“I haven’t taken it off, boy. Not until you want to.”
I didn’t think he’d want to hear when I wanted that to be, but I just nodded and swallowed. My throat was sore from the face fucking and shouting. Before I could ask for anything, though, Master produced a bottle of water for me. I drank slowly, knowing better than to rush.
“How do you feel?” he asked, kissing my temple.
I blushed. “Amazing, Master. Sore in all the right ways.” I smiled shyly up at him, not meeting his gaze.
“That makes two of us,” he murmured, kissing my forehead again. “Well, I’m not sore.” He smirked and I chuckled.
“I’m glad I am.” I knew my face was red, but I couldn’t care. “I’ll be able to feel this for at least a few days.”
“Good. I hope you’ll think of me when you sit.”
I sucked in a breath. He couldn’t mean that the way I hoped. “I’m sure I will.”
He gifted me with that smile again. “Glad to hear it.”
“You’re way too pretty with that smile,” I said before my brain could catch up to my mouth.
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty?”
My face heated horribly. “Uh… sorry, Master, I didn’t mean it like that. Just that—”
He cut me off with a kiss. Long, slow, and so thorough my cock wanted to perk up in response. I willed it down, knowing nothing more would happen with this wonderful man tonight and not wanting to spoil it by having to jack off. By the time he broke the kiss, my breathing was ragged.
I didn’t know what to say, and afraid I’d put my foot in my mouth again, kept my silence. I took another sip of water and savored being in his arms. Resting my head on his chest, it was obvious he was as content as me to let the silence sit.
A shadow fell over me, and I looked up to see Master Nash standing over us. I opened my mouth to speak, but my Master beat me to it.
“Nash,” he said, nodding.
“Hello, Mal. Someone said you’d won him, but I didn’t believe it. Thought you were out of the scene.”
I blinked up at my Master in surprise. He tightened his arms briefly.
“I was. But apparently I’m back now. You can blame them for bringing me back,” he said, tilting his head toward Mistress Sammy and Cam, who grinned. “And this one—” He pointed at me. “—for me wanting to stay.”
I caught my breath at that.
He’d been out? And
I
am the reason he wants to stay?
I couldn’t begin to figure out how to accept that. Maybe it just meant he liked what we did in general, and I didn’t make for a bad scene, so he felt he could come back. That made more sense to me than anything else.
“Were you my boy’s trainer?”
Then again, he kept saying “my boy.”
“Yup, I was.”
“Well, you did a damn fine job, Nash. He’s a beautiful boy.”
“That he is,” Master Nash agreed, winking at me. I blushed brightly and buried my face in my Master’s neck. “He’s a bit shy, that one, but he was an eager student. If I’d been even slightly bi, I’d have kept him for myself.”
I peeked up at Master Nash and blinked.
He grinned. “Yup, boy. But he’s much better for you. For one thing, he prefers cock to pussy. And for another, Master Mal’s a good Dom and a good man. You couldn’t hardly do better.”
That was high praise from Master Nash. He knew most of the Doms who frequented the club, and I’d heard his opinion on some of them more than once. A lot of it had been less than flattering, so to hear him praise Master Mal eased any minor concerns I might have had.
Of course, I didn’t really have
any
. He’d won the submissive in me with only a few words, and that had only been reinforced through our scene and aftercare.
“Thank you, Master Nash,” I said belatedly. Master Mal hadn’t said I could speak freely specifically. I glanced up at my Master, and he kissed my forehead as if he knew what my hesitance was about and was telling me it was okay.
“He can be a bit of a dork, but he’s a good guy,” Master Nash said.
My Master replied by flipping him off, making him laugh, and I couldn’t stop my grin.
“You can see he’s fine. Now bug off and let me enjoy my boy for a little while yet.”
Master Nash gave me a wink I didn’t quite understand and nodded at my Master. “Sammy, Cam. Nice to see you,” he said as he turned. They waved as he walked away.
I burrowed into Master’s arms again, burying my face in his neck. He smelled of sweat, something foresty, and
male
.
“Like what you smell, boy?” he asked softly.
“Yes, Master.”
