Page 22 of Submit

“Don’t let my rotten uncle and your even more rotten father ruin this for you, Skye. Don’t let your poor choice of men in the past convince you to turn away from something that could be really great,” Esme insisted.

“I know you mean well, but this thing with Adam is great. Confusing as hell, but great. For now. So I’m not throwing anything away. It’s just… what it was meant to be. A slice of life experience. Which is perfectly okay.”

“Is it, ducks?” Esme asked gently.

“Yes. It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s just… good to check in with you this morning.”

“I’m glad you did. If you need anything—”

“…I know where to find you.” She needed to get off the phone. As much as she loved talking with her cousin, she needed time to simply wrap her head around this experience. “Don’t worry about me. Really. This was meant to be a short-lived thing. Adam and I are on the same page about it.”

“If you say so, cous. I’ll talk to you later, then?”

They hung up and Skye plumped her pillow, turning onto her side where she could gaze out the window at the gray sky.

Were they on the same page? Was she even certain what page she was on, despite what she’d told her cousin?

Adam certainly hadn’t given her any hint that this would continue longer than was necessary for her to understand what her desires were all about. Hell, they hadn’t even slept together. What reason would he have to become attached to her?

And why did she want him to be?

Tears stung her eyes when she remembered how he’d stayed next to her on the bed after he’d spanked her last night. Just sat with her, stroking her back, her hair. What kind of man did that? Then he’d dressed her himself, like she was some porcelain doll, had handed her into his car so carefully before he’d driven her home. Every moment, every gesture, had been gentle, caring.

He was just being a responsible Dom.

Yes, of course. It was the irrational, girlish part of her that thought she’d read something more there. A part of her she’d closed off a long time ago.

It seemed Adam Dunne was loosening the tight hold she’d always kept over her emotions. Opening her up. Breaking her open. He frankly scared the hell out of her. But she would go back to him as soon as he wanted her.

She wouldn’t miss it for all the world.

She had to stop thinking about him.

She threw back the covers and got up to take a quick shower. Once she was dried and lotioned from head to toe, she went into the kitchen to make a strong cup of coffee, which she drank at her kitchen table, staring out the small window, thinking about her night with Adam. Or, trying to. Her brain was still fuzzy. She felt more than she thought. Her body remembered sensations, sounds, scents. And most of all the heat of his hands on her body.

Oh, yes…

She sipped her coffee, her head lost in a sort of kinky dreamland. When she lifted the cup to her lips and found it empty, she was surprised. Even more surprised to glance at the clock on her microwave and see that she’d been sitting there for nearly an hour.

When she returned to her bedroom, she found she’d missed a call from Adam. Her heart began a steady, harsh beat as she dialed his number.

“Hello, Skye.”

“Adam… hi.”

“What have you been doing?”

“I was just drinking some coffee. I checked in with my cousin. And I took a shower. I was sore and I—”

“Skye. That was not meant to be an interrogation. I just wanted to know how your day was going.”

“Oh.”

“So? How is your day going?”

She bit her lip. “It’s… been fine. I’m a little tired. Spacey.”

“And sore?”

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