Page 14 of Suite 7

My hand settles on her bare shoulder.

She goes taut as a bowstring, a sharp inhale escaping before she can stop it.

“Breathe.”

The command comes without thought, voice dropping into Dom register.

She draws a shaky breath. Her shoulders drop slightly under my hand.

Trusting me completely.

“Color?”

“Green, Sir.”

Vera Beckett calling me Sir.

I close my eyes.

She doesn’t recognize my voice.

I won’t do that to her.

Whatever happens next has to be her choice.

“Do you know who I am?”

I let my natural register bleed through, dropping the Dom cadence, letting Kane surface.

She tilts her head, confusion visible even with the blindfold.

“No, Sir. Isn’t that the point?”

The hint of her usual sass, creeping through protocol.

I reach up and find the ribbon securing her blindfold.

This will change everything. But she deserves to know.

I let the blindfold fall.

“Open your eyes, Vera.”

Her eyes fly open.

Shock. Disbelief. Three heartbeats.

“Kane?”

She scrambles backward, nearly tumbling off the bed. I catch her arm, instinct, nothing else. She yanks free like I’ve burned her and presses herself against the headboard.

“What the — what are you —” Words fail her. She just stares. Chest heaving. Face flushed. Utterly betrayed.

“What are you doing here?” My voice comes out harsher than I intend. “Why are you in a BDSM club about to submit to a complete stranger?”

“A vetted stranger! Dominic vetted! I vetted! I did everything right! I was safe!”

Her voice cracks. “You think I’d sign up to —“ She gestures wildly between us, unable to finish. “This was supposed to be anonymous. Safe. A chance to finally — and instead I get you.”