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I’ve seen you naked—”
Her cheeks flushed the loveliest hue of pink. “When should we start?”
“Two weeks?” he suggested. “I’m moving into the new house this week, so that’ll give me some time to get settled.”
“That works with me.”
She looked so beautiful kneeling at his feet, calmly discussing being at his disposal all day, every day for two weeks. Fuck, he was a bastard and a half.
But she wants it.
He couldn’t argue with that. The truth was, he wanted it, too. He wanted her in his house, in his bed, and in his chains. He wanted to push her to her knees before him, bend her over his couch, and hold her tight in his arms. He wanted to care for her like no one ever had before and to be the one person she could always count on to keep her safe and protected.
He fucking wanted too much, and wanting always came with a price.
The difference, though, was he just might pay it for her.
• • •
Later that evening, he welcomed Daniel and Nathaniel to the guesthouse. He was going about this all backward, but things had happened too quickly at Petal Pushers. He’d called and invited Jeff, but apparently he and Dena were attending a class of some sort at the hospital.
“Come in,” he said. “Excuse the boxes.”
Daniel looked around the room. “I’m glad you found a place, but I have to admit, I’ve grown used to having you here. It’ll seem so empty without you.”
“I don’t envy you the boxes,” Nathaniel said. “Took us forever to unpack.”
“I won’t have that much. I let Kate keep most of the furniture and stuff. I’ll be buying everything new.”
He realized with a start that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d thought of Kate—and this time, his chest didn’t have that empty feeling like it used to. He was finally moving on.
He waved to the couch, feeling freer than he had in a long time. “Have a seat.”
“Are you going to tell us why we’re here tonight, or do you want us to guess?” Daniel asked.
“I’m guessing it has something to do with a submissive being retrained.” Nathaniel sat down and studied him. “Am I right?”
“You are,” Cole said. He felt the need to pace, but he sat down on the ottoman in front of the couch, facing his friends.
“Something wrong?” Daniel asked.
“No, in fact, everything’s going well. Better than I expected, actually.”
He hated that it felt like he was asking permission. Of course, he really wasn’t. He’d already made the plans with Sasha. Was this one of those situations where you ended up asking forgiveness instead of permission?
“Sasha is doing very well,” he said.
“I thought so. Especially after she stayed overnight.” Daniel had that know-it-all look on his face.
“She what?” Nathaniel obviously hadn’t heard the group gossip.
“Sasha spent the night.”
“I thought you weren’t going to have sex with her.” Nathaniel didn’t look happy. “That’s why you were recommended.”
“How many BDSM relationships have you had that didn’t involve sex?” Cole asked.
“We aren’t discussing my sex life. We’re talking about how you explicitly said you weren’t going to sleep with Sasha during her retraining.”
“I assure you, Sasha suffered nothing. She wanted it. Badly.”
“Abby wants a lot, too. That doesn’t mean she always gets what she wants in a scene.”
“Of course not.” Cole felt his blood start to boil. It was only his inner voice reminding him that Nathaniel was simply looking after Sasha’s best interests that kept him from saying what he really felt. “I would be a horrible Dominant if I gave my submissive anything she wanted. But I don’t do that. And I would hope you know enough about me to recognize that.”
“I saw her that next morning,” Daniel said. “She looked calmer and happier than she has in a long time.”
Nathaniel sighed. “Nothing to do about it now. What’s happening? I’m guessing you didn’t bring us here so you could tell me you slept with Sasha.”
“I’m actually adding a level to her training.”
“Oh, no,” Daniel said.
Nathaniel frowned. “What? Why do I feel like I’m ten steps behind on everything here?”
“Daniel’s known me long enough to see where I’m going with this.”
Daniel nodded. “Cole and Kate were twenty-four/seven.”
Nathaniel’s eye grew wide and then narrowed. “You aren’t actually suggesting . . .”
“No, I’m not suggesting anything. To either one of you. I’m informing you that Sasha has asked me to give her a taste of twenty-four/seven and I’ve agreed.”
Neither man said anything. If they were trying to come up with reasons why he shouldn’t, they were wasting brain power. He knew them already. They needed to understand that he felt this was in Sasha’s best interest.
“I assure you, I will do nothing to harm Sasha. And you should know I didn’t agree to this right away. She made her request some time ago and I turned her down for all the reasons you’re probably thinking. But she’s progressed well, and she’s ready. Frankly, I’d rather be the one she’s with than for her to pick some stranger we don’t know.”
“I guess my thoughts really don’t have bearing on this, do they?” Nathaniel asked.
Cole was glad he finally saw that. “I didn’t bring you here to ask permission. I’m just letting you know, as a courtesy, how the training has changed.”
“We’ll need to know how it’s going. I’d like for you to check in with either me or Daniel a few times a week while this is happening. And I’d also request that Sasha continue to meet with Abby.”
Cole nodded. “Of course, that sounds perfectly reasonable.”
Nathaniel chuckled. “I’m not sure reasonable is the right word.”
Cole smiled and looked at Daniel. “Sasha wanted to tell Julie herself. She’s doing it tomorrow, so if you wouldn’t mind not saying anything to Julie . . .”
“Not a problem,” Daniel assured him. “I don’t want to be around for that conversation, anyway.”
• • •
“You know, Sasha,” Julie said first thing the next day. “I was thinking last night, and I believe Nathaniel was right in suggesting Cole for you.”
Sasha looked up from the bills she was paying. It had been another restless night, and around five she had gotten out of bed and started working. For a second, she wondered if she’d heard correctly. “Oh?”
“I thought he’d be too much, you know? Too stern and unyielding. But after I thought about it—well, after Daniel made me really think about it—you seem happier and more at ease.” Julie buzzed around the main room, straightening things up and pulling out papers needed for the day’s deliveries.
Now or never.
Sasha shut her laptop. “I’m so glad you said that. Keep it in mind when I tell you this.”
Julie froze. “Uh-oh.”
“I’m going to take two weeks off starting the week after next.”
“What? Are you serious?” She lifted an eyebrow. “How is Cole involved?”
