Page 30 of Puck Daddies

“He’ll buy you a pillow store.”

She giggles again. “Yeah. I’ll have to buy one when he’s not home, just so I can sneak it in. He can never know.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” I don’t pace. I want to. I sit on the edge of the couch and rest my elbows on my knees. “I want to ask you something.”

“Then do it.”

“Pleasure mapping. The other night, everything happened fast. This time, I want to go slow. I ask. You answer. You can stop it at any second. I want to know what youwant, not what you let somebody do.”

Pink rises in her cheeks. She takes a breath. “Yes.”

“Say it again.”

“Yes. I want that.”

“We set terms. Lights on enough to see. Water on both sides.Hivemeans we stop.Slowmeans back off. You can use my name to move me. I’ll ask you questions. If I ask too much, tell me. We don’t use pain. We don’t test. We don’t push.”

“Yes,” she says.

“Clothes stay on or off, your choice. We start wherever you want to.”

“The bedroom.”

I nod once and take her hand, leading her to my bedroom. “What would you like first?”

She looks at my hands. “Start with kissing.”

“Okay.”

I don’t crowd her. She steps closer. I touch her face with the back of my fingers. “Here?”

“Yes.”

I put my mouth on hers, soft pressure. I hold it. She opens a little and I match her. I pull back a quarter inch. “More?”

“More.”

I give it. I keep it slow. I feed her what she asks for and not more. Her hands find my shoulders. I wait. She squeezes. I touch her waist. “Here?”

“Yes.”

I run my hands under her shirt to the smooth, warm skin at her sides. I don’t rush higher or lower. I move over the places that are safe ground and wait for her to tell me where to go.

“Neck,” she says, voice steady.

I slide my mouth from her lips to that spot under her ear. I kiss there, then closer to her throat. “Pressure okay?”

“More. I won’t break.”

I add a little. She breathes. Her hands go to my hair. She tugs once. I check. “Good?”

“Good.”

We stand like that for a minute and breathe together. I step back and look at her. “You want more touch.”

“Yes.”

“Over or under?”