Page 76 of Tangled Hearts

The glare disappears, and he giggles. “Fair. Okay, fine. We’ll do it your way.”

I can’t help but smile at his petulant tone. “I knew you’d see things my way.”

“Can we at least have this talk in bed?” He pouts at me, green eyes shining with fake innocence. “Naked, preferably.”

I shake my head. “Bed, yes. Naked, no. I’m afraid not.”

He growls, throwing his hands up in frustration. He storms off to the bedroom, mumbling under his breath that he must be losing his touch. I laugh. Not losing his touch at all, but some things are important to talk about, and this is one of those things.

After a few seconds, I follow him into my bedroom. Not his. He doesn’t sleep there anymore. I’m not sure why we picked my room when his is the primary, but it doesn’t really matter either way to me.

When I step into the room, he’s sprawled out across the bed, arms crossed over his chest, and his skirt riding indecently high on his slim thighs. He looks like a fallen angel. You know, if angels were actually sent to Earth for the sole purpose of making me fucking crazy over them.

“You’re not naked,” he says, staring at me.

“Nope. I told you. Clothes on.”

He huffs but sits up, then his expression sobers. “You’re right. I’m sorry for pushing it.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed. “Trust me, Eli. I’m fine with it. I know you’re playing around. It’s fun. Refreshing. I’ve liked your attitude since the second you asked me what I was doing just standing around.”

His lips turn up in a smug smile, and then he faces me, sitting with his legs crossed. It’s like he doesn’t even realize how fucking gorgeous he is. How sexy. Like he doesn’t even know the effect he has on me. “Well, let’s talk then.”

I take a deep breath. “You said you wanted me to take over. What does that mean?”

He shrugs, rolling his eyes at me. “You know? Liketakeover. I want whateveryouwant.”

I hum. I don’t think he realizes just how far those words could go with someone who isn’t trustworthy. “Do you want me to put you over my knee and spank you?” His eyes widen. “Or maybe cane you or whip you? Or maybe I could gag you, tie you up, and leave you there for hours. You want whatever I want, right?”

He shakes his head, choking on his breath. “Jesus Christ. Fucking no.”

“And that’s why clear consent is sexy.” I raise an eyebrow at him. “I would never do those things to you anyway, even if you asked for them, but do you see why it’s important to talk about things instead of just assuming I know what you want and what you’re okay with?”

“Well, I don’t want you to hurt me. Goddamn, don’t you think I’ve been hurt enough already?” he snaps, anger burning in his eyes.

The words hit like a punch to my gut, and I flinch. “Eli,” I whisper, reaching for him, but he jerks away from me. I won’t lie, it hurts my heart, but I get it. “Oh, my little doll, I would never hurt you.”

I reach for him again, my hands shaking, and this time, he lets me. I pull him into my lap and tilt his chin back so I can look at him. “This is why I have to know what you want, Eli. I’ll take control, but you have togiveit to me. Willingly. I have to know where the lines are. And I have to trust you’ll tell me if I cross one, or if we stumble on one we didn’t know was there.”

He huffs, blinking up at me with those gorgeous fucking eyes of his. “And then what? I safe word or something?”

Oh, that’s a surprise. He must see it on my face because he rolls his eyes. “I know what a safe word is. I’m a virgin, but I do watch porn. And maybe I don’t have a lot of experience with sex—okay, so like, none other than you—but I still know what I want.”

“I’m not sure I’d call you a virgin, doll.”

“That’s what you take from that?” he asks, his jaw dropping open.

I shrug. “You’re twenty. I’d be surprised if youhadn’twatched porn. But that’s not the point. What do you want?”

He sighs, going lax in my lap. “This is embarrassing.”

“What is? Having an open conversation with someone you like about sexual preferences?” It’s rare that I see signs of how much younger Eli is than I am, but in moments like this, it’s almost painfully clear.

He nods. “Yeah, kinda. Maybe not embarrassing, but like, still kind of?”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

He gets the most adorable, twisted-up facial expression. “It’s, like embarrassing, but it kind of… does it for me a bit. That’s weird, right?”