Stop

When a*

There are actually two type of safe world, one to stop and one to pause the dynamic. The author clearly stated the "i love you" was the later. And indeed he didnt continue with sex

I mean, he did stop, and he’s taking it off. I know he’s kinda teasing him at the end but it’s not very high stakes play and depending on how far he takes the teasing next chapter (like if he really drags it on and fucks with the brat and doesn’t take it off for like the entire chapter than yea like wrap it up) but if he just teases him a bit before taking it off I’d say it’s not that bad or abusive of the safe word.

In the kink scene irl people very often use "stop light" safewords (green, yellow, red) so that they can adjust and set boundaries within the scene without ending it entirely. For example, if my domme is hitting me with a flogger too much in spot, I can call yellow/ say the yellow safeword to communicate that I need her to stay away from hitting that spot for a bit. It's super common and very important to have a yellow safeword so that people can prevent issues and don't have to call red.

I agree. Calling a yellow safeword or a mid-safeword is super common. And if it's within the person's limits, still teasing with the toy or item while shifting or stopping something is usually okay. It's a nuanced situation, of course, but I do think the Dom handled it well considering it was his first time navigating a safeword scenario.