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I nod.

“Okay, baby.” He pushes off the bed, disappears from the room for a minute. I wait for any blip of panic, any sense this might be wrong or too much.

But all I am is certain.

And turned on.

I want to erase that dark memory, want to replace it with something beautiful—because I know that Hudson will give it to me.

He pulls the handcuffs out of the holder and I gulp at the rings of silver. “You sure?” he asks again, putting one knee into the bed.

“I’m very sure.”

A wicked grin. “Definitely loving these naughty thoughts, but—” He moves in a rush, rolling to his back, head hitting the pillow next to me.

Before I can ask what he’s doing, I hear?—

Click.

I gape at him.

Because it’s not me handcuffed to the bed frame.

It’s…him.

“Wh—”

He uses his free hand to cup my jaw. “Someday I’ll do that for you”—he presses a finger to my lips when I open my mouth to protest—“Tonight I need you to let me give you this.”

My heart pulses.

God, I love him.

And I love him when he orders, “Now climb on, princess, and take anything you want.”

Grinning, heart pounding, desire pooling between my legs, I crawl over him.

And I follow those orders to a T.

Thirty-One

Dash

Waking up with Willow nestled in the crook of my shoulder never gets old. In past sexual encounters, I rarely spent the night, but if I did, I never, ever did the whole cuddling thing.

Now I can’t seem to do anything else.

When I’m with Willow, all the rules of my life go right out the window.

Willow makes me want to break all my rules—and I fucking love it.

I love her.

I haven’t used those words in the way they’re meant to be used with a woman since… well, a long time. Maybe never. And I still haven’t.

But I don’t know how much longer I can hold back, or why I’d even want to.

She quickly has become my everything, so I can’t think of a single reason why I wouldn’t tell her how I feel. Let her know I’m in this for the long haul. She’s had so much uncertainty in her life, I want her to know she can count on me. Always.