Her eyes widened. “Is this a relationship?”
They spoke as one in reply. “It is, Nika.”
“I’m on the pill. I was tested a couple of weeks ago when I discovered Brent was cheating. I’m clean, thank God.”
Travis growled as he slid his warm hands into the low waistband of her yoga pants and eased them and her panties down her hips. “Damn, I’m going to enjoy showing you how real men take care of their woman, Nika. Spoiling you is going to be my pleasure.”
“Our pleasure,” Hank chimed in. “It sounds like your hard limits agree with ours. In addition to your safe word, I’m going to give you a ‘slow word’ that you should use if you feel like you’re nearing the point of safewording, so we can back off a little rather than risking ending a scene on a negative note. Since you chose ‘marshmallow’ as your safeword, your slow word is ‘bonfire.’ Use it if you get a leg cramp, which can happen when restrained, or if a cuff is pinching and distracting you, or if you get scared for any reason and we’ll fix whatever the problem is and give you time to catch up with us. If you use ‘marshmallow,’ the scene will stop immediately and we’ll talk about what happened.”
“Will it make you angry if I have to use the safeword?”
Hank frowned. “Angry?”
“If I say ‘marshmallow’ will it call a halt to the relationship completely?”
Travis scoffed. “Jettisoning a relationship because of one isolated incident? Not likely, Nika. Think of your safeword as the emergency brake on a car rather than the ejection seat in a fighter jet.”
Hank came to her and said, “We value your submission too much to do that, Nika. We’re mature men and we’d never throw away something so precious because of one bump in the road. It’s our job to watch you and make sure we never get to the point of you needing to safeword because of our actions during play.”
Veronica smiled up at him, wanting to give him whatever he asked even more. He smiled back, those gray eyes of his warming her as if he’d wrapped her in a soft blanket as he kissed her.
Travis steadied her while she slipped out of the pants and undies puddled at her feet. She was struck again by the contrast between what she’d always thought a Dom would be like, expecting her to strip and then undress him on command. They were a complete surprise to her. She realized that they were right. She’d expected a switch to flip at some point and for them to show her a harsh, stern…stereotypical Dom-side.
“If we handle ourselves and our scenes properly, you shouldn’t need your safeword, ever. But don’t be afraid to use it if you need to. No matter how much in-depth research you’ve done, this is still all new to you,” Hank said as Travis released her to undress and Hank pulled her to him. His big body was completely bare and his cock was like a hot brand pressing against her belly as he squeezed her to him. He looked down at her and she lost herself in his shadowy gray eyes as he held her and she curled against his chest, feeling safe and cared for. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “I love the way you smell, Nika.”
Travis laid his clothing aside and came up behind her. “Nika, do you fantasize?”
She chuckled and said, “I grew up being told that I lived in a fantasy world.”
Hank stroked her cheek as he said, “That makes sense, given that you’re a writer. You enjoyed being pinned down this afternoon, and I noticed that you kept your hands always at the edge of the table. Do you have fantasies about being tied up?” At her nod, he said, “Tell me about it.”
“I think that’s one of my earliest fantasies, even before I had any knowledge about sex or male-female relationships. One time, when we were little, my brothers and sister and I and some of the neighborhood kids were playing pilgrims and Indians. I was playing a pilgrim maid and the Indians tied me up and kidnapped me. I was supposed to struggle and holler for help until the pilgrims rescued me.”
Hank had a knowing smile on his face and he nodded. “And did they rescue you?”
“Yeah, and I was totally bummed when I got untied,” she said, biting her lip at the silly memory.