Page 49 of Dignity

I’ve missed saying it capitalized like that.

I’ve never called anyone else that—capitalS—since Christopher.

Christopher doesn’t look up from where he’s whisking the sauce. His voice is backtothatquiet, steady tone. “Strip and stand right there.”

Of course I do. I shove my sleep pants down and off. Right there.

In the middle of my fucking kitchen.

Without hesitation, natch.

I note the way, even in profile, his lips curl in a smile. “Good boy,” he softly says.

Fuck, my cock isaching, it’s so hard. I will always love Lauren, she’ll always be my best friend, but even in thebest of times she never left me panting and aching the way I am right now.

He leaves me standing there watching him, too far away to touch him.

Maybe that’s for the best right now, since he’s cooking.

“I have two weeks off, starting today,” he finally says after dumping what looks like fresh—not dried—pasta into the boiling water. All while still not looking at me. “We’re going to sort outa few things between us. Then I’ll take you back to Washington and we’ll get started there.”

“I thought you were protecting Samuels?”

“She doesn’t have an official protective detail.Yet. I traveled to Florida without her to do some advance work. Research and threat assessment. I oversee researching threats against her and leading security operations for her.”

“H-how did you meet her?”

“Washington.I was at the White House when she had to attend a meeting there. I’m third-in-command for PPD. I received a call from her later that day, asking me to stop by her office to discuss security. She’d seen me around before, but never had direct contact with me. We…talked. Turns out we have a few things in common.”

I could imagine what those things were. My jealousy surges because I don’t want toimagine her naked over his lap and getting spanked—and more—by him.

Christopher takes that moment to study me, his gaze crawling all over my body. I feel a surge of victory when he lingers and hunger burns bright in his eyes as he reaches my cock. Then his green gaze returns to my face, meets my eyes, and softens just a tad.

“I missed you, Kev. Went through a period of anger. Then saw you onTV and followed your career. Watched the video of you getting married. Can’t deny feeling a little satisfaction when you got divorced. Damned difficult knowing we were living in the same city all these years and not being able to look you up. Missed you every damned day.”

I’m…stunned. “Why didn’t you contact me?”

“Why didn’tyoucontactme? My cell number’s the same. I never changed it. I gaveyou all my information. You knew I was transferring to DC. I told you the next step was yours, and you agreed. Told you I wouldn’t chase you. Thatyouhad to want to come tome.”

The heat of guilt washes into my face. “Because I was scared,” I finally admit.

“Why?”

“Because I was in the closet. Because of my dad and my job. Back then, because of school and everything else. Mostly, because Iwas a terrified idiot.” I take a deep breath. “I’ve missed you. I’m sorry I never called you. After a couple of months, I wasn’t sure you’d even want me to contact you, so I…didn’t. I regret that more than anything.”

Thatsmile returns. “Even more than blowing up on live TV?”

I force myself to meet his gaze, to not let my eyes dart from his. “Maybe if I had called you after that week, if I’dagreed to be with you, maybe I’d actually be happy right now. I’ll gladly trade the career I had for being happy for a change. If I could go back and do things differently, I would. In a heartbeat. Especially if it means a chance to be with you.”

He studies me for a long moment, then gives me a slight tip of his head, indicating he wants me to approach.

I do.

He cups the back of my neck withone hand while he continues whisking the sauce with the other. What he does next nearly drives me to tears.

He presses a long, tender kiss to the center of my forehead before drawing back to look me in the eyes. “I willnotgo easy on you. I’m kind of pissed off at you for ghosting on me, and I have twenty years of resentment to work through.”

My heart takes off, racing, thrumming.