His forehead wrinkled, and he looked hesitant. “You sure? You don’t wanna ask what it even entails?”
I shook my head and leaned forward to slice a little bit of cheddar to munch on. “If you think I can handle it, I’m in.”
He knew my limits very well.
He contemplated it, and he flicked a glance at Sloan before meeting my gaze again. “Shouldn’t you at least ask your new Daddy first?”
“Oh, shoot!” I widened my eyes and quickly looked to Sloan, only to find him smirking a smirky smirk. “Some Little I am! I’m sorry. I forgot.”
He chuckled warmly. “You have nothing to apologize for. Of course you can be his lab rat. Before we set any specific rules, you can ask for his permission if I’m not around—and even then…consider him an extension to me.”
Duly noted. As in, that was never going to happen.
I side-eyed Greer and his wolfish grin, knowing full well that he’d be more likely to tell me no.
Because, Sadist.
“So…you in, lab rat?” Greer asked.
“Yes, Sir.” What a dummy I was. What had I gotten myself into?
It was the curse of being a masochist. You wanted it, you feared it, you craved it, you had to fight every instinct to run from it.
In the end, you begged for it.
“Excellent.” Yeah, Greer thought that. Of course he did. “I’mma need your word here, Corey. You’re not allowed to say shit about this event to anyone who might participate.”
Heck no, I wasn’t gonna ruin it for anyone. “You have my word.” I sat up straighter and chewed on the piece of cheddar.
It was delicious.
“Can I ask what’s involved now?” I wondered.
He inclined his head. “We’ve named it Senseless, and it’ll be all about sensory deprivation. Predicament bondage, asphyxiation—choking, waterboarding—taste testing from hell, temperature play, you name it. We’re attacking all the senses.”
Oh. My. God.
“And you will try all these with me?” I pressed.
He grinned. “Well, Colt and I will be in charge of the waterboarding station, so we’ll focus on that. But yeah, you’ll complete the entire course in our practice—with the other lab rats.”
Oh. My. God!
Words could not describe how excited I was! Holy fucking shit. So much pain, so much adrenaline, so much action.
“I think he approves, sweetheart,” Sloan said, amused.
“I cannot tell you how much!” I cried out. “Oh my gosh, when can we start?”
Greer barked out a laugh and leaned back in his chair. He looked very happy, and I liked that.
“We are not the same, Corey.” Archie shook his head.
I snickered.
“We’ll start tomorrow,” Greer answered. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go call Reese. Chances are they’ll join us for a session if they choose to stay with us. Shay’s a lab rat for this Game too.”
That made sense. With everything going on, it didn’t seem likely that River or Reese would participate in the actual event with Shay. It was much better they prepared things in the background with us.
“Who else is a lab rat?” I asked curiously.
“Kit, I think.”
Fun!
I would be the only one with visible bruises, basically. Shay had lots of tattoos, though not all over. Kit, on the other hand, had almost lost his life in a car accident a few years ago, and he’d chosen to cover his upper body with tattoos to hide his scars.
I was so looking forward to this.
CHAPTER TEN
“Are you still disgruntled?” I joined Archie in the kitchen, where he was scrolling through something on his phone.
This was his spot. I rarely found him on the couch or at the table. He liked to stand right here, elbows planted on the counter, and often a cookbook or printouts of recipes in front of him.
“A little. I’m comforting myself with retail therapy. I’m going to buy a pizza stone.”
I laughed and hopped up to sit on the counter.
A change of plans had resulted in Greer stepping out to buy pizza, so Archie’s grand idea for a celebratory dinner would have to wait.
Shay wasn’t feeling well in the city. They were coming tonight instead, in half an hour or so, and by the sound of things, River and Reese had accepted Greer’s offer right away for their boy’s sake.
I knew firsthand what a change of scenery could do, so I hoped Shay would feel a little better out here.
“Cooking for a football team would’ve been too much.” I reached out and wove my fingers through his hair.
He hummed appreciatively. “I choose not to comment. Where’s Sloan?”
“He’s FaceTiming with his kids,” I replied. “They miss him.”
“Aww. I can’t blame them. When you see him with them, it’s just…”
“A punch to the ovaries?” I smiled.
He chuckled and nodded. “Exactly. It makes me wanna drop pamphlets about surrogacy around the house so Master can start getting used to the idea.”
That made me laugh. “Subtle.”
“Right?” He straightened up and released a breath. “Speaking of…absolutely not this, are you by any chance good at sexting?”