Page 207 of Key of Kink

I wasn’t fooled for a minute, and pride swelled my chest.

“You figured it out,” Jordan said in a low voice. I looked at him, and he smiled. “You two look good together.”

“Why are you really here?” I blurted. “And don’t say you just ‘dropped in.’”

Jordan huffed a quiet laugh. “Unfinished business, I guess.”

My chest tightened again. “What kind of business?”

He considered the question for a moment before answering. “I realised something after I left.” I gave him an inquiring glance and he smiled. “That I wasn’t a submissive.” The words landed calmly, without accusation. “I thought I was,” he continued. “I thought structure was what I needed. That if someone strong enough set the rules, everything in my head would settle down.”

“And it didn’t.”

“No.” Jordan smiled again. “What I needed was someone to tell me I didn’t have to be anything at all.”

The simplicity of it hit harder than I expected.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

He shook his head. “Don’t be.” He studied me for a moment. “You weren’t my Dom, but you were the man who showed me I’d been looking in the wrong direction.”

My heartbeat raced, and something fluttered in my belly.

Jordan looked me in the eye. “You gave me structure, when what I really needed was freedom.” He smiled. “It’s taken me a while to work that out, but I got there eventually. And once I did, I knew I had to find you, to share that with you.”

He glanced across the room toward the bar and I followed his gaze. Quinn was standing with Duncan, pretending not to watch us. He appeared calm, but there was a rigidity to his shoulders that I would need to deal with.

Jordan returned his attention to me. “I’ll tell you something interesting, though.”

“What?”

“You’re not the same man anymore.”

My breath caught.

Jordan nodded toward Quinn. “The way you touched him just now? That wasn’t control.” He paused. “That was care.”

My breathing quickened.

Jordan adjusted the strap of his bag. “Looks like you finally figured out the difference.”

I exhaled slowly. “I’m still figuring it out.”

Jordan smiled. “Aren’t we all.” He stepped back. “Okay, I’ll leave you to it.” Another pause. “It was good to see you. Say goodbye to Quinn for me.”

I frowned. “That’s it?” He nodded. Then the light dawned. “You came here for closure.”

“Yes.”

“And?”

Jordan’s smile was small but genuine. “I got it.” He turned toward the door, then paused. “For what it’s worth, Max… You really were trying.” He let out a long breath, and his gaze flicked toward Quinn again. “Now it looks like you’re getting it right.”

Jordan opened the door and walked out into the night.

I stared after him.

For years I’d carried the memory of him like a mistake I could never correct. Seeing him, hearing him, hadn’t erased that memory—it had completed it.