Vulnerability, like he had the power to hurt her or pleasure her in a way no other man could. For the first time, he was uncomfortable with the idea of having complete power over her

You hold your head up. You submitting to me doesn't mean you're anything less...the very last thing I want is for you to be some mindless puppet.

Have you ever been torn between two impossibilities and knew in your heart that no matter which way you went or which path you chose that you were doomed to unhappiness?

Ahh, you’re a man used to getting his own way.” “Always,” he said in a husky growl.

But if I lost you, it would devastate me as nothing else has or ever could. You have so much power over me and that’s frightening.

There were worse things than death, as she'd discovered. Sometimes living took far more courage. Facing another day. Enduring. Those things took strength. Far more than dying.

When would he learn that women never stayed where you put them?