Visibility was still a challenge as he made his way off his property and toward the cluster of neighborhoods closer to the highway. The sky had gone a weird green-gray, and the automatic street lights were popping on even though it wasn’t even six yet. He kept a hand on the wheel and called Henry to set up and handle a tow for Kelsey’s car. Wyatt didn’t want her sitting out there, waiting for someone to get her car.

It took him a little longer than he hoped to get to her. Other cars besides hers had gotten stuck, so he had to carefully maneuver around them, but luckily the water seemed to be staying at a manageable level. The rain let up a bit as he made his way down the road, and he spotted Kelsey’s car in the right lane, the street lamp above her making the white car look orange.

He pulled up behind her and hopped out, the icy rain soaking him instantly. Kelsey was already opening her door before he got to her. She pushed an umbrella through the crack and popped it open, a bright pink spot in the haze of gray. She climbed out of the car, water rushing over her heeled boots, and grabbed the top of the car to steady herself.

He made his way over as quickly as he could, but he still had on his dress shoes from his trip to the office earlier today and the damn things had no grip. He motioned at her and raised his voice, fighting with the ever-rolling thunder. “Get in the Jeep!”

“All my stuff is still in here,” she called back, taking a careful step in his direction and shutting the driver’s-side door. “For the trip.”

He made his way over to her, locking a hand beneath her elbow and breathing a sigh of relief that she was okay. “I got it. Let’s just get you inside the Jeep first.”

“I can help.”

“And I want you out of this. Inside. Now.”

She gave him the eye but held back another protest. She thrust the umbrella into his hand and now he could see the damn thing wasn’t just pink but also had a pattern of little cupcakes all over it. “Take this.”

“I don’t need—”

“So all the stuff doesn’t get wet.”

“Fine.” He took the umbrella from her and nudged her toward the Jeep, putting the keys in her hand. “Go. And turn on the heat.”

As soon as he verified she was able to get herself through the water without stumbling, he opened her trunk and grabbed her suitcase, but there looked to be two grocery bags in there as well. Dammit. He couldn’t get all of it. He slammed the trunk closed and hurried back to the Jeep, tossing the suitcase in the back, then sloshed his way back through the water for the sacks of groceries.

By the time he climbed back into the driver’s seat, he was soaked, freezing, and trying hard not to shiver. He shrugged out of his drenched coat and held his hands up against the vents, but no warmth was coming out.

“I can’t get it to heat up,” Kelsey said, her voice vibrating with her own shivers. She wrapped her arms around herself, her blonde hair saturated and dripping onto her shoulders.

Crap. Apparently the kid had fixed the engine but hadn’t gotten to the heating system yet. “We need to get back to the house.”

“But my car . . .”

“I’ve already got someone on the way.” He made sure nobody was behind them, then reversed and drove over the median to get to the other side of the road so they could head back. “We need to get home and out of these clothes.”

She glanced his way, an eyebrow lifted. “Not wasting any time getting me naked, are you?”

He chuckled, glad she could still make jokes when her vehicle was about to float down the damn street. “Don’t tempt me. I just walked around with a pink cupcake umbrella. I may feel the need to reassert my manhood.”

She smiled and leaned forward to shrug her way out of her saturated jacket, filling his peripheral vision with an impossibly tempting view. He tried to keep his eyes on the road, but had a hard time focusing on safety or being a gentleman with Kelsey’s now-see-through cream-colored blouse taunting him, the wet material clinging to her skin and molding over the swells of her breasts and her cold-stiffened nipples. Wyatt stopped for a red light and dropped any pretense of politeness to give her a long, assessing view.

She glanced his way, no doubt noticing the heat in his eyes, then looked down as if only now realizing what she’d revealed. Her hands moved to cover herself.

The flash of modesty endeared him, but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it. Training started now. “Put your hands in your lap, Kelsey. No reason to hide from me. You need to get accustomed to me seeing your body.”

She wet her lips and followed his direction, clasping her hands in front of her. He could see the pattern of her lace bra beneath the shirt now and the dark shadow of her areolas peeking through. The sight was enough to have his cock twitching and his good sense evaporating. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t touch her until they negotiated limits. But he hadn’t anticipated this kind of immediate assault on his noble intentions.

The car behind him honked, dragging him from the delicious sight. The light had turned green, and he had no choice but to pull forward. He cleared his throat. “Have you had any second thoughts about our arrangement?”

“No.”

“Honesty, please.”

She sighed. “Yes. But not in the way you think. I’m mostly worried about not being able to pull off a ruse.”

“We’re going to work on that some tonight. I think you’re going to do better than you imagine, though. You’re naturally charming, so people will be drawn to you. All we need to worry about are the little factual details that may come up.”

“Right.”

“Did you remember to bring your passport?” He’d been happy to hear she already had one on hand from a past trip to Mexico. Even with his connections, getting anything moving that quickly through a government office would’ve been tough.

She patted her purse. “Got it.”

