Page 61 of Protected

His words washed over her, and she relaxed further on his shoulder. “I’m scared too, but being around you makes me feel better.”

“Well, you can guarantee that until this guy is caught, I’m not leaving your side.”

“You can’t seriously be with me twenty-four seven, Bradley.”

“No, but I can make sure security is, and I can tie you to my bed on weekends.” He gazed down at her with a devilish grin on his face, and she shoved away from him giving him a fake scowl, even though deep down she couldn’t wait to be tied to his bed or whatever else he wanted to tie her to. But she still couldn’t stop herself from expressing her discomfort with security.

“I'm serious when I say I can’t take being smothered by bodyguards, or you, or Michael, or Peter, or anyone else who gets it in their head that it’s their job to keep me safe. I’ll accept some smothering because I know I’m in real danger, but I need to have room to breathe.” She kept her eyes fixed on him, silently pleading for him to understand.

He pulled her back to him and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll do my best to give you breathing room. Breath play has never been my thing, anyway. And I know it’s a hard limit for you.” He winked and she stifled a laugh.

“So, what is your thing, Mr. Givens?” she asked, changing the subject. There was no point ruining the last leg of their trip.

“Let’s talk on the plane.” She nodded against him and closed her eyes for the rest of the journey to the airport.

Once they were settled on the plane, Bradley turned to her, his eyes serious as he picked up her hand. “I believe we have some things to negotiate, Miss Sanders.”

A slow smile spread across her face. “Is that so? What did you have in mind?”

“Many things, chief among them, how I make you mine in every way.” Darci smiled shyly.

He switched gears on her and surprised her with his next question. “Knowing you were with Damion, I need to ask if that’s the kind of Dom you’re looking for.”

“What do you mean?”

He seemed to be searching for the right words. “The High Lord Domly Dom type,” he finally said.

She giggled. “High Lord Domly Dom? That’s a new one.”

He chuckled. “You know, the guy that makes his sub walk two steps behind him at all times and is always in high protocol mode?”

“Ah. Yes, that is Damion’s style. I’ll have to steal your term for my blog sometime.” A grin erupted at the thought. Damion didn’t read her blog that she knew of.

“To answer your question, no, not exactly. Damion was more of an experiment for me. At the time I was eager to explore more intense forms of submission and he was willing to play. I think I was also struggling because my best friend and sometimes play partner had just found the love of her life and I was… I won’t say jealous… but feeling like maybe there wasn’t as much room for me anymore. They’ve since showed me that I’ll always have a place in their lives. Which I’m grateful for. Damion’s style of dominance was definitely all about high protocol and making me feel less than. Which is ultimately why we didn’t work.” Not to mention Damion was the bad kind of control freak. But she didn’t want to dwell on him so she didn’t say that part out loud.

Bradley nodded thoughtfully. “The thing to understand about me is that I never put a rule in place for the hell of it. Yes, I’m bossy but every rule is for a purpose whether it be for safety, or to enhance our pleasure together. I think certain bits of protocol are important for keeping each of us in the right head-space.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“We’re in a relationship and we are equals. However, we each have different roles to play and I think protocol helps remind us of our roles thus enhancing the relationship.”

She smiled. “Sometimes it scares me how compatible we sound.”

“Why would that scare you? And what about that makes us sound compatible?”

“It scares me for reasons that you have threatened to spank me for if I bring up again.” She winked before continuing. “I view a lot of what we do as a game. All games require rules and structure or they aren’t any fun. So I like your take on rules and roles. That’s actually the genesis of my safe word.”

He grinned. “It’s brilliant. I wondered where you came up with it when you first told me about it. I love it. You’re right. It is very much a game we are playing. A game I am very much looking forward to playing with you. I think I understand what you're looking for in a Dominant. We have some details to iron out, but I really want to get to know this side of you. I've threatened to spank you a couple of times now, and I could tell it flipped your switch.” A blush colored her cheeks as he spoke, and she glanced around the plane hoping no one could hear them.

“I think what I'm asking is, how would you feel if I wanted to flip that switch regularly?” She buried her face in his shoulder, embarrassment heating her neck. So much for her nerves being gone. He kissed her hair.

“Eyes up here please.”

When she complied, the smile he rewarded her with was tender. “I think it's cute how shy you are about these things.”

“I don't know why I get this way. I know what I like, but I'm always uncomfortable talking about it like this. Yes, I think I would like that.”

“Good girl. We can negotiate the finer details now or later. It’s up to you.”

---