Page 110 of Ward Willing
I open and close my mouth as the pieces come together. It’s Friday night, Liam is here in a suit, and he presumably has something for me to wear—either that or he expects me to wear my wide-leg jeans and black, cropped sweater (with holes) to a fancy dinner.
“Are you taking me on a date?” I ask, grinning.
He smiles—arealsmile—and shrugs. “I am.”
“Why?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.
He takes a step closer, and his dress shoes click against the concrete sidewalk. One hand is holding the black bag, and the other is resting in the pocket of his trousers.
“Are you opposed to the idea of me trying to wine and dine my submissive?”
Well, fuck.
Pressing my lips together, I give him no indication that his words have an effect on me.
“Am I? Your submissive?”
He nods once. “If you’ll have me.”
I nod, and Liam takes another step closer.God, he’s so fucking good at this.
“I need to hear you say it, Zoe.”
“I’ll be your submissive,” I say quickly.
But I also want to be your girlfriend.
The thought rushes through my mind so quickly that I shake my head. I suck in a breath of air when he steps closer and lifts my chin with his finger.
“We can talk about what else this is after tonight, little rebel.”
“How did you…”
“Because I can see it written all over your face. This isn’t some one-sided dynamic, Zoe. I want this. With you. So, as your Dom and maybe something else, too, let me take you to dinner before I fuck your brains out later.”
My knees shake a bit as his words wash through me. Heat rushes down to my core, spreading like a wildfire between my legs until my clit is pulsing.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Have you eaten dinner?” he asks, letting go of my chin and taking a step back.
My lips twitch. “No.”
His jaw hardens slightly before he sighs. “I figured. Come on. You can change when we get there,” he says, walking away toward the end of the street, the garment bag in tow.
“Where are we going? There aren’t any restaurants that way,” I tell him, jogging to keep up with him.
“We’re not going to a restaurant,” he says with a lopsided smile. “I hope you’re hungry.”
I squint as I study the storefronts that lead to the end of the street. They’re all dark, and there’s no indication that Liam is going into any of them. I follow him for another minute, confusion whirling through me. Just as I open my mouth to ask where we could possibly be going, seeing as we’re at the end of the main street, he stops.
Directly in front of the house my dad grew up in.
Liam looks at me, and the shock must be evident on my face, because he rocks back on his heels, drapes the bag over his arm, and looks over at the small, single-story bungalow with me.
“Your grandparents passed this house onto your dad when they died,” he says slowly. “He was in the process of renovating and putting it up on the market when…” He pauses and waves his hand in the air. “Anyway, it went to auction because despite having a very rigorous trust and guardianship set up for you, it seems he forgot about the house. The bidder wanted half a million, so I offered a million in cash. After the payment went through, the auction house handed me the keys and the deed. I had every intention of finishing his renovations and putting it up on the market, but I could never bring myself to do it.”
I don’t realize I’m crying until the taste of salt hits my lips. “Why did you buy his childhood home?”
