AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Callie, baby…”
She gave the most goddamn adorable snuffle, and went back to sleep.
Torn between bafflement, amusement, and surprise, Evander peered down at her. Yeah, she was out like a freaking light. He picked up the discarded stuffie and set it on the table next to his laptop, then adjusted the screen so he could work one-handed.
Callie’s trust issues ran deep, thanks to her overly religious father and her asshat ex.
A Dom had the power to take whatever he wanted from his sub during a scene—her sight, voice, orgasms, submission—but trust was the one thing that couldn’t be forcibly acquired.
Black Light’s Roulette night was something unlike anything he’d experienced before. Everything was so…concentrated. Intense. Five minutes to get to know the basics about a new partner before the games began, a short list of no-fucking-way hard limits, and then both players were thrust into a scene.
In his opinion, the woman snuggling into him had bigger balls than he did—and that was saying something. No matter what he asked of her, she gave it to him. The trust Daniel had so carelessly shredded now belonged to Evander, and his job was to take the tatters, weave them back together, and make them stronger than they’d been before.
Seems like he was on the right track.
Trying to focus on the digital blueprints, Evander found his attention was happier veering toward subtler things. The warmth of Callie’s skin leeching through his shirt, for example, and the tiny squeak at the end of each breath she took. How her fingers were poised mid-knead against his chest, and how fucking good his shampoo smelled on her.
In the end, he closed the laptop.
Blueprints came in second to holding a warm, naked woman.
“Good choice, sir.” Elias hovered beside the opposite seats, a blanket folded over one arm. “She is rather exquisite, is she not?”
“How long have you been standing there ogling her?”
One corner of his mouth tilted up. “Actually, I made myself scarce when she wandered down the aisle. I appear to make her nervous.”
“The world makes her nervous,” Evander muttered, resting his head back against the seat. “Callie is different than any woman I’ve ever met. This,” he said, running his hand along her thigh, “is just the tip of the fucking iceberg. She’s brave, funny, with enough sass to make life interesting. But on the other side of the coin, she’s emotionally fragile from all the shit her father and ex put her through. She shies away from social connections, even when they’d benefit her career. She’s a wonderful enigma.”
Gracefully, Elias removed the blanket from his arm and shook it out, stepping forward to drape it over Callie’s body. Between them, they managed to tuck it around her without waking sleepy beauty from her slumber. “May I sit?”
“Not unless you take that stick out of your ass first.”
Rolling his eyes, Elias took the chair opposite, running his thumb across his lower lip. “You believe that’s an insult, but I take great pride in that stick, sir. Let me ask you a question, one you may not like.”
“Do you have to?”
“Yes, sir. I believe I do.” Steepling his fingers together, he leaned forward, blue eyes serious. “Do you believe this is a good match? For both of you?”
Evander felt his hackles rise. “Would I drag her all the way out to fucking Denver if I didn’t?”
“Don’t get defensive. I’ve never seen you waylay work in lieu of a woman before, which is a damn good sign as far as I’m concerned. But this isn’t just any woman; a history of emotional and physical abuse, right? Socially inept with a sweet, childlike side. One lover besides you, which means she might as well be a virgin if the guy was as big an asshole as implied.”
“And?”
Elias sighed. “I know you, Evander. Like a brother instead of an employer. BDSM isn’t just a way to blow off steam for you; the rules, the stability, the lifestyle is what draws you in. Your father would disown you in a heartbeat if he found out what you do in your free time, but that doesn’t deter you because he’s never been much of a father in the most critical sense. Submissives flock your way, and you pick one for a night, two, maybe a week at a push. None of them, to my recollection, were ever…well,her.”
It was a fair point, even if Evander wanted to reach across the table and rip his friend’s throat out for daring to voice it. But what did it matter if Callie wasn’t his usual type? What constituted his type anyway? It wasn’t like he chose only blondes to play with, or tall, svelte brunettes.
He was an equal opportunity Dom, for God’s sake.
“If she’s not already attached to you,” Elias stated simply, “she will be. I’m suggesting that if you have any doubts about your ability to step up as a one-woman man, as her Daddy Dom, that you take the appropriate steps to walk away from her now before her attachment grows roots.”
It was too late for that, Evander thought ruefully. She’d hooked him at Roulette night with those expressive eyes, sinking the hook deeper whenever she combatted her nerves with bratty attitude.
The longer he spent in her company, the harder it was to imagine life without her.
Four days with her seemed like four years.
