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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SASHA

Sir?

The word spilled from my lips without a passing thought. It’s what he is. While I have the option to walk away and end this arrangement at any point in time— something my prior Doms would have never stood for— he requested full control of me as his student.

Complete power.

24/7 governance .

My Sir.

Believing in his expertise, I followed my gut and trusted him enough to offer him my whole agency. The reservations I had are slowly subsiding—but definitely not entirely dissipating — with every day I spend getting to know him.

“I tend to prefer Master, but I do like the way ‘Sir’ trembles from those pouty lips of yours.” Liam slips his hands beneath me and pulls my exhausted body into his. He rests my face against his bare chest and tucks my hair behind my ear. Sweeping his arm underneath my thighs, he cradles me as he rises to his feet. “It will be my honor to be your Sir.”

He carries me across the apartment, and his words play on repeat in my euphoria-muddled thoughts. It will be my honor. Not his will. Not his command. His talk about dominance and submission isn’t bullshit. He isn’t taking or demanding my submission; he wants me to give it to him.

Cradled in his arms, Liam carries me down the hallway and into my ensuite. He lowers me to my feet, keeping a strong arm wrapped around my waist to hold me tightly to him as he turns the knob for the shower.

“What are you doing?” I utter, confused by his softness.

Liam tests the water with his hand. Confident it has warmed sufficiently, he walks us both under the stream. He pulls my back to his chest and continues to hold me snugly against him as he fills his hand with pumps of my body wash. Rubbing the rosewater-and-jasmine-scented suds over my stomach and down my thighs, a coy smile pulls at his lips when he finally answers, “You made quite the mess of us both, sweetheart. I’m cleaning us up.”

“Why?” I blurt, my tone inadvertently rude. It’s not that I don’t appreciate his gesture, but it’s a far cry from how I’ve been treated in the past. I’ve never had a man tend to the cuts and abrasions they left behind, let alone the cum they— and sometimes their friends— splattered over me.

Unfazed by what sounds like ungratefulness, Liam’s hand dips between my thighs, and he tenderly rubs his palm over the suds-covered bites and bruises he left on them. “It angers me beyond words that you even need to ask me that,” he gruffly whispers, pressing his warm lips to the wet skin of my shoulder. “I might fuck you like I don’t care about you, but I have the utmost respect for you and your submission. Tending to you afterward is my way of making sure you know that.”

Baffled by his response and uncertain how to respond, I stay silent as he continues to wash away all the evidence of both our releases. When we’re both clean, he turns me in his hold and tips my face up toward his. “I will not be satisfied with our training until you learn to accept nothing less from your next Dom than the respect and adoration that I provide you,” he promises, his gaze unwavering.

Turning off the water, he grabs a soft terry towel and wraps it around me before grabbing one for himself. “I can do that myself,” I mutter when he begins drying me.

“I know you can, sweetheart, but you shouldn’t have to,” he whispers, running the towel down my legs. Clean and dry, Liam leads me to my bed, tosses back the covers, and gestures for me to climb between the sheets. He pulls the comforter over me and tenderly runs the back of his hand along my cheek. “You did very well tonight. Get some rest, Sasha.”

His hand slowly drags from my face, and I immediately miss his touch. He turns on his heel to leave me, and I grasp for his hand. “Sir?” I murmur. “Will you stay with me?”

“Stay?” Liam repeats the word, his voice ticking up as he turns back to face me. I look up to find his brows slightly furrowed. Immediately feeling like I crossed a boundary I shouldn’t have, I let his hand slide from mine. I roll away from him and try to bury my face in the pillow, desperately trying to hide my embarrassment as I pull the covers up to my chin. Liam expels a slow, heavy sigh, alerting me that he is still beside my bed.

“Scoot over,” Liam gives the gentle demand.

Great… A pity cuddle.

Without turning to face him, I mutter, “You don’t have to.”

“Sasha, I dislike having to repeat myself and definitely do not appreciate your overt violation of your rule about looking at me when you speak.” He places his hand on my hip and gives it a firm squeeze. “Unless you want to be corrected for both transgressions, I suggest you scoot your gorgeous arse over.”

I slide across the bed to the adjacent pillow to make room for Liam. The mattress dips, and he climbs in with me. “I know tonight was a lot for you, so I will stay until you fall asleep.” Liam wraps his arms around me, and he pulls me into the warmth of his body. His breath blows over the crook of my neck as he holds me in his embrace. Relishing in the comfort and safety of his body wrapped around me, it only takes moments for my exhaustion from tonight to consume me. As I drift off to sleep, I barely register the words he speaks softly against my ear. “But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. You need to remember what this is. You’re my student, and I’m your teacher.”