Page 41 of Take the Sub and Run

But first, aftercare.

Again.

Andrei led Sofie back to the trunk against the exterior wall with a hand on the small of her back. Some cruel part of him wanted to sit her down and then take care of her without touching her.

But that would hurt Sofie, and as pissed as he was, he didn’t want to hurt her.

He wasn’t a man who gave second chances. Being lied to should have burned away any tender feelings, but when he glanced down at her tear-stained face, a lock of hair stuck to her wet cheek, and a soft emotion he refused to label slid through him.

Andrei took a seat, pulling her into his lap once more.

This time, he made sure the blanket was securely wrapped around her. Only her head and toes weren’t covered by the blanket, and the moment he saw her soft little toes poking out, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and tucked it around her feet.

“Why,” he said after a moment.

“Why?”

“Why did you lie?”

“I didn’t.”

“Don’t,” he snarled. “Don’t try and use semantics. You knew I thought you were an experienced sub.”

It wasn’t a question, but she nodded.

“Why?” he said again.

“Would you have scened with me if I told you I’d never done it before?”

“No.”

She raised her head, meeting his gaze. “That’s why. I told you. I read a lot.”

He shook his head. “No. The fictional version of BDSM as presented in romance novels with ridiculous premises has nothing to do with real-life BDSM play.”

“I mean, surely there’s some factually accurate...”

She trailed off as he just stared at her.

“I read a lot…and Colette,” she finally confessed. “Not that Colette told me everything. She knows I’ve never had a romantic or sexual partner before, so she censored. But with the things she did say, I went on forums and message loops of real people.”

“Were you interested in BDSM before Colette told you about all this?”

“Yes. I even went to a club.”

Andrei's jaw clenched. “I thought you said you hadn’t played.”

“A public club. A bar.” She seemed to be working through the correct English words. “Where people put on scenes, but you can just sit and have a drink.”

“Ah.”

“I only went once.”

“Scared?”

“No. I just…don’t get out much.”

“A little hard to be a thief if you don’t get out much.”

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