Page 144 of Redeemed

I frown. “I don’t think you want to do that.”

“It’s a start, isn’t it?”

Jesus Christ. She’s actually serious.

“All right. Walk me through what this would look like.”

“We’d have to renegotiate the deal some. It’d stay exactly the same, but I’d have a way out if I really needed it with no consequences.”

Hmm.Colton won’t appreciate changing the rules, but he knows he has to agree. If he wants her to feel safe, then we have to give Haven some of her power back.

“Tell me how it’d be different than what you did before. Colton said you always backed out. You’re still giving yourself the chance to do that.”

“Because when I say no, I want you to keep going. We can have a codeword or something for when I actually need you guys to stop, but unless I use it, I don’t want you to listen to me.”

I almost laugh. The way she’s talking, she must think she’s the only one who’s ever had this idea—that the kink hasn’t been around for forever.

“Typically, it’s called a safeword.”

“Huh?”

I grin. “Lots of people have forced sex fantasies. Trust me, it’s way more common than you think. A safeword—”

“Do you fantasize about it?”

“I do.”

“With… Lucas?”

I shake my head. “With you, doll.”

Haven rears back in shock.“Me?”

“Yes, you. Don’t act so surprised.” I throw a handful of M&M’s into my mouth.

“You want to rape me.” A statement, not a question, filled with nothing but confusion.

Our little traitor doesn’t know what to think.

“I do.”

When her gaze drops, I lift her face back up with a bent knuckle under her chin. “Just because I want to doesn’t mean I won’t stop when you call your safeword.”

She hesitates, probably wondering if she should trust me. She shouldn’t, but she can about this. I’m telling her the truth.

“What about Lucas and Colton?”

“They’d stop, too. I’ll make sure of it.”

“And I can set… boundaries? Because I don’t want Colton to hurt me with that thing again.”

“It’s called a flogger,” I say softly, guilt panging in my chest, “and if you don’t want us to hit you, then we won’t.”

“Flogger,” she mutters to herself.

A mixture of nostalgia and regret tugs on my heart. This used to be part of our regular dynamic—Haven exploring the real world and us helping her figure things out. I miss those days. Sometimes, I wish we could go back to them.

“You’re sure we’re the right people for this?” I ask.

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