Chapter 19 Seven #3
Enzo thought for a moment. “Blood. Knife play. Things that break skin. I’m not into that. It’s not a moral judgment, it just doesn’t do anything for me, and I’d rather not mix it with sex. Besides, your skin is so beautiful. I wouldn’t want to permanently damage it.”
Seven nodded slowly. “Okay. But...stuff like blindfolds, rope, spanking…you’re into that?”
“I’m into the power exchange,” Enzo clarified. “I like watching you surrender. I like rewarding you. I like guiding you. I like giving you rules because I think you want them, even if you pretend you don’t.”
God, this conversation was getting him too worked up. His face flushed as he swallowed hard, then said, “I do want to clarify something with the gagging.”
“Go ahead,” Enzo prompted.
“God, this is so embarrassing to say it like this, but…I do like when you force me to choke on your cock,” he mumbled, ears on fire.
“I like you holding me down, talking me through it like I’m—like I don’t know what I’m doing.
” He chewed the skin on the inside of his cheek until he was sure he tasted blood. “Is that okay?”
“It’s all okay,” Enzo promised. “All of it. There are no right or wrong answers.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” Enzo confirmed, opening the bag of fresh bread they’d snagged on the way home.
Seven’s stomach rumbled once more. He watched closely as Enzo tore off a piece then dipped it into a small bowl filled with the olive oil and herbs.
Before he could even ask, Enzo raised the piece to Seven’s lips.
Seven bit back a moan as he chewed thoughtfully.
“What else?” Enzo encouraged softly.
Seven flushed once more, dropping his gaze to the floor. “I think...I want that thing Nico and Mal have. The daily stuff. Domestic discipline. I want to try it. The rules. The punishments. The structure.”
Enzo crossed his arms, leaning against the counter. “You want behavior correction? You? My brattiest of brats?”
Seven shrugged. “Maybe. I want to be good for you. But I want there to be a cost when I’m not.”
Enzo smiled. “That’s something we can build together. You don’t have to know all the answers today. We’re going to try things, talk about them, see what fits.”
“What else should we cover?” Seven asked.
“Safe words,” Enzo said. “We can use the one we used before, the first night…what was it? Starburst? Or we can stick with the traffic light system. Red, yellow, green.”
“Traffic light is good. I made up the other one on the spot. I can’t believe you remember that,” Seven said. “What else?”
“Do you want to explore orgasm control? Denial? Forced restraint?”
Seven blinked. “Maybe?”
Enzo laughed. “That’s a soft limit.”
“Oh, right. So, um…with domestic discipline…” Seven started, dropping his gaze to his hands.
Enzo checked the boiling water on the back burner, noting the fresh noodles on the counter. Where had those even come from? There was no way Enzo had time to make that. Did he?
“Just say it, baby.”
“I want a star chart,” Seven blurted. “Like…like the one in my desk. The secret one. I-I really like it.”
Enzo’s mouth curved faintly. Seven grabbed another raw tomato, chewing it slowly.
“Okay. I like the idea. We’d just need to decide what counts as ‘bad,’ other than eating all my mise en place.”
“Your what now?” Seven asked.
“My ingredients,” Enzo answered, leaning over to give him another kiss.
Seven felt like he remembered nothing, like he’d blacked out for most of this conversation. “So, what about you? What’s on your official no list? I mean, hard limits?”
Enzo set the wooden spoon down and ticked them off on his fingers.
“No edge play with breathing, no humiliation that actually tears you down, no permanent marks without agreement, no public play without planning. I don’t do blood or medical beyond patching you up.
And no scenes if either of us is too angry at each other to think straight. ”
Seven gave a stilted nod. “Soft limits?”
“Roleplay that gets too close to non-con. That can get messy fast. If that’s something you want to explore as we get deeper into this, we can discuss it further then.
And…exhibitionism. I’m not saying no, just maybe, but only if it’s with people I trust completely and only if that’s something you want. ”
Seven hummed. Who would Enzo trust that much? Who would Seven trust that much? Nico and Mal maybe? Or maybe someone they paid to be there.
It wasn’t really something Seven cared to explore right now. “That’s fair. I’m not totally against that stuff, but it’s not high on my list of things to try. But I also don’t know for sure that I want to try them.”
“See, was that so hard?” Enzo asked, wrapping his arms around Seven’s waist and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
Seven stared at Enzo’s profile for a minute. “No. I guess not.” After a moment passed, Seven said, “Can—Can we go back to the domestic discipline thing for a minute?”
