Page 131 of Key of Kink

“But that’s not the main thing.” Beat of silence. “No, the main thing is you don’t flinch when someone needs you.”

Fuck.

Quinn shrugged again, oblivious to the shift he’d just given to my foundations.

“You steady people,” he said. “At Obsidian. In the care home. And probably in your singing group too. That’s not weakness.”

I studied him. “And you don’t think less of me for it?”

He laughed. “Max. I kneel for you. Do you think I’m out here judging your side job?”

“That’s not⁠—”

“You think I want some Dom who only does power and nothing else?” he interjected. “No thanks. I’ve tried that.” He lowered his voice. “You looking after people isn’t soft. It’s strength you don’t brag about.”

My chest tightened.

He doesn’t see the care home as a crack in the image. He sees it as proof of who I am.

Quinn saw me.

He was right there, close enough to mess with my head, my wiring. I pushed my chair back, then picked up the empty plates. “Tea?”

He shook his head and finished his glass of water.

I took the plates to the kitchen, aware of the quiet in the flat.

“What are you thinking about?” I called out as I filled the dishwasher.

“You.”

My heartbeat raced.

I closed the dishwasher and returned to the table. Quinn didn’t move or speak as I approached, but watched me. That quiet observation only served to make my heartbeat slip into a higher gear, which disturbed the fuck out of me.

I slid my fingers into his hair, and he stilled at my touch. I tilted his face toward mine, two fingers under his chin, and he gazed up at me. Without thinking, I brushed my thumb along his cheek, and he leaned into the touch without hesitation, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He reached up and closed his fingers over my wrist, holding my hand there, his eyes shut for a second, his breath softening.

“Careful. I might get used to that,” he murmured.

That calm trust settled something inside me.

“Bedroom,” I said quietly.

He stood immediately, and I realised we both wanted what came next.

I realised something else too. Somewhere between him arriving and our conversation, something had changed.

I’d taken men to bed before.

This was the first time it felt like letting someone in.

Quinn

Something is different.

Maybe it was a combination of things. Max taking my hand to lead me into the bedroom felt huge. Then there was the way he stroked my face, the stillness when he looked at me, the way he’d opened up to me…

Yeah, this was different, and my heart was thumping like a bass drum.