Page 27 of Hidden Heart

The tight hold she kept on herself slowly loosened. When he held her in his arms, the tension eased, her guard lowered. He loved the suppressed smiles slipping out, the moments she took before speaking. Impulsiveness didn’t rule her, she ruled it. She could be spontaneous if he pushed her, but she wouldn’t instigate. She was in control of every aspect of her life, but she softened with him, and he could feel the tension leave her. Her eyelids would instinctively drop, and a blush would creep onto her cheeks.

Her submission was natural, even though she was only beginning to understand it. He found himself already attached to her; there would be no sag in this relationship. He forbade it. Potential for a lifetime of adventures lurked beneath their casual teasing and erotic touches.

Punishments happened in his relationships. This was a fact. Submissives would eventually earn them because they were human. He knew she wasn’t different in that way. He had worried she would be more argumentative about having earned her first one. But she’d surprised him. She’d opened up to him—trusted him to lead her through the unknown and deliver her safely on the other side.

A thick wall encased her heart. He could feel it in the way she tensed after a smile or looked away when they locked eyes for too long. She’d been hurt more than once, but he would be patient, and the walls would come down. He wanted to be her knight on a white horse, carrying a single tail and handcuffs.

The idea of someone holding her in their arms and hurting her angered him. Anyone with a few live brain cells could see how fragile she really was under her thick exterior. She played tough, and her bravado kept the idiots at bay, but he was no idiot. Beneath her solid shell was a soft, loving woman.Hisloving woman. Once he cracked the wall, the rest would crumble.

Once again, he found Jessica standing on her steps, waiting for him. At least she remembered a scarf and a pair of gloves. He wasn’t sure what she didn’t want him to see in her apartment, but curiosity was beginning to gnaw at him. She gave a cautious smile and stepped down from her stoop. “Hi.”

“Hey there. Hope you weren’t standing out here long.” The red tinge at the tip of her nose confirmed she had been.

“A few minutes.” Not a complete lie, but it bordered.

“Uh-huh.” He raised an eyebrow and leaned down to give her a warm kiss. A gentle blush covered her cheeks, either from the chill or the knowledge she teetered on the line of dishonesty. “I’m thinking Italian.” He slid his gloved hand into hers and led them down the street. “It’s only a few blocks. If you aren’t too cold, we can walk.”

“I’m fine.” She nodded. The usual tension in her hand loosened as they walked. He probed her for information on her day, and she talked freely about the case she was working. Her boss annoyed her to no end and Royce felt the need to find the ass of an attorney she worked for and have a little chat with the bastard.

When he signaled the entryway to the restaurant, she pulled them to a stop, looking down the street, then at him. “We are only two streets from your apartment,” she stated with wide eyes. “I should have met you there instead of you coming all the way around to mine and backtracking.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” he said, opening the door and ushering her inside. He gave his name to the hostess, and they were escorted to a quiet table in the corner.

“Why?” Jessica asked once the menus were handed out and the water poured.

“Why what?” Royce questioned. “Do you want some wine?”

“Why shouldn’t I have met you? It would have made more sense.” Royce glanced over his menu. Innocent confusion lingered in her eyes.

“You shouldn’t have met me at my place because I didn’t want you to. I wanted you to wait at your apartment—inside—for me to pick you up so I could walk you to dinner.” He placed the menu on the table and folded his hands on top of it. “The efficiency of how we arrived here had nothing to do with it. If I wanted you to meet me, I would have told you. Which I’ll never do, by the way. I’ll always pick you up, and, hopefully, someday soon, you’ll let me do so at your front door.” He gave her a grin, then picked his menu up again. He already knew what he would order, but he wanted to give her a moment to process what he’d said.

After several moments of silence, she tossed her menu onto the plate and announced she would have the gnocchi. He grinned at her over his menu. The little bit of assertiveness in her tone didn’t alarm him. She was allowing him to decide how they traveled, but she was still independent. She was not as complicated as she thought. Or maybe he saw through her more easily than others had.

They enjoyed their meal. When the waiter asked Jessica if she wanted a second glass of wine, she had given Royce—who had shaken his head—a quick glance. When she declined the glass, he reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Such a good girl tonight,” he mused with a grin, thinking of all the naughty things he wanted to do with her.

Her smile made him want her all the more. Small chips, he reminded himself. Little nicks in her wall. She didn’t pull her hand away. Instead she ran her thumb over his and widened her smile. They would be skipping dessert.

Royce gained the attention of their waitress and handed over his credit card. He didn’t ask for the check, he merely wanted to pay and leave. He wanted to get her home while she continued to be so accommodating. There was another lesson to give in pleasurable pain, and the sooner they got back to his apartment, the sooner the lesson could begin.

As they made their way out the door, Jessica bumped into someone. “Oomph. Oh. I’m sorry,” she apologized, and Royce turned.

“James.” She said the name in a mere whisper but filled with raw emotion. Her face paled but her chin thrust upward. He followed her gaze to a man standing directly in front of her. Tall, not as tall as Royce, but taller than her. His shaggy blonde hair was haphazardly combed, and he tossed his head to the side to clear it from his eyes. Eyes sizing Jessica up before giving her a satisfied grin.

“Jessica.” Royce stiffened at the sound of her name sliding off James’s tongue. Royce slid his hand back into Jessica’s hand and gave her a supportive squeeze. Not knowing the full story of what was going on, he could tell this man upset her. And he wouldn’t allow that.

“Jess?” Royce stepped to her side.

He felt a shiver run through her as she turned away from James and looked up at Royce. “Royce, this is James—my ex. James, this is Royce.” The difference in tone between the two names couldn’t be missed, and James turned to Royce, giving him a once over. Royce didn’t reciprocate. He didn’t need to. He knew everything he needed to know from the simple fact Jessica was on his arm, and not James’s.

“Nice to meet you. Uh, this is Helen.” James turned and groaned when he noticed his date had wandered off. “She was just here—oh, here she is.” A prettily made-up blonde slid to his side holding a glass of wine.

“They said there was a wait since we didn’t have a reservation, so I went to the bar.” Her high, nasally voice grated on Royce. This tone always made him cringe.

“Nice to meet you.” Royce smiled down at the woman, who looked completely oblivious to the rising tension.

“No Veronica?” Jessica asked with forced civility. Royce gave her hand a firmer squeeze. A scene wouldn’t help her with her discomfort.

“No. Uh. She didn’t really work out.” Whatever awkwardness Jessica felt, doubled in James’s expression when she asked about an obvious ex. Helen looked to James with questions, but he ignored her. “Look, I know we didn’t, I mean—” His worried glance swung up to Royce who raised an eyebrow in response.

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