Jack frowned. “Wait, are you talking about the consensual non-consent play?”

“Yes. When we first met, he said he was interested, and he was, but when we started to get into it, he realized it wasn’t for him.”

“And he didn’t tell you that.”

“No,” she said, relieved that he understood. “He said he kept trying, but it wasn’t getting better, and he thought if we had a Master/slave relationship—”

“It would help,” Jack finished with a frown. “Damn.”

“Looking back, I can see the signs were there. And I ignored them, because I wanted it to work so badly. I forced him into a role that didn’t fit him.”

“Kyle put himself there,” Jack corrected. “This wouldn’t have happened if he’d been honest with himself—and with you. It’s his mistake, Olivia, not yours.”

“But what if I’m doing it again?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean with Cade.” He was looking at her so intently she dropped her gaze to the rug. It was abstract, splashes of color on a white background, and far easier to look at than his stern expression. “What if I’m forcing him into a role he doesn’t want?”

“Do you really think he’s faking how much he enjoys doing consensual non-consent play with you?” Jack asked, and the words were full of such unbridled amusement that she looked up.

“No,” she said, taken aback by the grin on his face. She’d never seen him smile like that before, and good gravy. He was hot when he was brooding, but he was incendiary when he smiled. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean then?” He tilted his head, amusement still curling his lips.

“I meant, what if…” She struggled to find the words, growing frustrated when they didn’t come. “I’m in love with him,” she finally blurted out.

“I know,” he said simply, and she blinked.

“You do?”

“It’s obvious, Olivia,” he said, not unkindly, and chuckled when she fell back against her chair with a wail. “What’s the problem, sugar? Do you not want to love him?”

“It’s not that,” she muttered, staring at the exposed duct work in his ceiling. It was painted black, which suited her mood.

“Do you not want him to love you?”

“I do want that,” she said, and sat up. “That’s the problem.”

He spread his hands. “You’ve lost me.”

“What if I’m putting him in the boyfriend role just like I was putting Kyle in the Dom role, and it doesn’t fit him?”

He stared at her for a full five seconds, then said, “That’s the most asinine thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Now you sound like Sadie,” she muttered.