Page 25 of A Gold Medal in Love

“What I hate is that Ididlike it,” she grits out.

“Sit down and we’ll talk about it.” I pat the space where she was sitting only moments before.

Imani settles back down on the bed, but her back is the ramrod straight of someone ready to run. “How do you do that?”

“I’ve been doing this a long time. And despite what Charlie would say, Idoenjoy hard work… especially when the work in question is cracking the puzzle of a pretty girl.” I grin.

“Stop flirting with me. It’s distracting,” Imani protests and smooths her hair back into her characteristic bun.

“I’m trying to make you relax since you look like a colt ready to spook,” I reveal.

“I’m not… I’m just nervous. Can you…” I watch her swallow after she trails off. “Can you tell me whatyou’reinto?”

“Of course, Cupcake. I like a formal D/s dynamic, but those take time and I’m not sure if we have that, or if that’s even something you’d like to learn; restraints, but I’m not good with rope; forced orgasms; choking, as you well know; my favorite is a lot of impact, that’s hitting spots that feel good—it can be ass, thighs, tits, and for some, face; and I think one of my kinks that will work very well with you is a lot of praise,” I list for her. Imani is clearly a mess after I’ve done so. “Mhm. What out of those made you the squirmy worm you are now?” I tease.

“Who says I’m a squirmy worm because of you?” She answers icily.

I throw my head back and laugh. “You aresucha Goddamn brat. We’ll never get anywhere if you act like that during a negotiation, though. Come on.”

She hides her face in her hands. “Is answering that all of them did an option?”

“Thank you for your vulnerability,” I reward her. “But think carefully and see if there’s anything you wouldn’t want to do at all, or if there’s anything you’re not sure about but might wantto revisit later. The former is called a hard limit, and the latter is called a soft limit.”

“Can… can the face impact be a soft limit?” Imani mumbles into her hands.

“Of course, Cupcake. Thank you for trusting me with that,” I respond.

It elicits a little shiver from her, and I smile to myself.

“Are you into anal?” She continues to mumble into her hands.

“Yes. Tell me your thoughts,” I encourage her.

“That’s a hard limit. Is that okay?” She raises her head, and I see the fear shining in her eyes.

“It’s always okay to tell me your limits. I’ll remember that. We aren’t going to do anything you don’t want to do,” I reassure her.

Imani squints at me. “What are your limits, then?”

“Watersports, scat, vore,” I list off on my fingers. “Those are the hard limits. A lot of things are soft and depend on my partner and our established relationship.”

“Like what?” She inquires.

“Like CNC, for instance. That requires a depth of trust that you can’t put a timeline on.” I tell her.

“Which is…?” She waves a hand for me to continue.

“Consensual non-consent. Going into a scene that’s been prenegotiated, whereupon the bottom will pretend they don’t want it and perhaps even put up a fight physically or verbally, and the top only stops if the safeword is called,” I explain.

“Speaking of safewords, what are mine?” She asks earnestly.

“We are going to use what is called the stoplight system: green, yellow, and red. Green means go, yellow means pause and assess, and red means everything stops right fucking now. This is important. Do you understand?” I confirm.

“I understand—green, yellow, and red. I’ll remember,” Imani agrees.

“Good girl,” I praise her and watch her melt in front of my eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispers.