She could only know those things if Jackson had told her. I’d have to kick his ass later. “Actually, the flavor has grown on me.” I walked around her, making sure not to even brush my shoulder against hers. Her obsession with me wasn’t the least bit attractive. Not like when I caught Rome staring at me. That lust in her eyes made me feel like a bigger man that I was.
Isabella’s voice followed me as I walked away. “You can’t keep up this charade much longer. Your dominance is going to get the best of you—and I’ll be right here waiting.”
I froze in the hallway, unsure why my feet stopped moving.
“I’ll be ready to listen to your every command, to do everything you ask without question. I’ll get on my knees simply because you say so. I’ll submit—just the way you like.”
I clenched both of my hands in desperation, wanting to do those exact things with Rome. I was attracted to her strong independence, but I also wanted that powerful woman to bow to me, to give me more control than I had ever had before. Some days, I thought I could live without that dominance. But moments like now made me realize just how impossible that was. It was something I needed in order to survive.
Would Rome ever give me that?
My feet began to move again, and I walked away without looking back, thinking about the woman I’d become blindly obsessed with. Rome trusted me in a way she never had before, and that made me feel guilty for not telling her the truth.
But I would come clean about everything.
When the time was right. I had to make sure her answer would be yes and that she wouldn’t walk away from me. I knew I couldn’t handle the loss. I knew I couldn’t let her walk away.
Because she was my whole world.
I took Rome out to dinner before we headed back to my place. Christopher was enjoying his threesome, but I was enjoying myself more with his sister. Across the table, I enjoyed the tiny bites she took of her food. She still didn’t eat much, but I’d gotten used to it. I never bothered with appetizers because that was an entire meal to her.
We returned to my place, and Isabella popped into my head. I thought about her offer to allow me to be her Dom whenever my relationship with Rome went south. Her obsession with me was inexplicable, but a part of me was intrigued by the offer. I didn’t want any other woman but Rome, but I missed being a Dom. I missed being in control. I missed having my commands obeyed without resistance. Sexually, Rome usually complied with my demands. But outside of the bedroom, I could never get her to listen to me. That was an uphill battle—one I would never win.
“Everything alright?” She ran her hand across my back, soothing me.
I returned to the conversation, realizing my thoughts had drifted away. “Yeah…just trying to remember if I left a tip.”
“Nope. But that’s because I did.” She grabbed the front of my jacket and pushed it off my shoulders until it hit the ground. Playfulness burned in her eyes as she gripped my tie and undid the knot with just a few fingers. Everything she did was sexy, and the fact that she wasn’t even trying to be sexy just made her sexier. When the tie was separated, she grabbed both pieces and yanked me toward her.
I liked it—a lot.
But I also hated it. I hated letting someone else be in control, even for a second. It made me feel castrated and useless. It made me feel like less of a man, like I didn’t deserve the woman I was with.
I yanked the tie from around my neck and wrapped it around hers instead. With a firm grip, I pulled her face to mine and kissed her hard on the mouth, taking back the control and feeling innately good about it. Her neck needed to be in my grasp. Her freedom needed to be mine as well.
Rome must not have cared about the change in roles because she kissed me back harder, panting into my mouth with arousal.
I lifted her into my chest and carried her upstairs into my bedroom, kissing her all the while. When I got her on my bed, I pinned her hands to the headboard and tied them to one of the wooden bars. When I bought this bed frame, my designer said she didn’t like the look of it. The colors and finish didn’t match my personality. But she didn’t understand the kind of shit I did with the headboard.
Rome tugged on the tie, testing its strength. She could barely move because my knot was an expert one. She still had her dress and heels on, but I didn’t need to get those off anyway. The only article of clothing that truly needed to be on the floor were her panties.