With all the gentleness she deserved. He would let her make the pace and only take what she was willing to give. He could handle it.
"Properly?" She frowned his way. "That sounds boring, Dane. I want you, especially that dirty, nasty side you've been trying to pretend doesn't exist."
Dane sighed. She seemed determined to not make this easy on him. He felt his whole body tighten. "Lea, you don't understand what you're asking for."
She took a step back, and he missed the heat of her body. "Yes, I do. I was on that island. I know what you want. I can handle it, Dane. I can more than handle it. I want it. I crave it."
She was so fucking gorgeous. Her whole body was a fucking temple, and he worshipped it. From the pitch black of her hair to her round breasts to the sweet curve of her belly and the flare of her hips. He loved her fucking feet. He usually didn't give a shit about feet, but hers were so sweet. He always had the craziest impulse to rub them and kiss them because they held her up and moved her along beside him.
"Lea, after everything you've been through, you don't need my damage."
"It's not damage, Dane. It's part of you, and I damn well do need it. I wouldn't be where I am if you hadn't pushed me."
Tal had said that Alea needed him most of all, especially his Dom side. Maybe … the sheikh had been right.
"Do you know what I did today?"
His heart was aching because she was everything he wanted in life. "What?"
"I set up an international agency to fight for women's rights across the globe. I made plans to meet with women who were taken at the same time I was so we can talk and make plans so that what happened to us stops happening to other young women. I became more than a victim. I became a force that those who took me and everyone like them will have to deal with."
Damn, those tears were starting again. He'd looked at her so long ago and he'd known what she could be. This warrior in front of him was the woman that girl had become. She could change the world if she set her mind to it.
"Lea, baby, sometimes bad shit happens to the right people. It sucks and it's horrible but those people can fix things for everyone else. You're that person. You can stand up for everyone else. This is why it happened to you." He hated that she'd gone through so much pain, but she had an opportunity to make the world better. He'd spent years fighting in wars, but Alea was the one who would truly fight the good fight. And he would be right there, protecting her.
She stared up at him, her eyes so passionate. "And this is why everything that happened in your childhood, with the Navy, and with your wife happened to you. Dane, can't you see that? These roads we've traveled, they were hard and rough and they made us the people we are. They brought us here-together. I couldn't have become this person without you, Landon, and Cooper. And this damage you're talking about … you endured and grew because of it. It's your strength. Damn it, Dane, it's our strength."
She took a step back and sank to her knees in a perfectly graceful move down to slave position, her knees splayed wide and her palms up. The black waterfall of her hair reached to her breasts, the ends almost tickling her nipples. She squared her shoulders. The deeply submissive position left her pussy and her breasts on glorious display. Her nipples were erect, pointing his way, as though trying to tempt him to lick them and suck them into his mouth. And her pussy was a jewel, gold and pink, with just a hint of the arousal he wanted to flow from her.
Landon walked up to her left side, and Cooper to her right. They had both shucked their clothes and each one only had eyes for Alea. They were staring down at her, longing plain on their faces. They were ready for some playtime with their fiancée, their woman, the center of their goddamn whole world.
"We all want this," Lan said.
He hadn't counted on the fact that he wasn't the only one who needed this.
"None of us would be here without you, buddy," Cooper said. "It's time to claim our sub."
Their submissive. Such a misnomer. Submissive. Dominant. They were just words to describe a truth. In the end, they were just men in love with a woman. It was just another way to express the fact that he was crazy about her and he'd do anything to show her.
"Do you need this, Alea?" This had to be about her. At some point, his world had shifted and his own needs had taken a backseat.
Her eyes came up, and he saw only truth in them. "I crave this, Dane. I need you. I want to explore what we found on that island. I want to make it real."