I shake my head. “Honestly, I don’t think I would have returned, even if I hadn’t met you. I’m happy in Seattle. I would have continued to explore my kinky side at Surrender until I figured out where I wanted to fall in the BDSM community. I can’t do that in Cambridge. My parents would never understand.”
“Won’t they be disappointed?”
I shrug. “I don’t think so. All they want is for me to be happy.”
“And when you tell them you’ve met a man fourteen years older than you and moved in with him? What will they say about that?”
I chew on my bottom lip and consider his question. “Honestly, I think they’ll be fine. I’m not going to tell them all the details, but when they met, they fell in love almost instantly and got married within months. They can’t really judge my relationship choices.”
He lifts a brow. “They might judge some of your choices,” he points out.
I flush. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.
He cups my face and kisses me reverently. So gentle, I almost cry again. “Choose me, Sabine. Come home with me. Give me another chance.”
Of course I choose Master Kellen. It’s not a choice at all. “Yes. God, yes. And I promise to try to behave, and I won’t go through your things ever again.”
He shakes his head. “I have no secrets from you. Go through anything you want. My home needs to feel like your home, too. If I tell you not to touch something it will be because it’s part of our dynamic, not because I don’t want you to know everything about me. I should’ve been more open about Stacy. She’s been gone three years. I have no reason to keep the memory of her like some sort of shrine. She would have been very disappointed in me for the way I got angry with you.”
I’m choking up at his speech, but I still feel responsible for my behavior. It was inexcusable under any circumstances.
“I get that you were curious, and I can see that you would have been freaked out by that box of mementos. It was a little creepy.”
“Mostly I was jealous, and that’s ridiculous. You were married to her. Of course you loved her to pieces. I think I just wanted that for myself, and I didn’t think I deserved it and would never get it.”
He squeezes me tight against him. “You deserve the world, baby girl. And I hope I can give it to you.”
“Take me home, Sir.”
“Good idea.”
Chapter 21
Master Kellen
When we get back to the house, I shock Sabine by informing her we still won’t be having sex for two more days. I know it will nearly kill me, but seeing her face when I inform her is priceless. Even though we have reconciled, I feel like we have a lot of loose ends to work out, and I intend to keep my word and leave my clothes on until the two weeks are up.
I also think we need to spend those two days talking, and Sabine needs to tell her parents she’s staying in Seattle. That’s the first item on my agenda.
I take her straight to her room and point at the dresser. She chooses the drawer numbered eight, which is one of the few she hasn’t opened yet. The differences between them are subtle, with the exception of the drawer numbered two, which she has continued to ignore.
Instead of leaving her alone, I watch as she removes her jeans and T-shirt and hands them to me, along with her bra, panties, and tennis shoes. God, I love seeing her naked. I can’t wait to remove all my clothing too and hold her sweet body against mine.
After she changes we head to the living room, and my little girl is on her best behavior. She seems to love the lavender dress. It’s soft cotton with short sleeves. The front is flat across her chest and flairs out just below her breasts. Like every dress I’ve ordered for her, it only covers her bottom if her arms are at her sides.
I love watching her situate herself every time we move to another room and another sitting arrangement. She tries to tuck the dress under her bottom unsuccessfully, and then smooths it over her thighs.
I instruct her to sit in the corner of the sectional and I leave her there for a minute, returning with her phone in my hand. I hold it out. “Call your parents. I know it’s hanging over you. You’ll feel better after you tell them about me.”
She swallows. “Do I have to do it today, Sir?”
“That depends. Do you want me to spank you already? We just got here.”
“It might be preferable,” she grumbles.
I sit next to her and lift her chin. “One more sassy word and I’ll use a paddle instead of my hand.”
She lowers her gaze. “Yes, Sir.”
I point at the cell phone. “Call them.” I sit next to her and set my arm along the back of the sofa behind her.
“You’re going to listen…Sir?”
“Only until I’m convinced you’ve told them the important details, then I’ll leave you to talk to them alone.”
She draws in a deep breath and places the call.
Thirty minutes later, I glance up when I hear the sliding glass door open to the patio. Sabine slips outside as I hold out a hand to her. She shuffles over and lets me settle her on my lap. “I’m proud of you. How did it go?”
“Fine. Better than I expected.”
“What were you most worried about?” I ask her as I brush a lock of hair from her forehead.
“I just thought they might be disappointed to find out I wasn’t going to come home anytime soon. They were fine with it though. They understood.
