Page 47 of Devilish

I nodded. “I am.”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Okay. So you…take care of your subs?”

“They’re my highest priority.”

I thought that over. “Does that include bringing them food? Buying them clothes?”

Lucien’s grin widened. “It does.”

He’d already done those things for me, and we weren’t even in a relationship. Maybe that meant he’d thought about it…with me?

The flutter in my stomach wasn’t from nerves, but anticipation.

“What about all those things in your club? The ropes and the whips and stuff?”

“All a part of it—ifthe sub wants it to be.”

“But what if you want it to be?”

“It’s not about me.”

My brow furrowed. “I’m confused. Why does it sound like the sub is the one in control if you’re the dominant?”

“Because they are. See? You’re catching on already.”

I studied Lucien’s strong features and wondered if he was too good to be true. He had to be.

But what if he isn’t?

“So, if you get off from the sub’s pleasure, why didn’t you come last night? I clearly enjoyed myself.”

“I remember.” Lucien’s eyes swept over me, leaving a fiery trail in their wake. “Every single detail. It took every ounce of control I possessed not to come right along with you. But like I said, last night I wanted to giveyousomething. It was about pleasuringyou. Seeing you enjoy that for the first time was all the pleasure I needed.”

I could only stare at him as his words penetrated my brain, but they didn’t make sense.

“But you could have anyone,” I whispered.

It was the first time I’d ever said something that made his jaw visibly clench.

“Don’t do that,” he said. “Don’t ever put yourself down in front of me. I know exactly who I have in my bed right now, and how lucky I am you chose me.”

I let his words sit with me for a minute,tryingto believe them. I wanted to, more than my next breath, because the idea that someone as cultured and sophisticated as Lucien would want to be with someone like me, sawpotentialin someone like me, gave me the infusion of confidence I’d always been lacking. It made me think about things I’d never dared dream of.

Like the future.Myfuture.

Maybe evenourfuture.

It meant that all of the shit I’d been through in my life was for a reason—and that reason was now.

Feeling a bit braver, I asked, “Do you think I’d make a good submissive?”

Lucien’s eyes glittered possessively as he cradled my cheek. “I think you’d make a great submissive. Your tendencies lean toward pleasing another, following instructions, and beggingeverso sweetly for what you want. If you were with the right partner, the right dom, they’d embrace that, coax it to the surface, and delight in every new experience they could give you.”

I swallowed, my pulse beating rapidly as my cock began to ache between my thighs.

“Do you want me to give that to you, Kai? Would you like to be my submissive?”