X: Command Me through Alexander's Eyes - Geneva Lee Page 0,36

do that. Physically, I can protect her—and I will. But how do I prove she’s safe with me in other ways? How do I guard her heart from the world—and from myself?

“When I told you that I was protecting you from the reporters, how did you feel?” I ask after a moment.

There’s hesitation as she considers. “I guess that—” she pauses for what feels like an eternity “—I felt safe.”

“Why?” If she felt that way, there’s hope. She needs to understand. I need her to understand.

“Because you care.” There’s revelation in her voice.

There’s something else, though—a hint of sadness. I wonder what she’s faced. Who has let her down? Betrayed her? I decide, at that moment, that I won’t allow myself to do the same.

“I do care, Clara.” I hover over her, our mouths inches apart. Not so I can kiss her, but so that there’s no chance she doesn’t hear me. “I didn’t want you to experience being trashed by the tabloids.”

“So it wasn’t that you didn’t want to be seen with me?” she asks.

How could I have been stupid enough to not see this coming?

“Have you looked in the mirror lately? I can only assume you haven’t, so let me describe what you look like right now. Clara Bishop has large, gray eyes with fluttering lashes and a button nose. That would be enough to make her pretty, but then she has these pouty lips that make me hard. Her hair is silky and soft, and no matter how much she tries to control it, there are always some locks that escape to drift down her neck or blow across her face. I can’t help imagining letting it all down, watching it fall over her shoulders as she comes on my cock.” I press into her as a reminder of what she does to me. “She drives me crazy, and I honestly don’t care who knows it.”

“But you don’t do relationships, Mr. X,” she says softly.

“I don’t do romance,” I remind her gently, “but if you’ll let me, I will do pleasure.”

“There’s no one else then, Mr. X?” She’s taunting me with the alias, calling my bluff.

“Too formal, poppet.” I don’t know how to assure her that we are on equal footing—that we want the same thing.

“Okay, then. There’s no one else then, X?”

“I’m true to my word, Clara.” And I mean it with every fiber of my being.

She trembles but this time, it’s with fear. “But you want to dominate me.”

Someday she won’t fear it. I’ll help her—guide her there. For now…

“I want to give you pleasure. When you found out I was protecting you, it made you feel safe. That’s what I want to do.” I brush my lips across her jaw, earning a shiver of pleasure this time. “I want to show you that I can protect you while showing you the heights of pleasure you’ve never known.”

“I don’t know.” Uncertainty colors her words. She truly doesn’t.

I drop my head to her shoulder and consider my options. I can’t force her to understand, but I can give her time—and what she needs. Lifting my eyes to meet hers, I mean it when I promise, “You win.”

“I do?” She sounds surprised.

“We’ll do it your way, Clara. I want you. I want you any way I can have you.”

“You agree that I’m not your submissive?” she asks slowly.

“I agree not to push you, Clara—unless you ask me to…” I leave it hanging. Clara Bishop will ask me to dominate her body—beg me to. It’s as inevitable as my arrival here today. Neither of us can walk away from this. Not anymore.

Her body, which has been still against mine, strains into me with unspoken need.

“Soon, poppet.” I tuck her hair behind her ear, meaning it. I can’t resist kissing her neck to seal my promise. “What are your plans this evening?”

“I’m flexible.” The answer is coy, and I know that I’ve won.

I smile at her answer, not at what I’m about to ask her. “There’s a thing this evening. Would you go with me?”

“What kind of thing?”

“A ball.” I press my index finger to her lips before she can refuse me. “And before you say no, it is for an excellent cause. We’re raising money for endangered animals. And furthermore, I don’t want to go either.”

I know what I’m asking her, but I need her to understand where we stand. If she thought I was trying to hide her, I would prove her wrong—in the most public way