Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Corvus
I was half annoyed Michelle told Kip talks made me feel sick, but on the other hand, I was also grateful because maybe Kip might make this talk easier on me.
He’d assured me this conversation would be nothing bad, that it was standard, but Christ, sitting through so many talks with my parents, which ended with me in pain and at a mental low, had done a number on me.
My therapist would tell me it was my PTSD. Maybe, she wasn’t far off the mark. Having PTSD sounded a little bit better than just being a nervous, anxious mess.
“Let’s start with something easy,” Kip began.
I petted my hand over Mercy’s neck and back, still not looking at him.
“I’d appreciate your eyes on us while we’re talking about this, chibi.” His tone was firm yet gentle, making it easy for me to lift my eyes to meet his. He smiled softly at me in reward, and something fuzzy spread through my veins. “Good boy.”
My fucking heart melted. I was such a whore for praise. And for some reason, it meant so much coming from Kip and Michelle. Like it somehow meant more than praise from anyone else.
“When do you want to call us Mommy and Daddy? You seem to have fallen into doing so easily, which is great, but you don’t have to call us those names where it may make you uncomfortable to do so.”
I frowned. Who the hell was I trying to hide from? No one. Hudson and Kreed were the only people—outside of Kip and Michelle—whose opinions I valued. And I knew they would never judge me for my kinks or Kip and Michelle’s.
“I…” I paused. “Do you two have preferences?” I asked instead of answering.
Michelle shook her head. “No, bub. We love hearing you call us Mommy and Daddy. We don’t care where you use the names. For all we care, you can use them in front of whoever or wherever you please.”
“Then anywhere,” I said quietly. I stroked my thumb over Mercy’s fur, and she rolled back into me, making me laugh a little. I’d never owned a dog, and Mercy was perfect. I loved her to pieces already.
“Okay,” Kip said easily, and I relaxed a little. “Let’s talk about our expectations, rules, and punishments.” I nodded. “We need you to maintain a balanced lifestyle. This means three balanced meals a day, which will include a carb, a vegetable—”
I screwed my nose up in distaste, making Michelle snicker.
“—and some form of protein. That’s non-negotiable, chibi. You’ll be in bed at a decent time—no later than ten each night, unless you get permission from us to be up later.”
I groaned, flopping back on the couch. “I haven’t been to bed by ten like… ever.”
“We know,” Michelle said. “Which is why we’re establishing the rule. You probably didn’t have much in the way of structure while growing up. I think once we begin, you’ll find you actually like it and prefer it.”
I grunted. “Doubt it.” But what I didn’t voice was, the idea of rules was already settling me. I liked knowing what was expected of me, and they were laying it out plainly. It eliminated a lot of ways I could fuck up this relationship, which I was terrified of doing.
I’d never been one for commitment, but after meeting them and seeing how good things could be with them, I wanted this more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
“Your phone will always be on you,” Kip continued, ignoring my bratty attitude. “And before you ever go on another drinking binge, like you did last night, you will call us, so we can talk through whatever is bothering you, understand?”
My cheeks warmed.
“I understand,” I murmured, feeling properly chastised. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it’d been like to have me appear on their doorstep, drunk and a tearful mess. I’d have been alarmed and worried, too.
“Do you have a job?” Michelle asked me.
I nodded. “I start at Kreed’s company in the marketing department at the beginning of August. He thought it’d be best if Hudson and I had some rest from college before jumping into the working world.”
“Smart man. After everything you’ve recently been through, that was a good decision for him to make,” Kip said.
“But the reason we ask is because anytime you leave home—whether that’s this home or your other home—” my heart clenched knowing they already considered this one of my homes— “we want to know when you leave and when you arrive to your destination. And sharing your location with us is also a rule. We will also share ours with you. It’s for peace of mind, not to stalk you. ”
I cheekily smiled. “You can stalk me, Daddy.”
He smirked. “Oh, I know, chibi. But if I have to look at your location to know where you are because you failed to let us know, there will be a punishment.”
Punishments… I was both wary and curious of what that entailed.
“And speaking of punishments,” Michelle spoke up.
“Punishments are nightly, whether you’re with us or not.
Not because we think you’re bad, but because we need you to be reminded who is in charge and that we care enough to want to provide that structure and stability for you.
I think you’ll enjoy it.” Her little smirk told me not all the punishment would be something I hated.
Some might torture me, if her look was anything to go by, but they’d somehow be rewarding in the end.
My stomach swooped, and my dick hardened in my borrowed sweats.
Kip smirked like he knew exactly what was happening to me.
“And if I break a rule?” I asked, thankful my voice remained level and normal and didn’t sound as needy as I felt.
“Then you get punished, sometimes without the fun endings,” Michelle said with a shrug.
Oof. I wasn’t particularly interested in those types of punishments.
“Do you have any hard limits?” Kip asked then.
I shook my head.
“I’m good with pretty much anything,” I admitted, my cheeks heating.
“Then punishments can entail spankings, standing in a corner, writing lines—”
“Please don’t ignore me, though,” I blurted, the idea of standing in a corner sending trepidation slithering down my spine. I cleared my throat roughly. “I can’t take it if you ignore me.”
“We’d never ignore you, chibi,” Kip soothed. “Never. That’s a form of abuse, and we don’t condone abuse, understand?”
I nodded, feeling a little better with his reassurance. “Okay, Daddy.”
“Anything you expect of us?” Michelle asked.
I shrugged. “Just… take care of me?” I felt stupid asking it, but they were being open and honest with me about what they expected, so I wanted to make sure I did the same. “And somedays, I might be a little… difficult, especially if I haven’t had enough sleep. Don’t give up on me.”
“Never,” Michelle and Kip vowed at the same time.
“A little difficulty won’t make us run, bub,” Michelle assured me. “We’ll talk about your feelings, work through them, come to a solution if there is one, and then go from there.”
“Last thing,” Kip said. “We use the traffic signals for safewords. We will check in with you frequently while playing. Green means everything is great. We’re still good to go.
Yellow means you need a breather and maybe, we need to talk about what we’re doing before we go any further.
Red means all play immediately stops, aftercare begins, and we talk about what might have triggered you. ”
“We will also use them,” Michelle added. “They’re there to keep us all safe. And you can safeword at any moment, not just during playtime.”
“I like that. Traffic signals.” I cuddled into Mercy just as a knock sounded on the front door. “Oooh, is that food?” I asked, perking up.
Kip chuckled and stood. “Most likely, chibi. Get to the kitchen. I’ll bring the food in. Once you’re done eating, you need to call Hudson. He called me early this morning.”
I groaned and dropped my head back against the couch. Mercy huffed and pressed her big head against my chin.
“He’s going to be so pissed,” I grumbled before I pushed up from the couch. I was starving after our talk.
“Wash your hands,” Michelle ordered. “And don’t worry too much about Hudson. He knows you’re safe with us, and that’s tiding him over for now.”
“Yes, Mommy.” I patted Mercy’s big head one more time before heading to the bathroom to wash up, so I could finally eat breakfast.