Giving In(34)

“Does he know how she feels?” Jensen asked. “Just from observing them the few times I’ve been around them, I’d say the man worships the ground she walks on. Most men, upon learning their woman was the least bit unhappy, would move heaven and earth to correct the problem. But if he doesn’t know . . .”

“He doesn’t,” Kylie supplied. “Or at least she hasn’t confronted him. It’s a difficult position she’s in because she feels that if she were to tell Tate she’s unhappy, he would feel as though he failed her. There was a time we talked about her fear that he was cheating. But she wouldn’t confront him because she knew if she ever expressed that kind of doubt in him that it would be a rift that wouldn’t be easily mended. She didn’t want to give him any hint that she didn’t have faith in him. I just want her to be happy. I hate seeing her so sad. It makes me want to smack Tate upside the head and ask him if he even sees what he’s doing to his wife.”

Jensen grimaced. “That doesn’t sound like a fun place for her to be. Worried but unable to voice her fears. I prefer open communication myself. I’d hate for my woman to ever fear speaking to me about anything.”

There was an undertone to his statement that was aimed at her. She knew it. He wasn’t talking about Chessy and Tate. He was talking about him and her. He was telling her not to fear ever talking to him about anything.

“For some reason I don’t seem to suffer that affliction around you,” she said in bewilderment. “In fact I’d say it’s just the opposite. I can’t seem to quit just blurting stuff out. I’m not usually such a blabbermouth.”

“Then I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, his expression sincere. “I like the idea that you’re comfortable enough around me to speak your mind. I hope that it’s the beginnings of trust between us.”

“I do trust you,” she whispered. “I have no idea why. God knows I don’t trust anyone. But for some reason I feel safe with you and that kind of freaks me out.”

He stopped what he was doing and walked around the counter to where she sat. He spun the stool until she faced him and he framed her face in his hands. His eyes glittered with intensity as he stared down at her. She thought he was going to kiss her and he did, just not where she expected.

He pressed his lips tenderly to her forehead and she closed her eyes in pleasure over the simple gesture.

“You are safe with me, Kylie,” he said as he drew back, his hands still framing her face.

He stroked his thumb over her lips, lips she thought he would kiss.

“If you believe nothing else, you can believe that. You are absolutely safe with me and I don’t just mean physically. You are safe in all ways because I will absolutely protect you from anything that could hurt you.”

“Why me?” she blurted. “I don’t get it. I’m not fishing for compliments, Jensen. It’s a sincere question. You can’t have to look far for female companionship. You could likely have any woman you wanted. So why are you interested in me? Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?”

His smile was so tender that it made her heart leap and speed up.

“I know exactly what I’m getting myself into,” he murmured. “As for why you? I can’t answer that. Some things just are. And for me that’s you. I see beyond the image you present to the world to the woman underneath and that’s who I want.”

“We’re too different,” she said in a fretful tone. “And you’re a control freak and I’m a control freak. It’s not like I have some OCD thing, but I like things a certain way. I need them a certain way. Two control freaks in a relationship? Surely that’s a recipe for disaster.”

He continued to smile at her, his eyes warm. He didn’t seem at all put off by her fretting.

“I understand you far more than you realize,” he said softly. “I’m no threat to you, Kylie. For the right woman, I have no issue with relinquishing control. What I’m after has nothing to do with physical submission.”

His words puzzled her. He was speaking as though he were dominant. Like Dash and Tate. And he probably was. Which made his interest in her all the more mystifying.

“Are you dominant?” she whispered. “You never really answered me before when I asked if you were like Tate and Dash. I know you said you were you and not them. But that wasn’t what I meant. Do you like submissive women? Do you like to dominate them?”

“I prefer submissive women, yes,” he said calmly. “Until you I would have said that it was the only kind of relationship I would entertain.”