Oh hell. Was she crying? Now he felt like a complete ass. Last thing he wanted was to make her cry. Especially when he wasn’t there to hold her.
But he didn’t want to bend on this. It was important.
“I-I’m so sorry.”
“Not yet, you aren’t,” he muttered.
“What?” she asked.
He reminded himself how little she knew about all of this. Although common courtesy said you didn’t just hang up on people.
Something had scared her.
He had pushed too hard too fast.
“Abby-girl, stop crying.”
“I’m not crying.”
“Abby,” he said in a warning voice.
“I’m just sniffling a bit,” she said.
“Sweet girl, I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard just before. Last thing I want is to overwhelm you, okay? If you need me to back off, you just tell me. Thing is, parts of this are new to me too. So, it’s going to be a learning curve for both of us.”
There was a beat of silence. “I’m not...I’m not experienced. What if you’re disappointed in me?”
“Then I’ll have no one to blame but myself. Because as the experienced one, as the dominant one, it’s my job to make certain that both of us get what we need.”
“It...it is?”
“It is.”
“So, you won’t get mad at me?”
“Abby, if I ever scare you then you’re to tell me. I would never yell at you or touch you in anger. But if that did happen for some reason, you’re to walk away and find my brother immediately, understand? No one is allowed to hurt you, including me.”
More silence. But there were no more muffled sobs.
“I wish I was there to hold you,” he said a little wistfully.
“Me too. Kent, I’m sorry I hung up on you.”
“I’m partly to blame. Doesn’t mean it’s not getting added to your tally.”
“My tally?”
“I’m keeping track of your naughtiness. Once you agree to be mine, there’s going to be a reckoning.”
“Hey! I don’t think that’s fair.”
He grinned, pleased to hear the heat in her voice. She was coming more and more out of her shell. Of course, he might be deliberately nudging her as well.
“Well, now, if you don’t want the punishment don’t be naughty.”
“I’ve never been naughty in my life.”
He left that for a beat. “So, you think hanging up on me the way you did wasn’t disrespectful and rude?”