They rode along in silence for a while, the pounding rain and bad visibility a good distraction from the siren call of temptation winding through his mind. Control. This was about his self-control. He’d spent an extra long time in the shower this morning, stroking himself to release as he imagined the scene from Friday night, Kelsey tipping her head back and coming against his hand. He’d wanted to prepare himself so that he didn’t jump on her like some horny pervert when he finally got her to his place. But the few minutes with her in the car had his blood heading south and desire pumping through him like he hadn’t climaxed in a month.

Patience.

He took a left onto the long driveway that led up to his place. Kelsey bent forward, trying to peer through the rain-covered windshield. His house was barely visible through the haze of the storm and the trees that dotted his property. “You’ve got a lot of land around you.”

“I like my privacy.” He hit the button on the garage as he took the final turn up to the house. “In fact, you’re going to be my first overnight houseguest. I usually don’t like sharing my space.”

Her brows lifted at that, and he realized too late that he probably shouldn’t have mentioned that. “You should’ve said something. I could’ve come over tomorrow morning. You didn’t have to invite me to stay the night.”

He pulled the Jeep into the garage and cut the engine. “Yes, I did.”

Her gaze followed him as he got out and walked around to her side to open the door for her. He could feel her question before she even voiced it. “Why?”

He offered her his hand, and she took it, her fingers still icy. “Because my home is the place for all of my most precious possessions.” He helped her down from the Jeep and brushed his lips over her knuckles. “And you, love, are about to become the most important of them all for the next seven days.”

He braced himself for her reaction—the implication of ownership a bit of a test. If she was going to truly give herself over to this and shed her domme role for the time they were together, he needed to get her head in the right place from the start. He was in charge. She was his to command. Wyatt had talked to Grant Waters earlier in the week to make sure his training would count for Kelsey’s requirement, and Grant had warned him that Kelsey wouldn’t feel safe if he didn’t immediately prove himself worthy and capable of the role, that she would deftly manipulate a weak dom to hold on to her own control.

Wyatt wasn’t one to take directives from someone else, but on that, he’d agreed wholeheartedly. He wanted nothing more than to have the full experience with Kelsey and to make her feel absolutely safe and protected in his hands. A distilled version had never been in his plans.

“You understand what you’ve agreed to, Kelsey? To be owned by me?”

Her lips parted slightly, and the shiver he felt go through her hand seemed to have little to do with the cold. She managed a nod.

Nice. She liked the idea, and her body was already reacting to him. He glanced down the length of her—the slightly smeared makeup, the lush set of her mouth, the clinging shirt. All of it put together was like some erotic dream come to life. He wanted to yank those boots and jeans off her and lick the rainwater from her skin, chase away that chill in the most decadent way possible, feel her heat up against his mouth. But in his cold garage before they’d discussed a single limit was neither the time nor the place. Mustering up every ounce of restraint he possessed, he set his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s get you into a hot shower so you don’t end up with pneumonia. A sick sub will do me no good.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, a little catch in her voice.

He stared at her for a moment longer, watching the slight glaze go over her eyes. He cupped the side of her head. Was it possible? Kelsey had declared that she’d never willingly submitted before. The word willingly had stuck in his gut like a rusty piece of metal—a grim clue about what exactly may be lurking in Kelsey’s past. But right now, her whole demeanor suggested that she was already sinking a bit, going into that headspace where subs let go.

The achingly erotic sight squeezed the air from his lungs and vaulted his dominance straight to the surface—a demanding, pounding force that could no longer be kept on a leash. He needed her under his control. Right. This. Minute. He tightened his hold on her shoulders, battling with himself. But when she dipped her lashes and her muscles went loose beneath his fingertips, it was all the signal he needed. He wasn’t sure about a lot of things between them. But in this moment he was sure of one thing—for whatever reason, she needed this as much as he did right now, needed him to take over fully. And God did he want to. Without giving her warning, he bent forward and hauled Kelsey off her feet and over his shoulder.

She let out a little yelp, the move apparently breaking her from the spell she’d been in. “Wyatt!”

“Hush.”

“You don’t need to—”

He gave her ass a smack, the sound of his hand against her wet jeans a little too enticing. He had to hold back from giving the other side a similar pop. “It pleases me to carry you. Are you going to deny me that?”

“No, sir,” she said. “It’s just, there are groceries and—”

“It’s cold in here. They’ll be fine.” He shoved open the door that led to the laundry room and then headed into the darkened kitchen. The storm was still splattering against the windows, but he barely heard it as he made his way through the living room and up the stairs. His dress shoes squeaked against the wood, and he knew he was leaving footprints in his wake, but he didn’t care at the moment. All he was concerned about was the woman who had her cheek pressed against his back.

Once they made it into his en suite bathroom, he set Kelsey on her feet. Her cheeks were flushed and her blue eyes wide, but he didn’t sense any fear there. He reached out and turned on the shower to heat up the water. Then he was in front of her again. He clasped her chin, lifting her face to him.