“I’m doing good. I don’t worry. I have anemergency fund now and I could afford a bigger apartment if I really wantedone. I just…it’s instinctive, I guess.” He shrugged. “Someone offers overtimeand I start imagining what could go wrong and why the money would be helpful.”
“Alright.” I couldn’t decide if what I wasgoing to say would make him safeword or not. “The next time your boss asks ifyou want some overtime, not that you have to take it, but actually asks, youwill find a reason to call me first. We will talk about it and I’ll listen toyour reasons for taking it, but I’ll make the decision.”
He stilled then shifted so he could see myface easier.
When he didn’t say anything, I decided tokeep going. “Right now, the rule is if you are taking classes and don’t needthe extra money for something specific, there will be no permission forovertime.”
Landon swallowed, and it took severalseconds for his brain to catch up. “A lot of Doms control things like that fortheir sub—you know, everyday kinds of things when their sub can’t make goodchoices.”
“Or if they don’t know when they’ve reachedtheir limit.” I nodded and leaned over to kiss his head. “A relationship likeours isn’t just about sex and limits there, it’s about protecting each other ingeneral.”
“And you think I need to be protectedfrom…from myself and”—he paused for a moment—“and things like overworkingmyself?”
I nodded, but before I could say anythingelse, he kept going, working it out in his head as he talked. “Because when wetalked about you being my Dom it wasn’t just bedroom stuff. We both said it wasokay if it spread to other parts of our lives because that felt good to me.”
“And I like making you happy.” I gave himanother kiss, and he smiled, looking more relaxed.
“What would happen if I knew the rule butcouldn’t stop myself?” The way he worded it eased some of my stress.
Realizing it was a compulsion wasdefinitely the first step. “If you agreed to a rule and then broke it, youwould be punished.”
That had his brain whirling again. “Whatkind of punishment?”
I would’ve loved to ask what he wasimagining, but I decided that would veer us off track. “Punishments varybetween subs, but for us, I would say something like no orgasms for the nextweek and you would have to go to bed early on the weekends to help you rememberthat you are just as important as the people you want to take care of.”
The look of frustration on his face saidhe’d been hoping for something more fun like a spanking.
“Oh.” Stroking his hand over my chest as hethought, he finally looked up again. “And you would be disappointed in me,wouldn’t you?”
“I would be worried about you and I wouldwant to take care of you.” I poked one finger at his chest. “You areimportant.”
He smiled, but I wasn’t sure he understood.
“Your list of people you want to take careof is crazy long and I bet there are even casual friends at work you would puthigher on your list than you would yourself.” His look of chagrin said I wasprobably right. “My list is very short. You.”
That made him blink.
“I have friends and I would step in to helpthem if they needed it, but I know I don’t have to worry.” We’d all been on ourown too long to do it any other way. “They’ll let me know if they needsomething, so I don’t have to worry about them.”
I ran my hand over his head and caressedhis cheek. “My list of people I worry about just has one person on it. You. Iwill always put you first.”
Landon swallowed several times beforenodding. “I won’t take any more overtime unless I talk about it with youfirst.”
“Good boy.” Kissing his lips, I hugged himtight. “Now, about your family. What did your mother need this week?”
I know she’d desperately needed help whenhe was younger, but it seemed like she’d set him up as the family Dom withouteven thinking about it.
Landon winced. “She volunteered me to fixthe neighbors’ leaky sink, and she decided she was ready to renovate thebathroom now.”
Yeah, I could see why he knew I’d befrustrated.
“Whose idea was the fixer-upper that shebought?” He’d made an offhand comment about her being able to buy the house,but I realized now I should’ve asked more questions.
“It was a good deal, but yeah…technicallyhers.” He shrugged. “I didn’t tell her that I wouldn’t help.”
She’d just assumed, and he hadn’t been ableto tell her no.
“Then we need to have a discussion withyour mother that you can only help on projects between classes. You don’t havetime to do everything and you deserve a personal life.” I leaned down andlooked into his eyes. “I will not walk away out of some misguided sense thatyour family comes first. I will put you first, even if that means pissing heroff.”
