“This was the best way to keep you safe.” And that was all that mattered to him. He didn’t care what lines he had to cross to protect her.
“That doesn’t make it right,” she said worriedly.
“It does to me. I want you to stop worrying.”
Tilly snorted. “Like that’s going to happen.” She rubbed her stomach.
He’d noticed her doing that a bit lately. “Is something wrong with your stomach?”
“Oh, ahh, stress can give me a sore stomach sometimes. It’s nothing to worry about.”
Nothing to worry about?
“Anything that upsets you is something for me to worry about,” he told her. “How long has this been happening?”
She let out a laugh. “For as long as I can remember. I’ve had to learn to find ways to de-stress otherwise I end up completely miserable.”
“And how do you de-stress?”
“I’ve been trying to exercise. Although that hasn’t been working out so well.”
“You’re probably so tired from working on your feet all the time that you have little energy for exercise,” he said. “Plus you eat like a bird. You need to fuel your body better.”
She stared at him for a long moment and he cleared his throat with embarrassment. “Sorry, I’m lecturing.”
“Yeah you are.” She smiled. “But you’re doing it because you want to take care of me and I can’t argue with that. It’s nice to have someone looking out for me.”
“I’m glad because I like taking care of you, Tilly.” He nuzzled her neck with his nose. “How else do you de-stress?”
“I like to bake.”
“Anything else?”
“Umm, sometimes playing at the club helps.” He rested back against the sofa and she lay her head on his chest.
“Only sometimes?”
“I have to be able to give up control and surrender myself. I can’t always do that.” She glanced up at him shyly. “But I can with you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, I know you’ll look after me. I like the way you take control without being controlling.”
“What else do you like?”
“I like when you touch me.When you taste me.”
“Hmm, I love the taste of you,” he told her with a wink.
“You already know that I like a little pain.”
“You like the feel of the flogger against your skin, don’t you? What about having your nipples clamped?”
He reached under her t-shirt and pinched her nipples. She arched against him. “Tilly,” he said in a warning voice when she didn’t answer.
“Yes, I like having my nipples clamped,” she replied.
He flipped her so she lay over his lap. She was only wearing a light pair of cotton pants. Perfect.