Read Online On His Terms by Sierra Cartwright - Free Book Online Page A

mouth.
    “No.” He grinned when her shoulders fell again. “You’re still slouching, despite the fact I’ve already corrected you twice.”
    She put down the fork and sat up. “Sorry, Sir.”
    “Not to worry, I have just the thing to help reinforce my will. I’ll show you when we get to my house.” He cut a piece of steak. “Eat up.”
    She left part of her salad and refused dessert and coffee. He paid the bill, and she protested. “If I want you to pay, I’ll let you know. This changes nothing between us and takes nothing away from your feminine power. So give up the fight.”
    “In that case, thank you, Sir.”
    He nodded, wishing all arguments with her were this easy to end. “Did you bring an overnight bag?”
    “I did. But I’d prefer not to stay, Sir.”
    “That’s up to you. I have a guest room. And a chain at the end of my bed with a nice pile of blankets on the floor.”
    Colour drained from her face, and she pushed away her wineglass.
    “Some Doms expect their subs to sleep on the floor.”
    As if choosing her words with great care, she asked, “Is that your expectation, Sir?”
    “No.” He’d had the chain installed for Liz when he’d trained her, and he’d done it at her request. He was happy to snuggle after a session, and there were nights when he wanted his woman to sleep in his arms. Liz had never wanted to do that. Even if he hadn’t taken the time to chain her and arrange her bedding, he would wake up to find her on the floor, cocooned with her pillow and a single blanket, her collar affixed to the chain. “I had a sub once who preferred it that way. It helped her.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    He wasn’t certain why he was discussing this with her. “Liz was a masochist. Being in my bed would have been a luxury she didn’t want.”
    She folded her hands on the tablecloth. “Is she the reason you’re no longer a trainer?”
    “She has a lot to do with it, yes.”
    “And you loved her?”
    “Yeah,” he admitted. “I did.” Deeply. Painfully.
    “Did she end it, or did you?”
    “I suppose if I don’t answer you, you’ll continue to ask again and again.”
    “And again, Sir.”
    “Liz ended it.” Except for Damien, no one knew how devastated he’d been. He and Damien had stayed up almost an entire night at the Den, drinking a bottle of the world’s finest single malt. The next day, hating what he saw in the mirror, Alex had vowed never to look back.
    “You haven’t gotten involved with anyone since?”
    “No. And I’m not planning to. D/s relationships can be more complex than ordinary ones. Be careful what you wish for.”
    She shuddered. “Warning heeded,” she said.
    “Ready?” He stood and offered his hand. “This time, you may follow me. Stay back about two feet.”
    She didn’t answer, but she didn’t protest. He knew his behaviour kept her off balance, and that was his intention.
    He walked her to her car and waited while she programmed his downtown Golden address into her navigation system. He intended to drive so that she could follow, but he would expect her at his house again, and he never wanted to hear that she’d got lost.
    It took less than fifteen minutes to arrive at his home. “I never expected you to live in a place like this,” she said. “How old is it?”
    “It’s considered Victorian-style,” he said. “Built after 1940. It was a foreclosure and needed a tremendous amount of work. One of Damien’s friends did the restoration. It took about four months, but I think it was a good investment.”
    “It’s charming,” she said.
    He didn’t add that he’d bought it with the expectation he and Liz would live together. Then the Bartholomew deal went south and he hadn’t got around to selling.
    “The grounds are beautiful,” she said while they stood together on the sidewalk.
    “Landscaping company,” he explained. “I wouldn’t know a pansy from a petunia.”
    “You have both.”
    “Do I?”
    “In those pots.”