Her Secret Dom by Samantha Cote Page A

were patient during my initiation into sex, I’ll give you that. I couldn’t have asked for a more patient, gentle lover.”
    Jared reached out, but she shook her head and pushed his hands away. “I’m not done. Just listen.”
    She had his full attention now. “Afterward, though, I sensed you were backing off. We had sex a few times, true, but it seemed to me like you were bestowing a pity fuck rather than making love to me.”
    “ Jesus , Pam.”
    She lifted her chin. “I didn’t feel cherished or adored. Instead, I felt like a huge disappointment to you. A burden. A tense, shaking mess who had no idea how to please a man. And I knew I could never measure up to your past lovers.”
    A look of incredulity crossed his face. “What the hell are you talking about? You were never a disappointment or burden to me. And I never compared you to my other lovers. You’ve got it all twisted. Experienced or not, none of them could ever compare to you .”
    “Oh, really?” she shot back. “So why did you just fade away if I was so fabulous?” She poked him in the chest. “You avoided me. You backed off, and it hurt like hell.”
    Jared caught her hand between his and kissed her jabbing fingers. His dark eyes were filled with such regret tears threatened her vision.
    “Don’t you dare deny it.”
    He nodded. “I did back off. I won’t lie.” At her sharp intake of breath, he held up a hand. “But not for the reasons you think.”
    “And those reasons were?” She couldn’t help the cutting edge in her voice.
    He released her hands and scrubbed at his face. “Let’s sit,” he said.
    When they were settled, he turned to her. “I backed off for several reasons. Seeing you so tense and nervous, I felt like an utter failure in the bedroom.”
    He looked so devastated, Pam couldn’t help but snort. “I’m sure that was a first.”
    “Damn straight,” Jared said, raising an arrogant brow. “Never had any complaints before.”
    She drew back. “Who said I was complaining? You didn’t do anything wrong. I thought there was something wrong with me .”
    “Seriously?” At her nod, Jared’s eyes clouded. “Talk about miscommunication.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “I also backed off because I was truly busy. Even so, that’s a lousy excuse. I could’ve gotten around that, at least some of the time.”
    Pam stared at him. “So why didn’t you?”
    He stared right back. “You’re not a woman to be trifled with. You’re a forever kind of girl, not easily dismissed. Once you gave yourself to me and our relationship gained another dimension, it scared the shit out of me.”
    Her shoulders slumped. “So when it got to be too much, you ran away.”
    Jared shook his head. “No. I buried myself in work while I processed the changes in our relationship. I was just taking a breather. I wasn’t going anywhere. Believe me.”
    She felt her chin tremble and looked away. “I thought you were on your way out…that you might be trying to figure out a gentlemanly way to dump me, especially if I complained.”
    He cupped her cheek and turned her face toward him. “Never. You mean too much to me. Now more than ever.”
    A feeling of hope blossomed, but she squashed it. “I wish I could believe that. It’s been my experience that the minute things get complicated, men tend to vanish.”
    His gaze bored through hers. “And ‘men are pieces of shit who take off as soon as they get what they want.’ Right?”
    Pam flinched. Her hard words had come back to bite her in the ass. “I was mad. I didn’t mean that.”
    But Jared wasn’t buying it. “Oh, you meant it, all right. I’ll admit to being surprised at those bitter words, but your honesty was much appreciated. It provided a great insight.”
    “Insight?” she asked. She leveled him a frosty look. “To what?”
    “Your perception of men. Your fears of abandonment. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you figured that once I fucked you, I’d