Page 33 of Courting the Consequences

“Yeah, something like that.” Johnny nodded.

Kevin shifted. “Kara, we don’t want to cross lines or make you uncomfortable, so you need to tell us. Hard limits?” he asked.

“No face slapping,” she said immediately.

Johnny nodded. “What else?”

She hesitated and glanced away.

Johnny moved into her space. He put a finger under her chin and gently lifted her face to meet his gaze. “What else, Princess?”

“I don’t—I don’t like being degraded outside of us playing,” she admitted. “I was fine with dinner and downstairs.” She turned to Kevin and nodded. “I know you don’t really think that. And it’s hot when we’re playing, but I don’t want to hear it outside of that.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Johnny nodded. “What else?”

She closed her eyes before she continued. “I have trust issues.” She sighed. “I’ve been cheated on before and I don’t—” she shook her head and slowly opened her eyes. “I know it’s not fair that I get all three of you, and you only get—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Derrick growled, his green eyes narrowed.

Kara blushed when she met his intense stare, but she glanced back at Johnny. “I just, I need to know that there won’t be other women.”

He felt it like a blow to the gut. The pain in her eyes, the uncertainty there. He had done that. By letting the courtesan linger and flirt, he had put that doubt and uncertainty in her heart. “Absolutely not,” he said vehemently. “You won’t have to worry about that. I’m sorry if I made you feel doubt tonight. I’m sorry for my part in that. It won’t happen again.”

She searched his eyes, looking for the truth, before she nodded slowly. “Thank you.” She moved toward him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He cradled her face between his hands and kissed her again when she tried to pull away. “What else, baby?” he asked.

She smiled softly. “Public displays. Dinner and outside the bar on the street were close to too much,” she admitted. “Out there in the clubhouse, that was hot, but I don’t think I could do any more than that. And my job—if anything got out, it could be extremely damaging to my career.”

Johnny once again felt like an ass. He had pushed some of that earlier and hadn’t even thought about her career. She wasn’t just a lawyer but also the managing partner of the most prestigious law firm in the city. He nodded. “Noted. We’ll be careful from now on.”

Her smile was beautiful and heartwarming. “Other than that, I don’t really have any other limits. I like to be choked and I like it rough.” She giggled. “Don’t be afraid of breaking me. But I also like to be checked in on once in a while.”

Johnny smiled easily. She was so brave and strong. She knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to tell him what she needed. “We can do that, Princess.” He nodded.

“Safe words?” Derrick asked.

Her eyes widened slightly and a blush bloomed across her cheeks before she quickly glanced at Kevin, who nodded and smirked, and then looked back to Derrick. “Uh, red to stop, yellow to slow down, green for good.”

“Perfect.” Derrick smiled.

Perfect, indeed, Johnny thought. She was utterly perfect in every sense of the word. She would be his undoing and downfall. He knew it.

Karacouldn’tbelievetheturn the night had taken. The discussion of limits was not foreign to her. She’d experimented with boyfriends in the past, and she and Kevin had already had a brief discussion, but this was somethingmore.

Johnny had been so serious. Still seemed so serious.

She knew she had to do something to change the atmosphere. She looked up at Johnny and slowly dropped to her knees. Hearing his groan as she landed gracefully on the floor, legs beneath her, was worth it. She pushed her shoulders back, rested her hands on her knees, palms up, lowered her gaze to the floor, and waited.

“Fuck me,” Johnny groaned softly. His voice was like gravel.

She couldn’t keep the smirk off her lips if she tried. She absolutely loved that she was making him come undone.

“There’s my good slut,” Kevin crooned and started circling her. “Been so good all day,” he continued, his voice like velvet.

Shivers raced down her spine—she could listen to his voice all day. Rich and smooth. Silky. He knew just how wet she got from listening to him talk dirty. One day she would record his voice just so she could listen to it on days when she couldn’t see him.

“Please, Sir,” she murmured.

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