Page 68 of Baiting Kong

“You are going to keep me on my toes, aren’t you?” Carl asked.

“For as long as you’re loving every minute of it.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“And what are you gonna hold me to?” Axel asked as he glanced from Carl to Scout, who’d turned and was eyeing him like he was coming up with some creative ideas of his own.

“I’d like to hold you hostage on the couch,” Scout said. “Preferably with my head in your lap while we watch a movie.”

“Are you getting tired?” Carl asked.

“Not now that we’re sitting, but earlier, in the water, yeah, a little,” Scout admitted.

“And you said nothing because….”

“I was enjoying the water.”

“At least you’re honest.”

“I try to be.”

“I want you both to always try your best to be that way with me,” Carl stated. “I know shit happens, but I’ve got a few hard and fast rules about not deliberately putting yourselves in danger or concealing it from me if you get hurt. Now, that last part is honestly more important than the first. If you fucked around and did something, fine, we can talk about why when you’re ready, but if you got hurt in the process and I find out later, or you try to work past it and make yourself worse, then there will be repercussions.”

“What, um, what kind of repercussions?” Axel asked.

“The kind that will leave you tied to a chair watching us have all the fun,” Carl threatened.

“You don’t spank?” Axel blurted, worrying his lower lip.

It was no wonder why, either. Earlier, when they’d popped into the clubhouse for more ice and to hit the head, one of the subs had been across his Dom’s lap, sobbing while his ass was being reddened in front of everyone in attendance. Dom hadn’t been using his hand, either. He’d had a ping-pong paddle with holes cut out, every motion producing a whoosh right before it smacked against his subs bare bottom.

“Not unless it’s an agreed-upon form of punishment,” Carl explained. “I’m not the biggest fan of using pain as a means of correction, but to each their own.”

“Wait, so there are agreed-upon forms of punishment,” Axel questioned.

“Yup,” Scout said. “Everything has to be agreed upon, including how much control we want to turn over and what the boundaries are. There are safe words too; that’s for when something doesn’t feel right or your head is all messed up so you’re not enjoying it and want it to stop.”

“I don’t want to be spanked,” Axel admitted.

“Then I will never spank you,” Creature said, before turning his attention towards Scout, whose nose was scrunched as he squirmed a little. “How about you? You look like you’re trying to decide if you want to say something. This is a good time to have this conversation, so let’s get it out in the open if something is concerning you.”

“No, I—I like a bit of pain, but I don’t think I need to be spanked if I mess up,” Scout admitted. “I like pain when it’s…”

He squirmed some more, so Carl gave him a few minutes to get his words in order.

“I like it when I’m already turned on and all wound up,” Scout said. “Then it heightens everything else I’ve been feeling. On the shoots, sometimes…it would just be too much.”

“And that’s why Sawyer had to go with you,” Carl said.

Scout’s shoulders slumped as he turned the hotdog he had on his stick, evenly blistering the skin just enough to char it a little.

“Is that why you were limping when you stopped by outside the grocery store to talk to me?” Axel asked.

“Yeah. Someone got a little too rough but didn’t really do enough to make it so I could really get into it,” Scout admitted. “It was always kinda hard at the start of a shoot, becausethe lights were on and the cameras were on and people were watching, and sometimes they’d try to rush us into a scene when I could have used a moment with my partner to just focus on them, breathe, and get into the right mindset for what I needed to do.”

“Which you never have to do again,” Carl declared, tone gruff and steely as he stared across the fire at them. “If I’m your Dom, then you bring your troubles to me first, so we can work them out together, no matter what they are. Even if you have an issue with me.Especiallyif you have an issue with me.”

“I can do that,” Axel said, his response immediate, but then he wasn’t the one Carl was worried about going off half-cocked to prove something to someone.

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