Read Online Love and History by Cheryl Dragon - Free Book Online Page B

weak. You’re not going to stand by and let him do things his way and string you along. Relationships take compromise. He has to negotiate, or you walk away from the table. Nudge him and see.” Colleen smiled. “I bet he caves, but make sure there’s nothing bad in his history before you get too serious. No jail time or anything. You never know these days.”
    “He’s harmless, Colleen. Maybe something bad happened when he was a kid that made him afraid of a relationship?” Bridget hadn’t thought about that, and she should have. Her appetite returned, and she dug into her food. “Thanks. I needed this.”
    “Now about your tenure. Word is good right now!”
    Bridget’s mood picked up. She couldn’t change Scott’s history or what he might say, but she could give him her heart and safe space to share. If he refused, that was a problem.

Chapter Six
     
    Honesty. Scott could do that. He simply didn’t know how to explain what he felt. She’d be there any moment and having the dinnerat his place was a calculated move by her. At first, he relished the home court advantage, but she’d made him cook for her.
    Not one to take the easy way out, he’d avoided takeout and made pasta instead. As the oven dinged, so did the doorbell. He turned off the heat and headed for the door. Letting Bridget in, he saw her friendly yet determined expression.
    “You look very nice,” he said.
    She lifted an eyebrow and walked inside. “Thank you. Are you feeling more talkative today?”
    He took her coat and noticed her black slacks. Was that a power move or just because there was some snow on the ground with a prediction for another six inches overnight?
    The message was clear. The ball was in her court. She hadn’t dressed for him.
    “Would you like something to drink?” he offered.
    “Not right now.” She sat at the table, and her expression was impossible to read. For a moment, he understood what his subs had felt. He had no clue what was coming.
    Mulling things over last night had made him vulnerable. He tried to stay on a task. “Dinner is ready.”
    She shook her head. “I’m not hungry. We should talk first. I thought we were getting along well. It seems we’re compatible in the bedroom. If there’s something you need to tell me about your past, just put it out there. If something happened to you, please tell me.”
    What she was worried about clicked in his head. “Nothing happened to me. I didn’t ask about your past because I was abused,” he said.
    “Good. I’m glad. So why is there a huge wall whenever I try to treat you like a boyfriend? We can be Dom/sub or friends watching TV and having dinner, but I want everything merged. A relationship.”
    He sat across from her and deflected. “You don’t think we’re moving too fast?”
    “Oh please, that’s not going to work. We’ve known each other too long. We’ve done too much. I’m not proposing marriage or even moving in together this second, but wanting to be treated like your girlfriend isn’t too much to ask. I told Colleen we were dating, and she barely believed me.”
    “You told someone?” He pushed his fear back down.
    “Nelson knows what we’re doing. If you’re ashamed of me, it’s over.” She stood up.
    “No, it’s not you! I didn’t come into this looking for a relationship.” He couldn’t let her leave. Not when he could make her happy.
    “You should’ve told me that from the start. What’s so awful about dating me?” she asked.
    “Nelson is the one who brought it up. He made his opinion clear and said if I didn’t jump at the chance, he would.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Like I’d date Nelson.”
    Scott chuckled, loving her honesty. “I know, he’s not your type. He planned to offer to be your Dom until the right one showed up, to give you what you needed to prove to you there are Doms like us in the world. He’s all over your blog.”
    “I know. Still, why say yes if you didn’t want more than a sexual