“Well hell. He’d gotten sucked right into caring for this little bundle of troubles.”

“You want to count, Gabrielle? One! She sucked in a breath, mad enough the words slid right out. You asshole, one!”

“A little insecurity in a submissive wasn’t a bad thing, but her doubts shouldn’t be whether the Dominant cared.”

“I wouldn't do this if i didn't care, but you mean everything to me, and if this is what you need, then this is what you'll get. But we're damned well going to work on changing this association between caring and spanking.”

“You, lass, have a self-image problem.”Well, that might be a little true, but she also had a mirror.”

“Heck, that woman out there looked like she was getting more from one kiss than Jessica had ever gotten from the whole insert-dick-move-around shebang.”

“This is the owner of Dark Haven. Master Xavier. Call him ‘my liege.’”Xavier sighed. He had no idea who’d first given him that title, but the submissives took such delight in it, he’d allowed it to continue.”