The Billionaire's Secret (BDSM Erotic Romance) (His Submissive, Part Six) by Ava Claire Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t feel well. You’re human.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against my forehead. “It doesn’t make you any less attractive or make me love you any less.” He pulled back. “You don’t really think I’m that shallow, do you?”
    I nibbled on my lip, shaking my head. “I think you’re amazing.”
    The side of his mouth arched upward, creating a gorgeous half smile. “Amazing, huh?”
    And just like that, I didn’t feel as sick and wanted to do so many other things. Most of them would require him stripping off those jeans, which really was a shame. But I was pretty sure that Jacob and I would both be scarred for life if we kissed and I...I shuddered at the very thought.
    “You okay?” he regarded me slowly, his eyes soft with tenderness.
    “I’m fine,” I nodded at the door behind me. “I think I’d feel better with a little distance between me and this room though.”
    He let me file out first then closed the door solidly behind us. I balled up the sheets on the couch and tossed them on the beanbag in the corner. Jacob’s eyebrows arched in amusement before he walked over and sat down beside me.
    “What?” I said, peering over at him. “Surprised that you’re actually sitting on a real-life futon?”
    “This isn’t the first futon I’ve sat on or slept on,” he said with a smirk. He took in my shock and elaborated. “When I was sixteen, I ran away from home. I was sick of my parents, of all the expectations that came with the Whitmore last name so I crashed on a friend’s futon, a few blocks from the Village. I spent a month fancying myself an artist, living off Ramen and coffee until my mother came down and convinced me to return home.”
    It was hard to picture Jacob as an artist type, curled up on a futon with a coffee mug. Heck, as soon as he said ‘ran away’ I assumed he went to Europe or somewhere warm and tropical.
    “Now you look surprised,” he mused, stretching his arm out on the cushion behind me.
    “I just assumed a super-rich kid’s idea of running away would look a lot different than sleeper sofas and oodles of noodles.”
    He let out a grunt of acknowledgment and glanced away. I guess we were done talking about the past. That just left the present.
    And our future.
    “I want to talk about what you said yesterday,” I said softly.
    I half expected him to interrupt me halfway through, as soon as he got the gist of where the conversation was headed. Assert his dominance and remind me who was in charge; who had the right to be angry and hurt. But all he offered was, “Okay”.
    I chewed on my lip, picking at a hole in the futon cover. “You brought up what happened with Rachel.” I breathed deep as the hurt returned. “Compared it to not telling you about Cade.” My eyes shifted to him, holding still when I saw he was watching me intently. “It wasn’t really a fair comparison.”
    He nodded slowly. “I agree. That was out of line. Instead of explaining how I felt, I defaulted to that.” His voice tightened. “I said it because I knew it would hurt you.”
    I sat back, feeling a strange wave of relief. I guess I already knew that was his intent, but hearing him say it out loud meant I could let it go.
    “I’m ready to talk about it now, if you’re ready to listen.”
    I brought my leg up on the cushion, angling my body toward him. Staring into the eyes of the man I loved so much it hurt. “I’m ready.”
    He drew a breath and began. “Hearing about you meeting with Cade, especially after learning about your attraction to him--”
    “Past attraction,” I interjected. He gave me a stern look and I hung my head. “Sorry. I’m listening.”
    “It hurt, Leila,” he continued. “I had to try and figure out why you’d lie about it in the first place. What if you still had feelings for him? What did you talk about? Did you connect with him? Did he make you smile? Laugh? These were the questions that I asked myself. And then I came home to that fancy