Page 46 of The Maverick

Her voice cracked. “Because if I don’t, I don’t know what will happen.”

“You don’t need to know.” His eyes burned into hers. “That’s my job now.”

Her lips parted, but no words came.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

She swallowed. “Yes.”

“Say it again.”

“I trust you, Hawke… Master.”

The shift in him was immediate and complete.

He stepped behind her, his palms warm against her arms as he guided her toward the bed. She moved with him, heartbeat thudding in her ears. There was no fear. Only the buzz of something too deep for words.

He turned her gently and pressed a kiss to the base of her neck. “Kneel on the bed, sweetheart.”

She obeyed.

He moved around to the footboard, picking up the padded cuffs. “Hands behind your back.”

She leaned forward, pressing the side of her head into the mattress before crossing her wrists at the small of her spine and shivering as he wrapped the cuffs around her wrists snugly, then ran a single finger down her spine.

“Lie down,” he ordered.

Vanessa shifted onto her side, breath hitching as he lifted her ankles one at a time and secured them to the lower corners of the bed. He didn’t stretch her wide; he wasn’t aiming for display or exposure. Just containment.

She was folded in on herself, body curved, restrained. Held.

The mattress dipped as he knelt beside her. “Color?”

“Green, Master.”

“Good girl.”

Those two words broke something inside her.

He leaned in, mouth brushing her temple. “You’ve been fighting for days. Holding yourself together because you thought it strengthened you.”

“I didn’t know what else to do,” she whispered.

He ran his fingers through her hair, loosening the twisted knot. “You don’t need to do anything, but let go now.”

Her throat burned.

“You’re not broken,” he said, lips at her ear. “You’re brave. You’re brilliant. You’re mine.”

Her breath shook, and her hips shifted.

He moved lower, lips grazing her breastbone, then her nipple, tongue flicking once before he drew it into his mouth. Her body arched reflexively, restrained limbs giving her nowhere to run.

“I want you still,” he said, voice low. “I want you silent.”

She bit her lip.

He pressed a kiss to her belly, trailing his lips lower, letting his tongue find her slowly, deliberately. He licked her like it was a promise. Like it was the only thing on earth he wanted to do.

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