Fever (Breathless #2)(91)

He closed his eyes, inhaling deep as her words washed over him. She hadn’t said she loved him, but he was convinced that it was only because for her that was the final bridge to gap. A sign of her ultimate submission. And maybe she wasn’t ready for that yet. He could wait. Forever, if it took that long. He was more than happy to spend the next forty years convincing her that he wasn’t going anywhere. Eventually he’d hear those words from her lips and that day, when it came, would be forever engraved in his memory.

“Baby, listen to me.”

She shifted back again, her gaze meeting his. He touched her mouth, tracing the bow.

“The kind of power you’re talking about isn’t about control. It isn’t about your submission. It isn’t about my dominance. It’s about emotional power. But baby, you have exactly that same power over me. When it comes to our relationship, you have far more power than I do.”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“It’s true,” he said before she could put her protest to words. “You have more power, more control than you could possibly imagine. My heart is in your hands. That’s not bullshit. I’m not saying stuff I think you want to hear in order to manipulate you. I can’t be any more honest than this. I’m yours, baby. I’m putting it out there. My heart, my soul, it all belongs to you.”

“Jace.”

His name exploded in a rush of air as she stared stricken into his eyes. Her mouth rounded in shock and her hands trembled as she raised them to his face. When she touched him, he nuzzled into her palm and then pressed a kiss to the soft skin.

“Really?” she whispered.

He smiled. “You can’t think I have a habit of saying this shit to every woman I sleep with.”

She shook her head. “No. I can’t imagine that at all.”

“Then believe it, baby. See me. Believe in yourself. In us. This is real. As real as it gets. Nothing has ever been more real in my life.”

“Okay,” she said in a quiet, breathy voice that sent a sweet rush over his skin.

“You’ll move in?”

She nodded.

“You’ll let me handle things with Jack?”

She nodded again.

“Are you prepared to fully submit to me? And not just in the bedroom, baby. In all aspects of our relationship.”

There was only a brief hesitation before she nodded a third time.

“Never run out on me again, Bethany. No matter what happens, you stay and fight. Yell at me, argue, throw something at me, whatever you want to do, but never walk away from me. You stay and fight for what we have. You know I have a temper. And you know I’ll say stupid shit I don’t mean. But you can’t tuck tail and run when things get rough. Promise me that.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, warm and sweet. “I promise.”

Chapter thirty-two

“Jace,” Bethany whispered close to his ear.

“Yes, baby?”

Bethany was cuddled into his side, her body limp and sated from their lovemaking. And if Jace had any doubt as to whether it was lovemaking before, that doubt had disappeared. They’d spent endless hours kissing, touching, discovering each other’s bodies, and he’d been especially delighted by Bethany’s boldness in bed.

She was still adorably shy and sometimes hesitant, but she was growing in confidence and Jace delighted in every initiative she took. There’d been no place for dominance and kink in last night’s rediscovery of one another. He’d simply poured every ounce of his emotion into their lovemaking until they were both spent.

She levered up on her elbow, her head leaving its place on his shoulder. He wanted to pull her back, not liking the sudden absence of her in his arms, but she was looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. Something was on her mind and he didn’t want to shut her down.

She lifted her hand to touch the choker around her neck, her fingers tracing the lines as she seemed to collect her thoughts.

“What is this to you?” she asked quietly. “What is it really? You told me in the apartment that as long as I wore your collar that I was under your protection. What does that mean?”

He sighed, hating his inability to control his tongue when he was pissed off. This wasn’t the way he wanted to explain the significance of her wearing his jewelry.

“It’s a symbol of my ownership,” he said in a careful tone. “It’s a gift a man gives to his submissive. To a woman he cherishes who is in his care. It means that you belong to me. That you’re submissive to me.”

Her brows furrowed harder and she was silent for a long moment.

“Why didn’t you tell me when you gave it to me?”

He pushed up to one elbow so they were more eye to eye. He reached out to touch her cheek, caressing the smooth skin. Then he let his fingers drift down to the choker, to the diamond that rested against her throat.

“I was afraid that it was too soon. That you wouldn’t fully understand. I didn’t want to pressure you. I was afraid you wouldn’t want it if you knew what it truly meant.”

She bit her lip pensively. “But Jace, why would you want me to wear it if I didn’t understand the significance? It’s not real until I know what it means. Any satisfaction you felt at having me wear it had to have been hollow because I didn’t know what it was I wore.”