Master buried his nose in my hair and inhaled, sending a shiver down my spine. I wanted to ask if he liked what he smelled, but now that my head was clearing, I was a little afraid. What if this was all we had? If he didn’t want to even play with me again, like the rest of the Doms I’d played with?
My heart started pounding as I thought about walking away from him tonight and never seeing him again, never feeling his kiss or his flogger, never hearing that commanding voice. I wanted him in that moment, for more than a play session or a night, even without knowing anything else about him. I wanted him more than I’d wanted anything else before in my life. Something about him felt so good, so
right
, and my throat closed, keeping the questions inside.
“You smell wonderful, boy,” he whispered into my hair, and my heart slowed just a bit.
I’d been warned more than once that the Doms here played for a night, maybe a second or third, but never more than that. Master Nash made sure I understood most of the unattached Doms had no interest in a long-term boy. Not that there were many gay Doms to begin with. I’d played with some already, had a night here and there when Master Nash hadn’t been available. None of them had sent me into subspace. And none of them had wanted to see me more than once.
And despite the things Master Mal had said, I had no illusions that he meant them and wanted me for more than this.
But… he
had
spent a thousand dollars to play with me. Of course, it’d really been a donation to charity and quite clearly for one scene. But maybe, even if it was just so he felt he got his money’s worth, he’d play again.
It was better than nothing.
I tried to push the worries away. I had at least a few more minutes with him, and I wanted to take everything of him I could. I took another deep breath, trying to burn his scent into my brain. I savored the light fur under my face, the strength holding me tight.
I didn’t believe in love at first sight. But I most definitely fell in lust at first sight with Master. And I was pretty sure it wouldn’t take much for me to lose my heart to him.
I’d never been in love before. I’d had crushes, plenty of them, mostly on my straight friends and a professor or two in college. But none of the guys I’d been with since I started truly exploring my sexuality had even been a real ping on my heart.
I hadn’t even felt anything like this with the other Doms I’d played with. Even the ones who’d gotten me close to subspace hadn’t made me feel like I could crawl inside them and stay there forever.
And I wanted to do that with Master Mal, so much. It scared me more than a little.
I still had so much to lose if my orientation made it back to my family. I hadn’t been out of college a full year, had barely three months at my job. I’d had no chance to build up any kind of savings, much less enough to find a place to live and replace my car.
Then there was the fact that I’d lose my family. They weren’t perfect, not by a long shot. Mother and Father had plenty of problems, not the least of which was their conservative faith. If they found out not only that I liked dick but that I preferred the man attached to that dick to beat me regularly, they’d probably both have a heart attack. And they were all the family I had. If they found out and disowned me… well, I’d be completely alone, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.
All at the same time, I imagined walking away from this man, never seeing him again or playing with him again, and my breath hitched and heart thudded. I wasn’t sure if it would be better or worse to be able to play now and again and still go home at the end of the night alone.
I needed to stop worrying about it, stop thinking about it. He was here for now. I could enjoy the feel of him around me and deal with the rest later, when I was home alone in my bed. Turning my head, I dropped a kiss on his chest around the harness, ran my fingers through his chest hair again, loving how soft it felt.
“Are you feeling better, boy?” Master rumbled.
I tried not to let the disappointment show. “Yes, Master.” Physically, I felt great, and I was sure he wasn’t interested in the emotional side.
“Ready to get up?”
I didn’t think he’d really want to hear the truth, so I swallowed my emotions and nodded. “Yes, I think so.”
“Good.” He pulled the blanket off, and I got to my feet. I stretched a bit, feeling the welts and skin pull. “Come take a look,” Master said as he stood. He took my hand and pulled me over to the mirror, turning my back toward it.
I twisted enough to look over my shoulder and my eyes widened, and despite my shaky emotions, a grin stretched across my face. Welts from the cane stretched from just above my knees all the way to the top of my very red ass. The paddle had formed distinct impressions under those and a few bruises had started forming already. The insides of my thighs had red marks from the crop. And my back was a stunning crisscross of lines from the flogger.
It was
gorgeous
.
“Oh,” I whispered in awe.
