She pushes back her shoulders and tips up her chin, for all the world like the fucking Queen of Hearts.
“Now that we’re all even, we—“ She cuts off, clearing her throat. “Let’s get something straight.” She turns to stare at Rooke.
Rooke raises an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth pulling into a half smile at her expression. “Yes, sweet girl?”
“From now on, Bastian, youwilltreat Kai with respect.”
Rooke’s full-on smiling now, and it’s rare enough that I can’t seem to think straight for a moment. Especially when he glances over at me and that smile becomes a smirk.
“I believe I just demonstratedconsiderablerespect for Kai. Under the table.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” Haven’s eyes flash. “No more ‘boy.’ No more degrading comments. No more treating him like he’s beneath you.” She pauses, color rising in her cheeks. “Unless we’re…you know.”
“No,” Rooke says, taking a sip of his wine. “I don’t know.”
“You know.” She rolls her hand. “Like if we’re…in the middle of something.”
“Traffic? The grocer?” Rooke prompts. He leans forward conspiratorially. “A complete psychological breakdown?”
I bark out a laugh, drowning the sound with a mouthful of alcohol.
“Sex, Bastian,” Haven says, loud enough to make the couple beside us glance over warily again. “I mean sex. Andonlyif he’s okay with it.”
Rooke turns to me. “If that’s what he wants.”
It’s weird being asked. Being given a choice.
“Yeah,” I manage. “That…works.”
“You bring up a good point, sweet girl,” Rooke says, his voice taking on the smooth, authoritative tone he uses inside the lecture hall. “We need to discuss the rules of this—” he spreads his hands “—arrangement, for lack of a better word.”
“Rules?” I scoff. “How about don’t be a fucking dick?”
Rooke holds up a finger. We’re on our third—fourth?—bottle of Château-whatever-the-fuck Rooke ordered. He’s about five glasses of wine in, and me and Haven have both had four.
“Unless you want me to be a dick,” he says.
I stare at him.
He’s kinda got a point.
Rooke starts counting off on his fingers. “Safe words. Hard limits. Kinks.” He pauses. “Why are you two looking at me like that?”
Haven shakes her head. I just keep staring at him.
“It’s a simple framework.” He leans back, fingers steepled, in full-on teach mode. “A safe word stops play immediately. No questions, no negotiations. The word I typically use is ‘red’—simple, unmistakable, impossible to ignore in the heat of the moment.”
Haven mouths ‘red’ with a mesmerized look on her face.
“There’s also ‘yellow,’ which indicates you’re approaching a limit but don’t need to stop entirely. It’s a request to check in, to slow down.” He looks at me, and my cock twitches in my pants because…well, fuck, I don’t even know why anymore. “Does that make sense, b—Kai?”
“Yeah.” My voice is hoarse. “Yeah, it does.”
“Hard limits are non-negotiable boundaries. Things you will not do under any circumstances.” His gaze moves between us. “In fact, I suggest you two make a list of things you’re curious about, things you’re certain you want, and things that are absolutely off the table.”
Haven’s biting her lip. I can practically see the wheels turning in her head.
“What are your hard limits?” she asks.
