Giving In (Surrender Trilogy #2)(30)

“I do trust you,” she whispered. “I have no idea why. God knows I don’t trust anyone. But for some reason I feel safe with you and that kind of freaks me out.”

He stopped what he was doing and walked around the counter to where she sat. He spun the stool until she faced him and he framed her face in his hands. His eyes glittered with intensity as he stared down at her. She thought he was going to kiss her and he did, just not where she expected.

He pressed his lips tenderly to her forehead and she closed her eyes in pleasure over the simple gesture.

“You are safe with me, Kylie,” he said as he drew back, his hands still framing her face.

He stroked his thumb over her lips, lips she thought he would kiss.

“If you believe nothing else, you can believe that. You are absolutely safe with me and I don’t just mean physically. You are safe in all ways because I will absolutely protect you from anything that could hurt you.”

“Why me?” she blurted. “I don’t get it. I’m not fishing for compliments, Jensen. It’s a sincere question. You can’t have to look far for female companionship. You could likely have any woman you wanted. So why are you interested in me? Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?”

His smile was so tender that it made her heart leap and speed up.

“I know exactly what I’m getting myself into,” he murmured. “As for why you? I can’t answer that. Some things just are. And for me that’s you. I see beyond the image you present to the world to the woman underneath and that’s who I want.”

“We’re too different,” she said in a fretful tone. “And you’re a control freak and I’m a control freak. It’s not like I have some OCD thing, but I like things a certain way. I need them a certain way. Two control freaks in a relationship? Surely that’s a recipe for disaster.”

He continued to smile at her, his eyes warm. He didn’t seem at all put off by her fretting.

“I understand you far more than you realize,” he said softly. “I’m no threat to you, Kylie. For the right woman, I have no issue with relinquishing control. What I’m after has nothing to do with physical submission.”

His words puzzled her. He was speaking as though he were dominant. Like Dash and Tate. And he probably was. Which made his interest in her all the more mystifying.

“Are you dominant?” she whispered. “You never really answered me before when I asked if you were like Tate and Dash. I know you said you were you and not them. But that wasn’t what I meant. Do you like submissive women? Do you like to dominate them?”

“I prefer submissive women, yes,” he said calmly. “Until you I would have said that it was the only kind of relationship I would entertain.”

Her heart sped up, thundering in her chest. “You said what you were after had nothing to do with physical submission. What does that mean?”

He ran his fingers through her hair, his hands returning to her face as he caressed and stroked over her skin.

“What it means is that I would never act out any of the more physical aspects of dominance and submission with you,” he said gently. “Have I ever? Yes. I’ve been involved in dominant/submissive relationships with other women where I employed the physical components that sometimes accompany such a lifestyle. But I would never ever demand of you what you can’t give. So when I say that what I’m after has nothing to do with physical submission, in effect what I want is your emotional surrender.”

“I don’t know what that means,” she said in a low voice. “But it sounds scary. Perhaps even scarier than physical surrender.”

He nodded solemnly. “It’s certainly more powerful. A woman can give of her body and never share her heart or her soul. A very hollow victory indeed. But a woman who surrenders emotionally to the man who has her care in his hands is a very precious thing. And that’s what I want from you, Kylie. Your emotional surrender. Your trust. Your heart. Your soul.”

“Wow,” she whispered. “You don’t ask for much.”

He chuckled, the sound low and rumbling from his chest. Then he kissed her forehead again. “You’ll get there, baby. Just breathe. Don’t overanalyze it. Just breathe and go with it and know I’ve got you.”

She nearly toppled off the stool when he released her to walk back around and resume dinner preparations. Her pulse was racing and she was light-headed. A heady, euphoric feeling took hold, replacing her earlier panic and worry.

She took a steadying sip of the wine and tried not to let how rattled she was show.

Several minutes later, Jensen opened her oven and slipped in the casserole dish. He set the timer and then turned back to her.

“Let’s have another glass of wine in the living room while we wait for dinner to finish cooking.”

She slid from the stool, hoping she didn’t face-plant. She felt giddy and a little silly around him, like a teenager crushing on the quarterback. But then what did she know about such feelings? She’d never experienced them before because she’d never allowed herself to.

He waited for her at the end of the bar and held out his hand for her to take. She slid her fingers through his, enjoying the firm imprint of his hand against hers. They walked into the living room and then simply stood there, hands still entwined.