Page 16 of Collision of Winters (Hillcroft Group #4)

What a goofball. He looked too funny in those pants too, because they belonged to Chris. Kayden hadn’t considered bringing proper outdoor wear.

“Okay, okay, you caught me!” he panted through laughter.

I grinned.

Was he sinking back into his Middle mode? Nothing would make me happier.

The trip was already a success, either way. He was smiling again.

“Can you come back here, blue?” I called.

Kayden nodded and dug into a pocket, before he threw a handful of treats all over the place and hollered, “Seek!”

Atlas and Cat knew what that meant. Prince and Tundra acted on the scent of liver snaps.

Kayden jogged back to me, out of breath. “What’s up?”

I dismounted the four-wheeler and leaned against it. “I forgot to ask earlier. How did the conversation go with Quinlan?”

He sniffled and adjusted the straps on his gloves. “I think it couldn’t have gone better. He misses me, and he’s mad at you, which feels really good.”

I lifted my eyebrows.

He smirked. “I totally let him know that you told me everything about Hillcroft and, at your suggestion, I’m going to be a logistics officer.”

That bratty little shit.

I’d be annoyed if I weren’t so amused by his need to, what, execute a revenge scheme?

All this was so damn avoidable. Granted, knowing him, he didn’t take rejection well because he’d grown up in an environment of neglect.

He was also used to Chris and me working a lot and being away for longer periods of time.

But he hadn’t even listened to me this morning.

I’d told him the last thing I wanted was to stop—but I had to sort through my thoughts.

“If you’d been anybody else, I would’ve punished you for this,” I said, letting some of my mirth show. “But seeing as you have a history of thinking you’re in the way and family running off on you, I’ll go easy on your sweet ass.”

He immediately stood taller, having probably reacted to the sweet-ass part.

I wasn’t done just yet, though.

“At least you didn’t tell him we kissed,” I continued. “I’d rather do that in person when I’m ready.”

He couldn’t look more confused. “Wh-what? Tell him? You’re gonna tell him we made out?”

I furrowed my brow. “Would you prefer we saw each other in secret? That doesn’t seem like you.”

His gaze flickered with uncertainty, and he licked his lips nervously. “Of course I wouldn’t. But what are you saying? You backed off earlier. You stopped things.”

Darling boy—he needed a new perspective. He needed my perspective.

“To take a breather, sweetheart,” I reasoned.

“A lot more is at stake when it’s you. I don’t want to do anything until I’ve thought things through in order to prevent hurt feelings and any other harm.

But I’ll be honest—my feelings changing for you has blindsided me, and the attraction all but knocked me on my ass.

” I smiled when he failed to hide his relief.

“Moreover—please keep in mind that Quin has been a father figure of sorts for me as well, and you’re his son.

People around work actually refer to Quin as my old man.

Chris’s as well, of course. So a lot has been running through my mind. ”

He nodded slowly and chewed on the inside of his cheek.

“You gave a good speech earlier, though,” I admitted. “I needed to be reminded of the fact that you’re more than a vulnerable sub in his Middle mind-set.”

Triumph broke through the timidness in his eyes. “Knew it,” he whispered to himself.

I smiled.

“So, um…” He shifted where he stood. “What does this mean?”

Good question.

“What’s your safeword?” I asked.

He cocked his head. “Um, red, yellow, and green.”

Excellent. I nodded once. “Then I’d say, all this means…

Safewords apply.” I saw the mischief joining the relief in his expression, and I had to push forward before he got ahead of himself.

“It also means you have to be patient with me,” I told him.

“Best thing would be if you made yourself less appealing so I don’t attack you at every turn before we get the chance to sit down and discuss limits, boundaries, and expectations. ”

Pushing that button worked swimmingly. Tell a brat not to do something, and he’d do it.

He smirked like the little devil he could be. “In other words, if I tease you, you might put me in my place?”

No, I was saying that if he teased me and let the mischievous little boy in him run wild, I’d let him think he could persuade me into things—until I said otherwise.

“Who knows?” I shrugged.

When we got a moment to sit down and talk properly, he’d see my side of things. He’d acknowledge that he actually wanted a Dom who had self-discipline. But for now, let his joy take the reins so we could balance the rhyme and reason with some proper fun.

“ Interesting ,” he said, dragging out the word. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked over toward the dogs. They’d scattered a bit, undoubtedly having found all the treats a while ago, but they were good at entertaining themselves. “This is excellent information for an innocent brat.”

