Page 24 of Saving Meri

Her stomach flipped, heat rushing over her skin. Yes. That was the one thing she understood.

“Yes.” The word barely made it out before Bear’s grip tightened, before his presence consumed her, pulling her deeper into his orbit.

His hands slid beneath the hem of the shirt she was wearing—hisshirt—tracing slow, lazy lines up her bare thighs.

Meri’s breath shuddered.

“You want structure,” he murmured, his touch never straying too far, never taking more than she could handle. “You want discipline. You want someone strong enough to hold you together.”

She swallowed.

“Say it.”

“I…” Her fingers clenched in his shirt. She couldn’t.

Bear leaned in, his lips barely an inch from hers. “Say. It.”

A sharp whimper left her throat before she could stop it. “I need it.”

Bear’s grip tightened. “Good girl.”

Her bodyreactedto the words, warmth pooling low in her lower belly, her thighs clenching involuntarily.

Bear felt it. Of course he did. His hands slid higher—up to her ribs—his thumbs brushing just beneath her breasts. She gasped, arching slightly, her skin burning from the intensity of it. But he didn’t push.

Instead, he tilted his head, his dark gaze holding hers captive. “You’re waiting for me to tell you what happens next.”

She sucked in a breath. “Yes.”

His hand slid back to her hip, firm, possessive. “I want you to listen to me carefully, little one. This is not about breaking you or training you.” His voice dropped to a near growl, his dominance pouring over her like molten steel. “This is about showing you what you need. What you’vealwaysneeded.”

Her thighs clenched around him, a shudder racing up her spine. Bear’s grip flexed, his fingers digging into her flesh in the most perfect way. Meri whimpered, torn between fear and need.

“I will take control, little one. I will give you exactly what you’re aching for.” His thumb traced small, teasing circles over her hip. “But you will ask me for it.”

Meri’s breath came in sharp little gasps, her head spinning. He wasn’t demanding. He wasn’t forcing. He was making her choose.

That was the difference. That was why this wasn’t like before.

Tears burned at the back of her throat, her body wound so tight she thought she might break apart… but she wouldn’t. Bear wouldn’t let her.

“Meri,” he murmured, tilting her chin up so she had no choice but to look at him. “Ask me.”

Her pulse hammered, her fingers shaking where they still clutched his shirt. Her world had never been more uncertain. But somehow, in his arms, she had never felt safer.

Her lips trembled. “Please,” she whispered.

Bear’s grip tightened. His gaze darkened.

And then, with all the dominance and control he had promised, he took exactly what she had given him. And for the first time in months, Meri felt.

Her whole body hummed with sensation, her skin hypersensitive, her muscles loose in a way she hadn’t felt in months. The air between them was thick, her pulse a slow, steady thud in her ears. Bear’s hands still rested on her hips, holding her firmly in place.

She should have been panicking. Should have been pulling away, retreating into the numbness that had become her safety net. But the numbness was gone. Bear had stripped it from her, leaving her raw and vulnerable in the best and worst possible way.

She inhaled sharply, but the sound caught in her throat.

Bear’s fingers flexed, his presence a steady force around her. “Breathe, little one.”

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