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She tried to clench her ass when he moved down to deal with the mess he’d made there, angling her hips defensively. Her kitten moans turned into hissing, spitting growls of warning.

He dragged his finger down to circle her abused anus, dipping the tip inside the swollen ring to dab at the trickle of semen still visible. “This is such a waste, isn’t it? A plug would solve that.”

“Merrick—”

Dabbing at the evidence with the wipes, he admired his handiwork. She was going to need a few days rest from anal play, otherwise she’d never let him in there again. “I’ll get you some ibuprofen, little owl, once you’ve had a snack. I’ve got some cream at home that will help with the soreness. When you shower and get ready for bed, I’ll put some on.”

“My butt appreciates the offer, but no, thank you, Sir.”

Amusement rippled through him. “Do we need to discuss prerogative again?”

“My butt would like to point out that your prerogative resulted in an incredibly large offensive weapon being repeatedly rammed into my…” She trailed off with an adorable frown, then threw her hands up. “Butt.”

“Rectum,” he supplied, keeping an impossibly straight face.

“Whatever. It would like some alone time to sulk.”

With a snort, Merrick tossed the wipes in the trash, then flipped the blanket back down. He crossed over to the sink to wash his hands thoroughly. “Is it going to sulk every time I fuck it?”

“I imagine so.”

As water rinsed away the suds on his hand, he glanced at her over his shoulder. “I’m very proud of you, Tamsyn, you know that, right? Not just for handling tonight as well as you did, but for using your safeword. I like knowing you’ll stand up when you hit your limit.”

“My butt—”

“No,” he said sternly, switching off the tap and snagging a towel from the counter. Methodically drying his hands, he turned to rest against the edge. “Your butt doesn’t have a voice, darlin’. You do, and you used it tonight. Some subs have difficulty utilizing a safeword, believing their Dom will be upset if the scene halts temporarily, or even ends if needs be. That reluctance is dangerous.”

“Would you…”

He waited for a minute, hoping she’d finish the question, but she started worrying her lip between her teeth instead. Sighing, he tossed the towel into the laundry basket in the corner and walked back to her. “Would I have been angry if you wanted to end the scene?”

Tamsyn nodded.

“No. If I was doing something that you absolutely hated to the point you couldn’t bear it anymore, or was hurting you to the brink of harm, I’d damn well expect you to call it quits, little owl.” He slid his hand around the back of her neck; he couldn’t help but touch her when she was in reach. “Don’t think I don’t understand or appreciate what you gave me tonight. I was rough, and I deliberately scared you more than once. There’s no shame in saying your safeword when you need it; I’ll never reprimand you for it.”

She exhaled quietly, her relieved eyes meeting his. “Okay.”

“Anything else you need to talk over before we go chill out and cuddle?”

Oh, she perked right up at the mention of cuddles, didn’t she? She sat up, the blanket sliding down to her waist, and lifted her arms around his neck, evidently ready to settle down and process the evening properly.

Merrick laughed and tugged the blanket away, letting her plaster herself against him before wrapping it around her back. Hitching her on his hip, her head settling into its rightful place on his shoulder, felt like the perfect ending to the scene.

*

It was a full house tonight—Evander, Elias, and Callie were here, along with Grit and Tabitha, Sierra and Mack, and Jasper and Anarchy. Conversation was in full swing, which barely took a hitch in stride when Merrick and Tamsyn joined them.

Sliding into the largest booth near the bar, Merrick dragged his little owl down on his lap, thoroughly enjoying her squirming. Fordham and Levi were to his right; the former nudged a short glass with a finger’s worth of scotch across the table, followed by a bottle of water.

Callie took one look at Tamsyn and immediately frowned at Merrick. “It’s too cold out there to be carrying naked people around, Master Merrick.”

An adult Callie was a rarity nowadays. Comfortable in her Little skin, doted on by two fierce Daddies, the majority of her time in and out of the club was spent causing chaos.

She’d proven, however, to be equally as fierce herself when defending fellow subs.

“Is it? I didn’t notice.” Eyebrow raised, he stared her down. Of course, he had noticed, which was why he’d rushed over from the medplay building before Tamsyn got a chill.

“Yes, it is. Daddy Vander bought me a onesie; you should get one. It has booties and mittens, so when it’s really cold, I’m all snuggly.” Turning to her monstrously large husband, she said, “Daddy, tell Master Merrick where you got my onesie so he can get Tamsyn one, too.”