Logan stopped the car beside the curb of a nondescript little house about six blocks from his family. “Got a surprise for you inside. Merry Christmas, bro.”

When he got out of the car and grabbed the duffel in the back, Hunter followed reluctantly. “If you’re trying to set me up with one of your pain groupies, please don’t. Just let me see Dad and everyone else—”

“Sorry.” Logan darted for the door and fished the keys from his pocket. He slung the duffel in Hunter’s direction, then tossed him the keys. Hunter caught them reflexively. “I’ll be back for you by dinner. If you’d rather stay in, just text me.”

What the hell . . . ? Hunter turned on his brother and stormed down the concrete walkway, toward the Jeep. “Damn it, I don’t want this.”

“Yes, you do.” Logan got in the car and locked the door, rolling down the passenger window. “Trust me.”

With that, he drove off.

Hunter sighed. He’d be furious if it didn’t take too much energy—something he hadn’t been able to muster much of in the past six months. Shaking his head, he stalked into the house.

A female lived here, he knew the instant he hit the threshold. The décor didn’t give that fact away as much as the smell. Vanillascented air fresheners were the top note. Musky amber and lilies hit him next—a scent that made him freeze in his tracks.

Kata? It was her scent, but she couldn’t be here. Maybe he’d finally lost his mind. It would be a welcome change.

Heart pounding ridiculously fast, he closed the door behind him and stalked through the house. He was going to find out what was happening here and get some fucking peace.

The cozy living area was filled with buttery tan leather and wrought-iron tables, which led into a kitchen with earth-toned paisley patterns and cherry cabinets. The scent he sought had weakened, so Hunter turned, wending back the way he’d come, until he found a hallway.

He inhaled more of the gorgeous smell. God, it was stronger here, perfect. For the first time in what felt like forever, he had a raging hard-on. He tried to will it away.

Two bedrooms down either side of the hallway proved empty and lacking the scent he craved. The corridor dead-ended with a closed door. The master bedroom? Likely, he’d find it empty, and this strong scent the work of a candle or something, but . . . that didn’t keep his heart from beating like mad, his hope from soaring.

Hunter gripped the knob and shoved the door open.

Inside, he found a Dom’s paradise. It was a shadowed room filled with toys, tables, and restraints galore. In the middle, a woman knelt naked on her knees, head down, palms up, thighs spread, glossy dark curls swirling around her body.

Shock spread over him. Everything inside him froze, stuttered, then began racing a hundred miles an hour. “Kata?”

“Welcome back, Sir.”

What the hell was going on? Why was she here, waiting for him like his perfect fantasy? “Look at me.”

Slowly, she raised her head, her familiar hazel eyes rimmed in black liner. She met his gaze with a languid, sure sexuality that made his entire body tighten—and love. Then he looked down.

Since he’d last seen her, she’d embellished her body into his most potent wet dream. A delicate weighted hoop dangled from each nipple. Down lower, her pussy was completely smooth and bare. A little silver ring winked from between her slick folds. Dear God ... He staggered back a step.

Hunter was about two seconds from pouncing on her like a starved man. It damn sure looked like she was offering herself but... “Explain.”

She swallowed. “I’m signaling my willingness and availability to you.”

The submissive pose was generally meant to convey that, but . . . coming from Kata? “We’ve been down this road. You didn’t want what I wanted. Not to say I don’t love the way you look.” Hell, he loved everything about her—except the fears that kept them apart. “But we’re divorced for a reason. I haven’t changed.”

“I have,” she assured softly. “I want to submit in whatever way you need. I want to please you, husband.”

Everything about that statement filled him with questions, but he focused on the most important. “Ex-husband, right?”

She reached onto the bed right beside her and pulled down papers that had escaped his attention. Not surprising since her gorgeous, naked form had captured it. With a trembling hand, she handed the papers to him.

Mind racing, erection nagging him like an infected tooth, he unfolded them, knowing full well what they were.

He frowned. “The petition for divorce. We both signed. What happened?”

Finally, she looked nervous. “I never gave them back to Mari so she could proceed. I wanted to see you again, apologize for everything, submit to whatever punishment you deem appropriate, then let you decide what happens next.”

The words sank in. Shock pinged through him. Hope crept back in. “We’re not divorced?”

“No, and we won’t be unless you want to. I love you.”

Her hazel eyes filled up with tears, sincerity pouring from their depths. Hunter’s breath caught. His heart seized up. He wanted to cover her body with his and take all she offered. What little logic he still possessed made him pause.

“You were terrified of me and the sort of relationship I wanted. You sought this divorce. Now you love me?” He shrugged, struggling to balance his hope and fear. “Yes, I see you’re pierced in exactly the way that turns me inside out, and I won’t deny that the sight of your bare pussy is arousing as hell, but it’s going to take more than that for me to understand what’s different.”

She bowed her head, her silky hair sliding over her soft shoulders. The gesture, the intimation—hell, everything about the woman—was about to undo him.

“Our last night together was a revelation to me. When I wasn’t afraid about the future and put my trust in you, I simply let go and discovered how connected I felt to you. How strong. You’re not Gordon. I’m also not my mother, settling for a man who takes pleasure in bending me low to cause me pain. The last few months, I’ve worked a lot of issues out. I’m at peace. I’ve learned to submit with grace and calm. Unless you no longer love me and have moved on, I want nothing more than to be your wife in every way.”

Hope crept over Hunter, damn near blocking out rational thought. In Kata’s head, she’d worked through their issues. Maybe. God, he hoped so. But what if she went running again the first time he overwhelmed her? He didn’t think he could stand the torment of losing her again.

