He nodded, then stood to clear their plates. "Now, about those rules."
Lily tensed. Here it came.
"While you're under my roof, you'll follow my rules," he began, leaning against the counter. "They're non-negotiable, and disobedience has consequences. Understand?"
She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him he had no right to impose rules on her. But what choice did she have? She was injured, hunted, with nowhere else to go.
"I understand," she said quietly.
"Rule one, as I mentioned last night: You take care of yourself. That means eating regularly, sleeping enough, and following medical advice."
Okay, that one didn't sound too bad.
"Rule two: No leaving the property without me. Ever. For any reason. Until this is taken care of, you will be with me at all times. If for some reason, I can’t be here, one of my brothers will be."
That one she'd expected. He couldn’t exactly protect her if she didn’t tell him where she was going.
"Rule three: Complete honesty. No lies, no half-truths, no omissions."
That might be more difficult.
"Rule four: respect. For yourself and for me. That means not deliberately putting yourself down, no self-destructive behavior, no yelling and no name calling."
She frowned. "Define disrespect."
His lips quirked. "Sass is fine, to a point. I don't expect you to be a doormat. I do expect basic courtesy and for you to follow the first three rules without constantly fighting me on them."
Lily nodded slowly. The rules themselves weren't unreasonable. It was the underlying dynamic that made heruncomfortable. The clear power imbalance. The way he was setting himself up as her... protector. Caretaker.
Daddy.
The word flitted through her mind before she could stop it.
"And the consequences?" she forced herself to ask, pushing the thought away.
Blade's expression turned serious. "Depends on the infraction. Minor stuff, you'll get a warning. After that, corner time. For serious disobedience or putting yourself in danger, you'll find yourself over my knee for a spanking. Just so we are perfectly clear, Lily, I only spank on the bare ass."
Heat rushed to her face, partly from embarrassment, partly from... something else she didn't want to examine too closely.
"You can't just... just spank me," she protested weakly. "I'm not a child."
"No, you're not," he agreed, his eyes darkening. "And we both know that's not why it would happen."
Her breath caught. He knew. He knew all about the kind of relationship she craved.
"You've been in the lifestyle before," he continued, watching her reaction closely. "The club knows about your visits to Razor's Edge before you started hanging out at The Citadel. We both know you are a little, and unlike Savannah who had no experience in the lifestyle when she was blackmailed, you had plenty of it."
Razor's Edge. The BDSM club where she'd first explored her submissive side. Where she'd discovered that being a little—having a Daddy Dom who would care for her, protect her, discipline her when needed—was what she truly wanted. No, not wanted. Needed. Craved. Desired.
That was different," she whispered. "That was consensual."
"And this isn't?" His voice was low, steady, threaded with something possessive and raw. "You know you belong to me,Lily. You felt it at The Citadel the same way I did. Don’t lie to yourself now."
She opened her mouth to argue, but no sound came. Because she had felt it. That connection. That pull. Like gravity had shifted and made him her center.
He stepped closer, closing the space between them. Not threatening, but absolute. Certain. “You are mine. And I protect what is mine. But I won’t chain you, Lily. If you really want to leave, I won’t stop you. Not physically, anyway.”
Her eyes searched his, looking for a trap, but all she saw was conviction. Heat. A promise.