Master stepped up until he was close to me. “I like seeing my marks on you.” He ghosted a hand over my back, then cupped my ass and squeezed slightly, making me moan. “You’re beautiful like this.”
I blushed. Comments like that were not helping my already roiling emotions. I tried to just take it as pride in himself as a Dom. “Thank you, Master,” I whispered. “It’s… I’m very happy with them.”
I looked up at Master and was surprised when he caught my lips in another kiss. He wrapped his arms around me—carefully—and pulled me against him. I melted into him, giving up my mouth for his kiss and getting lost in the feel of his lips and tongue and mastery.
He kept it soft, though, slow and almost sweet. When he pulled back, his dark eyes glittered with something I couldn’t name—or was afraid to. It looked like possession, but I couldn’t credit it, reminding myself I had no experience with anything like that and could easily be misreading it.
“Where are your street clothes? I’m assuming you showed up in more than that jock strap.”
I shoved the worries away and chuckled. “Uh, yes. I’m not interested in getting arrested or scaring the vanillas. I have them in a locker in the changing room.”
He beamed. “Good. Why don’t we get dressed and go get some coffee or something.”
My eyes widened and I stared up at him. “Really?”
His grin faded a little. “If you don’t want to—”
“No, no! I do. I… yes, please, Master.”
The smile came back. “You can stop calling me ‘Master,’ now.”
I bit my lip. Did that mean he wanted me to stop? I decided just to ask. “Do you want me to?”
“I like hearing you call me that. But you don’t have to.”
“I….” I took a breath. “I like to.”
He nodded once. “Then do. Though… you might want to stick to Sir in public.” He grinned and I laughed.
“Yes, I suppose that would be better.”
He kissed me again, hard and fast, then let go. “All right, then. I have wipes in my bag to clean the toys. Take care of them, then get dressed.”
“Yes, Master,” I said, then peeked up at him, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek.
He rewarded it with another of those smiles and kissed me back on the forehead, then swatted my sore ass.
I hurried to obey. By the time I’d cleaned everything off, folded the blanket, and repacked his bag, I was looking forward to putting my clothes back on. The dungeon was colder than I’d realized.
I stopped in the changing room at the mirror to look at my back again.
While I was inventorying my welts, Master Nash appeared in the mirror. He whistled. “He did work you over, didn’t he, boy?”
“Yes, Master Nash.” I couldn’t stop smiling.
Master Nash laughed. “And proud of yourself, aren’t you?” He reached out and ruffled my hair when I nodded. “Well, your Master’s waiting for you in the social area. Better get moving.”
“Thank you, Master Nash.” I grabbed my boxer briefs and jeans and pulled them on, wincing slightly when they scraped over my raw skin. I was grateful for the soft T-shirt I had to wear between my sweater and skin. Then I sat gingerly on the padded bench to put my socks and shoes back on.
Finally dressed and warming up, I made my way out to the social area to find Master Mal sitting on a couch by Mistress Sammy. He’d changed into jeans snug enough to show his hard thighs, and a plain black T-shirt that hugged the muscles in his chest and stretched over his biceps. How he could make a simple T-shirt look so good, I had no idea. But it made my mouth water almost as much as the leather harness had.
I hurried over and knelt next to him, and he acknowledged me by putting his hand on my head. “…so, yes. I won’t kill him. Go easy on him.” Master smirked at Cam, who grinned.
“Told you,” Cam said, sticking his tongue out.
I covered my mouth to hide the giggle.
“Laughing at me, boy? Didn’t I beat your ass enough for you tonight?”
I swallowed and looked up at my Master. “I wouldn’t dream of laughing at you, Master,” I said with as straight a face as I could muster.
“Oh, there
is
a bit of brat in you.” Master threaded his fingers in my hair, fisted it, and pulled on it. I whimpered at the slight pain, and Master’s smirk spread into a grin. “I like it.”
I blushed and he let go of my hair, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck and pulling on me. I rose to my knees as he guided me up to him and kissed me again.
“Can’t get enough of that mouth,” he murmured for my ears only when we broke apart.
I started to bite my lip, but stopped when I remembered his command from earlier. “I’m glad you like it,” I replied, and if I sounded breathless, I didn’t care.