Max looked down and laughed. Fuck, Sean loved that sound. “Seriously? Damn, you’re sensitive. Was barely even moving my thumb.” Said thumb gave another pointed stroke.
Sean jerked with a gasp. “It doesn’t take much. Please refer to my big H by tickling.”
Max eyed the list and chuckled. “Ha. There it is… Shit, I think it’s even in bold.”
“It is,” Sean mumbled.
Max looked at him. Grinned. Then got back to reading. “Fine. Whatever. But just so we’re clear, sucking on toes is not considered tickling.”
SIXTEEN
They finished the list before too long, with a couple more H’s downgraded to S’s. But Sean was okay with that, because according to Max, Sean still got the final say. Max also reiterated that he’d never do anything to Sean that Sean hadn’t previously consented to. Which Sean already knew from his visit to Max’s website, but the reaffirmation was definitely nice.
Max set the papers aside and looked at Sean. “So this is when I go over the gist of our scene. I tell you what I plan on doing. You tell me if that sounds okay. If there’s anything at all that you don’t feel comfortable with, now’s the time to voice it. Cool?”
Sean nodded. “Cool.” His heart picked up speed.
Max nodded, too. “Good. So here’s the deal. I’m going to truss you up in some light bondage. Nothing too restricting. Nothing crazy, so no worries. Then, while I’m getting your body’s layout, I’ll—”
“My body’s layout?” What the hell did that mean?
“Yeah.” Max nodded again, giving a little shrug. “Kinda like making a mental diagram of your body and all the little things I discover about it.”
Sean fought back a shiver. Damn, that sounded hot. But Max still left a lot for interpretation. “But for what purpose?”
Max brought his thumb to the corner of his mouth, did that thing Sean really loved. That slow, absent stroke, until Max’s lips curved salaciously. “So I can get a good bead on your hot spots, Sean. Where your body reacts the strongest and the different ways it responds to stimuli.”
Sean stared at him. “Oh.” Time to resituate the junk.
Max watched with hooded eyes, then got back on track. “So anyway, while I’m doing that, I’ll go over more of the basics. Then we’ll move into the actual scene. Tonight’s will be a small one, want to wean you in slowly, but a complete scene nevertheless.” He met Sean’s eyes. “Do you want to come this time?”
Sean’s eyebrows rose. He couldn’t help smiling. “Um, yeah, sure. Why not.”
This negotiating shit was so weird.
Max nodded. “Okay, then. Come you shall. Which will pretty much mark the end of the scene. You good with everything?”
Oh, yeah. Good with everything.
“Yep. Sounds awesome.” Sean smiled. “Can’t wait.”
Max’s lips quirked. “Come on. Let’s do this.”
He rose to his feet. Sean stood up, too, his heart pounding steadily faster.
“Shit,” he laughed. “This is nuts. I’m a sub.”
Max eyed him over his shoulder. “Not just any sub, Sean. Mine.”
Sean liked the sound of that. Liked it a lot. Especially with Max as the one saying it.
Max stopped at a big black chest of drawers, pulled one open, and reached inside. “Here.” He turned and tossed Sean some black things. “For your wrists. Put them on.”
Sean caught them. Lifted a brow. A pair of black leather cuffs, each with metal buckles and a D-ring. Sean strapped them on, then looked up just in time to see another pair flying his way.
“For your ankles.” Max shut the drawer. “Both sets are yours. Have them on for every appointment.”
He headed back but stopped in the center of the room to reach up and grab a length of hanging chain. Huh. Sean hadn’t even noticed that there. He tracked it up to a metal pulley mounted inconspicuously on the ceiling. The chain’s other end was up there also, hanging just as neatly out of the way. Interesting rig job. Sean caught Max staring at him. Oops. He dropped down and buckled each ankle. He stood back up. The guy was still watching him.
Max crooked his finger. “Come.”
Sean promptly obeyed.
“Give me your wrists.”
Sean complied with that, too.
Max pulled down the chain and secured Sean’s wrists, attaching each cuff’s D-ring to a clip hook. When finished, he reached for the chain’s other end and got busy pulling it downward. Fuck, the sight of those inked biceps flexing.
Pulse racing, Sean watched him, drunk on anticipation. Swiftly, his wrists rose, followed by his arms, till the length of his body was stretched taut. Sean struggled to stay balanced, but it wasn’t easy. Only the balls of his feet were still grounded. Max secured the chains together with another clip, then turned and walked to a plethora of items hanging organized on the adjacent wall. Grabbing a black rod, he promptly headed back, resting the thing on his shoulder like a rifle.