Seven wrinkled his nose. “Being gagged. That idea freaks me out. Especially if I’m also tied up. If I can’t speak at all, I get panicky.”
Enzo nodded. “I get that. I don’t like you not having the ability to safe word in some way. Hard limit?”
Seven nodded, his heart hammering like he’d run a mile.
“Easy. Anything else?” Enzo asked.
Seven took a deep, shuddering breath and let it out. “I-I don’t think I’d like humiliation. Not like real degrading stuff. I don’t mind you calling me slutty or…or a whore, but not when you’re angry with me. And I don’t want to be called, like, worthless or stupid. That kind of thing.”
“I would never do that to you,” Enzo said, reaching for a bottle of olive oil. “That’s a hard limit for me, too. I don’t enjoy inflicting shame. Not my thing.” He dropped a kiss on Seven’s lips as he passed. “I do like calling you a slut, though.”
“I like it, too,” Seven said. He loved it, in fact. He liked being Enzo’s slut. Enzo’s whore. But just his. “Do you have hard limits?”
Enzo thought for a moment. “Blood. Knife play. Things that break skin. I’m not into that. It’s not a moral judgment, it just doesn’t do anything for me, and I’d rather not mix it with sex. Besides, your skin is so beautiful. I wouldn’t want to permanently damage it.”
Seven nodded slowly. “Okay. But...stuff like blindfolds, rope, spanking…you’re into that?”
“I’m into the power exchange,” Enzo clarified. “I like watching you surrender. I like rewarding you. I like guiding you.I like giving you rules because I think you want them, even if you pretend you don’t.”
God, this conversation was getting him too worked up. His face flushed as he swallowed hard, then said, “I do want to clarify something with the gagging.”
“Go ahead,” Enzo prompted.
“God, this is so embarrassing to say it like this, but…I do like when you force me to choke on your cock,” he mumbled, ears on fire. “I like you holding me down, talking me through it like I’m—like I don’t know what I’m doing.” He chewed the skin on the inside of his cheek until he was sure he tasted blood. “Is that okay?”
“It’s all okay,” Enzo promised. “All of it. There are no right or wrong answers.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” Enzo confirmed, opening the bag of fresh bread they’d snagged on the way home. Seven’s stomach rumbled once more. He watched closely as Enzo tore off a piece then dipped it into a small bowl filled with the olive oil and herbs. Before he could even ask, Enzo raised the piece to Seven’s lips.
Seven bit back a moan as he chewed thoughtfully.
“What else?” Enzo encouraged softly.
Seven flushed once more, dropping his gaze to the floor. “I think...I want that thing Nico and Mal have. The daily stuff. Domestic discipline. I want to try it. The rules. The punishments. The structure.”
Enzo crossed his arms, leaning against the counter. “You want behavior correction? You? My brattiest of brats?”
Seven shrugged. “Maybe. I want to be good for you. But I want there to be a cost when I’m not.”
Enzo smiled. “That’s something we can build together. You don’t have to know all the answers today. We’re going to try things, talk about them, see what fits.”
“What else should we cover?” Seven asked.
“Safe words,” Enzo said. “We can use the one we used before, the first night…what was it? Starburst? Or we can stick with the traffic light system. Red, yellow, green.”
“Traffic light is good. I made up the other one on the spot. I can’t believe you remember that,” Seven said. “What else?”
“Do you want to explore orgasm control? Denial? Forced restraint?”
Seven blinked. “Maybe?”
Enzo laughed. “That’s a soft limit.”
“Oh, right. So, um…with domestic discipline…” Seven started, dropping his gaze to his hands.
Enzo checked the boiling water on the back burner, noting the fresh noodles on the counter. Where had those even come from? There was no way Enzo had time to make that. Did he?
