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I lifted my eyes, heat spreading through me the second the words left my lips. His fingers traced my face in unhurried swirls, the drag of his skin against mine sending sparks down my spine. Every stroke was a whisper, a promise, a torment.
“My number one job as your man, not just as your Dom, is to ensure that you trust me enough to relax into your submissive instincts. To make you feel safe, protected, and cared for. To remove the mental load, anchor you and to be your sanctuary.”
“My sanctuary?”
“Yes. I will create space where you can be vulnerable, quiet your chaos and establish consistency. I’ll be your lighthouse in the storm. That comes with time. I will lead you, guide you—”
“Would you…degrade me?” I asked.
There was a hint of surprise on his face when I dared to look up. My heart thudded louder in my ears.
“We can visit that topic. I’ll be completely honest with you, if I do, it will be soft. Certain aspects of that practice I’m not into.”
“So you have boundaries, too?”
“Yes, silly. Doms are allowed to have boundaries. There are tests we can take. To help determine soft limits, hard limits and things we might be interested in exploring. Together.”
“You’ve already taken them though, right?”
“Yes, but the beauty here is the list can be revisited at any time. Modified by either party, for any reason.”
“You mentioned discipline,” I moaned.
Every second stretched thin, vibrating with need. I fought the urge to shift before him. Could he feel the way my body trembled? The brown in his eyes looked darker now, stormier—twisted—both primal and dangerous all at the same time.
“Yes, I did. Primarily because that disrespectful tone you had earlier—”
“Needs correction?” I teased.
I looked up, hoping that I hadn’t broken some unspoken rule. He burst out laughing. The rich sound wrapped around my heart and squeezed. Nothing had felt more right than this moment with him. After he got himself together, he pulled my chin up so that he could look me in the eye.
“I’ll make you some promises, right here. Right now. I will always be sensitive to your needs and communicate with you. I won’t exploit you, nor will I ever emotionally manipulate or abuse you.”
“Thank you, Sir. And since we’ve discussed expectations we may as well tackle safewords. Can we establish ones you’ve never used with another? I don’t want to share that part of you. I won’t share that part of you,” I corrected myself.
And it was true, I wouldn’t share him. What that looked like for him and his club work when he returned home remained to be seen. But it stood to reason that if Alek, Nik, and Ivan had made it work, so could he.
We were negotiating, and the smile on his face was evident enough that he wasn’t displeased with my words. I relaxed back, taking deep, even breaths. I could do this.
“I hear you loud and clear. So, what do you have in mind?” he asked thoughtfully and added, “we’ll need three.”
I thought for a brief second. Colors were standard for the club. Red, yellow, green, too common. I wanted something different. And the idea came to me. It would be similar enough.
“Apple for I’m at my limit, banana for slow down, and pear for good to go.”
“Can you remember those?” he asked, leaning forward.
“Yes, Sir.”
He stroked my face. “Then we will use them. Anytime we play or are intimate, I’ll expect you to remember and use them.”
“Is that an order?”
His cheek twitched, and the corner of his lips curled into a smile. My gaze drifted longingly to his gorgeous cock. I squeezed my thighs together to stem the pulsing. The brief taste of him wasn’t enough. I longed to feel him flood my tongue and my throat with his essence.
“May I try again?”
He reached down and took my finger and brought it to his mouth. Sucking it sensually, he moved his lips up and down it. I shuddered, and he pulled it out. A disappointed sound erupted from my throat.
