Page 88 of Naughty November
I hitch in a breath and wait.
“You’d make me feel safe then, too, wouldn’t you?”
I hug him tight. “Yes. Safer than you’ve ever felt before.”
He smiles and closes his eyes. “I believe you.”
I want to play with him, but it has to be his decision. His choice. I looked over the kink list he sent me during the tube journey between The Library and his hotel, memorising his selections. My heart leapt into my throat when I noticed he’d put a star beside ‘writing on skin’ and another beside ‘restraints’. He’s never been restrained before, and, as far as I know, no one has drawn on his skin except me, and I’ve never done it with the intention of turning him on. Would he let me tie him up while I turn his skin into a tapestry of adoration?
He opens his eyes and stares at me. “Will you help me? Will you teach me?”
I swallow away a lump of emotion. “Yes. Whenever you want me to.”
He pushes onto his elbow and presses a soft kiss to my lips before gazing into my eyes again. “Now?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m done thinking, Devin. I want to feel. I want to feel with you. Because of you.”
I take hold of his shoulders and roll him so he’s on his back, and I’m draped over him. I kiss him hard, using my lips to massage and my tongue to explore and taste his sweetness. He has the lingering taste of mint on his breath.
I nuzzle his nose. “Not here. Let’s go to mine.”
He brushes his fingers over my jaw and nods.
“We have things to discuss first.”
He raises his eyebrows.
“Your safewords. What, exactly, on the list you want to try out.”
“Anything with a star next to it. You choose.”
I shake my head. As much as I’d love to guide him to my choices, it has to be his decision. “I’m going to pee. Look at your list and tell me what you’re most drawn to.”
I kiss him and then leave him, taking far longer in the bathroom than I need to so Jools has time to consider his list. When I return to the bedroom, he’s curled on his side, the list I gave him pinched between his thumb and forefinger. I forget to breathe for a moment. Is this a dream? Am I truly going to get to play with the boy I’ve loved for years? My heart has been entangled with his since the moment we met. Nine years apart hasn’t dampened my feelings for him one bit.
He turns, smiles, and beckons.
I go to him, slipping into the bed beside him. I lie facing him. “Have you chosen?”
“I—think so.” His hesitance is adorable. He jabs his finger underneath ‘writing on skin’. “I like when you draw on my skin. You’re the only person I’ve ever given permission to do it.”
My heart warms.
He frowns. “But I looked this up last night, and everything I found said it’s often used for humiliation. I don’t think I’d like that. Plus, you said you weren’t into that, either.”
And yet he starred it anyway.
“What I write wouldn’t have to be humiliating. We can make the kink our own, Jools. Use it in a way that turns us on.”
His frown dissipates and morphs into a bright smile. “I’d like that. The writing is supposed to last, isn’t it? Much longer than my skin reacts.”
I kiss his forehead. “We could do both. I could use markers and a toothpick. Some words would last, others would be fleeting.”
He shivers. “I have to go to work tomorrow.”
“We could wash it off tonight.”