The gentle buzz against my collarbone, through the silk of my pajamas and robe.
The vibration travels through the fabric, a soft, rhythmic sensation that's?—
Pleasant. Actually pleasant.
Not threatening or painful or any of the things I feared.
Just... nice.
"This is what the lowest setting feels like," Vaughn says, his voice calm and steady, like an anchor in the storm of my fear. "Nothing scary. Just sensation. Your body has nerve endings everywhere—some more concentrated than others, but all capable of feeling pleasure."
He moves it lower, over my chest but not lingering, just letting me feel the vibration through the layers of fabric. Then lower, over my stomach.
The sensation is strange.
Foreign.
My body doesn't know what to do with it because I've never let myself feel anything like this before.
But it's not bad.
"How does that feel?" he asks.
"Strange," I admit, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Strange bad or strange new?"
I force myself to really think about it.
To pay attention to what my body is feeling instead of what my mind is screaming about shame and sin.
"Strange... new," I say finally.
"Good. That's good, Eden. Your body is learning something it's never been allowed to learn before. That's okay. That's natural."
He moves the vibrator in slow circles over my stomach.
The silk of my pajamas is thin enough that I can feel the warmth of the vibrator through it, the gentle pulse of vibration.
It's almost relaxing. Almost.
If I could stop thinking about what this means.
What I'm allowing.
What I'm discovering.
He moves lower.
Over my hip.
Down my thigh.
The sensation is more intense here, more focused somehow.
My breath catches.
"There," Vaughn says quietly. "You felt that, didn't you? That's what I mean about nerve endings. Some areas of your body are more sensitive than others. More responsive. It's not wrong or shameful. It's just how you're designed."
