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“No one. Not any friends from the team to watch a game or a girl. No one. This was my… safe place.”

“Your safe place… but you made me come here,” she reminded me. I nodded, swallowing. I felt just how heavily my Adam’s apple bobbed with a slight prickle of nerves.

What if she told me I was sick for wanting what I wanted? For needing her to call me daddy? What if she ran out of here? Would I let her go? Drag her back? Drop this whole fucking thing and let her avoid me until we graduated and let life take us in completely separate directions?

No, the thing inside me answered without missing a beat. Letting Roxie go is unacceptable. A life without her won’t be living. I had no idea where the thought came from, but I felt it in my gut and knew there would be no getting over her.

“Okay, fine,” she said bravely, her green eyes dilated yet certain as she stood straighter. “I trust you.”

“We’re going to need rules.” The thing inside me hated me for saying it. The dark animal was pounding to get out and take and take and take from her. Something in her gaze softened, almost warmed at my words.

“Daddy and his rules,” she said softly. My hands fisted at my sides. Roxanne had no idea how her innocent ribbing was going to get her in trouble.

“Roxanne,” I warned, and she rolled her eyes like my perfect little brat. “We need a safe word.” She chewed on her bottom lip, but it was her eyes that gave away her excitement. I breathed deeply, my chest rising and falling heavily.

“Red for stop. Yellow if you need a moment. Green to keep going,” I laid out, and she nodded her agreement.

“Got it. Red. Yellow. Green,” she repeated, her eyes never wavering from mine. “Have you ever…” The words lingered between us, and I shook my head.

“Not like this.”

“Like this? she asked, because my girl needed things laid out as clearly as possible.

“Not like I want to with you,” I started to explain, but it seemed Roxie was a little impatient. Maybe she was just as needy as I was for us to do this?

“What does that mean?” It was obvious her curiosity had been piqued. Unable to keep my hands to myself, I reached for her, tagging her by the waist after straightening my legs, so she could stand between them when I pulled her closer.

“From the moment we met at that party at the middle of last year, you brought something out of me. Something I didn’t know was there, or if I did, I’d ignored it.”

“What’s that?” I opened and shut my mouth as I tried to come up with the right words but still felt like I came up short. How did I tell her that from the first time she rolled her eyes at me, she’d intrigued me? Captivated me enough that being with anyone else had felt wrong? That she’d turned a selfish asshole into one who wanted to look out for more than just himself?

“I like control, Roxanne. I won’t lie and say I haven’t. But it’s always been in a selfish way.”

“Shocking,” she sassed, and a muscle under my eye twitched.

“It was always to get what I wanted. But with you… it’s different. You bring out this side of me. It’s not just about dominating you and controlling you to do what I want.”

“Then what is it?” I chuckled darkly.

“Baby, you have any idea how long I asked myself that? I even had to look it up.” I mashed my teeth together. “I think you get I’m a little bit of a dom.”

“Little bit?” Her lips twitched.

“But with you it’s a daddy dom. I want to be the man who puts rules out for you, not to control you but to keep you happy, safe, and healthy.”

“Let me guess, with a big dose of vitamin D?” Her eyes skated down my chest and blatantly stared at my crotch.

“Roxanne—“ I started to say, but she tried to wiggle out of my hold.

She spun, and when I pulled her into me, her back pressed to my front. When she realized there was no escaping my hold, I felt her body relax. I wrapped my arms around her waist and dipped my head just low enough for my lips to brush against the shell of her ear.

“I’m serious. No joke. No games.”

“Other than bullying me to kick this whole thing off from the start?” she argued. Jesus, how was it that even when she tried to piss me off, I ached for her?

“I know you want to explore this,” I said calmly, slowly. Ignoring her question.

“Or is that wishful thinking on your part?” she smarted off. I smiled against her temple.