My eyes are downcast as I sit next to Ret, with his hand resting on my thigh. I’m to be seen and not heard until I’m given permission to speak.

“How are things going with your sub?” Misha asks like I’m an object and can’t hear.

Ret’s hand tightens in warning because he felt my body tense. “I couldn’t be happier. Alese has come along faster than I would’ve expected.”

Faster than expected. What the fuck does that mean?

I glance up with my eyelashes and bite the inside of my cheek to hide my scowl.

Misha laughs, his hand slapping against the table. “Somehow, you turned someone who couldn’t make a decision about what she wanted to be into the docile creature at your side.”

“She wasn’t undecided. She just hadn’t found the man to help her accept her true nature.”

Stella moves slightly, tapping my toe with hers, and I can almost read her thoughts.

We’ve become friends because our Masters are friends. She’s been a lifesaver. When I have a question I don’t want to ask Ret, which happens often, I turn to Stella for the help.

“Well, she’s like an entirely different person,” Misha says.

My fingernails dig into the leather seat because I’m still me. Men seem to overstate their importance in changing us. Stella told me that men just want their egos stroked and to feel important, and I can see how that is true in Misha’s case, maybe. But Ret, he’s an entirely different creature.

The silent type. The strong man who doesn’t need to say much to convey his message. A little touch is all it takes to let me know how he feels or what he needs.

By his grip on my leg, he can read my body language, and he is giving me a silent warning not to respond.

“So how’s work, Ret? Working on an exciting case?”

“It’s been busy, but some opportunities have opened elsewhere. I may be moving soon,” Ret replies, and it sends my stomach into a tailspin.

We talked about his possible move last week. I never really knew what Ret did until we started on this journey together. I found out he was a bounty hunter and traveled the world in search of criminals. The thought of him risking his life makes my heart ache.

“Where to?” Misha asks.

“I have a few possibilities.” Ret’s being cagey with his answer, and his hand lightens on my thigh before his thumb starts to stroke my skin, calming me.

“We’ll miss you if you leave. What about Alese?”

“We haven’t decided if she’ll follow.”

My body tenses with his response. I did decide, though. I just haven’t shared the news with him. He asked me if I wanted to go with him, and in that moment, I wanted to say yes, but he told me to think about it. I know it’s a big decision, but there’s nothing really here for me without him.

I would still have my job, but I could be a teacher anywhere. The one thing I wouldn’t have is Ret. He’s not replaceable. I tried for years to find my other half, the one who got me, and now that I’ve finally found him…I won’t lose him.

“Sorry to cut this short, Misha, but I need to speak with Alese for a while.”

“I’m sure you’re going to do a lot of talking.” Misha laughs.

Ret’s hand tightens on my thigh as he pulls me with him out of the booth. I follow behind him, my eyes still staring at the floor and my stomach doing backflips.

I know exactly where we’re going when we start to climb the steps. We’re not going to talk at all. We’re headed to the private rooms, but instead of going to our usual room, he takes me through a different door.

“Sit on the bed.” Ret stands at the entrance to the room, holding the door open for me.

I don’t speak when I walk past him. I sit and fold my hands in my lap, staring at his feet as he walks in my direction.

“Alese,” he says and kneels on the floor in front of me. “Look at me.” His hands cover mine.

I drag my eyes to his.

“We need to talk about me leaving town.”

I nod slowly, but I don’t speak.

“Do you want to come with me?”

I nod again.

“Speak to me.”

“Yes, Master Ret. I want to go with you.”

“You sure you want to give up your job and life here in Texas to follow me?”

“I’m completely sure. There’s nothing here for me without you.”

His hand finds my cheek and strokes it so tenderly I can feel tears threatening to form. “It’s a big step, piccola.”

“I know,” I say in a quiet voice. “But I know what I want, and I want you, Master Ret.”

His thumb glides across my bottom lip, and my heart skips a beat. “I love you, Alese.”

It goes from skipping to a dead stop. “You love me?” My mouth hangs open, and the tears I’d been able to control start to well in my eyes.

“I do,” he says, smiling at me with such tenderness that my heart starts again, but it’s now beating in an erratic rhythm.

“I love you too,” I whisper and blink, letting a tear fall down my cheek.

He swipes it away with the pad of his thumb. “You’ve made me so happy.”

“You’ve changed my life,” I say as more tears begin to follow the path of the first.

“Let’s celebrate,” he says as he stands and places his hands on his hips.

“Um,” I mumble and wonder what the man has up his sleeves. Using the back of my hand, I wipe away the tears.

“Undress and kneel,” he commands me.

And as if we didn’t just profess our love for each other, I stand, removing my clothes slowly while I watch him. The look of lust in his eyes is unmistakable.

When I kneel, I rest my hands in my lap and wait. He wanders away, and I watch out of the corner of my eye to see what he has planned.

He undresses, placing his clothes on a chair across the room. When he steps in front of me, his massive hard-on in my face, I wait for his command.

“Climb up on the bed and lie down,” he says without touching me.

My eyebrows draw together as I crawl onto the bed with my back to him.

“Do you know what I’m going to do to you?” he asks as he climbs onto the bed and covers my body with his.

I shake my head and brace myself.

“I’m going to make love to you, Alese.”

I gasp before his mouth covers mine, sucking the air from my lungs. Ret makes love to me. He doesn’t toy with me, holding my orgasms just out of reach. Instead, he’s gentle, loving, and slow.

And I know that I’ve made the right decision. I’m no longer alone. My biggest fear of becoming a reclusive cat lady is no longer on the table. I have my other half.

On the outside, to people not in the life, I must look weak. But loving a man, no matter who he is, takes the strongest person in the world. Giving myself to him completely and trusting that he’ll do what’s right is my biggest leap of faith.