Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Weirdly, though, I didn’t believe I’d chicken out. The other day, I would’ve refused or at least hesitated a whole lot to open up, but now I wanted to.
I finished the last of my bacon, and I wiped the grease off on a napkin.
“I want to bring something up,” I said. “Do you remember a few years ago when Dad invited two coworkers for dinner? Emerson and Danny?”
He furrowed his brow. “Yes…?”
Okay, good. Dad had just taken in a teenager temporarily. The guy, Isaac, had been kicked out for being gay, and he’d needed a place to stay for a few weeks before he could move in with his grandfather in Toronto.
“So, they were there because Dad wanted to show Isaac that he could be himself,” I went on. I mean, Dad was bi, but he’d been single at the time, and he’d always been better at showing than telling. “But after dinner, Danny and I got to talking. I was showing him around upstairs, and he spotted my Brat with a Plan sticker—you know the one on my computer?”
Wade grinned faintly. “Horrible sticker. I remember.”
“The best sticker,” I corrected. “Anyway, I kinda admitted to him that I was curious about kink, and he didn’t react weirdly. He just said it was cool and advised me to stay safe. So I opened up a little more and said I was struggling to find good places to explore, and he recommended a blog for me. Like, one of those really old-school WordPress blogs people had ages ago.”
The mirth was gone from Wade’s face. “It wasn’t that fucking long ago.”
Uh, yeah. It was.
“Well, I started reading it,” I said. “A guy runs it with the help of his Daddy, and it’s like a journal. He wrote about how important it was for him to let his inner Little or Middle have a safe space to roam free. Like, before he met his Daddy, he’d create a fort with blankets and stuff and just be a Little on his own. So I started doing that when I moved to Dallas. Every day after work, I’d try to take care of myself and watch a movie in jammies with a bunch of blankets.”
One of the worst things about Wade’s dominance was that he got me so quickly, and it showed. His eyes flashed with understanding and sympathy, maybe because he knew things weren’t easy.
“And you haven’t been able to do that in a long time,” he murmured.
I let out a breath. He understood that too. I was getting there, and he already knew.
“Right.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “The thing is, I don’t know why I change so easily around you, Wade. I know I do it. There’s something about your dominance that draws out the person I want to be.” Oof, it was getting to be too much. I shifted uncomfortably as my cheeks felt hotter. I avoided eye contact too. “I’m usually better at hiding it, but maybe going three months without having a connection to that side of me is making the cup run over. I don’t know.”
That was as honest as I could be without grabbing his shoulders, shaking him, and confessing I wanted him.
Wade sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Now I feel bad. To ask you to hold back because we need boundaries—but I’m the one forcing you to be up here with me.”
He had nothing to feel bad about. He cared. He’d gone so far as to keep me in the most remote corner of the world so that I wouldn’t escape. That meant business!
I opened my mouth to respond, but he beat me to it.
He looked my way with determination in his eyes. “Forget what I said. I want you to be able to be yourself with me. Be however submissive and little you want. On one condition.”
Holy shit, I was all ears! “What’s that?”
His mouth twitched. “Tell me right now you’ll move back home.”
Oh. Sneaky! Because now he wouldn’t have to use his “brotherly powers for evil” as he’d said?
“Do you honestly think I’ve liked living in Dallas?” I asked. “A buddy online offered me a job, and I just went.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “You may have arrived in Texas for a job, but you left DC for another reason.” He paused. “Don’t worry. If you’re in a regressed or vulnerable mind-set, I won’t push for any explanations.”
So all I had to do was move home? To the place where I wanted to be anyway?
“Dad asks me every week to come home,” I said. “Next time I talk to him, I’ll let him know I’m moving back in to my old room.”
It hadn’t changed. Dad even sent me pictures of my room sometimes, letting me know it “missed” me.
Wade smiled. “Best news I’ve heard all week.”