Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76887 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
I shouldn’t even be curious about that.
“Then we won’t do anything that scares you and we’ll make sure we talk through anything new or that might be unexpected.” Fraser’s tone had slipped into what I’d started to think of as his work voice. Confident. Even. No-nonsense.
“It’s that simple?” Nothing was that simple, but he nodded right away.
“Yes, and we’ll discuss options for ways that you want to explore pain.” His words made my eyes widen, but he just grinned as he kept going. “It might be a light spanking or it might be pinching you someplace with lots of good nerve endings.”
I knew a verbal response was the right thing to do in the situation but I couldn’t get anything out. The only thing I was proud of was that I managed to keep my mouth closed and didn’t look like a goldfish.
“We will discuss everything like that up front, though, and I will not surprise you with anything that could induce fear or pain.” His smile softened and whatever he saw on my face had him kissing my cheek again. “We will stick with fun surprises like desserts and presents.”
“I like those kinds.” I wasn’t sure if I’d meant to say that either, but it wasn’t the strangest response I could’ve given him, so I brushed it off.
“Good.” He smiled wider and ran his hand over my head. “See? We’re answering questions and setting limits and it’s not as hard as you probably thought.”
He seemed to be seeing the situation through rose-colored glasses because I knew I was incredibly awkward, but I didn’t point it out. I wanted him to keep them on for a while until I got a bit more confident with the whole situation.
“There are different types? Right?” Hadn’t I seen some kind of reality show with different variations? How could I explain what I meant? Keep it simple. Keep it simple. No big words to distract us. “Like different types of the same insect? My beetles might come in a variety of colors or variations?”
Fraser chuckled but nodded and didn’t tell me to talk more clearly because he didn’t understand what I was saying. “Yes, and there is a wide range that fits under the same umbrella term, but I’m not into anything that I think of as scary or stressful.”
That was probably good to know but I wasn’t sure what he considered stressful.
What would I consider stressful?
“I don’t have a good base of knowledge to know what would be a stressful option.” Not having enough information wasn’t a bad thing. I was just going to ask questions until I figured out what area I needed more knowledge about.
Yes, studying would help and I knew how to study.
Fraser nodded but didn’t immediately start listing off topics. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but I tried to be patient. Unfortunately, when he started answering, it wasn’t a lot of help. “I don’t want to make your fears worse but let’s just begin with anything you’ve seen that would go in a scary movie is off the table.”
I had a feeling my reading choices had been a bit too narrow lately. Oh, this was why the old men kept talking about me not finding the right books in the library. They were right. I wouldn’t have found the right books to explain what they were talking about.
“Okay, so no leather and screaming people?” Maybe that’d been in a music video? “I’m not sure what I’ve seen lately but I’ve just been doing a lot of scrolling on TV, and a good bit of that hasn’t been in English.”
Fraser was trying not to laugh, but he shook his head until he could get the words out without snickering. “Nothing like that. I’m a softie at heart. Think lots of caretaking and fun spankings if you end up liking those.”
More of what the strange old men in the diner had said was coming back and actually starting to make sense. “The weird men. That’s what they were asking about, wasn’t it?”
Looking slightly sheepish, he nodded. “That wasn’t my fault. It’s their own nosiness. I hadn’t even hinted I was interested in you until we had lunch earlier.”
Most of the town seemed to spend at least half the day watching me, so I wasn’t sure if his habit of noticing too much about me had caused the problem or not.
“What caught their attention?” What had I done that was so weird they thought I was into…something?
And he was back to trying not to laugh.
“Okay, from what I’ve put together, it’s silly things.” Fraser kissed my cheek again and chuckled when I frowned at him. “I’m not avoiding answering. I’m just trying to figure out how to explain it without sounding as nuts as they do.”
Hmm.
“Okay, you have a point. They sounded insane.” That didn’t mean I was ready to stop glaring at him yet. He was entirely too giggly.