He could see why she would tell people she wasn’t in the lifestyle. That was certainly a black-and-white issue. Either you were or you weren’t actively participating. No, what he had trouble understanding was why she would lie and claim she wasn’t interested? Especially when everything about her body language said the exact opposite.
Regardless, whether she was interested was beside the point. He was both active and interested in the lifestyle, and respecting her use ofred, even though they weren’t in anything remotely resembling a scene, was a given.
Terrence flashed her a smile. “You didn’t have to go so far as to safeword, princess. You could have just told me to mind my own damn business.”
“Don’t call me princess, and no I couldn’t have.”
“I would have backed down,” he said, completely ignoring her princess request. “And I’ll take care of the phone issue. As for the other, don’t expect me not to react when you look at me as if kneeling before me wouldn’t be the highlight of your day. I’d never touch you or any other woman without implicit consent, but you better damn well believe I’ll call your ass out on it every time.”
She didn’t back down, and he had to admit he liked that about her. With her shoulders straightened, she looked him square in the eye. “I don’t see how you’ll ever have the opportunity to call me out on anything since we’ll both be doing our best to avoid the other.”
He couldn’t help but think that agreement on her first day might have been one of his worst mistakes ever. It’d been foolish of him to do so before he had a chance to appreciate the fact she was no longer a nineteen-year-old teen but rather a captivating woman.
But he had, and he was a man of his word.
Even so, he didn’t try to hold back his reply. “I notice you didn’t deny what I said about how much you want to kneel before me.”
“I didn’t think such nonsensical drivel was worthy of a response.”
He might have believed her if it wasn’t for the way her cheeks flushed an enchanting shade of pink, not to mention her body language in the playroom. Were her quick and witty responses due to her upbringing, or were they inherently part of who she was?
He wasn’t sure, but it would be fun to try to figure it out. For the moment though…
“Keep telling yourself that, princess.” He turned to leave. “But you’ll never convince me it’s true.”
The door slammed shut behind him as soon as he stepped into the hallway, and he swallowed a snort.
“I see it didn’t take long for you to find our newly hired admin’s last nerve.”
Terrence turned to find Fulton walking down the hall. “That?” he asked. “Nah. She just needed a quiet moment or two so she could reflect on her true self.”
Fulton seemed to think for a moment, and then nodded his head as if decided on something. “Walk with me,” he said.
Surprised but unabashedly curious at the same time, Terrence followed the other man down the hall toward the outside exit.
“When you say Veronica’s true self,” Fulton began as they stepped out of the main building and into the sunlight, “you’re talking about her being a submissive?”
“You picked up on that too?”
“I would have, yes,” Fulton said. “But I didn’t have to. She told me she identified herself as a submissive the first day I met her. In our first conversation. Of course it was quickly followed with her clarifying that she meant she identified as such years prior when she was active in the lifestyle.”
“My point to her exactly,” Terrence said, glad he wasn’t the only one who saw beneath Ronnie’sI’m not part of the lifestyle anymorenonsense. “You don’t stop being a submissive just because you woke up one morning and decided you’d rather not be one.”
“That’s true,” Fulton agreed. “But there’s one thing you’re forgetting.”
“What’s that?”
Fulton stopped walking and Terrence did the same, wanting to hear where the conversation was headed.
“You’ll never convince a woman, especially one as stubborn as the one who just slammed the door on your ass, that she’s a submissive just because you said she was.”
“I don’t have to convince her,” Terrence argued. “You just said she admitted being one the first time the two of you spoke.”
“Veronica saying she was a submissive years ago is quite different from her saying she’s one today. In her mind, they are two separate things.”
“Okay,” Terrence said. “So how do I get her to admit she’s still submissive if I can’t tell her?”
“You know, I really thought with you being a Hollywood hotshot and all, you’d have a better grasp on how women operate.”