Innocent brats were much like honest politicians. As in nonexistent.

“I don’t know why you’d think so,” I replied, folding my arms over my chest. “A brat has the attention span of a toddler. You’ll forget what I said within two minutes.”

Cue scowl. “Whoa, dude.”

So easy.

Oh, this was going to be fun. It was precisely what I’d wanted for this little adventure today.

Playfulness and banter. Hopefully a good moment to kiss him again too.

Then we could head back to the cabin and have a nice soak in the hot tub while we talked, riled each other up, and just spent time together.

“Can I call you a dummy, or is that disrespectful?” Kayden asked tightly.

I withheld my grin. “You’ll find that my patience for colorful insults is endless. But there might be consequences afterward.”

“Shocking!” he deadpanned. “What kinds of consequences?”

“I’ll know that once I’m familiar with your boundaries,” I answered. “But off the top of my head…” I pretended to ponder my options. “No soft cheese for a week, maybe? Or how about orgasm denial?”

His mouth popped open, and the horror took over.

Sweet brat, if only he’d wanted to negotiate first. Then he’d discover that orgasm denial wasn’t my kink. I played on the other end of that spectrum, preferring to draw as many releases from my boy as possible, until he was begging me to stop.

Fuck me, I could so easily picture Kayden begging and crying, telling me he’d had enough, that he was too sensitive, and that he wanted mercy.

I inhaled deeply, reveling in the dark lust slithering through me. It’d been ages since I’d felt the urge to be sadistic and play with my food.

I locked eyes with Kayden again.

“Luck is on your side,” I said. “We haven’t discussed limits yet, so you can get away with quite a bit.”

He turned dubious and planted his hands on his hips. “ Quite a bit is so vague. Why can’t you tell me where you’ll draw the line?”

Because that conversation would never end. Most rules had exceptions, not to mention circumstances to consider.

That wasn’t what I told him, though.

“We just had this discussion, Kayden,” I said instead.

“There’s no point in telling a brat something, because you’ll forget.

Like you did now.” I wanted to laugh when I saw the spark of defiance and anger in his eyes.

“If there’s one thing I know about brats, it’s that they’re easy to handle.

I mean, sure, you’re a rambunctious little crowd that likes to pull pranks and plan shenanigans, but that’s where it ends.

In general, you’re slow, physically weak, forgetful, insanely predictable, and?—”

“That’s not true!” he hollered. “I’m wicked strong, and I run faster than you do!”

I laughed, and I made sure to laugh loud enough to piss him off further.

Well. I wasn’t lying about the predictable part.

He balled his hands into fists and glared at me. “If you’re so fast, let’s race.”

I let my amusement fade as I pushed away from the ATV and inched closer to him. He stiffened when only a foot or two separated us.

I had a better idea.

“How about I chase you down instead, little one? If I catch you, it’s clear I’m the winner.”

And you’re my prize.

He couldn’t hide his interest, or his nerves, and I was already coming to love how damn expressive he was. I could read his face like an open book.

Desire joined the mix too.

My chest tightened as images assaulted my brain. Fantasies. What it would be like to catch him, to pull down his pants and shove my cock so deep into his little ass that he couldn’t even scream. Or how he’d react once the pleasure took over. Would he claw at me? Buck against me? Plead and whimper?

He swallowed and nodded once. “Okay.”

Okay?

“Give me your best,” he stated. “If you hold back, I’ll make chicken noises—consequences be damned.”

I chuckled quietly. “Fair enough. Remember those safewords, because stop isn’t one of them.”

He shuddered. “Agreed.”

How far did he think we’d take this?

How far was I willing to take this?

I looked out over the tundra and summoned the dogs to me. Prince wasn’t the most obedient companion yet, but Atlas and Cat would keep the rest in check for me.

Atlas reached me first, and I commanded them to stay put.

Then I shifted my gaze back to Kayden. “This is where you run, little one.”

He let out a nervous laugh and took a step backward. “Is this really happening?” Another step, and another. “Am I your little one? Are you gonna chase me? For real?”

I raised a single brow.

“Right,” he chuckled breathily. “Um, talk later, play now.”

It was the order he’d asked for, wasn’t it?

Each step he took triggered a primal response within me. Adrenaline dropped into my bloodstream, ready to surge and heighten my senses.

“Why are you still here, Kayden?”

He had yikes written all over his face before he spun around and took off.

There we go.

I rolled my shoulders and tossed my beanie onto the seat of the ATV, and I cracked my knuckles.