Was I reading too much into this? Had Mia genuinely been overwhelmed and I was being too arrogant to believe this might be a hard transition for her?

My beautiful, sweet Mia, who sat patiently while her dream-like gaze took in the other shops. This was the kind of life she couldn't have imagined, coming from that impoverished home in Charlotte.

My over analyzing brain had always served me well.

He'd been wearing the cap of Charlotte's football team.

There was one other man who might cause that kind of distress to rise behind Mia's soft blue eyes. The monster who'd shot up a fourteen-year-old Mia with cocaine to silence her, only long enough to overdose her mother and leave her dying on the living room floor. The man I'd had my private investigator hunting down.

Perhaps, I mused darkly, her mother's dealer had come to us.

"Everything okay?" she asked softly.

I smiled her way. "You're mine, so yes."

CHAPTER 12.

NOW I UNDERSTOOD those smitten poets and their endless expounding of logic long lost, and others who died willingly for their lovers in war, or peace, or just because, and broken hearted cries from those who announced they'd never recover from losing their one true love.

I no longer cared for the time before her.

It was hard to remember it now. These emotions gripped me too profoundly. How far I'd come in letting go and letting her in.

I wasn't ready to let Mia see I'd developed this chink in my amour. A weakness of sorts. I refused to let her know how she affected me. Didn't need anyone to see this once impenetrable man had fallen hard.

I'd been accused of enjoying watching others burn.

I'd been sorely misunderstood.

It was more about my desire to help others live life to the full, love completely, burn up with a frenzy to devour all the world had to offer. Perhaps my lack of love had been a catalyst to live vicariously through others. I'd pushed Richard, Scarlet, Lotte, and Penny to the brink when it came to finding happiness, all the while holding back on my own.

Though now, I too savored every second of being with a woman whose presence brought me to my knees.

Mia and I hadn't separated since leaving Badgley Mischka.

That look of fear had shaken us both, not least because I couldn't stand the thought of anyone ever hurting her again.

I took her for a leisurely lunch in the Luxe Rodeo Drive hotel, where we'd ate a light salad and I'd laughed at her silly jokes, so loud we'd drawn unwanted attention from the other diners. It was good to see her relax again.

We returned home to Beverly Hills.

During the afternoon, I'd sat on a lounger in the garden and read that Chuck Palahniuk novel I'd been dying to get to. Finally I relaxed after a grueling few months of working flat out. I sipped on lemon water and frequently glanced up from my Kindle to enjoy the sight of Mia swimming laps.

This is what she did to me. She made me slow down. Gave me a reason to escape from my usual routine of time spent at the office, running Chrysalis, and dabbling in the running of Cole Tea from a safe distance.

In her last life, Mia had been a mermaid. I was sure of it. If there was water, Mia would be drawn to it, whether it was swimming pools, fountains, or taking long, luxurious baths.

She threw me a wave and I waved back.

Having grown up in poverty, she was incapable of taking anything for granted and always experienced what I shared with rapt attention. She was a healthy reminder that grand houses and fast cars were reserved for the rich. Though despite my moneyed upbringing, I'd always been conscious of my privileged life.

Just after my twelfth birthday, Aunt Rose had taken both me and Henry to work in a soup kitchen for a day where we'd delivered hot meals to the homeless. Those memories left a lasting impression. Rose's way of rounding out our education. She was my favorite aunt not least because she was a frequent visitor to our boarding school when we were kids, bringing our favorite sugared treats as well as delivering the kind of affection our mother had failed to realize we needed.

Aunt Rose had served as a nursing officer in the Vietnamese War, and despite marrying into a wealthy family later, she remembered her heritage and taught Henry and I to do the same.

I'd always be grateful to her for that.

Because of Rose's insight, it was easier for me to relate to Mia, and see to her smooth transition into this life. She'd always treated others with respect. I could ask no more from a partner willing to share in my philanthropic pursuits.

I rose from the lounger and joined her by the pool and signaled to her. She swam to the edge, climbed up the pool stairs, and trotted toward me, falling into the large towel I held open for her.

We snuggled on the lounger and napped the rest of the day away.

At sunset, I escorted her upstairs for us to get ready for Scarlet's party.

Mia paused in the doorway when she saw what was waiting for her on the bed. She glanced my way and I gave a knowing nod.

