But he backs off just as I'm about to reach the edge. Keeps me pinned to the door but stops moving—just plain stops moving.

“Wha…” I whimper.

“You still haven't said the magic words,” he growls, low and mean.

“Please!” I plead.

Another evil chuckle. “Stop acting like a norm, angel. That real-world shit isn’t going to get it done in your yellow dream house. I told you my price. Submit. You need to submit right now.”

Submit. The word bounces into my lust haze, confusing and alarming.

I don't know what he wants from me. He has me completely pinned against the door. How can I submit any more than I already have?

“You belong to me. I need to hear you say that,” he growls as if reading my thoughts. “Last time, you took me by surprise with your virginity. I lost my mind and didn’t make sure we were on the same page about the permanent nature of these words I want to hear come out your mouth. But I'm not making that mistake with you again. You belong to me, and I need to hear you say that.”

“I belong to you,” I gasp out.

I'm so close I'd probably say anything at this point. But the words they have a feel to them this time…a gravity. Genuine and binding. Like a contract signed in blood.

However, Waylon doesn't reward me for my submission. Instead, he pulls out and says, “Strip. Then meet me upstairs.”

CHAPTER 16

I think I understand the game now.

I do as he says. I meet him upstairs in a giant bedroom with bay windows overlooking the pond. Naked as the day I was born.

I find him in the same state. Lying back on a big bed like a king.

That’s what he is, I realize, as I take him in—a king of his own making.

He was born into nothing, so he made his own kingdom. And now he wants me to submit.

I should feel powerless, and I do.

But I also don’t.

This is the difference that comes with choosing. With asking to be taken. With being given a magic word just in case.

Delaware.

It floats above us in the room, allowing me to breathe.

Allowing me to present myself naked and trembling. Not because I’m afraid but because it feels good to tremble. It feels good to submit and give someone else all your power.

It feels right to be claimed by a king.

Actually, it feels strangely powerful.

There is something about having a king’s full attention….having him track you as soon as you enter the room with hungry eyes. This is the hidden secret of the animal kingdom.

Yes, the predator is the most powerful beast. But everything else falls away for him when he sees the thing he most wants to eat.