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Jed explained how Katie had come out to help him with the bookwork and how it had led to a play session.“Everything was going just fine.”He rubbed the back of his neck.“Until Mike came by, returning the trailer.After he left, Katie went crazy.Said her safe word.”

“And you stopped the scene?”

“Fuck, yeah.”Jed leaned forward.“I tried to give her aftercare, but she wouldn’t let me.”

“Jed.”

“Ry, she looked at me with those beautiful eyes and begged me to take her home.I know it was the wrong thing, but it was what she wanted.”It was all he could do when she looked at him like that and begged him.He’d walk on hot coals—hell, he’d cut off his right arm—if Katie asked him to.

Ry studied him.

Jed sat there, failure filling him.He failed Ry and Katie.

“You did the right thing, Jed, so stop beating yourself up about it.”Ry leaned forward.“Katie asked you to take her home, and I’m sure you provided as much comfort as she’d let you.”

He blew out a breath, knowing Ry was right, but it still didn’t sit well with him.He wanted to be perfect for Katie.As one of her Dominants, it was his job to take care of her, and it hurt she wouldn’t let him.“I want to know what the hell scared her.”

“You said she’d just orgasmed, and you were thinking up what to do to her next.”Ry’s calm acceptance helped Jed settle down.

“Yeah, she’d come several times.I kissed her, allowing her to taste her sweetness.I stood there looking over the toys, trying to decide which to use next, or if I was just going to fuck her.”

“Did she say anything?

“No.She stiffened and struggled a bit when she heard Mike’s voice, but I walked over to her and calmed her.”

Ry chuckled.“You sound like you’re working with a horse.”

“Yeah.”Jed finished outlining what had happened.

Ry leaned his chin on his fingers.“Think, Jed, how did she feel?How did she look?”

“Panicked.”His heart jumped as he remembered the look of pure fear in her face.“She was breathing shallow, and her body was stiff.”

“Was it the same panic as with the blindfold?”

“No.”With the blindfold, she’d calmed down the second one of them touched her and talked to her.“She didn’t react to my voice or my touch.”

“Had she been in subspace?”

“No, I would have noticed that.I’m sure of it.”He went back over the scene in his head again and shook his head.“She was fully with me when I kissed her.It wasn’t until after I turned away.”

“And we’ve kissed her before, so it’s safe to say that wasn’t the issue.”

“I know.”Jed sprang out of the chair and started pacing Ry’s office.“What did I do wrong?”

“Jed.”Ry rose and strode over to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.“You did nothing wrong, so get that out of your head right now.”

“But—”

“No.”Ry’s voice turned hard, and Jed snapped his head up.“This was not your fault.”

Jed took a deep breath and let it out.Ry had gone into Master mode, and he knew better than to argue with him.“What do we do?”

“Since it’s Friday, we pick her up and get her to talk.”

“Sounds easy, but why do I think it isn’t going to be?”

“Because Katie is a stubborn subbie.We have ways of making her talk.”Ry grinned at him.“Besides, it’s time to take the relationship to the next level.She needs to understand she can trust us to not only satisfy her but also to keep her safe, even from us.”