Page 51 of Unforgettable

25

Rose

I’m snappedout of my haze when Matthew calls out my name. His tone leaving no room for argument. I immediately stop my pacing and face him. He’s got that look… the one I’ve seen other doms give when their submissive is in trouble. Standing tall and proud, exuding power, he makes my knees weak.

“Come here now, Rose.” He points to the floor in front of him.

I blink stupidly as my mind tries to catch up with what’s happening right now. His growl of impatience helps move my feet. I stop just out of his reach. I have no idea what to expect. This isn’t my sweet, comforting Matthew, this is Master Bennett, and he is quite obviously displeased with me. I nervously chew my inner cheek. I avert my gaze to the floor, unable to withstand the stern dominance he’s radiating.

I feel him staring at me. I can see his hand still pointing to the spot just in front of him through my eyelashes. He wants me closer. I’m too discombobulated to move closer. Matthew has been careful to keep this side of himself in check when I’m around, and now his dominant side is out in full force.

Through sheer force of will, I keep my feet firmly planted in place. This is a test of wills, and I don’t want to lose. I’m not sure why I’m fighting it. I have nothing to gain by resisting Matthew.

Actually, that’s a lie.

I can gain knowledge from denying him what he wants. It’s a test of sorts. How will he react when I don’t do the expected? Will he lash out at me? Will he show me he’s a monster just like the others before him? It’s stupid. I already know the answers to those questions. Matthew would never, ever hurt me. And yet, I want to test him. To push the limits and see how far I can go.

Surprisingly, Matthew gives in first and closes the distance between us. With a finger under my chin, he tips my head up, giving me no choice but to look at him. “You want to play this game, little girl?”

His voice is rough. Controlled violence. Pent up frustration and need. This darker side of Matthew draws me in. It speaks to my darkness. I shiver when his fist grips my hair, and he crushes his lips to mine.

Teeth clash. Tongues possess. It’s messy and raw. He tightens his grip on my hair, and I go pliant in his hands. I open for him taking his kiss. Letting him devour my mouth without fighting for more than he’s giving.

With a groan, he rips his lips from mine and steps away. I stumble a step toward him but freeze when he gives me a hard look. “Kneel,” he commands, pointing again to the floor in front of him.

My body is buzzing with need, and my mind is a wash of confused anger and lust. I want to be mad that he set up a meeting with Dr. Klein without my permission. Hell, I should be mad that he just kissed the crap out of me and left me hanging. Instead, I just want more. Crave more of this harsher side of my Matthew.

I kneel at his feet and look up into his conflicted eyes. The dominant and the gentle hero are at war with each other. He sees me as too broken to handle his dominance. He hasn’t said as much, but I know it’s true. What he doesn’t seem to understand is I want both sides of him. I want the sweet man who holds me after a nightmare, and I want the dominant master who commands me.

I shuffle forward on my knees until I’m pressed against his legs. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Matthew sighs deeply. I jump when his fingers tangle in my hair. He growls at my momentary fear. I whisper another apology and fight back the tears that want to fall. I’ve cried so much these last weeks, and I hate it. I don’t want to be this weak version of myself. I want to find the me that was strong enough to run away from Red House and travel halfway across the country alone.

“I will never hurt you.” His voice is raw with emotion.

“I know,” I whisper.

He gently massages my scalp, and the darkness inside of me gives up its hold on me. Calmness settles over me, and my tense muscles unclench. I wrap myself around his leg, getting as close as possible in this position.

“Shh… that’s it, sweet girl. I’ve got you now,” he croons.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you are, love. I’m the one to blame for this. I should’ve talked to you prior to setting up the appointment with Dr. Klein. You shouldn’t have had to find out about it the way you did.”

I love him a little more for admitting that he was wrong. His intentions were honorable, but his approach sucked. His apology wipes away the last of my lingering frustration and anger. I know that he didn’t do this to hurt me. I hate myself a little for blowing things so out of proportion. Now that I’m calmer, I realize how irrational I was being. My irrational side has been ruling my reactions for a while now. It’s like the rational part of my brain is there screaming at me to stop, but I’m unable to listen.

Matthew is right. I need help. I need to talk to someone. “I’ll talk to Dr. Klein.”

He pulls me to my feet and hugs me to his big warm body. “Thank you, love.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him to be there when I speak to the doctor, but I hold back. It’s not fair of me to ask him to look deeper into the darkness that I dwell in than he already has. He’s already got a good enough look at what I’ve been through when Damon brought those damned pictures.

Matthew kisses the tip of my nose. “Let’s go home.”

“I thought we were staying here tonight,” I say, confused. Matthew has an important conference call with the managers of his other two clubs tonight and a bunch of other things that he’s been neglecting.

“Daniels is covering tonight.”

“Kisten?” I can’t hide my shock.

Matthew laughs and kisses the top of my head. “Yep, shocking, I know, but he’s actually great at running things.”

Kisten has been nothing but nice to me. That is so not the case with everyone else. He’s growly and gruff and just downright grumpy to basically everyone. “It’s because everyone is scared of him, isn’t it?”

Matthew laughs again. “No, sweetheart. Daniels is all bark and no bite.”

It’s my turn to laugh. I know for a fact that isn’t true. I’ve seen him scene before. He most definitely bites. “If you say so.”

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