“Maybe we shouldn’t—”
“Please don’t say that.” He couldn’t lose Riley.
“Have a wedding.”
Thorne was sure he’d heard wrong. “What? No.”
“I pushed you. I didn’t respect what you wanted. I knew you’d indulge me because it’s what you do. I’ve resisted so much in the past, but this time I wanted something, or I thought I wanted something. I let a dream, one I now know is best confined to magazines and Pinterest posts, seduce me. Then I forced you to live the fantasy with me.”
Thorne was still trying to figure out if he was dreaming or if their conversation had really taken this turn. “I’ve pushed the planning off on you when you have less time than me. I can delegate some of my work, but you can’t. I should’ve done better by you.” He closed the distance between them and took Riley’s hand. When Riley didn’t pull away, he gained confidence. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
Riley’s eyes glistened. “I do. I love you, Thorne.”
“I love you too.”
They both wiped away tears. Then Thorne pulled Riley’s bracelet from his pocket.
“I brought this, hoping maybe you still wanted it.”
“I do. I didn’t mean to leave it. I was afraid you’d think I didn’t want it, but I missed it. I missed you.”
With shaky hands, Thorne helped Riley hook the bracelet around his wrist. He didn’t know what to say next, so he focused on practicalities. “If I’m going to stay, I should get my suitcase. I left it outside.”
Riley nodded. “Yeah.”
Thorne retrieved his suitcase and left it by the door with Riley’s. Then they stood there, looking at each other, tension still in the air.
Finally, Thorne broke the silence. “You know how we said last time we fought that we should talk and not just use sex to solve our problems?”
“Yeah, and then we realized that didn’t work.”
Thorne hoped he was reading Riley right. His lips were parted, his eyes bright, there was color in his cheeks again. When Riley’s gaze dropped to Thorne’s crotch, Thorne knew it was okay to suggest what he wanted.
“I want you to fuck me. I want you to force me to surrender.”
Riley’s eyes widened. “I want to, but I didn’t bring…”
“I did,” Thorne said. “Go in the bedroom and give me a second, okay?”
Thorne laid his suitcase on the floor, unzipped it, and searched for what he needed. When he entered the bedroom carrying lube, condoms, and the riding crop, he was completely naked.
Riley had closed the blinds, and he was pulling the sheets down on the bed. When he turned and saw Thorne, he gasped. “Wow.”
Thorne smiled. Then he knelt and held the crop out to Riley. “I do trust you.”
“A-are you sure you want this tonight?”
Thorne nodded. “So very much.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Riley’s hands shook as they closed around the crop.
The thought of Thorne spread out for him and the red marks the crop would make on his ass had him hardening so fast it hurt. He’d forgiven Thorne, but there was enough anger still there that he questioned whether he should be doing this. This wasn’t about hurting Thorne, it was about surrender. Could he remember that?
“Thorne, are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t know if we should…”
Thorne looked up at him. “Riley, please. I need this.”
God, he longed for Thorne to surrender to him, to let go. Riley was the only one he trusted to do this for him. He looked into Thorne’s eyes, and his anger melted away, replaced only by the need to make things right again.
“It’s okay,” Thorne said. “You won’t hurt me. You’ve never hurt me unless I’ve asked for it.”
“Go stand in the bathroom doorway and hang on.”
Thorne eyes widened. “What?”
“Are you going to obey or not?”
Thorne watched him for a few seconds longer, his chest rising and falling with fast breaths. His cock was hard, and a bead of precum had formed on the tip. Eventually, Thorne stood, walked slowly to the doorway, raised his arms, and gripped the edges.
“Good,” Riley said. “Do you see yourself in the mirror?”
Thorne nodded.
“I asked you a question. I expect an answer.”
“Yes.”
“Much better.”
“You’re going to watch yourself writhe and squirm as I spank you. You’re going to hold on and keep yourself upright. Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you can because it’s what I want from you.”
Thorne trembled, and Riley found that so fucking hot. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to last long enough. They really were so well matched in this. It steadied them, and it could bring them back from anything, no matter how angry they’d been or how hurt. They found comfort with each other, with the games they played, with one of them buried in the other’s body.
“I’m going to start with my hand to warm you up, but I’m going to switch to the crop after a few moments. Can you handle that?”