Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45529 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Shay scratched his chin and shrugged. “Doesn’t sound weird to me. We have a lot of boundaries in my dynamic too. River and Reese aren’t interested in playing with others whatsoever, but they’re voyeurs who sometimes want to see me with others, but not necessarily for sex. We haven’t gone that far yet. I mean, our relationships are fairly new still.”
That was certainly true.
“It’s good to go slow,” Macklin agreed with a nod.
That made me think of something. “You and Tate have known Colt, Lucas, and the Tenleys for years. What were they like before Shay and I entered the picture?”
Macklin raised his brows at Tate and went, “Oh boy.”
Tate chuckled. “Well, it’s interesting to me because—” he flicked a glance my way, then at Shay “—you two happen to be dating our pickiest Doms. Not to say they don’t all have high standards, but Lucas and Colt are more traditional, and River and Reese are incredibly protective of each other.”
Macklin was in agreement. “Plus, they’ve always struggled to feel chemistry with outsiders. Believe it or not, but tons of subs have accused Colt and Lucas of being aloof. Obviously not to their faces but online. And I think…yeah, all subs they’ve played with—except for Ivy, me, and Cam—have left the community due to unrequited feelings.”
I knew the last part. Some had even tried to break my Daddies up. And Lucas had mentioned—because I’d asked—that Macklin was the only current member of House Mclean he and Colt had been sexual with. Because of their friendship, what with Macklin having been there from the start and all, they had established trust and liked each other very much. So it’d been a nice way to scratch an itch. Colt had been able to unleash his Sadist on Macklin; Lucas had been his rope rigger for a short while.
“See, when I picture you with them, I don’t get jealous,” I said. “I get turned on.”
Macklin grinned. “You’re so fucking sweet. And you have my number… I sure as hell wouldn’t be submissive with you.”
I snickered and willed the scorching heat in my cheeks to freaking fade away already.
He was so hot.
The servers picked a good time to appear with our sodas and bread baskets. The latter was another item Macklin had nailed like no other. It was a selection of bits and pieces normally used for other meals, but he had a no-waste policy. So the leftover dough and bread from burgers, sandwiches, pizza, and whatever else landed in the fryer for a quick beat. Then the pieces were dusted with a rub-like spice mix before they ended up in a basket for someone’s table.
I sank my teeth into the perfect crunch of a baguette endpiece and nearly moaned at the taste. So greasy, so good.
“Is there a Dom in our social group you haven’t been with?” Shay asked Macklin.
“That slut does not discriminate.” Tate smirked.
Macklin chuckled and shrugged a little. “What can I say, I’m safe. Men know what they get with me.”
I tilted my head. “How do you mean safe?”
He removed the straw from his Diet Coke and took a sip. “I mean that I’ve proven myself to the other founders over the past decade. You—specifically you, the younger subs—gotta understand that you’re unicorns. Because most young subs who join kink communities spend a lot of time spreading their insecurities around. Which we don’t always think about since our community is pretty focused on age difference. We have a majority of Doms who are into younger men, and bratty boys who are into older Daddies. But the truth is, when we started Mclean House, we wanted to avoid all that. We see what drama has done to other communities—”
“Hear, hear,” Corey chimed in, evidently tuning in to our conversation now. “That’s why I left Old Town. Relationship drama and jealousy all over the place.”
Macklin nodded once. “So then you have Colt and Lucas, River and Reese, Penelope and Ella—plenty of dynamics who just want to chill. Maybe they’re looking for a third, maybe their relationship is open—whatever. They wanted a kinky home away from home where they could find similar people. And they end up with an influx of younger subs who are territorial and uncertain, which isn’t weird,” he stressed. “We’ve all experienced jealousy and uncertainties. It’s practically part of growing up.”
“But the founders were already grown-up,” I deduced.
Macklin inclined his head. “Colt and Lucas didn’t want a sub who was trying to break them up. River and Reese didn’t want a bottom who tried to trap them with rules based on insecurities.”
“Oh, bless—Emilio,” Tate said.
“River and Reese told me about him,” Shay added. “He didn’t want to work on his insecurities or something.”
“Exactly,” Macklin replied. “So his relationship with the Tenleys went south before it’d barely begun.”
I saw where Macklin was going with this, and I understood my Daddies’ reasoning. The founding members of our community were so darn helpful and generous with their time, but they had limits. If they were going to act as a newbie’s guide into kink, that newbie had to at least be respectful and mindful about boundaries.