Page 87 of To Catch a Sub

“You’re not ashamed now, but clearly you were when we talked about it.”

He still didn’t get it. “That wasn’t shame. I was protecting myself.”

“Protecting yourself from me?” He released her hair. “Drop your hands.”

She did, pressing her hands against her thighs.

Landon’s arm came around her from behind, forearm braced on the front of one shoulder as his hand curled around her neck. He nudged her jaw, forcing her head up.

Their gazes met in the glass.

“You lied to protect yourself.” His thumb toyed with her earlobe.

“It wasn’t really a lie. I planned to avoid you. This.”

“To protect yourself,” he said again.

“Yes.”

“You’re worried I would hurt you.”

“Not physically.” A smile curved her lips as she leaned into his hand, enjoying the pressure that made it just a little hard to breathe.

His fingers tightened on the sides of her neck, creating space at the front, but adding that sweet constraint that had her aware of her blood pumping through her veins.

“You were worried I’d hurt you…emotionally.”

“Yes.”

“You think I’d be deliberately cruel?”

“No.” She swayed back, and he stepped closer, letting her rest against his chest. “But what we have isn’t casual. I knew subbing for you wouldn’t be simple, like finding a play partner for the night.”

“And what do we have, Colette? You’ve lied to and manipulated me.”

Colette went still, swallowing hard. He didn’t sound angry, but the words were hard and harsh, even with the mild tone.

“I’m not lying about this,” she whispered.

Landon spun her around, holding her by the shoulders. Colette looked up into his dark eyes, but she couldn’t read his expression.

“I know you’re manipulating me,” he said.

She opened her mouth to protest. To tell him that this moment right here was the most vulnerable and honest she’d been with anyone in years. Maybe she’d tell him that he was the person she trusted most in the world, as pathetic as that admission was, given that she knew he didn’t trust her in turn.

Before she could speak, his hand closed over her mouth, muzzling her. She had a jolt of fear, memories threatening to resurface, but the desire she now saw in his gaze eased the panic, pushing it to the recesses of her mind from whence it came.

He leaned in, lips against her ear. “Colette, you’re a very bad girl.”

NINETEEN

Landon’s heart was pounding. That conversation hadn’t gone the way he thought it would. Every word out of Colette’s mouth had been raw with emotion.

But was it true emotion, or more manipulation? He didn’t, couldn’t, think it was all a lie, but she was clever enough to take a hint of raw emotion and amplify it.

He wasn’t even saying it was malicious manipulation, but manipulation nonetheless.

That rational, clinical observation was doing fuck all to stem his own emotional reaction.