Page 47 of Imperfect Skin

“Duly noted,” Cal said, raising an eyebrow. “By the way, that’s your last sweet treat until after dinner.”

I stopped chewing to stare at him. Damn, that was just mean. Didn’t the man realise my diet was a steady stream of sugar, caffeine, and the occasional—okay, nightly—bag of crisps? He could try and stop me sneaking a midnight snack, but he couldn’t watch me all the time.

Cal snorted loudly, as if he had just heard my thoughts. The man was trying to psych me out, and he wasn’t going to win.

But his next words had me forgetting all about my diet.

“I was thinking, with your back still healing I need to be a little creative with some pain play sessions for you. I’ve got some ideas, but I’d like to know what kind of things you’ve tried, or want to try.”

“Hmm.” It had been ages since I’d thought about what I liked versus what would make me hurt. The two were not mutually exclusive, but it had been too long since I’d actually reached any form of subspace. But I knew Cal could get me there. My heart beat faster with excitement. “I love flogging and whips, and the fucked-up shit Ziggy did to me hasn’t killed that for me, I hope. I’ve played with CBT and electro play, but that was ages ago. I really enjoyed it though, both on a physical level and the way it fucked with my head. Wax play is nice. Not super intense for me, but I love the way it makes me feel. I love nipple clamps and restraints, and I want to try more sensation play. Things like knife play—just no blood, I don’t think. I love testing my limits, love how it feels when I push past what I think I can take.”

“Nice, and all things I love. What about needle play?”

Holy shit.

My dick just got so hard when he said that. “I really want to try that, like, I really want to. I also like being called names, like I’m your slutty boy. But don’t call me stupid or anything like that.”

Cal walked around the counter and pushed up against my stool, forcing me back against the countertop. He rested his hands on either side of me and smiled wickedly. “So if I called you my perfect little slut, so eager to please your Daddy, how would that make you feel?”

“Um, about ready to come on the spot, honestly. Look down.”

Callum smirked and moved his hand from the counter to lift my T-shirt.

“Fucking gorgeous boy.” He kissed me fiercely, not giving me a chance to react. He was controlling everything, and I was just along for the ride. It was a fucking trip and I loved it.

Before I could get my breath back, Cal had moved away and was cutting the meat up for the stew.

Goddamn he was good.

“How did you feel regressing? I know that it’s something new for you.”

“It’s different. Like I said, the only times I came close to feeling like that was hanging out with Rhys or when I was playing up in my room. I’d never really thought about it in terms of regression.”

“But you enjoyed it?”

“Oh yeah. It’s different, but good different. Everything feels softer and calmer. Next time, could I have my Lego and Game Boy? I think that would be fun.”

“It sounds like it’s a lovely headspace for you, lamb, and you bet we can get your Lego and Game Boy out next time. We can also have a look at a few more cute pairs of PJs and maybe some fun superhero underwear for you. This is new for me too, and there’s no set rule book, but I think if we just go with what feels right for us, we’re both going to get a lot out of it.”

I hoped so. We weren’t even a day into this, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I’d been burned before, and I didn’t think I could take it if this thing between Cal and I crashed and burned. But thinking about that was just begging for trouble, and I wanted to enjoy the here and now.

“I’ve never really done any age play stuff at the club, and until I started hanging out with Rhys, I didn’t really know much about it apart from the fact Littles are fucking adorable.” I rested my elbows on the counter and leaned into my hands, watching Cal work.

“Master Roman and Timothy at Crimson are both Daddies, and I’ve spent some time with them and the Littles they would scene with. And you’re right, Littles are adorable. But then, so are feisty Middles.” He flashed me a smile.

“Why do you think I’m a Middle? I mean, I think you’re right. Stuff I’ve read and conversations I’ve had with Rhys kind of make me think that could be me. I’m not into nappies and dummies, and playing with blocks and soft toys is not really my thing. Well, apart from Oscar, but he’s my buddy.” I chewed on a hangnail as I thought, and caught Callum looking at me.

“We don’t chew our nails. Especially at the counter.”

I rolled my eyes but the growl from Callum, while sexy, was also very Daddy. I pulled my fingers away from my mouth.

“This is what I think, lamb. You’re a masochist, we can both agree on that, and you have a submissive side. But as you said, you’ve always fought your Doms, made them work for it. But in the end, you got the flogging or domination you wanted.”

I nodded. That was pretty accurate.

“But you’ve also been using it as a form of punishment for your mum’s death, and a few other things, I suspect.”

I dropped my gaze, suddenly finding the countertop incredibly interesting. He was scarily accurate in summing up my actions over the last few years.

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