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My lips curve up, but I don’t answer.
“I’m intrigued about the brat thing,” she says. “What do you do if the girl misbehaves, if you don’t like punishment?”
I send her an amused look. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”
“You said you’re not into impact play.”
“Not all the time.”
“But you might… you know… spank? Sometimes?”
“Sometimes. If a partner enjoys it.”
“And you use silk scarves?”
“I have done.”
“I don’t know if I’d like that. I’d be too worried the guy would do something like… you know… inserting his… you know… somewhere I didn’t want.” She pulls an ‘eek’ face.
I frown. “Sweetheart, that shouldn’t be what it’s about. If you want to try out this kind of thing with a partner, it’s best to talk about it beforehand. There are even questionnaires you can download on the Internet where you indicate what you’re prepared to do and what you’re not.”
“Are they called limits?”
“Yeah. Deciding limits is about setting boundaries. Nobody—and I mean nobody, Belle—has the right to do anything to you that you don’t want done. You don’t tie someone up so you can violate their boundaries. Absolutely not.” My voice is hard, partly because I’m beginning to suspect someone—probably Cole—has done things to her without her permission.
“Okay,” she says. “I get it.”
“But you can set hard and soft limits.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Sometimes you might be… intrigued, as you put it, about something, so you might say that’s a soft limit—that you haven’t tried it before, but you might be interested in giving it a go with the right guy, providing he’s careful and gentle and backs away if you tell him to stop. Hard limits are absolutes—things you don’t want to do under any circumstances. If someone does them when you’ve made it clear you don’t want them to, that’s violating consent. A big part of pleasure is about finding someone you trust.”
“Hmm.” Her gaze flicks over me. “Okay. I’m sure it’d be difficult for me to fill in half the questions though. I don’t know what stuff is or whether I’d like it!”
I reach out and hold her hand for a moment. “Honey, you shouldn’t be worrying about this. It can sound scary and weird if you’ve not done much of it. You just need to find yourself a nice young guy who’s prepared to help you take time to explore sex. Someone patient and caring. Don’t think too much about it now.”
But she shakes her head and says, “I’m not worried, and I don’t find it scary. I wish I knew more about it all. I like the idea of talking with a partner about limits. I think it would give me a sense of control.”
It’s an interesting phrase to use, and it makes me think of her comment about feeling powerless where sex is concerned, and that our discussion helped her feel liberated.
I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something she’s not telling me. Either about her relationship with Cole, or about something else that’s influenced how she feels about sex. Her mother’s attitude might be something to do with it, of course.
I don’t want to ask, because if I’m right, then it’s private, and I’m sure she’d share if she wanted me to know. But it does make me more willing to talk. If knowing more about sex helps her feel better and more prepared for her next relationship, how can I turn her away? We’re not born knowing these things, and not everyone is lucky enough to have supportive friends or family to educate us.
Ah, hell, she probably won’t agree anyway.
“Okay,” I say. “Get out your phone and find a questionnaire, and we’ll see what kinds of things it suggests.”
Chapter Six
Belle
I stare at Damon, surprised at his answer. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” he says. “Should be fun.” His eyes sparkle.
