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“It’s not. I don’t ever want to make you feel uncomfortable. Or cross a line. Sometimes, I have trouble reining in my Daddy side.”
“You’re not making me uncomfortable, I feel safe with you.”
“Good. Because I feel safe with you.”
Surprise filled her face. “You do?”
“Yes. And I find myself needing something from you,” he said as he sat on the bed, settling in against the headboard.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I really need a hug, but I don’t know how to ask without the worry that you’ll feel obliged—oomph.” He caught her just as she threw herself at him.
Drawing her into his lap, he held her tightly, the way he knew she liked.
“I know you just made that up because you knew I needed a hug,” she muttered. “But thank you anyway.”
“Actually, I really needed this as well.”
“Yeah?” She drew back to look up at him.
“Definitely.” He gently pushed her head back to his chest. “I think we’re both in a bit of a strange place. Even though we barely know each other, we’ve been thrown into this situation where you’re anxious and I want to protect and soothe you.”
“I suppose I could let you do that,” she said with fake reluctance. “I mean, it’s a sacrifice, but someone has to make it.”
“Brat.” He tickled her until she was giggling. “You sure you’re okay with everything? I haven’t crossed any lines?”
She wondered if he knew what had happened to her. It would be easier if he did.
“This is going to sound silly,” she whispered.
“Whatever you tell me stays between us. There’s a bubble around us and nothing gets through that bubble. All right?”
“Like inGet Smart?”
“Right.”
She rubbed her hand over her face. “It doesn’t stop me from getting embarrassed, though.”
“No. I understand that. But if you tell me something embarrassing, I’ll tell you something that embarrasses me.”
“You get embarrassed?”
“Everyone does.”
“All right,” she whispered. “Having those rules makes me feel . . . safe, I guess.”
“They do?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad. But if I go too far, if I scare you, if something is too much, you say red.”
“A safeword?”
“Yes.”
“All right,” she whispered. “And you’ll do the same? If I go too far?”
