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He’d done that so easily with her, and it had taken him little more than a heartbeat. He wasn’t in Dom stance or wearing leathers or even telling her to kneel. Yet she felt that commanding part of his nature surround her. He’d make some woman a wonderful, if exacting, Dom someday.
“They’re hiding something from me,” she murmured.
“And?” He neither confirmed nor denied.
“It’s killing me. It’s affecting us.”
He paused, measuring his words. “You’re worried.”
She nodded. “I’m working on believing they love me and telling myself they don’t intend to leave me.”
“We’ve covered this. They do and they’re not.”
Even if she’d heard it before, his words eased her fears a bit. Seth didn’t know all the nuances of their relationship or Hammer’s and Liam’s feelings, but he knew the important things. He’d know if they’d gotten over her or intended to find the door.
“Look…” He held up a finger. “I know what makes Hammer and Liam tick. It wasn’t easy for the two of them to swallow their pride and hash out a peace, but they did it for you. Then a breath after their truce, they began working together to break through your walls. Why would they do that?”
“Because they love me,” she murmured.
He nodded. “Hopelessly in love, yes.”
“Then why aren’t they talking to me? I’ve tried to ask questions. I’m not getting answers.”
“So you’re going to stomp your foot and make demands?”
“No,” she defended herself, then sighed. “Okay, I got mad at the gas station, but once we got home, I really thought about it. I told Liam I was scared.”
Seth stood. “You made yourself vulnerable. So you actually did learn something over the past couple of days?”
Raine shrugged. “I tried.”
He slanted her a dry expression. “Yeah, after making demands didn’t work. But it’s progress, little one. Go on.”
“I don’t know what else to do or say. Liam seems to be…shutting down one minute and clinging to me in desperation the next. Hammer spent half the car ride trying to distract me, but then he disappeared for a bit and came back incredibly pissed off. They’re not usually moody like this. Everything feels wrong.”
He shrugged. “And you think you deserve an answer right now?”
When he put it that way, she sounded bitchy. “It would be nice if they at least said something to put me out of my misery.”
“It’s human nature to want what you want when you want it. But is that giving them the best of your submission?”
He had that Dom talent to ask questions designed to take the starch right out of her spine. “Damn it.”
“Liam would give you a red ass for that.” Seth grinned.
“I know. He likes ladies.” She managed not to sigh dejectedly.
“He does. But you knew it, just like you knew that if you asked what was bothering them and they didn’t answer right away, they must be protecting you from something.”
“But I don’t need to be protected. I’m a grown woman. I can handle it.”
“They might need to protect you. Did you think of that? Can you let them?”
“Yeah, but—”
“No. Either you trust that they have your best interests at heart or you don’t. And if you don’t, why are you with them?”
When he gave her that logic, it sounded so obvious and straightforward.
“I do. I love them both.” She gnawed on her lip for a moment and tried to put her thoughts into words. “I feel safe with them. I can’t breathe without them.”
His gaze softened as he approached, dropping a hand to her shoulder and crouching until they were eye to eye. “Raine, they won’t cater to your every want. There’s a reason for everything they do, but accepting that is part of being submissive.”
She sighed, her gaze hitting the concrete floor. He was right. “Okay, I may not always behave like the submissive I should, but they’re not letting me fulfill my role—to comfort and help them. I feel useless.”
“You can’t give them your love and support unless you know the situation? Think about that.”
Hell, Seth was right again. If she were truly giving herself to them, she would trust that they’d tell her everything when the time was right. She’d be giving them her heart and soul through it all.
Her independent nature didn’t make that easy.
“You’re right.” She sighed, feeling somewhere between lost and stupid.
“Follow where they lead you. Let go of your control. They won’t let you fall. They’ve worked too hard for your progress.”
“Why is it so hard to do that?”
He chuckled. “If it were easy, submission wouldn’t be a journey. You’re still learning. It’s not easy being a Dom, either. You have to let them do what they’ve been wired to do all their lives—protect you, communicate when you need it, honor and love you. They’d walk a hundred miles over broken glass to keep you safe. But you have to remember, it will be in their time frame, not yours.”
