Page 39 of Indecent Proposal

“You’re dodging my question.” There was a smile in her voice.

I turned off the heat and put the omelets onto the plates along with a side of bacon, then moved to chop up some strawberries. “Yes, I’d like to do this again, with you submitting properly to me from the start, and without a fight. But don’t think I didn’t get anything out of what we just did, sweetheart.” I flashed her a grin. “Convincing you to give in to me was a hell of a challenge and I enjoyed it, trust me.”

I mixed the strawberries with some blueberries and raspberries, then put them in a bowl and took everything to the table. Claire got out of bed, pulled my shirt back on—now wrinkled from being bunched around her hands—and walked over, staring at the food like she’d never seen any of it before.

“What’s wrong?”

Claire shrugged. “It’s just… I remember Richard making me pancakes one morning, which he’d never done before. And I felt… I felt so empty. Like I feltnothing. It was the morning after he’d proposed to me, and I knew I should be feeling all—bubbly and happy. But instead I just felt this pit in my stomach, like it was all wrong.”

She sat down and I joined her, placing my hand over hers on the table, giving it a light squeeze. “Claire. Listen to me. It doesn’t matter if a guy does all the right things. If he’s not therightguy, it won’t make a difference.”

A wealth of regret filled her pretty eyes. “I just feel like I should’ve feltsomething, y’know?”

“So he made you pancakes one time. Big whoop,” I said, reaching for the bowl of berries. “Did he ever really make you feel happy and safe and content?”

Claire shook her head. “Honestly . . . no.”

“One nice gesture isn’t gonna make up for everything else.”

She picked up a piece of bacon and bit into it. “I guess I feel like—everyone wanted me to ‘submit’ in some way. And in a way I did. I dated a man I didn’t love and I got engaged to him even though I knew it didn’t feel right, because everyone expected me to, including my own mother, and that’s what Richard expected, as well. It’s like the whole time, I was so worried about pleasing everyone else that I wasn’t being true to myself and whatIreally wanted, just to make everyone else happy.”

“Submission isn’t gritting your teeth and bearing it,” I pointed out, hating that she’d allowed others to manipulate her emotions. “It should make you feel… free. Liberated. Relaxed. Taken care of, even. Just like dominance shouldn’t be a burden, it should be an honor.”

Claire blushed before a playful smile curved her lips. “Are you saying it was an honor to fuck me, sir?”

“Yes.”

She rolled her eyes as if she didn’t believe me, and glanced away.

I gently grabbed her chin and made her look at me again. “Don’t think I’m sugarcoating things, sweetheart. I know you wouldn’t truly submit to just anyone, not when it comes to your body, or even your mind. You gave me a hell of a fight right from the start. I’m over the fuckin’ moon that I convinced you to give into me. It was satisfying as hell.”

“Oh.” Claire’s eyes widened. “Good to know.”

“Don’t ever submit to anyone unless you want to and it’s your choice.”

“I won’t,” she said softly. “Not anymore.”

I nodded succinctly. “Good.”

We ate in silence for a moment. I could see her stifling sounds of appreciation over the food, and I grinned to myself. Yeah, I was a damn good cook.

“You know what this is missing?” I said absently. “Some fresh fish. Some nice salmon to go with this…”

“Mmm.” Claire nodded eagerly in agreement. “Thinly sliced with tomatoes and cream cheese and onions…”

I laughed, because clearly she was a foodie, too. “Yep. There’s actually a creek a short distance from here where you can get some good fishing in,” I told her. “I’ll have to take you sometime.”

The moment I said it I wanted to smack myself. This wasn’t some fucking vacation or romantic getaway. Claire was here for her own safety, not so I could show off my hunting skills like a caveman. In the real world, our paths never would have crossed, and I certainly wouldn’t have dated her, swearing she wasn’t my type. Yet the thought of us going our separate ways after this situation was resolved and never seeing her again made me feel hollow and empty inside.

But Claire just smiled, and something in my chest thumped hard—like my goddamn heart.

“I’d like that. I don’t—I don’t like the reason why I’m here.” She gestured around us with her fork. “But I forgot how nice it is to be out in nature, away from everyone and everything.”

I exhaled a deep breath and tested the waters. “Then maybe I’ll have to bring you back here someday.”

“Yeah.” Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. “I’d like that.”

I quickly went back to eating so I wouldn’t do or say something else stupid, and instead thought about the case and that missing link I just couldn’t figure out, which was driving me nuts.

---