“It is.” I cup my hand around his nape and encourage him to come closer until our lips are a whisper apart. I want to kiss him so badly. “We need safewords.”
“Can we keep them simple and easy to remember?”
“Whatever you need.”
“Traffic lights? I think green for go, amber for slow down, and red for stop are in everyone’s collective consciousness. They’re hard to forget, even when I’m falling asleep.”
“It’s the system they use at The Library.”
“I know.” Quinn smiles. “It’s the one thing that isn’t in theme. It struck me as odd the first time Rubin took me there.”
“I think easy to remember trumps the theme.”
“Probably.”
Our voices have dropped to soft, husky whispers. I stare into his eyes for a second and then kiss him hard. Kissing him makes me happy, and I can’t get enough of it. I nip at his lip harder than when we were having sex. He shivers and moans. I bite another part of his lip hard enough to make him suck in a breath, and then I lick and kiss the pain away.
“How do you like to be edged? Hand jobs? Blow jobs? Sex? Fingers? Rimming? Nipple play? Toe sucking? Toys?”
Quinn blows out a breath. “That’s quite the list. You do all those things?”
“I have done, yes.”
“Do you enjoy them all?”
I chuckle. “Toes aren’t my thing.”
“They’re not mine either. Except for walking on. I like them for that.”
My chuckle turns into a loud belly laugh. “No toe sucking. What about the rest?”
“Yes.”
“To all of it?”
He nods. “Yes. If it turns out I’m not into it, I’ll let you know.” He skims his fingertips over my jaw. “Anything else?”
“I think we can negotiate anything else as we go.”
“So do I.”
I nip his lip again and then pull him against my chest, cradling him for a few minutes. My heart patters in response to his closeness. Having him pressed against me is right on so many levels.
“Breakfast?” I ask when my stomach starts to grumble and complain.
“Yes. Then I have to work. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. You have deadlines.”
“I do. I slept so much yesterday that I barely got anything done.” He breathes in deeply. “Hopefully, today will be better.”
I kiss his hair. “I hope so too.”
* * *
After breakfast, I spend the morning going over plans for tonight’s sessions at The Library. I have three regular clients: James is a high-powered businessman who loves letting go by wearing a gimp suit, being put on his knees, and having insults hurled at him, Laura loves being flogged, and Angus has a thing for cock and ball torture and humiliation. They all like predictability, so their sessions with me are usually the same each time they come. There’s not much for me to do to prepare except submit health and safety plans to The Library.
While I work, I keep checking my phone. I have no idea how long it will take the private investigator to find Mum. Constantly checking for messages is probably the path to insanity, but I can’t help it. I have a sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach, and my thoughts are buzzing with hazy memories that are probably twisted by time and emotion.
