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He pinned her with a somber gaze. “I have one more thing I want you to do. For you. Not for me.”
“Okay,” she said skeptically.
“Just hear me out. I’m going to throw a party and invite my Dom friends to meet you. Guys that I know are reputable.”
“Uhh.” Was Hell no too rude an answer?
He moved in closer, leaning across the table to catch her gaze. “I would never put you at risk, Kate. Do you believe that?”
“Yes, but you can’t know everything.” Even Janine, her best friend in the world, hadn’t known that pirate guy would end up a douche bag.
He smiled. “You trust me.”
Why did he look so gleeful about that? “Yeah. So?”
“It’s just very satisfying.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I trust you to keep me from getting assaulted by your friends the same way I trust my mailman to deliver letters addressed to me. You’re both fulfilling a job. Nothing more.”
His smile faded. “You think this is just a job to me? I can’t possibly see how, considering you’re not paying me.”
“It’s a job. The currency is just . . . different.”
“I’m not doing this for sex.” He leaned back, frowning. “You make me sound like an asshole.”
“Sorry.” She dropped her head. “I guess I just don’t understand why you’re doing it.”
“It started off because I was bored, and maybe lonely. But now I care about you, Kate.” He stared at her earnestly, as though he was hoping for a response.
Her cheeks flushed. He cared about her? Why did that make butterflies take off in her belly?
“I want to make sure you find someone safe to go to from here.” He shrugged and cracked a pained smile. “It’s the protective Dom thing. Even if you’re not mine, you’re still vulnerable. Too many submissives get hurt looking for a Dom. I don’t want that to be you.”
A smile touched her lips. “Thank you.” His sentiment was sweet. She almost didn’t want to go on with her plan. Having someone care about her so much that they would protect her even when they weren’t together was novel. But there was more than that for her. A real regret was growing, but making this work was a pipe dream. He deserved better—someone who could meet his needs and not have to fake it. Someone who wouldn’t resent his kink, but would enjoy it.
“So you’ll meet some of my friends? You’ll try your best to be a good girl?” he asked. “Remember, you’ll never win a Dom over with behavior like you had with my last introduction.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ll be good. I told you I learned a lot.”
“Excellent. I’ll make some calls and see if I can set something up for this weekend.”
She nodded, then bit her lip. The truth of what she’d just agreed to came crashing down. “Banner . . .”
“Yes?”
“This is just to . . . meet them, right? Nothing crazy?”
He leaned forward. “That’s entirely up to you.”
Then it was a big fat no.
“But if we put on a . . . display, it’ll show them what kind of sub you are and whether your kinks line up.”
She gulped. “A display?”
“Just to show you off. It doesn’t have to be much. I’ll show them some of the things you’ve learned. Protocol, how to kneel, that sort of thing.”
She felt her eyes go wide. “Like I’m in a dog show?”
