Chapter 13 #2
Paula made eye contact with him, and her open expression warmed his soul. “You know, I’m understanding this lifestyle and its appeal a little more every time I see it. The dynamic can be amazing.”
Thank God.
She was still looking him in the eyes, her hands lying on the table between them. Jackson placed his hands on top of hers. “How would you feel about exploring things further with me?”
Paula gave him a smile that made her look younger, and she nodded decidedly. “I’d be interested”—she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth—“although I don’t know what it would entail.”
“That’s for us to discuss and decide. Draft a contract, create limit lists and such.”
“Why can’t we just try? Why the contract? Kate told me it isn’t legally binding. Why is it important?”
Jackson laughed at her barrage of questions.
“You’re a detective, even off duty, aren’t you?
No, a contract isn’t legally binding, but it’s important for me.
Writing down our dynamic will help us open up our communication, and the negotiation process is an important way to help our relationship grow.
The second reason is to help us to get into the mindset, the fantasy. ”
“To draw up a contract sounds scary to me. What if I don’t like it?” Paula said.
“If you don’t like it, we can renegotiate,” Jackson answered with a squeeze to her hands he hoped reassured her. “How about we start with a three-month term?”
“Three months is an awfully long time if we make each other miserable,” Paula responded.
“It sounds like you’re convinced this isn’t going to work.” Jackson allowed his disapproval to show in his tone.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. My track record with relationships isn’t great, and I’m worried about how this will affect our jobs, too.”
Jackson hated to see her in pain. He was fairly certain Paula was the woman for him, but he could see he needed to compromise.
“Okay, let’s do two months instead. You have to understand for us to work as a lifestyle couple we have to have some time to adjust. Two months is short, but I think it will be enough for us to decide how we want to go from there. ”
“Would you ever want a relationship without a contract?” Paula cocked her head in a way he found adorable.
“That’s a hard question. I don’t think so. If you’d asked me seven years ago, I would have asked you what kind of relationship needed a contract. That was before I was in the lifestyle, and I had vanilla relationships. So who knows what I will or won’t do ten years from now?”
Paula nodded. “Okay, that’s fair. I think I can handle two months.
” Her smile became more confident. Jackson picked up her hands and turned them over to press a kiss to the center.
He could have been Aragorn when Arwen arrived in Gondor with an army of elves to help in the battle against Sauron.
Paula blushed at his attention. “So how do we go about all this negotiating? Could we go somewhere more private?”
Jackson wanted to shout his excitement from the rooftop at Paula’s willingness to move forward.
He contented himself with a wide smile. “Absolutely, we should do this elsewhere. Let’s plan on getting together tomorrow.
Could I have your email? I’d like to send you links to some reading material, sample contracts, limit lists, and so forth.
That way you’ll be more prepared when we talk. ”
Paula pulled out one of her business cards and wrote the address on the back for him. “I’ll be glad to get the stuff to read ahead of time. Right now, I feel like I’m going blind into a hostage situation.”
“It’s all right. I promise we’ll get you to a place where you feel safe and comfortable.
Once we get the contract settled, everything will be easier.
How about you come over to my place about two?
That will give us plenty of time to talk, and we can decide what space will be yours when you move in. ”
“Move in? I’m not moving in.” Paula shook her head. “This is just a trial thing. Why would we be living together right away? I barely know you.”
Paula’s response disconcerted him. Had she not understood anything about what a 24/7 TPE relationship was about?
He drew a ew deep breaths before he spoke.
“Paula, this relationship is meant to be full time. That’s why they call it 24/7 Total Power Exchange.
I don’t know how to do that if we’re not living together. ”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you decided I would automatically move in with you. It’s too soon to talk about me moving in.
If you want this relationship to be 24/7, you’ll have to figure out how to do it with us not living together.
” Paula crossed her arms in front of her and raised her chin.
“All right, all right. We’ll figure something out.
” Jackson would have to go more slowly than he had hoped.
“In the meantime, consider what this kind of relationship looks like to you and read what I send. Imagine what it would be like to leave the decisions to someone else. Consider the positives, not the worst-case scenarios I can see running around in your mind. We probably won’t finalize things tomorrow, so you can relax about that, too. ”
“I’ll try. This is kind of overwhelming. I’ve never come close to something like this before.”
“I know. We’ll find a pace that works for both of us.”
“That sounds good. I need to be getting home now. See you tomorrow.” Paula rose and started to walk away.
“Not so fast, Paula. Rule Two. When you greet me or say goodbye, you will always kiss me. Come here.”
Paula took a step in Jackson’s direction and stopped. “I’m not good at PDA, and I absolutely will not kiss you at the station or around any other cops. Nobody at work can know we’re in any kind of relationship. And what’s Rule One?”
“Please lose the attitude, Paula. We’re not at work now.
We can discuss that subject tomorrow. Right now, I’d like a goodbye kiss.
I’m not asking for something out of a porn movie, just an ordinary kiss.
I don’t think that’s unreasonable. If you think back to the night of the wedding, you should be able to remember Rule One.
Consider the matter and be ready to tell me tomorrow. ”
“Okay. I’m sorry, but I did tell you I wasn’t good at relationships.”
They shared a chaste kiss, and Paula was gone.