Free Unraveled by Lorelei James Page B

ever.
    “Thanks.” Merrick uncapped the bottle and drank. Slowly twisted the top back on. Studied
     the label for several long moments before he looked up at Knox again. “Why do you
     think I told you that story, Knox?”
    “Checking to see if my tear ducts are working? Or testing the theory that drinkers
     really do confide in their bartenders?”
    “Such a smart-ass.” But Merrick smiled. “You said I’m a formidable Dom. That’s because
     I was an equally formidable submissive.Lizette owned my balls in the bedroom. Outside of that, I could be the biggest dick-swinging
     macho asshole in the world. And I was.”
    Knox chuckled.
    “After Lizette . . . I was a different man. I knew I’d never be another woman’s submissive,
     so I took what I’d learned from Lizette and became a Dom.”
    “Not to be morbid, but if she were still alive . . . ?”
    “I’d still be at her feet, arguing with her about some stupid shit, because she and
     I did not see eye to eye on some things. On most things, actually.”
    That sounded like him and Shiori. The woman could get his dander up with just a derisive
     look.
    “Now I want to get to the real reason you asked me about the male submissive mind.”
    Knox saw that Merrick had rested his forearms on the bar. And fuck if the man didn’t
     have that “I’m a Dom and you
will
spill your guts to me now” look in his eyes.
    Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
    How did he even do this? He glanced down and saw he’d twisted the bar towel into a
     tight knot.
    “Who told you that they believed you are submissive?”
    Of course Merrick would just toss that out there. And Knox fought against the need
     to look around to see if anyone had heard.
    “It’s really freaked you out that much?”
    “Yeah. It’s not something I ever considered. It’s not like I have secret fantasies
     of a woman tying me up and doing whatever she wants to me.”
    “I never did either until Lizette.” He paused and tapped his fingers on the bar. “Let
     me ask you this. Have you ever used a whip or a flogger on a woman?”
    He shook his head. “My hard-and-fast rule. I don’t beat on women. Period. Not here,
     not at the dojo, not in any capacity. Ever.”
    “You’re former military.”
    “Let’s skip the ‘do I think women belong in combat situations’ question because the
     answer is too damn complicated.”
    “Fair enough. And your family? Do you have brothers or sisters?”
    “Two younger sisters. My mom married when I was sixteen. When I left for the army
     at eighteen, she’d just given birth to my little sister Vivie. So Vivie is almost
     eighteen and my other little sister, Zara, is sixteen. What does that have to do with
     anything?”
    “Do they live here?”
    “In Golden.”
    “Do you see them often?”
    He smiled, thinking of the latest selfie they’d sent him. “Every couple of weeks.
     They need me to ride herd on them since they have Mom and their dad, Rick, snowed
     that they’re angels.”
    “Who told you that they thought you were submissive?”
    Knox said, “Shiori,” without pause because he’d been thinking of something else. He
     narrowed his eyes at Merrick. “Smooth, you bastard.”
    “I didn’t get to be a formidable Dom by whips and cuffs alone, Knox.”
    “Okay. So now that’s out in the open, let me ask you the goddamn question that I really
     don’t want an honest fucking answer to.”
    Merrick laughed. “Hit me.”
    “Do you think I’m submissive?”
    It was excruciating to wait for Merrick’s response. “Will an honest fucking answer
     have you leaping across the bar and kicking my ass with some nasty jujitsu moves?”
    “So that’s your answer.”
    He lowered his voice. “Yes, I think you’re submissive. But I will qualify that statement.
     It’s not something that was on your radar. It certainly wasn’t on mine when I first
     met Lizette. And like me, I don’t think just any Domme can walk up to you and elicit
     that ‘I want to