.”

Lindsey inhales a shaky breath and repeats, “‘I don’t have to do everything alone. It’s safe for me to surrender control.’”

“My Sir will guide me when I feel lost.”

“‘My Sir will guide me when I feel lost.’”

“I am strong in my submission.”

“‘I am strong in my submission.’”

“I am loved, I am beautiful, I am enough.”

“‘I am loved, I am beautiful, I am enough,’” she echoes.

I stroke her hair and let her words sink in before I ask, “Now tell me, Lindsey: Who do you submit to?”

“You, Sir.”