Page 139 of Fated to the Hunters
“Charcoal it is,” she laughed.
“Scarlett, I mean it. Don’t cook just to please me.”
“Will you sit and have meals with me? But only if you enjoy it, not because I’ve asked you to.”
“I will sit with you for meals because Iwantto.”
“Okay, because I know you hate sitting down with Vince and Mateo.”
Ezra chuckled. “Let’s hope they don’t think I’ll start enjoying their company simply because I enjoy yours.”
“You can’t fool me, you know? No matter how much you deny it, they’re your friends and you love them.”
Though Ezra tried to keep his cold and unhinged mask, Scarlett saw past the rough façade. She’d hit the nail on the head.
They spent the day together at the cabin, planning and gathering supplies for an easy hike the next day.
While Scarlett made the bed with the freshly-washed sheets, Ezra washed up the dishes from dinner. She took advantage of the time alone to change into one of his shirts, the garment long enough to hide her lace underwear. Once she heard the water draining from the sink, she parked herself at the foot end of the bed and waited.
It wasn’t long before Ezra appeared in the doorway, stopping in his tracks. “Oh, sweet little princess,” he rumbled, his eyesgreedily running over her bare legs before meeting hers. “What a pleasant surprise.”
“Come here.” She held her hand out. “Please.”
There it was again, that predatory look on his face as he stalked his prey. Ezra took her hand and followed her at will as she tugged him down to kneel in front of her.
“I have questions,” she admitted.
“I have answers.”
Her heart raced as she tried to remember all the things she’d wanted to ask him. As she looked into the deep, black voids of his eyes, she only wanted to forget everything around her.
“Take your time, princess,” he husked, running his thumb over the back of her hand.
Scarlett giggled nervously. “I should’ve written them down.” She closed her eyes to avoid being sucked into his and gathered her thoughts. “You said you liked being tied up but when Mateo showed me how to I…” Scarlett took a deep breath. “Well, I didn’t realise you might not mean to the bed.”
“That’s the meaning behind it: submitting toyou, giving you power to make decisions for me. Though over time, it has also become a way to inflict pain on myself.”
“Like when you tug on them?”
“Yes.” Ezra sighed, and it made Scarlett open her eyes to find his head bowed. “It’s complicated. I know I don’t appear to be the submitting kind of man, but I’ve found that handing control to someone else shuts my brain off—for a little while, at least.” He shook his head as if to disagree with himself. “I’m not sure what exactly it is, to be honest, I just enjoy the conflict it gives me while also giving some kind of peace. It makes no sense when I hear it out loud.”
“I don’t want it to make sense, I just want to understand.”
“I don’t even understand myself.”
“But it feels good?”
“Yes, submitting feels good.”
“For a while,” she laughed to break some of the tension.
Ezra nodded and peered up at her through his eyelashes. “For a while.”
“Do you enjoy things other than cutting?” His brows fused as he stared up at her, and when he didn’t answer she became unsure about herself. “I mean, you don’t have to—”
“Scarlett,” her name rolled from his lips like a plea. “You don’t have to do anything you are not comfortable with.”
“I know. I trust that you will respect my boundaries. I just want to know so I can set them.”
