Seth tried not to grit his teeth. “If we’re actually going to see if the three of us can truly work out, we have to act like our relationship will last forever.”
“I know. I’ve thought about that.”
“And if you were my permanent girlfriend and sub, I would never want you to feel as if you couldn’t relax here or anywhere.” He flipped off the shower, then smoothed wet strands of hair from her face, trying not to be distracted by how fucking sexy she looked. Sure, he was spent—for the moment. That didn’t mean he was dead. “So if it made you more comfortable, I would offer to provide you a framework to operate in.”
A furrow of confusion wrinkled her brow. “What does that mean?”
“Help you examine your schedule, day by day, and block out times to complete each item on your to-do list. I’d give you tasks to work on during times not consumed by work or school or anything pressing. It sounds elementary, but with that comes full permission to enjoy downtime without guilt or worry. And if you’d like organization to that as well, we’ll talk together and plan activities to fill your time and your soul. How does that sound?”
She fell very quiet. “Like you’ve done this before.”
Seth sighed. He should have guessed she’d catch on. “This, like our game, is special to me. I don’t offer this lightly.” I offer this because I love you.
But if he said more, she’d only demand answers he wasn’t ready to give.
“Is that something you’d be interested in?” he asked before she could think through his response.
“I’m twenty-three. I should be able to handle that kind of stuff myself…”
“But?”
“The relaxing part only winds me up more. I could enjoy it while we were away last week. New places, new experiences. But now that we’re resuming normal life, when I get free moments, I feel as if I should be doing a hundred things…but I can’t think of what they are. And then I get stressed.”
He nodded. “Then why don’t you let me help you? I’ll provide you structure for the next few weeks. If it doesn’t lessen your anxiety, we’ll either tighten it or give up altogether, whichever works for you.”
Heavenly nibbled on her lip. “That sounds great, but will you be as…um, exacting as you were in the last hour?”
He grinned as he removed the condom and trashed it before wrapping himself in a towel, then offered her one, too. “Not unless you want me to be. Then I can be an asshole. That makes the game more fun.”
She wrapped herself in the terrycloth. “I should have my head examined for this, but the harder you were to please, the more I wanted to try. And the more excited I got.”
Heavenly loved the mind-fuck, too. Could she not see how perfect they were together? How flawlessly they all fit in one another’s lives—and kinks?
Well, except Beck’s. They’d have to confront his sadist shit at some point. Seth hoped like hell that would be way later. Now, it would only scare her.
“Exactly. And I have a lot more bastard in me for that. But when it comes to giving you real-life guidance, I’ll work with you, give you a framework. We’ll figure out just how much freedom makes you happy, then go from there. Sound good?”
“I’d like that.” She pressed herself against him again. “You’ve tried to understand and help me. And I’m grateful. How is it possible you were single when you’re so clearly wonderful?”
Seth had zero way to answer her question, so he just smiled and seized the plump lips she offered him, already looking ahead to the framework he could use to help shape her life, not back at his thoroughly fucked-up past.