She strolled over and cautiously unwrapped the ribbon off the large Badgley Mischka box.

"Cameron." She reached in and withdrew the dress she'd tried on in the store.

"Ms. Lauren," I said firmly. "Do not refuse me."

She ran her hands over the black material.

I gave a wave of my hand to emphasize it was nothing. "I'm implementing a new level of security. All doors and windows locked. No entry without knowledge of the code."

Her gaze snapped up to hold mine.

Oh yes, my darling, I know.

I didn't push her for answers. No matter how much I wanted to.

"Why?" she said.

"I want you to feel safe."

Her hands traced over the dress again and she held it up.

"You're wearing it tonight."

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "I can't accept it-"

"You will."

"Perhaps-"

"Mia."

Her eyelids fluttered in reservation.

I sat on the bed and pulled her toward me, removing the dress from her hands and laying it aside. She didn't need a stern master right now, she needed affection, needed understanding. She straddled me and wrapped her hands around my neck.

I hugged her. "This represents more than a dress. It's me anticipating your needs and fulfilling them."

She buried her face in the crook of my neck.

I leaned back and tipped her chin up. "We must be sensitive to Richard's feelings. If he sees you wearing something he-"

"You're right."

"My parents are visiting tomorrow," I said. "I'm looking forward to them getting to know you better."

She looked nervous.

"It's just dinner."

"They were nice to me last time I met them."

"They're fond of you."

She lowered her gaze shyly.

"I'll be right there beside you."

Yes she was feisty, but God she was so damn vulnerable still. Her past had almost destroyed her.

I'd captured her in that Chrysalis dungeon and used every trick in my arsenal of psychological skills to extract the truth of what had really happened to her at fourteen. Her psyche remained fragile, as did her heart, and I knew without a doubt I was the only man who got her.

"I will protect you until my last breath, Mia. You know that don't you?"

"Yes." Our gazes locked.

"It's imperative you trust me." I wanted to ease her angst. "Whenever you're ready to open up, I'm here."

"It's all so perfect."

"That frightens you?"

"What if it's too perfect? What if something bad happens to ruin it?"

"We in the profession call that pessimism."

She looked endearing. "You're the most important thing in my life."

"Thing?"

"Person. I mean, man."

"Glad we clarified that."

She ran her fingertips over my cheek, her eyes searching my face, finding comfort in what she saw.

I reached low, grabbed the fine strip of material that served as her bikini bottom, and snapped it off.

"It was in the way," I said.

She cupped my face. Her gaze moved downward, watching me free myself.

She surrendered to my kiss, this once feisty sub who fought my command of her.

She bit my lip and the sting made me flinch and pull back.

"Punish me," she whispered.

"But you haven't done anything wrong."

She fell to her knees before me.

"Mia, let's just cuddle."

"Please, I need this."

She kissed the tip of my cock, those endearing lips pouty, her tongue tracing the ridges, flicking and stroking. I'd taught her well. She'd cupped my balls in her mouth in a sensual tease, massaging in a circular motion.

With her head bobbing between my thighs, her mouth brilliantly sucking my hardness, I marveled at this young woman who'd evolved into such a profound lover. I'd fallen into the very trap I'd set for my best friend.

I was spellbound.

This inner war I'd fought to honor my promise to train and return her had been lain waste. My ability to keep Mia at arm's length was an impossible quest. The way I reacted to her sweetness now, even with my cock in her mouth, rendering me the one captured.

"Good girl, Mia."

She lapped around the head, her delicate hands cupping my balls, her feverish mouth tracing along the underside of the base before sucking in her cheeks and drawing me all the way into the back of her throat. Her eyelids closed in ecstasy.

She let out the longest moan of contentment, that vibration of sound encompassing my erection as the sensation burst outward, alighting every nerve, every cell, and I went with it, letting go, willing her to do whatever she wanted.

Playing with locks of her hair, my eyelids grew heavy. My need to be inside her consumed every thought.

I pulled her up, positioned her above me, and pushed into her, all the way, thoughts stolen by the madness of this moment and the need to fill her.

Holding Mia against me I was undone, gripping her against my chest and raising my hips off the bed to pound her, delighting in the sound of our sex slapping against each other- We fell over into the abyss together, her rhythmic clenches insistently demanding, and me lost in this sea of pleasure, stilling, absorbing it all, all this intensity, all of her.