Page 33 (2/2)

He held tight, not letting heryou’d understand But you don’t” He sighed “So I’ to explain myself, and I want you to listen carefully For this to work, I need you to communicate—”

“If this is about theit from you on purpose I just had so ot to mention it”

“If you were thinking oflike that with me It would be second nature You want my affection You want my sexual domination You don’t want to do the work necessary to truly submit Hell, to have a real relationship”

“That’s not true” Her blue eyes pleaded, frantic “I’ on it I’m not perfect, but I’m—”

“Still hiding big chunks of your heart and soul to yourself You’re not ready to be collared”

“That’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair is that I’ht you if you don’t want to give yourself freely Only you can decide how i to you while I try to give you what I know you need I’m not oblivious to your fears, but you either trustout of you, only to discover you’ve not been bloody honest I get half-truths and subtle lies designed to make me feel better Is it because you think I’m too stupid to understand or too weak to handle them?”

Horror crossed Raine’s face “Neither! I told you before; I just don’t want to upset or trouble you”

“Or have to risk ive yourself to ame, Raine I’ve seen it played many times And I won’t play it with you anymore I want you back…but not until you learn to communicate Be honest with me Trust me And surrender your control to me I see the real you, no matter how much you try to hide And I still want you, still love you I alill”

“You’re punishingwith emotion

“This isn’t any sort of discipline But I’ve finally got your attention, lass The pickles I fed you back at the lodge to coax you to open up just weren’t working anymore”

That seeo

Tears filled her eyes, and she struggled froht

Still, he held strong “Stop”

“You’re leaving me,” she accused