Page 23

Arlene

Holy fuck.

“This is not uncomfortable for you, right?”

If someone asked me how I managed to stomach a full crepe, I wouldn’t be able to give an answer.

“No.” Claude chuckled. “I mean, it’s rare that it isn’t, but I’m chill. I swear.”

I nodded. That was good. I wished I could say the same. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the way their lips had felt on mine. The way they’d hovered over me, owning every molecule of oxygen in the room? I could not stop thinking about it.

I probably should, though. We had to talk. I couldn’t be thinking about the things that made me squirm and go back to that place I’d only discovered—a place where everything kind of quieted down and there was only Claude, and Claude’s touch.

“Okay.” Claude had finished their plate too. I wanted to stand up and offer to clean up since they didn’t let me help earlier, but I didn’t want to move and accidentally break whatever had set between us. “So, you were saying, you get something out of this even if it’s not the same?”

They shrugged before they sat down cross-legged on the couch. “It’s like… No, I don’t look at you and want to jump your bones in the way allosexuals do. Nothing personal.”

“No, I get that.”

I did. It just confused me.

Well, it didn’t completely confuse me. I knew asexual people could have sex and enjoyed sex. I also knew a lot of this was just the result of being deep in my mind, and not just me being an ignorant ass.

I suddenly felt very ignorant, though, and small.

“But… I still get something out of it. I mean, again, no offense, but I wouldn’t be doing shit if I didn’t 100% want to.”

I chuckled. I couldn’t help it. Their blunt ways had always appealed to me, and it was even better in person. “I’m not taking offense to that.”

“Good.” Claude nodded, lips pursed. “Because I really, really enjoyed Domming you right there.”

My throat dried. “You did?”

It was a novelty, hearing that someone had Dommed me, and that I’d subbed for them. It had happened, though. The words felt right because they were right. I wanted them to be right.

“Yeah.” Claude cleared their throat. “And no, before you ask, it doesn’t mean I was suddenly overwhelmed with attraction. But I wanna explore those… layers of intimacy with you. And I really, really like teasing you, and getting reactions out of you. It’s… Fuck. Satisfying sounds lame as fuck, but… Everything zeroes in on you, and…”

“Yeah.” I breathed out more easily. There were many words there that I knew would take me hours and days to fully process and analyze, but they were what I needed to hear. “It’s the same for me. That last part, I mean.”

“I’m glad.” Claude smirked. Of course they did. “What else do you need us to cover?”

“What do you mean?”

“As I said, I’m happy to go with the flow, but that’s not you.”

“I thought going with the flow was a no-go for kink,” I quipped.

Claude chuckled. “Yeah, Cin’s Domme would probably agree with you. It’s not like I’m planning on going all whips and chains on you anytime soon.”

“Or ever, right?” I swallowed. “That’s what you mean.”

Whips and chains were not the things I had in mind when I pictured getting into kink. I guessed I could see the appeal for other people, but… Oh, fuck, did Claude see the appeal? I hadn’t gotten that vibe when we were talking. I could be wrong, though. Our talk hadn’t been too exhaustive.

A few seconds later, Claude started laughing. I scowled. Well, I guessed they really meant it when they said that they liked teasing me.

“I have no interest in impact play, honestly.” They shrugged again. “I like the scenes that are about playing with the senses, and with power imbalances, and with overstimulating and controlling a sub’s body.”

Yeah, I was into those things as well. I needed a minute to make my voice work again.