Page 619 of End Game

That shuts me up.

Ronan's thumb moves once against my neck. “The side we saw most often became the side we assumed was most relevant.”

I stare at the floor. “I've thought about asking for pain a lot.”

“How long?”

“I don't know.”

He waits.

I sigh. “A while.”

“Before me?”

“Yes.”

“Before Cami?”

“Probably.”

His eyebrows rise.

I laugh.

The movement pulls at the marks hard enough that I wince through it, which only makes the whole thing more ridiculous.

Ronan watches me with that infuriatingly satisfied expression he gets when he uncovers information he intends to store forever.

“You enjoyed the crop.”

“I enjoyed all of it.”

“The flogger bored you.”

“It did not bore me.”

“It was insufficient.”

“That sounds less insulting.”

“It isn't an insult. Cami likes that one.”

I glance at him.

Something playful moves through his expression.

I can picture Cami standing in front of a mirror admiring a bruise while Griffin pretends to disapprove and then touches it.

That thought makes me smile.

“What you asked for tonight was different,” Ronan adds.

The humor fades without disappearing completely. “Yeah.”

“Different doesn't mean better or worse.”

“I know.”