There is honesty in her voice, but I can tell that she’s only saying it because she thinks she should be nervous about it. Her heart is racing, but it’s not in fear.
Or at least, not totally in fear.
I reach up, tracing the flutter in her neck, enjoying the satin of her skin beneath my palm. Unconsciously, she tilts her head, giving me more access and proving me right. She’s not scared of me. She simply thinks she should be.
“Transparency,” I whisper, my voice hushed, barely audible in my soundproofed office. “I like you a lot too, Allison. More than like, though I won’t say it now and scare you away. Because I can see that all that I’ve done scares you, but the words I could say scare us both.”
She nods, but in her eyes, I see the same hunger for them that I have. “Dom—”
“But my life comes with a certain degree of violence and unpleasantness, and the idea that you might get caught up in that terrifies and saddens me,” I continue softly, stroking her cheek. “The night of the shooting, you were given a small taste of the world I live with every day. So for doing what I’ve done, I won’t apologize. For not telling you, yes, I do apologize. But for us to take this further, to explore this . . .”
I let my hand slip down her neck, a finger tracing along her collarbone, and delight at the goosebumps that rise against my touch. Her eyes flutter closed, and she lets out a soft sigh.
I wait until her eyes open again, this time dark with desire, but I have to hold back a little. She must know.
“There will be rules, and you need to follow them.”
Her eyes flash, and she pulls back, breaking our contact as she looks at me warily. “Rules? I don’t think I like the sound of that.”
I chuckle and lean back in my chair. “I’m sure you don’t, but you must follow them or . . . you must leave. For your own safety.”
She doesn’t like the ultimatum one bit. But I can’t waver on this. I can’t allow any negotiation.
“Perhaps you’d like to hear the rules before you decide?”
She nods once, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Rule number one. You need to stay where you’re supposed to be at all times. If there is a change in plans, you notify me or the guard watching you. I’m not trying to stop you from going anywhere you want, but someone will know where you are at all times.
“Rule number two. Your phone is to be turned on, charged, and with you at all times so that you can be tracked.
“Rule number three. Trust that I have your wellbeing in mind, and if there is a time where I ask you to go somewhere or do something that sounds wrong, you do as I instruct you to. I can’t have you questioning me in the moment if there’s a security risk. I can explain later, but in the moment, go without question.”
It’s basically things we’ve already discussed, just laid much barer with no pretty words and devoid of modifiers like please and thank you. These are non-negotiable and she must understand that.
She looks at me with sass in her eyes. “And if I agree to these terms, do they hold true for you as well? Are you going to tell me your whereabouts every hour of the day and let me track your phone and such?”
She already knows the answer to her questions, but I still lay it out. “No. I’ll be as open and honest with you as I can be, but knowing everything would be dangerous information. But you can trust that I’m being as safe as possible while doing my job.”
“Can I trust that you’re not out fucking some woman in every corner of the city?” she asks, her words pouty with disappointment at turnabout not being fair play. I force her legs to spread open for me, her knees laid back against the edge of my desk, and harshly knead her honeyed thighs, dimpling the skin with my rough handling.
She gasps, but she lets me hold her there, not fighting to close her thighs against me. “You can trust that the only woman I have any interest in—have had interest in—is right here in front of me.”
I lean in, inhaling her spicy floral scent before nuzzling against the silk covering her mound. Allie gasps, running her hand through my hair, urging me closer.
“This pretty pussy of yours is all I want . . . to eat, to fuck, to own.”
She groans above me, my dirty words igniting her passion as much as my closeness. Her hips roll, desperate to get closer to my mouth. Running my thumb down the inside of her leg, I rub her through the flimsy fabric, enjoying the slickness as her panties become drenched. “So sweet, so mine.”