Definitely submissive. Last night, he’d suspected it, even as she’d pushed back again and again. But she hadn’t been his to test or claim. All that had changed. Hunter planned to make sure she understood exactly who and what he was—and uncover the submissive inside her he felt sure she’d never trusted any man enough to let out.
Kata had some serious hang-ups about control. They’d get to the bottom of those. Yes, the power to refuse always rested with the submissive. But Hunter sensed that she needed reassurance that he’d never want a doormat and didn’t want her to change. He’d help her understand what she secretly yearned for and teach her to ask for what she feared to want.
“It’s an order, honey, not a negotiation.” He kept his voice low, deceptively soft. “I’m waiting.”
She hesitated, and Hunter sensed a million thoughts whirling in her head. Desire, anger, and exasperation crossed her gorgeous face. Finally, she raised her chin and crossed her arms over her chest.
Submissive ... but not going down without a fight. He held in a smile.
“Don’t do this now, when I’m exhausted and afraid,” she murmured. “I know you want to exert your dominance or whatever, but why over something as inconsequential as a bath?”
Since Kata didn’t understand him or his ways, that wasn’t an unfair question. His cock was nagging him like a toothache, as was his impatience to reach the woman behind her defense mechanisms and bind her to him, but that was his problem. She deserved answers first.
“Everything about you concerns me. You’re a smart woman, and I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that I don’t merely like to dominate; I am a Dominant.”
JUST like Ben had said. Kata wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. That he was itching to restrain and spank her? That he liked to play Master/slave games?
A forbidden ache settled with horrific insistence right under her clit. She tried to ignore it. No damn way was she submitting an inch of her independence, even in the bedroom, just to get her freak on.
She mentally sorted through escape routes out of this mini Fort Knox. “Not with me. Hell no!”
Disappointment and anger tightened Hunter’s face, settling in with the exhaustion. A pinprick of guilt pierced her before she checked it. He was bringing this argument on. They could be in bed even now, drifting off to a much-needed night’s sleep. But no, he insisted on pushing her now. No way would she be his doormat, not after everything she’d seen in the last dozen years. She’d rather take a bullet to her brain than endure what Mamá had under Gordon’s rule.
Hunter could tie her into a pretzel if he wanted to restrain her. God knew he had the strength, the intelligence, and the balls. So she had to keep her wits about her. Kata retreated another step.
He grabbed her hand, his thumb brushing over the top of hers in a soft sweep unexpectedly soothing. “Kata, it’s the way I’m wired. Everything I demand is aimed at providing you what you need, while giving me what I crave. Tonight, that’s you relaxing in a hot tub while I massage the tenseness from your muscles so you reach a physical and mental state optimal for sleep.” He shrugged. “And I’ll have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’re safe and well.”
That’s it? She stared at him suspiciously. This was supposed to be for her benefit? What about the high he got from ordering her around? How much bigger did he feel by having power over another? “Why not just say that instead of bossing me around?”
“Part of what I need as a Dom is for you to trust me, so I won’t explain myself unless you’re genuinely concerned or frightened. I need you to put yourself in my hands, submit to me completely, and know that I have your best interest at heart. I understand you’ll find that a challenge. Submission won’t be easy for you.”
Won’t be easy? Kata would have laughed in his face if her racing thoughts hadn’t been tangling with emotions she barely understood. The kicker was, he seemed so confident that she would eventually comply.
The fact that he thought she could ever submit proved he didn’t understand her. Maybe he didn’t want to. Maybe she hadn’t made herself clear enough.
Kata stared, taking in every inch of his gorgeous face. She couldn’t deny the attraction curling through her. Why couldn’t he be more laid back like Ben? Why couldn’t they just enjoy each other without the power trip? She wanted to be with Hunter. He definitely made her feel something no man ever had. Why couldn’t they just have sex without her having to be submissive?
He sighed as he turned off the faucet. Water steamed from the tub. “Your face is an open book, honey. I get what you’re thinking. We need to talk about what dominance is and isn’t.”
“It’s a power play, pure and simple.”
“It is about power—but it’s mostly yours. I can only take what you’re able to give. This isn’t to inflate my ego. It’s to form a bond. We’ll test our trust every day. And each time I respect your boundaries, yet push you until you’re satisfied mentally, emotionally, and sexually, our bond deepens.”
Some part of her wanted to believe him. In fact, she ached for such a relationship. How goddamn dangerous was that? Bonds so deep that Hunter could see into her soul, and vice versa, sounded great—on the surface. But Kata had her doubts that’s how it would actually work. In her experience, a man ordered, a woman complied and cowed, until it broke her self-esteem, and he got some sick kick out of the fact that he could bend her to his will. The next day, he’d bend her more, then still more, until she crumbled. The insides, her self-esteem and spirit he’d carved out, he tossed aside with unrepentant glee.
“That’s crap.” She snatched her hand back and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Have a lot of experience with Dominance and submission, do you?” Hunter arched a tawny brow at her.
“I don’t have to in order to know I don’t want any of this. So take your chains and ropes and floggers, and go f—”
“Don’t finish that sentence.” Hunter stepped closer. He didn’t loom over her, but bent until they were eye to eye. “I want tonight to be about comfort and relaxation. But if you finish that sentence, I’m going to smack your ass so red, you won’t sit for days.”
She blinked. “So now you’re going to abuse me?”
His smile wasn’t pretty, and it made her belly clench with nothing she could remotely term fear. An answering chord tightened between her legs.
Slowly, he walked a half circle around her, settled his hands on her hips, and whispered in her ear. “It’s nothing like abuse. You’ll come, more than once. You’re a hellcat, but deep down, I’ll bet you have fantasies you won’t admit to . . . but you want fulfilled. I’ll be the man to do that for you.”