Siren in Bloom [Texas Sirens 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Sophie Oak

his brain replayed the last few minutes. He started to go over it, but all he could think about was the fact that she was still here.
    He’d been sure she was going to leave. And he would have let her. He wasn’t going to force himself on someone, but he wanted her. Hell, he’d wanted her from the first time Julian had described her.
    Lovely. Sweet. Submissive. Smart and sassy. The other three didn’t work for him without the smart and sassy. He didn’t want a slave. He wanted a partner, a lover, he admitted.
    And according to Julian Lodge, Shelley McNamara needed a lover, too.
    “What does this mean?” Shelley asked, pointing to a paragraph that described high protocol.
    He wasn’t about to make her speak only when spoken to. He drew a line through that. “It’s not something we need to worry about right now. We’ll come up with our own protocol. I want you to be able to ask questions and tell me how you’re feeling. I only ask that when we’re in public, you treat me with every politeness. You are to call me Sir and attempt to obey me.”
    She frowned. “In public. So, I have to call you Sir if we’re in a restaurant?”
    He hid his smile. He liked the fact that she was already thinking of him outside the club setting. He was damn straight thinking of her. Dating, however, wasn’t covered in the contract and never would be. “This contract only covers The Club, sweetheart. It’s a training contract. If we decide to see each other outside The Club, I wouldn’t expect you to call me Sir. I’m not a twenty-four-seven Dom. I enjoy the lifestyle, and I would deeply love it if you felt comfortable enough to allow me to help you with any problems you might have, but outside of this club, I won’t hold you to any rules we don’t agree on. The only rule that’s not up for discussion is the rule where you call me when you’re in actual trouble. You read that clause?”
    She nodded. “So the rest of this is just for…for sex stuff.”
    She couldn’t possibly know how that soft Texas twang made his groin tighten. “Not necessarily, though it should open you up. It’s about pushing your boundaries and discovering discipline.”
    Her nose wrinkled up. “I don’t know how much I like that word.”
    Yeah, most people didn’t, but then they didn’t understand what he meant by it. “Then I’ll have to change your mind. You see, you hear the word ‘discipline’ and you think punishment, but I hear it and I have a different definition. Discipline is the art of getting what you want. I wanted to be a Navy SEAL. I didn’t enjoy Hell Week. It was the most miserable I’ve ever been in my life. But it was necessary. We don’t get the things we want by allowing life to happen to us. We have to take an active role.”
    She nodded, and he would have sworn he could see a sheen of tears in her eyes. “Yes, I can see that. I allowed things to happen for years. It just seems odd to hear a Dom saying that. I don’t know. I guess I would think you want me to be submissive.”
    Another misconception he was happy to clear up. “You are submissive, Shelley. I can see it. Julian can certainly see it. I suspect you’ve allowed a man who was more dominant than you to walk all over you before. That isn’t what a Dom should do. A Dom should be your partner in helping you reach your potential, even if you never have a moment’s sexual contact.”
    She sniffled slightly, and it took everything he had not to pull her onto his lap and try to soothe her. “You’re right about getting walked all over. I should be honest with you. I spent years in a marriage I shouldn’t have stayed in because it was easier than dealing with the fallout. I want to be stronger than that. I want to be in control.”
    “And I can help you.”
    Julian had mentioned her marriage. It hadn’t taken much to look the story up. Bryce Hughes had been a very bad man. He’d run drugs and a blackmailing ring that used his wife to get dirt on