Page 65 of Key of Kink

Jess poked her head around it. “Thanks for that. I wouldn’t want to walk in on you while you’re… occupied.” She held a mug in one hand. “Hot chocolate? I made some for everyone.”

“You’re my favourite,” I said, sitting up.

“Bold claim in a shared house.” She set the mug on my bedside table and squinted at me. “You look smug.”

I rubbed my hands together. “That’s because I am.”

“Oh no. What did you do?”

I hesitated for half a second. “I made him laugh. Again.”

She blinked. “That’s it?”

“You don’t get it,” I said, flopping back dramatically. “He doesn’t laugh, not like that. He’s all… composed.” I waved my hand vaguely. “Very serious about everything.”

Jess’s expression softened. “So this is big.”

“Yeah.” I stared at the ceiling. “It is.”

“Look at you, cracking the code.”

“Shut up.”

She laughed and headed for the door. “Sweet dreams, menace.”

When the door closed, I rolled onto my side.

My harness was hanging on the wardrobe door. The cuffs were still on the floor where I’d dropped them earlier.

Kneeling in front of Max, letting go, begging…. That stuff was intense. Hot enough to make my head spin. But this?

This felt different. Making him laugh felt… intimate. There were no rules for that. It just happened. I’d slipped past his precision, past his careful edges. I hadn’t intended to destabilise him, only soften him.

I grabbed my phone and typed before I could overthink it.

Sleep well. Don’t boss your pillow around.

The reply came almost immediately.

No promises.

I took a sip of hot chocolate and smiled. This wasn’t just about scenes anymore.

It was about him. The way he listened, the way he didn’t rush. Orgasm denial had been explosive, but this was steadier, bigger.

He’s letting me in.

Heady. As. Fuck.

Chapter Eleven

Quinn

“So when is the demo due to start?” I asked Max as we stood near the bar. I’d spotted the visiting Dom and sub soon after I arrived. Leo Hart was maybe in his fifties, his beard peppered with grey. Alex was maybe in his mid-thirties.

I’d spotted the matching wedding rings too.

“In about ten minutes.” Max handed me a glass of water with a slice of lemon in it, then glanced at me. “New jock?”