Page 66 of Key of Kink

I smiled. “How observant.” I’d seen the padded leather jock with a middle zipper in a shop in Soho, and I hadn’t been able to resist it. “I thought you might approve.”

Max grinned. “I approve of anything that gives me easy access.” He played with the zipper head. “This also gives me ideas.”

“Bad ones, I hope.” I scanned the bar area. Obsidian was usually busy, and there was always something going on. Then I noticed a guy standing at the other end of the bar. Behind him, a Dom was talking loudly with two other men, occasionally touching the younger guy on the shoulder, checking in with him.

Something about the sub struck a chord.

I nudged Max with my elbow, and when he met my gaze, I tilted my head towards the young guy.

“What about him?”

“He reminds me of me, my first night at a leather party.” He was too upright, too still. And pretending not to be thrown by this place.

Max nodded. Go talk to him, he mouthed.

I left Max’s side and walked over to him. “Hey.” I kept my tone light. “You okay?” I tried not to crowd him. “I’m Quinn, by the way.”

“Duncan. And is it that obvious?” He gave a shrug. “My last scene…” He peered over his shoulder before speaking, then took a step towards me.

“What happened?”

Duncan hesitated for a moment. “He escalated,” he said in a low voice. “Said I could take more. I didn’t safeword, I just kind of… froze.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He frowned. “Okay?”

“Freezing’s still information,” I told him. “It means something didn’t sit right.”

Duncan’s shoulders dropped a fraction. “Oh. I just didn’t want to mess it up.”

I smiled. “You don’t mess up a scene by saying ‘hang on.’ That’s kind of the point.” I paused. “Did it feel to you as though he was checking in with you?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Aha.

“Then that’s what you need to deal with. Escalating’s fine, but it should be agreed, not assumed.”

Duncan exhaled slowly. “I guess I didn’t think to say that in negotiation.”

“Cool,” I said with a smile. “Now you know.”

He blinked again. “That’s it?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Add it next time. ‘No escalation without asking.’ That’s not dramatic, and it’s clear.”

Duncan studied me. “You sound as if you’ve been around, but you don’t look old enough for that to be true.”

I snorted. “I’ve been around enough.”

He cocked his head. “You submissive?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound like it.”

I grinned. “Submission doesn’t mean switching your brain off.”