“My love for you was never the question. I’m always going to love you, but if we can’t be together in the most basic way . . . ” He narrowed his eyes as he stared at her, trying not to focus on the little piece of jewelry dangling between her luscious thighs that made his tongue twitch. “Why should I believe that anything has truly changed?”

“I talked at length to your brother, along with Jack Cole and his wife. They introduced me to Cheyenne, a Domme. We’re . . . friends.”

Hunter stared hard at her, a bolt of jealousy piercing him. “You submitted to her?”

“Often, yes. For the practice. It wasn’t sexual.”

For most submissives, the act of opening themselves up to another’s will opened them up sexually. “You never came for her?”

She couldn’t have missed his skeptical tone, because she flushed. “When she wielded a paddle in one hand and a vibrator in another, it was impossible to resist. You are welcome to punish me as you see fit.” Kata lifted her gaze to him, so open and welcoming. “Please touch me, Hunter. Try me.”

The strength of her conviction, along with his enduring feelings for her, made him stand and hold out his hand. As she placed her fingers in his palm, his heart slammed against his ribs. He couldn’t help but notice that they both shook.

“Afraid?” He helped her to her feet.

“No. Just nervous.”

Yeah, he was, too. She might be placing her body in his grasp, but he was placing his heart completely in her hands. If this didn’t work out, Hunter knew it would crush him—and he didn’t know if he could ever find his way back.

“I won’t go easy on you.”

Kata nodded. “I haven’t earned anything else.”

She definitely knew the score. There was only one thing left to say. “Your safe word is “divorce.” You say it, and we’re done. I’ll disappear forever.”

“You’ll never hear that word from me again.”

The possibility of a thousand bright tomorrows stretched out in front of him. Having this woman by his side for each and every one was his biggest fantasy of all.

Unfamiliar with the setup in the room, he prowled to the closet. Bingo! He found exactly what he needed in seconds. Grabbing a few items, he shoved them in his pockets, then turned back to Kata.

“Turn on every light in the room.”

“As you wish.” She flipped on the switch near the door. Light flooded the room from a fixture overhead. It shined on her bare skin, glowing golden across her shoulders, down her back, on the bare skin of her buttocks.

His mouth watered. His chest clenched. God, how badly he wanted her to be his forever . . .

Kata turned on the lamps at both the nightstands flanking the bed. Intense light flooded the bed, white, bright, unforgiving.

“Good.” But he hadn’t asked anything particularly taxing of her. Yet. “Now get on the bed, flat on your back, legs spread wide.”

She jumped to do his bidding without hesitation.

With this light, she had to know he would see any flaws she’d tried to hide in the past. But she didn’t flinch once, just arranged herself on the double bed, head on a pillow, heels hugging the edges.

Jesus, she looked gorgeous. He wanted to pounce on her, affix his mouth to her pussy, feel her explode on his tongue, then fill her with every aching inch of his cock. Hunter fought the need, forcing himself to think this through. He had to know if she could really be free to submit, not just for him, but for herself, too.

“Arms above your head.”

Again, she complied, no hesitation. He climbed on the bed and grabbed her wrists, then withdrew handcuffs from his pocket. Quickly, he clapped one around each wrist and attached the dangling chain between to a fastening screwed into the headboard.

Squelching the urge to kiss Kata until she was putty, Hunter focused his attention lower. Could she submit without being seduced into it? Could she give her will over to his because they both needed it, nothing more, nothing less?

“I’m going to inspect you.” He stared at her with a raised brow, waiting for her to flinch or protest or close her legs.

She did nothing.

Making his way slowly to the end of the bed, he knelt between her thighs and looked at her bare flesh and the pretty piercing in the hood of her clit. Fuck, nothing got to him faster than knowing she’d done that to please him, and on Kata the sight ramped him up like he’d never known before.

Reaching out with one finger, he trailed it up the smooth, damp skin in the crease between her pussy and her leg. At his first soft touch, she gasped.

“Quiet, unless I say otherwise.”

No rancor or annoyance crossed her face. “Yes, Sir.”

“Is your pussy shaved or waxed?”

“Lasered. It’s permanent. Cheyenne recommended someone really great to me.”

She’d committed to keeping herself bare for him? The thought made desire coil inside him even tighter. Damn, it was going to be tough to focus on putting her through her paces and not fucking her like a rabid animal on the spot.

Breathing deeply, he forced himself to hold back and ran that same finger over her clit. “And the piercings?”

Her muscles tensed. Her breathing hitched. But she answered his question. “Cheyenne recommended me to Bruce. He did them all. He’s very gentle.”

Which meant that Bruce had seen his wife naked, and Hunter didn’t like it one bit. He swallowed the urge to hunt the asshole down and focused on the fact that Kata had seemingly gone to great lengths to please him.

Flicking the little ring with his finger, she tensed, then forced herself to relax. Hope sprang a little higher inside him.

“How long ago was this done?”

“Middle of July.”

So plenty of time to heal. Plenty of time for her to take them out if she’d reconsidered the kind of commitment he sought. Then her words hit him all over again. She’d done this shortly after getting out of the hospital. She’d been thinking of him while he was thousands of miles away, miserable with the distance between them. Had she, even then, been looking for a way to bridge the chasm so they could be together?

Hunter released a shuddering breath, but nothing was going to stop the freight train of desire slamming through him. Kata got to him, now more than ever.

“I don’t like another man seeing you naked.”

Her lips curved up, but she said nothing.