She was skittish, like a wild animal... while they hadn’t spent much time together, he’d spent enough time watching her to know that the sweet, generous, giving girl he’d protected had grown up into a sweet, generous, giving woman. She just now also had walls as big as the Great Wall of China, and he wanted to strip back those defenses and claim her. It was a primitive emotion and strange to him because he’d never felt like this before, and it didn’t make any logical sense since they hadn’t actually spent time together in over a decade... but there it was. The protective feelings she roused in him now weren’t nearly as innocent as they had been in high school. He’d known she’d had a crush on him then even though he’d never considered her anything more than a cute, sweet kid – and now he wanted to do terrible, perverse things to her until she was screaming his name and begging for more.

But he had to hold back, play by her rules for now... show her he could be trusted and wait for her to come to him. The slow route was frustrating as hell... but it also worked, as evidenced by her finally agreeing to do a scene with him. Chase her, but not too fast and not too hard... and then let her catch him.

Which meant he had to smile and act like it didn’t bother him at all that other Doms were thinking about playing with her in the future.

Fortunately, for his peace of mind, Ellie didn’t agree to a future play date, even though she smiled at Leo before he turned away, her gaze went back to Michael and her focus remained there. Big, dark eyes full of a mix of anxiety and eagerness - exactly the combination a Dom like him liked to see. Needed to see.

All for him.

“Hello there, beautiful,” he murmured, holding out his hand. The sensation of triumph surged through him when she barely hesitated before taking it.

“Hello, Master Michael,” she said almost shyly.

As much as he liked hearing his title and name on her lips, it also felt a little wrong, like she was using it to distance herself from him. He kept himself from frowning, but he shook his head.

“Just Michael,” he said firmly. Slight consternation flickered across her expression, confirming his suspicion. She called all the Doms by their titles. This would differentiate him; she wanted to say no, but obviously protesting such a little thing would seem silly, so she didn’t.

A second victory for him, following behind just getting her here to scene with him.