Se connecterMarcusEventually, the awkwardness turned into curiosity.That was my favorite part. Watching her go from embarrassed to interested, from blushing at shelves to reaching for things herself.Not because of what we were buying, but because every small choice was hers. No pressure. No rush. No one deciding for her. Just Sable, standing in the middle of a store full of possibilities, realizing she was allowed to want things out loud.I picked up a flogger from one display, not one of the heavy ones, something soft enough to be playful but real enough to make her think. Her gaze dropped to it, then lifted to mine.“Really?”“Maybe,” I said. “Only if you’re curious.”She took it from me and ran the falls through her fingers, testing the weight, the texture, the idea of it. I could see her thinking through sensation instead of fear, which made my chest do somethin
MarcusBy the time the mountain trip was officially booked, I had become insufferable.Not mildly annoying. Not charmingly excited. Fully insufferable.Sable noticed by breakfast on Monday.Jarek noticed sometime before that, mostly because I had been leaning over his shoulder while he looked at cabin listings and making helpful comments like that one has terrible murder lighting and baby doll deserves better woods. He told me three separate times to shut the fuck up. Then, twenty minutes later, I caught him c
SableThe whole thing started because Marcus had apparently decided the three of us needed to become responsible adults.Personally, I blamed the internet.Specifically, the article he’d found at two in the morning while I was trying to sleep.“Baby doll.”“Mmm?”“When’s the last time you had a physical?”I cracked one eye open.“What kind of physical?”“The normal kind.”“There’s a normal kind?”Marcus had gone disturbingly still.“Sable.”That tone immediately made me suspicious.“What?”“When’s the last time you went to a doctor, had a pelvic exam and all that woman stuff?”I stared at him.He stared at me.Jarek looked up from his phone.“What?”Marcus looked genuinely
MarcusI knew something was up the second Daddy told us to get dressed and refused to answer a single question.Not unusual.Jarek King had three modes when he got an idea in his head. He either barked orders, stared people into submission, or acted like everybody else was stupid for not already knowing what he was thinking.Today appeared to be all three.Sable spent breakfast trying to pry information out of him while I mostly sat there enjoying the show. Every answer she got was some variation of no, stop asking, or you’ll find out when we get there.“Where are we going?” Sable asked for the fourth time.“No.”She blinked.“That’s not an answer.”“It’s the only one you’re getting.”“You realize I know where you sleep.”Jarek snorted. “You mean the room I built?”
SableBy the fourth day of listening to contractors stomp around upstairs, I had become convinced that construction workers existed solely on energy drinks, profanity, and the occasional shouted threat involving tape measures.By the fifth day, even Jarek had reached the end of his patience.Which was saying something, because the man had somehow spent the better part of a week supervising the entire project like he was personally responsible for the laws of physics. Half the contractors looked vaguely terrified of him. The other half seemed weirdly proud every time he grunted approval at something.Marcus thought it was hilarious.I thought it was adorable.Jarek thought we were both insane.And now, after days of dust, noise, and enough sawdust to build another clubhouse, the contractors were finally gone.“Baby girl.”I looked up from the couch.Jarek stood in the door
SableBy the time evening rolled around, I had reached that strange kind of tired that came from happiness instead of fear.It still felt weird to me.Most of my life, exhaustion had meant surviving something. It meant bruises, tension, waiting for the next fight, or trying to figure out which version of Luke was coming through the door. Even after coming to the Black Daggers, being tired usually meant stress or danger or trying to hold myself together while everything around me changed.This felt different.Di







