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The absurd question seemed to clear Doc’s head a bit, and he let out a breath. “What have we got, Luke?”
His tone made my palm twitch. We were going to get to the bottom of his attitude one way or another. He blinked a few times, his lower lip trembling. He hadn’t appeared this vulnerable since I saved him from those bullies so many years ago. His reaction touched something deep inside of me.
I should have put him ass-up across my knee for this talk.
“You seem to need some sort of title. I can think of a few.”
Elias scoffed. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Your words are extremely disrespectful, Doc. How do you think you’d sound after I washed your mouth out with soap?”
“No thanks, Luke. I’ll pass.”
“Given the nature of our conversation, I’d like you to call me Sir.”
I could practically see the wheels turning as he took in exactly what I’d instructed him to do.
“Don’t fuck with me.”
Great.
Elias seemed to think after all this time, that I was messing with him when I was more serious than ever. Joining him on the bed, I tapped his hip with my pointer finger. “One.”
“What exactly are you counting down?”
“We’ve done this before,” I reminded him, but my reaction appeared to confuse him more.
“I don’t follow your rules. You can’t just throw a warning at me as if you’ll actually—” he caught himself.
“Hold up. You started following my rules the minute I moved you in here.”
“Perhaps, but you’ve never responded quite like this. Why would I believe you’d react the way I’ve wanted just because someone else popped into our lives?”
There was a lot to unpack in his statement. His tone was haughty, likely stemming from the belief, buried deep in his head and his heart, that he wasn’t worthy of my time. How had I been so blind to his needs?
“I came in here fully intending to punish your ass. It has nothing to do with Emma and everything to do with you.”
“Bloody hell.” Elias pinched the bridge of his nose as if processing the full extent of what I’d promised. “So, you’ll do what? Take charge of the situation, spank me, and then forget me?”
“No, I’m not going to forget you. What else are you holding back from saying?”
“Nothing. It’s just work.”
“Let’s talk about work.”
“Luke—”
“Two.”
“You’re not my—” Elias shook his head back and forth as if battling something between his head and his heart. “We’re not in a thing.”
I hated seeing him so out of sorts. I’d reduced him to stumbling over his words, though it was sort of endearing. Touching his knee, I let my hand linger there as Elias fought to keep some semblance of control but failed. I was in charge. My intentions now were to clarify everything in one fell swoop. “I’m listening.”
“You’re not my Dom, Luke.”
“The hell I’m not.”
“Dishing out rules and decrees without rewards or punishments is just being bossy.”
