Crossing lines (Noah and Aiden) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“What kind of connection are you talking about?” Noah asked, his voice tinged with genuine curiosity.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I replied, “It’s the kind of trust I mentioned before—the deep, raw kind that sinks into your soul. The kind that lets you close your eyes and fall, fully confident someone will catch you. Even if that same person is the one pushing you down.”

He didn’t respond immediately, but his breath hitched again, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, deliberately avoiding my gaze. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and a little rough, as if uncertain.

“So… BDSM is just… sex with ropes, right?”

I raised an eyebrow at the simplicity of his question.

He shrugged, clearly defensive. “I mean, I’ve seen the movies—whips, chains, blindfolds. Lots of leather. Or, I don’t know… latex.” His nose scrunched up as if recalling an unpleasant taste. “Is that what this is?”

A soft chuckle escaped me before I could stop it.

“Is that what you’re worried about?” I asked, amused. “That I’m going to pull out a dungeon and leash?”

Noah’s cheeks flushed a deep red. “I’m just trying to understand. I honestly don’t know what I’m doing here.”

Leaning forward slightly, I lowered my voice, keeping it calm and steady. “Noah, BDSM isn’t about costumes or fetishes—though those things can be part of it. I do have a special room, fully equipped, that I like to use. But at its core, it’s about control. Discipline. Surrender. And, yes, trust—that word again.”

He froze, his eyes clouding with thought. I could almost hear the gears turning behind his eyes.

I stood up slowly, taking a deliberate step toward him. The silence between us hung thick, almost electric, like a live wire pulsing with tension. “I’m not offering just sex,” I said softly, “but structure. That’s where the real power exchange begins. When it’s done right, it’s not about pain. It’s about freedom—freedom found through rules, clarity through obedience, and peace in submission. Sometimes, that peace is deeply sexual.”

He swallowed hard, his gaze following me as I closed the distance between us with slow, purposeful steps until I was just a breath away. I didn’t touch him—not yet. I simply stood there, letting my presence speak louder than words ever could.

When his mouth opened—likely to tell me, for the hundredth time, that he wasn’t into men—I raised a hand to stop him.

Tilting my head, I locked eyes with him, noticing the flush spreading across his cheeks, the quick rise and fall of his chest with each shallow breath.

“There are submissives who’ve never been touched and still come harder than they ever have before,” I added softly. “And Dominants who don’t even need to undress their partners… yet leave them trembling with a single command.”

His lips parted, but no sound emerged. I saw his hands clench tightly on his knees, his whole body caught somewhere between resistance and surrender.

His mind was already responding first, his body following.

Perfect.

He was going to be an interesting challenge—a diamond hidden beneath rough edges. And I was determined to polish him until he shone.

“So, say I’m… considering this,” Noah finally said, breaking the silence, “what happens next?”