Page 50 of Oh, Sacred Dark
Even when he was little, he’d have the urge to look around the playground and intervene if he saw anything unsavoury going on. He’d had to be told multiple times by parents and teachers that not everything was bullying and, even if it was, he should go to an adult first.
Tyler hadn’t learnt the lesson. As he grew up, so did his Dom urges, and the impulse to take care of those he loved made itself obnoxiously known.
When it came to scenes, it multiplied tenfold. Petting, edging, multiple orgasms, sensory play, and, something Tyler had been thinking about more and more lately: feeding.
It was an act that didn’t have to be sexual, just as kneeling wasn’t. And it would go a long way to appease his Dom in taking care of Roman—the visual of feeding him from his own hand had been haunting him.
Maybe Roman would hate it. Maybe he wouldn’t want to try it at all. Tyler had to stop chickening out and justask.
“So…I wanted to suggest something new to do in our scene, but I want to know if you feel ready to say no to me if you don’t like it.”
Roman looked startled, the blush draining from his face, but he didn’t seem as petrified as he’d have been a few months ago. They’d done a lot of work on safe-wording, saying stop and no, and Tyler was fairly confident in Roman’s ability to halt something if he needed to.
Roman chewed on his lip. “I think so,” he said tentatively.
“Cool. Because you know I only want to do it if it’s good for both of us, right? That’s what gets me to Domspace.”
Roman nodded—they’d already had that conversation. “What…uhm, what is it?”
“So…” Tyler pushed his own nervousness away. “I was wondering how you’d feel about kneelingduringdinner and being hand-fed.”
Roman blinked, face pinkening again. “Oh.”
Tyler didn’t react, didn’t try to explain himself, just let Roman sit with that for a moment and process it.
“I…” Roman cleared his throat. “I’ve never done that before. It sounds…nice.”
“Yeah? Nice enough to try?”
Roman nodded. “Is that why you chose steak?” he asked, tilting his head towards the food laid out on the counter—potatoes, asparagus, and two pieces of meat.
“Kind of—thought it’d be a good dinner for the middle of the week, but also good finger food if you wanted to try it out.”
“I—yeah. That sounds good.”
Tyler tamped down the urge to ask, ‘Are you sure?’ To dig into Roman’s choice, make sure he was a hundred percent comfortable, that Tyler wouldn’t find out later that he’d done something horrible.
It wasn’t Roman’s fault—Tyler had gone into this knowing Roman was troubled and had past trauma—but it left Tyler reeling when Roman kept quiet about things that might harm him. That last Drop he’d witnessed, the way Roman’s eyes had gone distant and absent and cold while he was on his knees—it still haunted him weeks later. He couldn’t sleep sometimes, with the fear of putting that expression on Roman’s face again. Of ever being part of something that would make him go hollow and drop into nothingness.
It was why it was so nerve-wracking to introduce anything new into their scenes, but he knew he had to, for Roman’s own good. That varying his experiences in a safe environment would help him advance both physically and mentally.
Truthfully, being needed helped Tyler put his fear away.
They prepared the table a little differently this time, Tyler cutting up the food on both their plates as Roman got his kneeling cushion from the living room.
Tyler made sure his hands were well washed and sat in his chair. “Kneel,” he told Roman, and a shudder went through him at the sub’s easy compliance. “Perfect. You look so good like that.”
Roman closed his eyes, and Tyler took a moment to just watch him. He was beautiful, shoulders straight but not overly tense, hands laid on his lap.
“First piece,” Tyler said.
Roman’s eyelids slid open, and he took the cut of meat delicately, lips barely brushing Tyler’s fingers. Their gaze connected, and a bolt of lightning went through him, scorching his nerves, making his gut clench.
Tyler tried not to forget about his own meal, but he was entranced by Roman—by the careful way he chewed, how his body language became softer, more at ease. Roman didn’t seem to even notice how he was staring at Tyler, eyes adoring.
Tyler ran the fingers from his dry hand across Roman’s cheek, watching him melt into it. He tried to control the wild beating of his heart.
He’d cut up some fruit for dessert and couldn’t even pretend to eat it, focusing completely on Roman.
