Page 86 of Hushed

Kenzie grinned. “Q. We met years ago in New York. We’ve been friends ever since, but we rarely get to see each other.”

Gage’s shoulders relaxed upon hearing that he knew her friend. She wasn’t sure why that irked her a little, but it did.

“Q is a great person. We’ve only met a few times, but I like her.”

“Are you mad at me?” she asked, wanting to get straight to the bottom of the issue.

He cupped her jaw and dragged his thumb across her cheek. “Irritated. I’ll get over it.”

“Are you going to punish me?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Do you want me to?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m still confused about that side of power exchange. When you were so angry, I definitely didn’t want you to.”

He pulled a chair out and scooted it close to her so he could pick up both of her hands. “I’ll never punish you when I’m angry. You have my word on that. That’s why I went and worked out.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you for that, then. It hurt watching you walk away, but I understand now. I really am sorry I worried you.”

“It’s going to happen again. Worry is part of my nature, baby girl. Especially when it comes to people I care about. And I care a lot about you.”

“I like your house,” she said, wanting to change the subject. It was awkward talking about how much he cared.

“I do too. But I’m not attached to it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How could you not be attached to a place like this? It’s clearly been outfitted to meet all of your needs.”

“And I can outfit another place with you if we decide that’s what we want.”

“Let’s not talk about that right now,” she suggested. “Let’s talk about how you might punish me if you were going to.”

He chuckled. “Are you horny or something?”

She squirmed in her seat. “Maybe?”

He kissed her nose.

“For starters, I would bend you over this table and paint your ass red with my belt.”

Her pussy clenched at the idea of him using a belt on her.

“That sounds… intense.”

“It’s not pleasant. But punishment isn’t meant to be.”

“Not even when you’re punishing a brat?”

He chuckled. “What gave you that impression?”

“I did some reading about the brat/brat tamer dynamic. It seems that brats crave punishment, and if it’s something they crave, there would have to be something a little pleasant about it, right?”

He scratched his jaw for a minute. “I guess you’re right about that. Brat tamer isn’t something I’ve ever called myself, so I haven’t given it much consideration. I’ll gladly tame you, though.” He winked and made her blush.

“Do you think I’m a brat?”

He toyed with the bracelet on her wrist for a minute before he answered. “You have a bratty side to you, but deep down you really do want to be a good submissive. Having a heavy dose of masochism in you probably adds to the brat. You can always ask me for the pain you’re looking for. You don’t have to act out to get it.”

Kenzie thought about it for a minute. “Asking for things is hard. Even having this conversation is difficult for me and my social anxiety. I would rather act out and get what I need.”

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