Exposed Exposed (Dom Nation #1) - E. Davies Page 0,12

softly. “If it’s the right one.” Hardly able to believe my own boldness, I met his eyes. But it was far easier when I wasn’t in that soft, pliable state, like clay for his molding.

Rex gave me a small smile and then looked away, his gaze distant and his hand going still on the countertop. Didn’t say anything, just gazed out the door.

My throat went tight with disappointment. I wanted to know whether monogamy suited him, too. Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t hide my interest in Rex.

It wasn’t just that I was grateful for him stepping in during my hour of need. Something in him called to me, and here I was, answering that call.

But maybe Rex—or Master X, as he’d called himself—was taken. That was a possibility I hadn’t considered.

Or not interested right now. Retired from the scene? At his age? It seemed unlikely, but I didn’t know how it worked.

All I knew was that he had instincts as strong as Isaac’s, and he was ten times gentler. Like a pendulum, I wondered how far he’d swing the other way—when he was clinging to the edge of self-control, another man’s pleasure in his hands.

He listened to me earlier, I thought. I didn’t think Doms did.

I’d tried not to obsess over every detail of the night so far. There would be time for that later. Months and years, probably. I wanted to live in the moment first, before trying to preserve it.

That would make a change.

Rex wandered toward the window and folded his arms tightly. “It’s getting busier out there,” he murmured, squinting against the darkness outside the glass-fronted shop.

A few customers had wandered in over the last hour, but not many. He’d sold maybe a dozen cupcakes since I’d arrived. I had no idea if that was a busy or quiet night for him.

Was he anxious for more customers? He didn’t seem anxious.

The oven timer dinged, harsh and sudden by my ear. I jumped, but before I could settle, Rex turned and strode toward me. “Get out or get back,” he warned.

It was breathtaking, his sudden and single-minded focus. Having tasted it before, my body recognized it again and thrilled at the sight.

I opted to step back, crunching myself up against the display case to give him plenty of elbow room as he slid his hands into white oven mitts and opened the oven door.

Hot air rushed out, making him simply blink and turn his head away for a moment as I flinched and cowered back.

“It won’t hurt you,” Rex promised, a smile touching his lips. He set the tray well out of reach and the oven mitts down next to it, stacking them atop one another with precision before stroking them gently.

Even that tiny gesture told me something else about him: there was no careless brutality, like—like others. No, this man would be a meticulous and methodical Daddy.

“If you stick around long enough for these to cool, you can decorate one. It calms and focuses the mind.”

I couldn’t help noticing he hadn’t stepped away from me. I was trapped at this end of the counter between the glass display case and Rex, who had placed one hand on the counter on either side of him.

Nowhere to run, and I didn’t want to.

I slowly raised a brow at him. Why the hell would he want me to help decorate? Was I cheap labor, or did he want to make me feel better? I was totally unqualified to create anything like the beautiful creations in his cabinet.

“Are you calling me unhinged?” I asked, folding my arms with a pout.

“God, no.”

I’d meant to tease him, but Rex’s voice was serious. He shifted, popping a hip and leaning on the customer-facing counter, his fingertips still casually brushing the prep counter like he wanted to stop me squeezing past him.

But it was Rex’s eyes that stopped me there, the warm gold of liquid honey layered over light brown toast. He scrutinized me like he was trying to pick me apart and put me together all at once.

My heart hammered and I stayed silent, waiting to see what he’d do.

“I’ve never had a boy defy me like that all of a sudden,” Rex told me. “Still waters run deep for you, don’t they?”

I licked my lips, my gulp echoing in the quiet air of the cupcake shop. “Yes,” I told him. And nothing else.

I didn’t even know the layers of crap in my own head. Good luck to anyone else who thought