Page 71 of Axe Marks the Spot

“Hi, Lindsey.”

The voice that was in my head now rings through the speakers of my laptop, and my pulse pounds in my throat. I nibble on the inside of my cheek as I stare at Dane—my Dom—on the screen.

“Hi, Dane.”

He smiles softly, and I notice there’s firelight dancing in his eyes. I wish I was there with him.

“Are you alone?” he asks, his eyes shifting behind me. I’m not in my bedroom—I’m on the couch in the living room, a different background than what he’s seen before.

“Yes,” I say with a nod. “Kas is at Moira’s—last-minute sleepover.”

“Please address me as Sir, then.”

And there go my nipples. They could seriously cut glass every time he’s around me, especially when he talks like a stern general. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl.”

I exhale a breath at his praise and smile at him. There’s a pause of silence and the sound of a log popping in the background. The pop breaks the haze I fall into every time he looks at me—let’s be honest, every time he looks at or talks to me—and I realize that whatever is about to happen, it’s real.

“Lindsey.” He says my name as if it’s something precious. “Before you give your consent and I answer your question, I need you to know this will permanently change our dynamic.”

I frown. “I don’t think I understand.”

Dane shifts in the recliner he’s in, his face coming closer to the screen. “Is what you asked me to tell you sexual in nature, or is it not?”

My skin heats, and I lick my lips. “It is, Sir.”

“Did I or did I not say I will not cross into that territory with my submissives?”

“You said you would not, Sir.”

“Do you understand now?”

My brow furrows. “Are you saying that if you answer, our agreement ends?”

“No, that is not what I want. But our dynamic will change, and so will our agreement.” He pauses, his eyes penetrating into mine. “I’d say that it already has, but I want to make it clear that this conversation we’re having will change it permanently. This will no longer be what it was when we started.”

“What will it be, then?”

“We will need to figure that out. But things have already changed between us. You know who I am, I know who you are. We’re attracted to each other, unless this is only on my side?”

Arousal zips through my body, and I shake my head. “No. It’s not one-sided.”

He smiles warmly. “I want to be clear, however, that if you do not want our agreement to change and you do not want to do anything involving sex with me, we can stick to our original agreement, and that is perfectly fine. We can also stop altogether, if that’s what you want, or—”

“No,” I interrupt him. The idea of walking away now, especially after the meal we shared tonight, feels wrong. “No, Sir. That’s not what I want.”

“Don’t interrupt me, baby.”

There it is again. Baby. I stare into his eyes, and within them, I see the question before he voices it. “Is it alright if I call you that?”

I swallow hard and nod. “Yes, Sir. I—” I swallow again, and he smiles knowingly. He already knows what calling me baby does to my body. “I like it.”

He breathes out his satisfied hum. “Can I continue?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“As I was saying.” He clears his throat, though there’s an amused tone to it. “…or we can create a new agreement. Have a dynamic that explores the sexual side of our relationship, which I think we both want.”