This time, Enzo smirked when he looked up at him. “You really like that idea, huh? If I’d known how much you love being rewarded, I would have used the star stickers more.”
Seven’s ears burned even hotter. “I know the kind of punishments I could get, but…what about the rewards?”
Enzo shot him a look “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“I would, actually,” Seven said, smiling. “Yeah.”
“Then be good, and you’ll find out,” he replied smoothly. “Same goes for punishments, and I’m not above making you write ‘I will not mouth off to my Daddy in the kitchen’ a hundred times while dinner gets cold.”
Seven wrinkled his nose. “That’s cruel.” He held up a limp wrist like a puppy with a hurt paw, giving him his best pout. “I have carpal tunnel syndrome.”
“Then behave,” Enzo said, his tone unsympathetic. He snapped his fingers as if he’d just remembered something. “Aftercare preferences?”
“I’m not sure,” Seven said honestly. “I liked what you did last night.”
Enzo gave him an encouraging smile. “Which parts specifically did you like?”
“I liked you washing me, holding me. I liked the weighted blanket. It felt…grounding, I guess. I liked that you fed me. I was hungry and thirsty, but the thought of having to move or decide what I wanted to eat was way too much. I just…I just liked hearing your voice and smelling you and feeling your hands on me. That stuff always makes me feel better, even when we’re not playing,” he finished quietly.
Enzo cupped his face and kissed him until his toes curled. “I like that, too, baby.”
“Good.”
“My aftercare preferences are physical and verbal check-ins. I’m going to ask you how you feel, I’m going to dress any wounds I caused.
I need to have you nearby while I watch you come down.
I need to be the one taking care of you.
Bathing you, feeding you, helping you get dressed.
Holding you. Those are my non-negotiables. ”
“Do doms experience drops, too?” Seven asked, frowning.
Enzo nodded. “They can. You’re not in the scene alone. Your safety is entirely in my hands. If anything happens to you, that’s all on me. It’s a big mental load to carry. If you were to just leave after a scene and I couldn’t make sure you were safe, comfortable…happy…I would feel like shit.”
Seven dragged Enzo into a hug, wrapping his arms and legs around him. “You really are a soft-hearted person. You’re gonna make a great dad.”
The moment the words slipped free, Seven wanted to suck them back in. Especially when Enzo stiffened against him.
Enzo pulled back, looking a little dazed when he asked, “Really? You’d…You’d want that?”
Seven nodded slowly. “The more I think about what you said…about our moms pushing us to have kids…the more I like the idea. I don’t know if I’d be a good dad or not, but I know you would be.
But, like, eventually,” Seven added, holding up his hands.
“Like, not right this second. I have to finish school, and we have to start our practice, and get married, of course, and then make sure we have a place that isn’t a baby-proofing nightma—”
Enzo cut him off with another kiss. “I hear you,” he said against his lips. “Yes to babies in, like, five years.”
Seven gave a happy sigh, letting Enzo hug him. “Yeah, that. Now, can you please finish dinner? I’m starving.”
Enzo snorted, letting him go. “Careful, brat, before I change my mind about disciplining you tonight.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wish.”
Seven watched contentedly as Enzo added the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and a pinch of something white—salt or sugar, maybe—into the pan, then covered it with the lid and lowered the temperature.
The scent was heavenly.
Enzo returned to Seven, tearing off more bread, dipping it in the oil then feeding it to him. “We’ve still got about thirty minutes. But have some carbs before your carbs. It will tide you over.”
Seven savored it. “You really are the perfect man.”
“You’re only saying that because I’m feeding you bread.”
Seven shrugged. “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” He tore off a piece of bread and fed it to Enzo. “This is gonna be fun.”
Enzo’s smile was slow, warm, and just a little dangerous. “Yeah, it is.”
Seven narrowed his eyes. “What exactly are you thinking right now?”
“Right now?” Enzo asked. “I’m thinking about all the ways I could fuck you on this countertop.”
His casual confession knocked the breath out of Seven. “Oh.”
Enzo grinned. “Yeah, oh.”
“Tonight?” Seven asked, letting hope bleed into his tone. “No scenes, just sex. Please?”
Enzo sighed, shaking his head. “Maybe.”
“I’ll take maybe.”
“We’ll talk over dinner,” Enzo said sternly.
“Yes, Daddy.”