Page 74 of Redline Baby

"M-maybe..."

Soren waits.

"Could you check in on me during the day?" My face heats immediately. "Just to see how I'm doing."

He smiles. Not teasing. "Absolutely, baby boy." Relief is immediate enough to embarrass me. "Anything else?"

"I don't know."

I'm feeling smaller by the second. It's hard to think like this. Soren seems to notice.

"That’s okay. We don't have to design the rest of our lives over breakfast."

I smile weakly.

"We can revisit every part of this at any time. Add things. Remove things. Change something that isn't working."

"Okay."

"Nothing becomes permanent just because we agreed to it once."

I nod.

"Good," he says and takes a drink of coffee. "Now let's talk about what you actually want from the dynamic." I nearly choke on absolutely nothing. His eyes warm. "Kink-wise, sweetheart."

"Oh." I look at my eggs. Suddenly fascinating again.

"Spankings." The word comes out quiet. "That's my favorite, Daddy." I'm incredibly embarrassed. Vulnerable. "I love it. The pain. The heat. The care afterward." I push one piece of egg around with my fork. "And the way it clears the noise." My voice gets quieter. "When your hand landed last night, everything in my head just... stopped."

Soren nods. His expression stays reassuring. "Spanking is one of my favorites too." My face gets hotter. "Anything else, sweet boy?"

"Yes, Daddy." I sound so shy. Nothing like the Kit everyone else knows. Soren waits.

"Can you use your words for me, baby boy?"

I stare down at the table.

"Besides the Little stuff..."

I force myself to keep going.

"The coloring and the cocoa and being held and being small and all of that."

My voice cracks.

"What I want most is to be safe."

I have no idea how I don’t cry.

"All of that," he says finally, "sounds perfect."

My head lifts. He's smiling. "Spankings. The Little side. The safety." He sets his coffee down. "Every single thing you just named is something I'm interested in too."

My pulse jumps.

"And when spanking is the agreed consequence for a rule, I'll follow through." My stomach twists pleasantly. His expression softens. "But the safety is the foundation, Kit."

My heel stops tapping.