Chapter Four #2
Phil chuckled. “I wish you could see your face, but that was a perfect compromise. I still hold to the assertion that you’re very brave and am so proud of you for taking such a big step in our relationship.
” A crease formed between Phil’s eyebrows.
“Another thing we’ll have to figure out now that we’re 24/7 is how we handle being in public. ”
The same thing had already occurred to Terry, and he was very curious what Phil’s opinion would be.
Even though they’d been inadvertently outed as kinksters in the media after the near-kidnapping, Terry wasn’t sure what either of their comfort levels would be about expressing their lifestyle in public settings such as a business function or a restaurant.
With me kneeling next to Phil, being spoon-fed by him.
Terry couldn’t hold back a snorting chuckle at the visual in his head.
“I take it you pictured something extreme in your mind?” Phil grinned.
Terry nodded, laughing. “Totally. But how do you suggest we handle a scenario like you mentioned?”
“I say we experiment, but the first thought that came to me is something Eric would do while I was being trained by him.”
Terry’s gut clenched at the reminder. He understood logically that Eric had only been Phil’s instructor, that he was never his sub, that he and Eric had never had sex…
Terry cringed. That me and Phil weren’t even together at the time.
However, it didn’t make him any less cranky at the thought. Get over yourself, you big baby.
Phil squeezed his arm. “Nothing to worry about, remember?”
Terry nodded. “I know. Just being an idiot.”
Phil squeezed him harder. “Knock that off. You’ve been touching at will since we woke up and I’ve been enjoying it, so don’t make me take it away.”
Oops. “Gotcha.”
“Gotcha?”
Terry controlled the eye-roll, but not the sigh. This ‘round the clock sub thing is intense. “Gotcha, Master.”
Phil pursed his lips as if holding in a chuckle.
“That’s my good baby.” Phil let out his own sigh.
“Let’s see. Now, where were we? Ah, yes.
The idea I had for our public selves. When I was out with Eric, he would say ‘pause’, and while the less obvious aspects of protocol remained, I was permitted to refer to him as Eric instead of ‘Sir’, and so on. How do you feel about that?”
“It’s pretty much the same as me saying ‘matches’, though, isn’t it?”
“No, not at all. Because I’d be the one making the decision, not you.”
Terry inclined his head. “Huh. Yeah, that sounds good. Then how would you indicate we were back to normal?”
Phil beamed, his smile wide. Terry couldn’t imagine what was so incredible about his question to have elicited such a strong reaction.
“That was amazing.” Phil hadn’t stopped grinning. “You referred to our Master/sub dynamic as ‘normal’.”
Terry’s jaw dropped. “Wow. I did.” He grinned back at Phil. “That’s a pretty good sign, right?”
“Helluva sign. And to answer your question, it’d be the same way we handled it before. I’d say ‘scene’. Are we in agreement?”
Terry nodded. “Yeah. I think that works great.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes, the mutual decision another step in bringing them closer.
“And I’m sure you’re wondering about a permanent collar, so we can discuss that later as well.”
“A…” Terry wasn’t sure he could breathe.
That’s right, I forgot, a collar. This is a genuine commitment.
He didn’t want to make a fool of himself, so he didn’t dare say the ‘M’ word, but it would sort of be like they were married once he wore the collar.
Would he wear it all the time? Would Phil want him to? Would he want to?
Phil gave him a concerned frown. “I take it you don’t care for the idea?”
“No! I love the idea.”
His breath had come back with a vengeance and Phil was back to grinning.
“That fills me with joy, baby. You have no idea.”
“We’d have to discuss it. I have no clue how all that works for a lifestyle couple. But…” Terry didn’t want to sound too needy. “But I’m glad you want to collar me.” I said that right, didn’t I? He still wasn’t great with all the BDSM lingo.
“Thrilled, would be more accurate.” Phil’s gaze searched his face as if searching for clues.
“Wearing the collar, what type of collar it would be and everything else that goes along with having one as a part of defining our relationship should be something we take our time to consider. We both need to be happy with our decision.”
Terry let out a long exhale. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s a lot all at once, and I want it to be special.”
“Anything with you will always be special, baby. No matter what.” Phil grabbed Terry’s nape then pulled him close, pressing their lips together before releasing him. “And with that, I need to take a piss.”
Terry sputtered out a laugh. “Nice.” Terry rolled out of Phil’s arms, rubbing his arms as soon as his Master’s warmth was taken away.
“It’s freezing in here. Should I get our shower started?
” They’d done that on a few mornings when Phil had called ‘scene’, but he didn’t want to make any assumptions until they’d established a routine.
“Yes, that would be great.” Phil tossed him his robe from where it had been draped over a chair. “We can wash each other, so you’ll get an additional round of touching me.” Phil gave him another wink. “Then we’ll have breakfast, and yes, I’ll be feeding you.”
Terry sucked in a deep breath then exhaled. “I can do this.”
“Of course you can.” Phil’s voice had gone soft.
“We’re off to a wonderful beginning.” Phil approached him then ran his thumb across Terry’s bottom lip, tracking the movement with his eyes.
“And since we’ve already discussed some major points of our contract, the rest shouldn’t take too much longer.
Which means, I’d like to take you out someplace to celebrate tonight.
” Phil’s lifted his gaze to meet Terry’s.
“It’s Friday, so if we also went somewhere for the weekend, you could touch me to your heart’s content. ”
Terry’s eyes burned, his emotions threatening to overtake him again. “I’d love that.”
Phil gave him another quick kiss. “I was hoping that would be your reaction. Come on. Let’s begin our first day as fulltime Master and sub.”
Terry accepted Phil’s offered hand and trailed behind him to the bathroom. He’s all mine and I’m all his. We belong to each other. If happiness could be measured, Terry was sure his would be off the charts.