Page 44 of Masked Sins
He leans forward slightly. “Let’s start with the first few chapters,”he signs.
“Okay,” I agree, signing.
“Drake meets Sol in college while he’s posing as a student,”Starboy signs. “In chapter four, another man flirts with Sol when she’s out in another city with some friends. That causes him to kidnap Sol and hold her captive against her will.”
“Well, it’s notexactlyagainst her will,” I explain. “Her consent is dubious but very quickly turns enthusiastic.”
Can you tell me which parts, specifically, you want to try?
My tongue feels thick as I respond. “Umm… I like the idea of being controlled. Of someone telling me what to do and what not to do. I don’t know. Something about being owned likethat…not having to be in control, learning to trust someone implicitly…” Again, I don’t bother signing this time.
“You want to be controlled?”he signs. “As in power exchange?”
“Maybe,”I sign.
Starboy sits quietly for a minute before pulling the dry-erase board closer, erasing the last phrase and writing something else. It feels like he’s writing forever, and I fully expect him to say something likeThis was a bad idea. I never want to talk to you again.I chew on my lower lip as I watch his hand grip the marker and the veins pop along his large palm and long fingers. Finally, he holds the board up, and it takes me a minute to read what he wrote.
Look, the foundation of any BDSM dynamic is consent. Power exchange is, at its core, a game of pretend. When I spank a submissive or punish her in any other way, I’m doing it because she’s letting me. Like I said, it all comes down to consent. I only have the power I’m given. I don’t take power, and any credible Dominant knows that respect is earned.
“I understand,”I sign.
“Good,”he signs back. “I think we should start slowly. I can establish some ground rules, and you can see how you feel following them for a few days.”
I squirm in my seat when I think of being controlled by Starboy—of knowinghegave me rules to abide by. A small, dormant part of me relishes in the idea of pleasing him. Like most women who were straight-A students in high school, the idea of doing a good job for him is a turn-on.
“How does that sound?”he asks.
I nod.
“I need to hear you say it, little dancer.”
“That sounds good,” I tell him, signing. My hands shake as I move them to form the right words. “What exactly are your… rules?”
Starboy spreads his legs slightly, and I can’t help but admire how good he looks leaning back in his chair with his mask.
“Let’s use chapter six of the book. When Drake doesn’t let Sol touch herself. I don’t want you to touch yourself until I give you permission,”he signs almost too quickly for me to interpret.
I suck in a sharp breath. “W-when will you give me permission?”
His shoulders shake again. “That’s for me to know and for you to obey.”
Holy hell.
“And then what?”I sign.
“Let’s see how it goes for a few days. I’d like you to check in every day. You have my number now.”
I swallow as excitement races through my veins. “Okay.”
“If this goes well, we can discuss the next steps,”he signs. “And if you follow my directions well, you will be rewarded.”
I shift in my seat as ideas ofhowI’ll be rewarded float through my overactive imagination.
“One last thing,”he signs. “I expect full monogamy while we’re doing this. I will abide by the same rules, and I won’t take a romantic partner or submissive while we’re involved.”
“Of course,” I nearly sputter out. The idea of dating someone else while talking to Starboy already feels wrong. An image of Orion flashes through my mind uninvited, but I very quickly push it away.
Orion is my stepbrother, andthatcan and will never happen.
