Thomas was deliciously, deliriously close to places decidedly unbruised, but Krem didn't rush. He didn't point out that, as his body curved toward the infinitesimal softness of his stomach and the muscles of his thighs, the bruises disappeared. After all, as Thomas said, he was exploring.

He didn't ask what the exact different, in this case, would be between teasing and exploring. As he'd said, teasing would imply that he wasn't entirely pleased with the results of what Thomas's mouth and hands were doing to him. And he certainly wasn't going to object to exploration.

So instead, he softly asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to explore?"