Page 14 of His Own Heaven

“The lights,” she blurted. When Toby and Charlie just stared at her, she added, “Shouldn’t we turn off the lights?”

Toby silently watched her, his icy gaze fixed on hers for what felt like an eternity. Then he tilted his head slightly and frowned, but when he spoke, his voice was gentle, his tone curious. “Are you ashamed of your body, Lucy?”

What?“No, I’m not ashamed,” she said, straightening her back as a frown of her own tugged at her brow. Being raised in a family of firefighters—malefirefighters—had taught her many lessons, the first of which was “healthy body, healthy mind, healthy heart.” Charlie wasn’t the only one in the room who knew they looked damn good, and Lucy had worked fucking hard to do so, despite her scars.

“Then why do you want the lights off?” he said. “No one can see us from the road, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

She hadn’t even thought of that. But now she did.Shit. Could people see them? She peered around his big body and squinted as she tried to see past their reflections to the dark expanse beyond. She could barely tell the difference between the night sky and the shadows of the trees, but it would be much easier for someone to see in than it was for her to see out.

“Lucy?”

The sound of her name spilling from Toby’s lips drew her attention again, his rich baritone caressing each syllable the way she wanted his hands to caress her skin. Firm yet affectionate. She shivered. She wanted to wrap his voice around herself like a sexy, sinful blanket.

“What?” What were they talking about?

Toby sighed softly. “Why don’t you want us to see your body?”

Oh, yeah. That.She dropped her gaze. “It’s not that I don’t want you to see me. I do. Ireallydo. It’s just….”

“Just what, beautiful?” Charlie asked quietly, resting his hands on her shoulders. The gesture was comforting, as was the endearment, but she’d done this often enough to be cautious. Often enough she’d regret not addressing the elephant in the room sooner rather than later.

“It’s just that other people are usually more bothered by my scars than I am.” She took a breath and lifted her face, saw the intense curiosity shining in Toby’s eyes. “It’s not just my face that’s scarred,” she said. “Most people can’t handle it.” She looked away again. “Many people are cruel and I… I don’t want you to be disappointed if I turn out tonotbe what you’re expecting.”

Toby cupped her cheek in his big hand and lifted her sombre face to his smiling one. There was so much kindness in his expression, so much warmth, that Lucy had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop her emotions from overwhelming her. No one had smiled at her like that in a very long time. Not since her brother, Michael, died.

Seventeen years.

Seventeen very long and lonely years.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, soft and quick, but when he pulled back, a languid heat had replaced the gentle warmth in his gaze. A heat that simmered with promise.

“Baby, you couldn’t disappoint me if you tried.”

Chapter Six

Toby smoothed his hands over Lucy’s hair and pushed it back from her face. He didn’t want her hiding behind her long silky locks any more than he wanted her thinking he couldn’t bear to look at her. He wanted to see every inch of this woman.

Scars and all.

The real kicker came when he realised she was staring up at him with something akin togratitudeshining in her eyes.

Gratitude.Fuck. What sort of treatment was she used to if a few simple words of encouragement made her feel grateful? This was a woman who exuded confidence and carried herself with grace. An educated, well-spoken woman. A woman he wanted to know better.

Much, much better.

So where did this uncertainty come from?

Or was this her submissive side asserting itself again?

It wasn’t uncommon for strong women to seek out Dominant men. And contrary to popular belief, submissive women were strong. It took an incredible amount of self-awareness and fortitude to trust someone the way a sub trusted her Dom. Although, Toby’s interactions with Lucy so far had led him to believe her trust wouldn’t be given easily. She may be willing to fuck him, even let him share her with his brother and make her scream in ecstasy, but people were always more reckless with their bodies than they were with their minds and hearts. And it was in the taking care of a sub’s mind and heart where a Dominant’s true colours shone.

Any man could make a woman beg. Few could make them surrender.

One night only. That was what she’d said to him. For Lucy, this was all about the sex. But for him this night had become about so much more than that. He would find out her secrets. He would earn her trust. And he would have her for more than one fucking night.

But to make that happen, he had to show her he was worth taking a chance on, which meant it was time to put his money where his mouth was.

It was time to take what he wanted.

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