Free The Reluctant Dom by Tymber Dalton Page B

made it.
    She finally took a deep breath, then stepped into him for a hug. “I'm sorry, Seth,” she mumbled against his chest. “I know.”
    It felt weird to hug her like that, knowing Kaden was watching. But when Seth looked at his friend, Kaden nodded and offered up a smile before silently disappearing down the hall.
    Seth figured he must have passed this test.
    She clutched at him, the same desperation from the night before. He dared rest his face against the top of her head, inhaling her scent. She always smelled good.
    “We'll get through this,” he whispered. “I promise. I'm fucking lost and I might be stumbling and tripping all over myself but I won't let you down.”
    “I know.”
    After a couple of minutes she stepped back, sniffling, and forced a smile. “Let me show you where I put everything.” She finished putting his clothes away, showed him where she'd stowed his stuff, including his toiletries in the bathroom. When she finished, she turned. “Any questions?”
    “What do you want me to do with my dirty clothes?”
    “Just leave them on the bathroom floor for me. Do you normally take your shower in the morning or at night?”
    That was a weird tangent. “Usually in the morning. I mean, I need one now after moving that crap but usually just in the morning.”
    “Before breakfast?”
    “Um, I guess. No one's usually cooking for me.”
    She smiled. “Get used to it. What time do you need to be up in the morning?”
    He shrugged. “It depends on if I'm working or have classes. Well, I guess working doesn't matter anymore.” He'd stopped by and quit after class, picked up his final check. When he explained the basics of the situation, his boss understood and didn't give him any grief.
    “I need to know so I can make sure you're up.”
    “Leah, you don't—” At her storm cloud look he immediately back-pedaled. “You don't have to do that all tonight. We can sit down this weekend and figure it out.”
    At that she relaxed.
    Fuck.
    His three ex wives never doted on him like this. And he wasn't even sleeping with Leah.
    Yet.
    Fuck.
    * * * *
    Seth took a shower and joined Kaden in the den. Kaden sat on a stool, idly strummed his guitar. Leah had already moved Seth's to the den, the case freshly dusted and leaning against the wall in the corner. Kaden didn't lift his head but his eyes met Seth's.
    Seth took a seat in one of the chairs and shook his head. “Fuck.”
    Kaden smiled and returned his attention to the guitar. “See why I needed you to move in? That isn't something I can explain.”
    “She nearly had a meltdown over my dirty clothes, for chrissake! Why the fuck didn't you come in and help me, asshole?”
    He shrugged. “I watched. I was worried for a minute that she'd need to go to the playroom. You did good. That was smart, reminding her what I told her about teaching you.”
    Seth closed his eyes. “That wasn't planned, dude. I didn't know what else to say.”
    “But you said the right thing.” He laid his palm over the strings to silence them and looked at Seth.
    “I have to let you find your way with her as much as I can. It'll be too much of a shock for her to lose me and try to adapt to doing things your way all at the same time. There are some things you have to learn to do exactly right, those I will work with you on. Those relate to safety and to her security. There's stuff like what happened earlier ... there's not a lot of time, but we have enough for the two of you to work on some things on your own. I won't be there to help you out. You need to learn to deal with her in your way, not mine. To find things that will work for you and her. I can give you the map. You've got to make the journey.”
    “Thank you, Master Fucking Yoda.”
    Kaden smiled and strummed his guitar.
    * * * *
    Leah called them to dinner. Seth noticed she'd prepared his favorite foods. After dinner, he walked into the living room to watch TV with Kaden.
    “This feels weird, to be able to sit back