Page 42 of Ward Willing
Something passes behind his eyes as he answers. A spark of curiosity mixed with something dangerous and flirtatious.
“Everything.”
My stomach flips at his words, causing goosebumps to erupt on my bare skin. “Well, I’m a submissive. I don’t need a quiz to tell me that because I already know. I’ve been with all kinds of Dominants. I can be a bit of a brat, so my flavor of submissiveness is not for everyone. I fight back. I need someone to tame me. I like to be punished,” I add.
Liam looks… mesmerized. His nearness makes my senses spin, and his eyes are studying me with a mix of curiosity and something darker.
Something heated.
A delicious shudder skitters down my spine from the way he’s looking at me, and he must notice, because the corners of his lips curve up slightly.
“Interesting,” he murmurs. “And all this time I thought you spent your free time studying.”
I laugh. “Well, I do both. It’s not like being a submissive is a full-time job. It’s my preference in the bedroom. And even then… not always.”
Our drinks have been sitting on the bar for a full minute, but neither of us makes any effort to move.
“So is Scotty…”
I laugh again. “No. Scotty isn’t in the lifestyle, but he’s cool with my other relationships.”
Liam’s brows furrow. “Other relationships?”
“Yeah. Last month there was Komal. He’s a doctor and a Dom. It was a fun fling, but that’s all it was. Before that was Charlie, whoisn’ta Dom, but he was kinky?—”
“Wait,” Liam growls, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I thought Scotty was your boyfriend?”
I huff out a laugh. “Boyfriend?No. He’s not my boyfriend. He’s sleeping with two other people. And it’s fine. It’s… casual. We’re hanging out.”
Liam looks more perplexed as he shakes his head. “I don’t get it. You’d have to kill me before I’d allow anyone else to touch what was mine.”
What was mine.
Why do I want that to bemeso badly?
“Are you at leastsafe?” he asks. “You know, sleeping around…”
I roll my eyes. “Yes. I get tested regularly and don’t sleep with a new partner until they’ve been tested. I also use condoms.”
Except with you,I think.
Liam seems to be thinking the same thing because he clears his throat. “So, did someone show you how to be…”
You,I think.
It was all you.
I almost tell him.
I almost tell him about how inexperienced I was before him. How his growly voice and mastery of my body led me into a deep dive of self-exploration. How Orion helped me identify it, and how I’d immersed myself in the lifestyle to feel a fraction of whathemade me feel that night in Catalina.
Except, I hold my tongue. Because telling him all of that now would be the biggest slippery slope ever.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t tease him a little bit.
“Not really. I realized Ireallyenjoyedsubmitting to the right man,” I murmur.
I grab my drink and walk back to the booth. I head for the side closest to Orion. I can’t stomach sitting near Liam as that woman flirts with him.
