Page 64 of The Menagerie

[MS]be rougher

As his phone lights up on the table, Rowan’s fingers clench, soft bread dimpling in his hands.

[MS]and meaner

A sharp squeeze and a cucumber slides out onto his plate. Rowan drops the rest of his lunch with it, quickly picking up his phone as Mal texts him again.

[MS]seemed like you might’ve been holding back a bit

[MS]don’t

[MS]assuming you like that and you’re not more of a soft dom

And yeah, Rowan won’t lie. Hedidwant to be rougher.Meaner, as Mal put it.He wants to see how far he can push Mal, how desperate he can get him, how quickly and completely he can make him lose it. Like a deep-seated itch he only now realized was there but he can’t quite scratch yet. With shaking fingers, Rowan types out his reply.

[RC]I was worried it’d be too much

[MS]that’s typical for new doms

[MS]and it makes sense while we’re still getting the hang of things

[MS]don’t get me wrong yesterday was fuckin hot

[MS]wouldn’t still be talking to you if it wasn’t

[MS]but i can take a lot more than you gave, at least within the confines of the shit we talked about after the gb

[RC]Okay. Are you looking for rougher/meaner in terms of what I do physically or just for dirty talk or both?

[MS]both

[MS]i like a bit of humiliation/shaming like i said before

[MS]and having you threaten to take shit away last week was hot. not always the best route to take with subs especially if they got abandonment issues or whatever but it’s good with me

[MS]don’t wanna be fucking human furniture though cause i do like pushing back still

Rowan has to pause to look up ‘human furniture,’ which he instantly regrets. He swipes back to his text conversation with Mal.

[RC]Yikes at the human furniture shit

[RC]And okay I can do that. You said you liked being praised too, but not right away right?

[MS]yeah. i’ll ask for something like that outright, usually the day of the scene if i’m in a certain kind of headspace

Though they’ve talked pretty extensively about sex and play at this point, it still catches Rowan off guard to hear Mal talk so openly about it. It strikes him that Mal knows exactly what he likes and doesn’t like, exactly how he reacts to certain things (and most likelywhyhe does), and is completely comfortable sharing that with him, still a near stranger. He knows how to read his own moods and determine what kind of treatment he wants from his partner, and it’s something that Rowan both admires and envies. Hopefully, as he keeps doing research and keeps playing with Mal, he’ll find his own balance.

[RC]Sounds good. Looking forward to next week!

[MS]me too

The flutter comes unbidden to Rowan’s stomach, and he lets it linger as long as it wants to.

They have their plan, then.Mal wants Rowan to cuff him this time. Bind his hands. Come in his mouth. Be rougher with him. Meaner.

Rowan can’t fuckingwait.

WHEN THEbooks he’d ordered from Amazon finally come in on Tuesday, he tears open the package and immediately starts readingThe Loving Dominant.The cover is a little trashy, looking like a blurry still from a vintage porno, but both Mal and the reviews online had said it was great for new Doms.

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