“Thank you,” Nas replies. I leave his side to look around while he continues talking. “The way I see it, you can’t be a writer if you're not a reader. Books are everything to me. There’s never a time when I’m not reading something, even if I’m in between my own manuscripts. Books are life.”

“A man who loves books,” I say almost to myself as I look over the rows of spines in front of me, spotting authors I’ve read and loved in my life as a reader. “You truly are a marvel, Nas, I must admit.”

“Nah, I’m nothing special,” Nas says. “Nothing compared to you.”

“Really?” I say with my back still to Nas as I run my fingers over the books. “Is that why you fought for me tonight? Because I’m special?”

“I fought for you because no man should ever put his hands on a woman. Any woman, but especially my woman.”

Fighting a smile, I finally turn around and look at Nas, my handsome knight in shining armor.

“Your woman? Is that what I am?” I ask.

“Is that what you want to be?”

“You know it is.”

Nas leans against the wall and crosses his arms. “So, you’ve thought about what we discussed?”

“Yes, although I’d made my mind up before you asked me to think about it. It’s like I told you, Nas, I’m not a naive little girl. I know what I want, and while it’s true that I haven't explored a lot of the kinks that come with BDSM, I know that I want to. I don't wanna go out there and try to find someone new to earn my trust over time. Yes, you and I just met and we’ve only had sex once, and maybe it’s weird that I feel like I know you from having read all your books, but none of that changes how I feel and what I want. You're the one I trust until you do something that deems you untrustworthy to me. To me—not my friends. So, let’s make sure this is the last time we discuss what I want, or if I’m ready, or if I trust you. We know the answers to all of that. All that’s left now is to begin.”

I can see the interest in Nas’s face. He has no reason to keep dragging this out, and I know from the way he fucked me last night that he doesn't want to. He wants me just as much as I want him, and when he raises an eyebrow and smiles on one side of his mouth, I know he has run out of reasons to hesitate.