Free Michele Zurlo by Letting Go 2: Stepping Stones

statement was true. Whenever he initiated sex, she submitted to him. Even when she seduced him, she submitted to him. Before and after a scene, she didn’t show a hint of submissiveness. He had a hunch that it cost her a lot to always show her strong, independent side, especially as life became more complicated and busy.
    He wanted to show her that she didn’t have to shoulder anything alone. He was more than willing to support her. Part of his reasoning for choosing to honeymoon at Elysium was to give her a safe place to explore that side of her nature. Perhaps if he hadn’t felt the urgency of his age and let it drive his need to have children so quickly, they might have had the opportunity to travel this path earlier. He didn’t regret the decisions they’d made, but it was high time for Sabrina to understand and accept the true depths of her submissive nature.
    “Outside of a scene.”
    Wheels turned behind her eyes with amazing speed. She scowled at him. “You want me to kneel at your feet and call you ‘Master.’”
    He lifted his brows. “You can call me all the things you usually call me.”
    From the expression on her face, he had a hunch he didn’t want to know what kinds of names she was currently considering. She leaned toward him. “I’m not kneeling outside of a scene.”
    He could handle that, mostly because he was proposing an extended scene. “Okay.”
    “I’m not going to ask your permission to do things. Well, not outside the normal realm of good manners. I’m not into the slavery thing.”
    In the past few years, she’d had more than a few glimpses into the world of sexual slavery. His best friend and her husband had opened up. When the kids were away and the adults got together, Ellen and Ryan frequently appeared in their preferred roles. Ryan very much enjoyed serving his Mistress. And his youngest sister lived with two Doms. Though they toned it down, they didn’t completely drop protocol when Sabrina and Jonas visited. It had been a little uncomfortable at first to see his sister in that role, but she was blissfully happy, so he accepted it.
    Sabrina thought it was demeaning to women, though she didn’t seem to have an issue with Ryan in the same position.
    Jonas knew that kind of life didn’t appeal to Sabrina. It came as a relief because it didn’t appeal to him either.
    Submission was another thing altogether. He was wired to be Dominant. While he loved and admired her strength, he didn’t like the toll it had taken on her in recent years.
    “Yes, you will. While we’re here, you will ask before you do anything. You won’t be my slave, but you will defer to me in all things.” He braced himself to face her wrath. While she’d improved in her ability to express anger, she still kept a lot bottled up inside. When she got mad, she tended to sputter, and she hated sounding anything but smooth.
    The sharp inhale of breath indicating she was struggling to keep it together never came. She stood and rested her hands on the railing. “You mean I won’t get a say in anything? I don’t get to have an opinion?”
    That she was considering his proposal so seriously spoke volumes about what she really wanted. Losing that much control would be very difficult for her. She liked when he overpowered her in bed, but she hadn’t yet submitted to him in any other way.
    “You will be given the opportunity to voice your opinion. I’ll take it into consideration. Then I will make the final decision.”
    She touched her hand to her neck. “And I can’t argue with it. I have to do exactly what you say.”
    He wanted to take her in his arms, but she would perceive that as a weakness right now. “Yes. No arguments. No bargaining. You do as you’re told or you will be punished.”
    Punishment had never been part of their relationship. He had never even really disciplined her. He flogged her because it excited her sexually. He got off on it, too, so that was a win-win. Occasionally he caned