Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“In short—when you’re with me, I want to take care of you financially,” I said honestly. “We have the advantage of your flexible work hours since you can do that from anywhere, but the bigger your role becomes around the house, the less I want you to do to support yourself. And Kyla, for that matter.” I paused. “Thoughts on that?”
He shifted on his knees. They had to be hurting pretty bad. “I think…maybe it’s too soon? I understand you’re not asking me to quit my job, but I don’t want to put my expenses on your shoulders, even if we compromise and go with, say, food and gas.”
I quirked a faint smile. “What’s your end goal, Archie? For you to work full time and take care of the house? That won’t fly.”
“Well, no… I—I joke with my sisters that I think I was born to be a housewife, but there’s some truth in there.”
Of course there was; he’d half admitted it less than a week ago, when he said he’d discovered that all his studies had been in preparation for a life taking care of his family.
“Is there a date set for when it’s acceptable to compromise, then?” I asked. “Because I can tell you right now, if you don’t let me take care of you, I won’t let you take care of me.”
His eyebrows pinched together, and he went into thinking mode.
The boy was trying to do it all and get nothing in return.
Good luck.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek and cleared his throat. “What exactly do you want to pay for?”
“When you put it that way, it’s like I’m paying for your services. That’s not what we want, is it?” I tilted my head at him, wondering where this reluctance was coming from. “My responsibility—and part of my taking care of you—is to remove outside worries. If our goal in the future is for you to stay at home, you have to let me begin to pick those worries off you, one by one, just like you increase your efforts for me and the house.” I lifted his chin when he tried to look down. “You make me believe in our pipe dream, Archie. It’s what I will spend my days fighting for. You’re not slipping through my fingers again.”
Those words seemed to make an impact. He swallowed hard and managed a wobbly smile.
“You really believe in us, Sir?”
“I do. Don’t you?”
“Yes, but…you know, I want everything at once. I worry I’m a bit much.” He became a little sheepish, something I was discovering was a signature move of his. He never stopped wanting; he just flashed that sheepish grin when he was caught.
Funnily enough, it made me want him even more, because I was the same. I could apologize and feel genuinely guilty for pushing hard, but it didn’t stop me from doing it again. Sloan was my witness.
“I think it’s important we separate kink and dating sometimes too,” I mentioned. “We haven’t had our proper first date yet, but the Dom in me is ready to move you in to my house yesterday so we can delve deeper into domestic servitude and TPE. And I don’t see anything wrong with that. We kinda need a home to nail the domestic part of the kink.”
I could tell I’d presented him with a new angle. He hadn’t thought in those terms. His gaze flickered, and he looked like he was trying to solve a math equation beyond his comprehension.
“How long had you known that married couple before you became their weekend roommate?” I wondered.
For some reason, his ears slowly turned a pink shade.
“About a week,” he admitted.
Hmm. That answer wasn’t why he felt embarrassed or…whatever it was he felt.
“You’re blushing, boy. Something you want to share with me?”
“Dammit,” he whispered. Then he winced and rolled his eyes. “It’s possible one of the first conditions they gave me was that they paid for everything while I was under their roof.”
I grinned.
How about that.
I could figure out the rest on my own. Because he and I wanted it all with each other, not just a BDSM lifestyle, it was easy to pump the brakes and worry we were moving too fast. I saw it as proof that we should keep kink and love separate. For love, I had all the patience in the world. I didn’t want to rush a single milestone.
“So maybe we should compromise,” Archie suggested smoothly.
“Maybe we should,” I chuckled. “Did you come up with that all on your own?”
“Yes, Sir.” He smiled impishly.
Sometimes, we just needed a new perspective.
I had a feeling he would leave Kyla out of it, and I couldn’t blame him for that. She wasn’t part of our kink dynamic after all, and that was the only aspect I could push for now. Where kink was concerned, I was going to demand more and more control until I had it all.