“Because I want to take you out tomorrow night,” Nas answers. “I want to show you off. I want the world to see us together so that they all know you belong to me … and that I belong to you.”

I want to turn around and gawk at him, but I don’t. I keep my head facing away from him, but I manage to ask, “What?”

Nas lets out a long exhale. “I know what you want from me, Alina. I know you want to know if I’m serious about you—about us. I know it eats you up inside and gives you reservations about me. We’ve been doing this together for a while now, and while I never expected to reach this point with you or anybody else, I can’t deny that I’m here now. I’ve been worried about what falling for you might mean for my career, but that doesn’t seem to matter anymore.”

“Your career? Why would falling for me affect your career?”

“It just … I just have a rapidly growing fanbase, and most of them are women. I don’t want it to cause any problems.”

“I would never do anything to jeopardize your career, Nas,” I say, making sure to keep my head turned away from him, because it seems to be helping Nas open up. “You’re an amazing author, and you deserve every fan you get. I wouldn’t dream of standing in the way of that.”

Nas pauses a moment before saying, “I know. None of that matters anymore, though. All that matters to me now is that you know how much you mean to me. You’re more special to me than you even know, and it’s more than just sex. It’s more than the fact that you’re my submissive, and it’s more than you being a masochist to my sadism. It’s your commitment to your job, and the fact that you’re a loving and loyal friend. It’s your calm and understanding, and your patience with me while I work my way through my shit. You could’ve ended things with me for not voicing my feelings sooner, but you remained patient and tolerant with me. I appreciate you, Alina, and I’m ready for more. I’m ready to be public, and I’m ready for the world to know that we’re together. We don’t have to spend every waking moment in this basement, because we’re bigger than just BDSM. We’re together, and I’m not ashamed of it. It’s important to me that you know that. You’re my girl, and I’m your man. Okay?”