She withdrew from him. Her body tightened, and she started to look around the room. For a chance to escape? The wolf inside her started to bang against her inner cage.
The protective instinct inside him rose to full force. Her reactions were setting the Dom and the protector off all at once.
“On your knees and present to me.” He deepened his voice, and Dawn went to her knees, spreading her legs wide as she bowed her head, presenting her body in the submissive pose he loved so much. “Your wolf can rest. I wouldn’t let you out there for others to see this gorgeous body.” He reached out to finger a strand of her hair. She had beautiful hair, long and dark brown. He watched the strands as he stroked them through his fingers. “Things are going to change between us, Dawn.”
She looked up at him. Tears glistened in her eyes as she stared back at him, and her lips trembled.
“For the last year I’ve watched you dance around me like you were in control. I’m the Dom, your Master, and I’m also your mate.” He pressed a finger to her lips as she went to dispute him. “No more arguing. You’ve kept me at bay, and I’ve followed your rules. Shit happened to you, I get it, but you’re not going to deal with it anymore. You’re going to let me inside here.” He pressed the finger from her mouth to her head. “I’m not backing down or going away. We’re in this together.” He waited for several minutes to pass. “You may speak.”
“This is not what we agreed. When I saw you, you promised I could take my time getting used to you and that I could end this when I want.”
“I agreed to those terms before I realized how damaged you’d become from this lifestyle. You’ve got problems, Dawn. I can help you through them, but you’ve got to trust me.”
“How can I trust you when you’re doing this?” She waved her hand between them.
Did she have any idea how beautiful she looked on her knees before him? He doubted it. Dawn didn’t have the first clue of the power she held over him.
“I didn’t go to your father when I realized you weren’t going to accept our mating.” Any father, especially an Alpha, would have loved for their daughter to mate with a fellow alpha. Daniel had had every intention of going to her father. She’d begged him not to then threatened to deny his claim. If she denied his claim the risk of going feral increased. He backed off and decided to prove to her that she could trust him.
“I gave you an ultimatum. That’s not trust.”
He cupped her face, running his finger along her lip. She didn’t tense up or jerk away, which was an improvement. When they were first together she fought him at every turn and pulled away from any kind of intimacy.
“I’ve given you more in the last year than you’ve ever gotten elsewhere. I see the look in your eyes, Dawn. You don’t allow me to bring you to orgasm, yet the pleasure is there in your eyes, the way you let me hold you. There’s much you can accuse me of, but caring and seeing to your needs is not one of them.” He withdrew his hand. “You’ve been through a lot of crap. I want to know what it is.”
“No, I’m not telling you anything.”
“You feel your wolf right now? How she’s pacing along the walls of your mind, curious yet holding herself back?”
“How did you—”
“She wants to trust me, to trust this instinct inside her. You’ve put yourself in danger, and we’re not going anywhere else until you tell me what.” He stared at her knowing he needed to win this battle. “Tonight, you’re coming home with me. We’re going to get to the bottom of your problems. No one lies at my house. We’ll be totally alone, and we can explore your issues.”
“No, I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“It’s simple, Dawn, you’ll come with me back home or I’ll be escorting you home, telling your father, and withdrawing your membership here. No one will touch you, and your father will either cast you out or demand something of you.”
“You can’t do this. I’ll reject you. I’ll stop this.”
“The whole of your club will know your secret. You keep it a secret here with me and it will die with me, but you’ll come home with me. I’ve kept this secret for a year. I’ve put up with your shit, and it ends now.” This was a radical move on his part. She could walk out that door and be safe for the rest of her life. Daniel knew there was something else wrong inside her. Dawn was terrified of her own instincts, which told him she’d put herself at risk in more ways than one.
“This isn’t fair.”