Chapter Four #2
“Because we do not know one another’s limits, our sexual tastes, proclivities. I don’t know if you even enjoy bottoming—”
“I’m an omega.” I said it with as much flatness as I could.
“And I’m an alpha, but I do enjoy being topped occasionally.” The pearly whites of his teeth shone in the candlelight before us. Vincenzo appeared to like the ambience of flame.
I choked on a bite of soup. “Really?”
“Oh, yes. Quite so. Nothing like having a partner in the throes of penetration with me. Sex isn’t masturbating into their partner and hoping the other gets off in the process.” He muttered something about humans under his breath, and I snorted.
“I’ve never had the opportunity to top, but I’m not opposed.” I truly wasn’t. The thought of bending Gre over his bed and having my way sounded promising.
“Fetishes?” Gre poured himself a goblet of sparkling water and added a splash of wine before pouring Ausmius his glass. His shadow imbibed too, this time, like hummingbirds sucking nectar out of its light.
“Oh hell.” I opened my mouth to speak a few times and grumbled before sighing deeply. “I’ll let you peruse my eBook reader and let you figure out from there.”
“At least you’re a consumer of fine literature.” Gre smirked and tied into his soup, quite obviously dodging the issue.
“And you?”
“A little of this and that.” He bobbed his head side to side.
I put my spoon down, nearing the end of my second bowl and only then feeling somewhat sated. I wasn’t a large male to begin with, so I had no idea where the soup actually went. “Tell me, because secrets will breed resentment in our union.”
“True. I crave unorthodox things.” He stirred his soup, eyes turned away from me, depriving me of their beauty, their strength.
“It’s not feces, is it? Please tell me it’s not feces or vomit or…”
“No! Goddesses, no!” He spluttered and dropped his spoon. “I merely crave a dynamic that isn’t conventional.”
“I’m not into pet play or diapers or infantilization,” I said. The deadpan expression that crossed his face had a tinge of relief in the way his brows softened.
“Not that, either. I— Please do not think I—you have a choice. You always do.” Gre rubbed across his face, fingers massaging into a temple.
“Understood. I didn’t take you as the ungentlemanly sort.” I waited patiently and tried not to flinch in wait for something I could never do.
“I need a partner who is submissive, but more so than that. I’m certain there’s a psychological component to it that I have no interest in exploring, but I am fiercely organized because I demand control of my surroundings, my body, my magic, my love, and my sex.
I need enthusiastic consent, and I am not beyond demanding begging, and not beyond denying my partner release.
With consent. I need control and consent.
” He stared me down, the first hint of fear in his gaze.
I swallowed, mouth suddenly dry, tongue heavy. Sweet saliva welled up a moment later. “No punishment?”
“I’m not aroused by humiliation.” Gre kept his gaze locked on me, the twitch in his neck telling me how badly he wanted to look away. The vulnerability in that moment was both a demand for reassurance and an opportunity to establish boundaries.
My shadow? He spoke for me. He fell to his knees in two-dimensional silhouette and prostrated before Gre’s shadow, pantomiming worship, submission, surrender.
“I’ll draw up a list of my hard-no items, my negotiable items, and my full-consent items. I do not enjoy waste, spit, or humiliation.
Blood is negotiable. I’m a demon. I do not like name-calling if the names are meant to demean me.
My shadow is not to be included in sex acts.
Ausmius would happily involve himself, but it’s not something I enjoy.
” I averted my gaze as Ausmius exaggeratedly wilted down the wall and Gre’s shadow watched with interest before sinking down with him.
“Understood,” Gre said and swallowed hard.
“Our shifted forms are not off the table. I’m largely the same without glamor, but your shifted head is not something I’m familiar with and will need practice and acclimating to enjoy.
” I cleared my throat. I wasn’t opposed to a little necking.
“I do not cross-dress or cage my genitals. I do not tuck or alter my appearance for anyone. Dressing nicely and being clean, stylish, and arranged are okay, but I’m not into costumes.
If we have an open relationship, we use protection, and I don’t wish to know about your dalliances, and I won’t tell you mine.
Demons don’t get diseases, so we’re clear on that front. ”
I could get pregnant, but if I was dumb enough to cat about during my heat, I deserved the ire.
“I’m not a fan of casual hookups, if possible. Opening a relationship wouldn’t be my idea of pleasurable, but if I am incapable of satisfying you, I’ll permit you your freedoms.” He said the last part with a twist to his lips that told me all I needed to know.
“Understood. Casual sex isn’t often pleasurable for omegas. Too often, we don’t have partners interested in our fulfillment.” I hid a smile as it brightened him.
“Anything else?”
“As I think of it, I’ll document it. I’ll have a list, scoring my maybes on a scale of one to ten, while my no list will be exclusively off-limits.
We need only establish a safe word. I only ask you respect my needs that much.
” I pushed my bowl away as my body tingled, as if his stress bothered me, my mind tuning with an alpha who hurt, who feared, who needed reassurance that only an omega curled in his arms could give.
Also, I needed some wiener. It’d been too long and nearly dying had earned me a trip to pound town at least once. “Satisfactory?”
“I feel that is more than just satisfactory. Quite thorough.” Gre glanced at me, and a shred of nervousness broke his facade. If he was going to be as cautious and organized about it as me, it would be worth it.