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Coley got up and pulled on her clothes. “No need to yell.”
“Look at me, Coley! I’m not going to let you throw away something this special before it has even had a chance to begin, all because you’re scared.”
Coley stopped in her tracks in shock. Vance had completely caught her off guard with his ability to see right through her ruse.
Vance moved around the bed and wrapped his arms around her. “I know you’re scared, sweetheart. I know that opening your heart to someone else is opening yourself to get hurt. It’s scary, but not a reason to run.”
Coley snuggled her head into his neck. “I don’t like feeling this way.”
“You just have to have trust. You have to have trust in us. Coley, you need to have trust in me. I won’t hurt you. I won’t take your heart lightly. I’ll do everything I can to protect it. Trust me. Can you do that?”
Coley simply nodded her head into his neck.
Vance reached down, placed his fingers at her chin and lifted her face to his gaze. “Hey you, no running allowed. I’ll chase you.”
Coley smiled. “I’m glad. I’ve never had someone fight for me before.”
“Let me, let me be that hero in your book.” Vance placed a soft kiss on Coley’s pouty lips. “As for the Domestic Discipline and my lifestyle… we’ll take it slow. We’ll address the issues as they come up. I know it won’t be easy, but as long as we have each other, we can work through anything. Do you trust me?”
Coley nodded. “Yes, yes I do.”
29
Eating breakfast together was a bundle of sensations. Comforting, relaxing, loving and odd. Coley watched Vance talk over a plate of eggs as if they had done this for years. There was a level of familiarity mixed with the delightful new feeling of a budding romance. He was her friend, and now her lover.
“So did you tell Caine about us yet?” Coley asked, spying him over the rim of her coffee mug.
He nodded. “I asked his permission if I could court you.”
Coley laughed out loud. “You did not just say that! Court me? Really?” She laughed even harder. “How old-fashioned are you?”
He smiled back. “Very.”
She stopped smiling and studied his expression. It was a mixture of amusement and seriousness. “Well, I think it was sweet that you did so.”
“It was the right thing to do. Caine gives his blessing.”
She was happy that Caine knew, and even happier that he approved. She was a grown woman and would make her own decisions, but she did like that there wouldn’t be an impending war ahead of her.
“Vance?”
He looked up with a full mouth and quickly swallowed before replying, “Yes?”
“What if I said no to Domestic Discipline? Would you really have ended it?
“Yes.” His expression grew sad. “I wouldn’t have had any choice.”
His answer stung. She looked down at her plate of food and pushed the eggs around on her plate. She didn’t want to look at him even though she knew he was staring right at her.
“I’ve tried it the other way. I can’t tell you how many relationships I’ve been in where I thought I could do without. Or even worse was being in relationships where I thought I could change their minds.” He paused, and when Coley didn’t say anything, he continued. “If I wasn’t so sure that you and I have something special and truly have a future, I would maybe consider just having a casual fling. But there is nothing about us that is casual.”
“What if I change my mind?”
There was a long pause. “I hope you wouldn’t. I hope you’ll see the benefits far outweigh the negatives.” He took another bite and swallowed it with a drink of his coffee. “I wouldn’t force you into anything you don’t want to do. I just hope you don’t expect to force me into anything I don’t want either.”
“So spanking my ass is that important to you?” she said with a smirk.
He smiled. “Domestic Discipline is. Yes. It’s part of who I am. My beliefs aren’t something I’m willing to reshape. We are who we are. So I guess the question you have to ask yourself is not if you can accept Domestic Discipline, but if you can accept me.”
His words hit her like a ton of bricks. “You’re right. This is important to you, so I will do my best to make it important to us.”
She stood up and began washing the dishes. She couldn’t wipe off the huge smile on her face even as she did the one chore she despised. After clearing the table, Vance walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. If doing dishes could feel like this, she would do them all the time.
“Come in the bedroom with me for a moment,” Vance requested with a look in his eye unfamiliar to Coley.
