Chapter 17 #3
The sound of the clock that sat somewhere in the room ticked away—second by second—providing backup music to the sounds of Slone finishing up our meal.
He flipped off the burners, opened the oven, and pulled out freshly baked bread, all while I watched him.
He turned and opened a drawer to his left.
Out came serving utensils and flatware. Another drawer opened, and he produced a couple of dinner plates and then a couple of bread plates.
His gaze met mine as he slid them over to me, then settled the flatware on top.
As much as I wanted to say something, I bit my tongue. I’d already messed up by letting my mouth run away without putting it through any sort of filter. Or even thinking. My gaze followed the jut of his chin to the dining table.
Standing, I moved off the barstool, stopping when he cleared his throat.
His gaze traveled from mine to the notepad and pen I’d forgotten about.
Smiling at him softly, I mouthed, “Oops.” I grabbed the notepad with my free hand and moved to the table.
I wanted to put his plate beside mine, but I set it down across from me so we could look at each other.
Slone startled me when he reached around me, placing a serving bowl between our plates.
The man moved like a ghost. He set down a platter next to the serving bowl.
He left me there only to return a few minutes later.
This time his front met my back as he crowded against me, his body warming me.
The bread he’d made was placed on the table.
A bowl of butter sat next to the sliced loaf.
The food on the table looked so good, but all I wanted to feast on was the man behind me.
The scrape of a chair distracted me from the trip to the gutter my mind had been on the verge of. His lips pressed against my temple with a whispered, “Sit.”
Why was I still standing?
I slid into the chair he held, keeping my eyes on the plates and food sitting before me. He walked around the table and sat at the place I had set for him. A napkin—a real, cloth one—appeared, and I lifted my gaze. I grabbed the napkin, but he held it and my attention.
“Ewen will have no issue with us being together,” Slone said, his gaze locked on my face.
I took the napkin from him, placing it in my lap while I contemplated his words.
I wanted to believe him. And based on what I’d seen from him so far, I felt I could.
He’d been so honest with me. Still, I found it hard to trust him.
Because I found it impossible to trust anyone. I nodded, still a little unsure.
“I promise.”
The way the words sounded, the way they rolled off his tongue, the emotions they evoked—somehow, all those things combined made me feel safe.
They made me trust the man. So, I nodded, then picked up my fork, spearing some roasted veggies and a piece of flatiron steak.
I paused as I lifted it to my mouth and asked, “So, neither of us fucks around. What else?”
He smiled. “That depends on what you’re interested in. I play in some of the more hardcore kink practices, but it’s not something I need in a dynamic with a sub.”
I swallowed. I didn’t want him to think I was stupid or naive, but I didn’t even know what was considered hardcore kink.
“Trey? You with me?”
I nodded, unable to look up from my plate.
“Good, then look at me.”
A quick, deep breath in and out, but still I wasn’t brave enough, so I tried again. I expected him to force my chin up, but he waited. What was he waiting for?
“Outside the community, everyone believes it’s the Dom who is the one in charge. The one who controls the dynamics. They are wrong. So very wrong. It’s the submissive who’s in charge.”
That got my attention, and my eyes flew to his.
“There you are.” He leaned forward, his long arm stretching across the table to cup my jaw, his thumb tracing over my cheekbone. “Do you know how beautiful you are? Not just sexy. Utterly, fucking breathtakingly beautiful.”
Heat bloomed across my face and in my chest. I dipped my chin—or I tried to. His hand held my face in place, but it didn’t stop my eyes from dropping.
“Don’t hide from me. If this is going to work, you cannot hide from me.”
“Why do you want to help me? Surely you don’t have issues finding people to fuck?”
Slone answered, “I don’t, but if you want anything more than that, you’ve got to look at me.”
I forced my eyes to meet his. They were so kind and…soft.
“Good boy. To answer your question, something about you calls to me. It pulls at me like a magnetic force. It has been since the moment I saw you on the ice doing that fancy jump you did. You invaded my thoughts.”
I smiled softly. “So, I’m the boss, huh?”
His hand dropped to the table as he laughed.
I loved the way he laughed. His eyes crinkled at the corners.
His mouth stretched wide. The sound lifted my spirits and set off a chain reaction, whether it was the loud, raucous explosion like this one or the softer ones or the ones that grew.
Add it to the list of things I wanted from this man.
I wanted to know all the ways he laughed.
And I wanted to be the one who made him happy enough to do so.