“Come here.”

He levered himself over her and nuzzled her neck, breathing in the scent of her damp skin, feeling her heartbeat beneath his lips. “Thank you for that, Mistress.”

She made a hum of acknowledgment. Then she gently pushed on his shoulders. “Get dressed and I’ll meet you in the living room.”

Her dismissal stung, but it wasn’t unexpected.

Knox slipped on his boxer briefs and returned to where he’d left his clothes. After getting dressed, he prowled around the gigantic space, which felt more like a mausoleum than a home.

Maybe she preferred austere surroundings, but from what he could tell, there wasn’t a personal item anywhere. Nothing revealed insight into the person who lived in this glass-walled penthouse besides wealth.

There was so much more to Shiori than that.

She appeared in her robe, her hair in a messy knot on top of her head. She held out her hand and led him to the lounging area. She sat in the high-backed leather chair and indicated he should sit at her feet.

He had a momentary flash of resentment that they couldn’t just sit together on the damn couch, so he kept his gaze aimed at the carpet.

“We should’ve talked more about each of our expectations and limits before we became intimate. As the Domme, that’s on me.”

Knox raised his head. “Please don’t say you have regrets.”

She touched his face and let her hand drift to his neck. “No regrets.”

“Then what?”

“I asked you to give me one night. You have. I’m grateful for your trust, Knox. I know it’s not easy for you. I don’t know if this night convinced you of anything.”

Was she cutting him loose? “It convinced me that I need more than one damn night to figure this out.”

Those golden eyes seemed to measure every inch of him. “You’re sure?”

He turned his head and kissed the inside of her wrist. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m happy to hear that. Still, I think it’d be best if we waited a couple of days to try this again. I need to allow you enough time to think everything through.”

While he understood she was doing this to protect him, it annoyed him. She didn’t know what was best for him.

Isn’t that what a Domme does? Arguing will just prove that you aren’t ready for her to make decisions for you.

So he swallowed his protest and said, “That makes sense.”

Shiori bent forward and kissed him. “I’ll walk you out.”

At the elevator, Knox gathered her into his arms. “See you tomorrow.”

*   *   *

SHIORI didn’t show up at Black Arts until around ten the next morning. She didn’t really need to be there. It was a holiday, and banks, schools, and most businesses were closed. She’d convinced herself she needed to check Ronin’s penthouse, just to make sure everything was okay. But the truth was she wanted to see Knox.

The office and the conference room were empty. As she headed down the hallway, she heard the familiar sounds of body parts striking plastic practice gear. She paused just inside the door to the training room. Deacon and Ito were grappling. Knox served as Ivan’s punching bag in the ring while Fisher supervised, yelling out instructions.

She hated to admit it, but their MMA program shouldn’t even be listed in the same brochure as the Black Arts jujitsu program. Yes, it was still in the early building stage, but Deacon and Ivan were the only decent fighters. The rest of the guys who paid to train here were wasting their time and money, as well as tying up the instructors so they didn’t have enough time to work with Deacon and Ivan.

Knox took a blow to the chin and she winced. Sometimes she felt bad he was the only guy Ivan’s size and had no choice but to partner up with him. Knox moved very, very well for such a big guy. He wasn’t clumsy or lumbering—either on or off the mat. And it seemed like Ivan had become lighter on his feet after watching Knox move.

She’d tried not to obsess on Knox’s visit to her apartment last night and what it meant. She’d sensed his resentment a few times, and she hadn’t been sure if she should be impressed by him masking it, or upset that he hadn’t been honest with her about how he felt. Since it’d been their first time together and it was new territory for both of them, she’d cut them some slack.

And there was her problem. Should she tell Knox that she’d never been in a long-term relationship with a submissive? That being a one-man Domme would be as new to her as being submissive was to him? Or would that admission foster a lack of confidence and trust?