I do as he says, noticing a velvet box on the table, then straighten.
"Come 'ere.” He quirks his finger, and I put one foot in front of the other until I’m standing in front of him.
"On your knees," he orders.
"What?" I swallow. "What are you doing?"
"Isn’t this why you came here?"
"No, of course not."
"Don’t lie to me," he says in a hard voice. "Since I told you I’d be your Dom, you haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. You haven’t been able to reign in your imagination. You’ve thought of how it would feel to be dominated by me, to be controlled by me, to obey me, to be…" he leans in close enough for his body heat to envelop me, "owned by me."
"No." My voice trembles and I clear my throat. "That’s not true."
He laughs. Asshole actually laughs. He grips my shoulder and presses down. "Do as I tell you, Princess."
"And if I don’t?"
He holds my gaze. Silver sparks flare to life in the depths of his gaze. A plume of heat spools off of his body and slams into my chest. I gasp and a bead of sweat slides down the valley between my breasts. His gaze darts there and stops. His nostrils flare. He raises his gaze back to my face. "Either do as I say or—"
"Or?"
"Turn around and leave." He pulls his hand back, and I instantly miss the weight on my shoulder. "It’s your choice."
Bloody hell.I shift my weight from foot to foot.Should I leave? Should I stay? I don’t want to have to make a decision.
"If you leave, I’ll still fight Fabio to ensure you get custody of your daughter."
"You… you would do that?"
"And you wouldn’t have to marry me, either."
"I… I wouldn’t?" I gape at him. "Are you sure? This doesn’t sound like you."
"You mean, because I’m giving you a choice?" One side of his lips kicks up. "You forget that if you come into this relationship willingly, I’ll have much more control over you."
"So, all of this is just manipulation?"
He merely tilts his head. "You can give it any name you want. You and I, we want the same thing."
"Which is?"
"Your happiness."
I scoff. "So everything you’ve been doing so far is to make me happy?"
"Sometimes we don’t know what we want."
"You’re saying you know better than I do about what I want?" I resist the urge to wrap my arms about myself. I’d only be revealing just how confused I am by this entire conversation. "First, you almost blackmail me until I agree to marry you, and now… You’re telling me I can leave and you’ll still help me?"
He holds my gaze, unblinking. He slides a hand inside his pocket, and the rustle of the fabric is loud in the empty space.
"Maybe I should have a drink.” I gaze past him at the bar.
"You may, once you make a decision."
I draw in a breath. "I don’t know what I want. I thought… I wanted to be free of you, to get on with my life, but…"