9:23 A.M. Last night was sweet, boy.
10:08 a.m. Did you unstick yourself from the sheets yet?
10:42 a.m. Didn’t wake you when I left. Too much temptation when you’re conscious.
11:18 a.m. What dessert should we try next?
Work went by both faster and slower spiked with anticipation created by exchanging flirting texts with David. Which was why the silence of four unanswered texts was damned distracting. Tai jabbed at the screen again, trying to force it to answer. Sub drop? It had been a while since David had had a bad drop, and never this far removed from a scene.
If something was going on with him, Tai wanted to know. When he got back from letting Jez out at lunch, he called. It rang until he thought it would roll to voicemail, but David answered.
“Hi. I’m kind of busy. I’ll call you back.”
Tai was left frowning at the call-ended screen until he shoved away from his desk and vented some frustration with forceful filing. It bugged him more than he wanted to admit. He was used to David hiding with some humor or pushing at him with a what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it brattiness, but not to him sounding flat, brittle.
It was this shit with his dad, that Tai was sure of. He could easily run a background check, find all the skeletons David was reluctant to dig for. Tension seized the back of his neck and squeezed. He’d done that for Gina—for Sammie—when Josh had come back, and Gina hadn’t been grateful. The exact opposite. The memory of being compared to a psycho stalker still stung.
Tai retrieved his lineup of drug-test packages for the afternoon. He’d suggest running a check to David. When he wasn’t in sub space. If David wanted, then Tai could do it.
The endless stream of afternoon check-ins and drug tests weren’t enough to keep Tai from checking his silent phone. Every whined excuse from a probie cranked the vise at the base of Tai’s skull tighter. And because that wasn’t fun enough, one of the teen girls he’d inherited from Bob Meade got out of summer school and went home to hold a knife at her mother’s throat.
By the time the Violation of Probation had been signed off on and filed and Lizzie Borden Junior was safely locked up, it was seven thirty. Even after Tai collected Jez for her much-needed walk and fed her, David still hadn’t called back, and a double dose of extra-strength painkillers hadn’t scraped away any of Tai’s headache.
Tai wasn’t going to get another uninformative brush-off. He’d go over and find out for himself what was going on.
His phone rang in the car, and he snatched it up instantly. It wasn’t David.
It was DiBlasi.
“How’s that trade working out for ya, ya big bastard?”
“What the fuck?”
“You were all bent on dumping that rich twat on me. You like your ride up to Towson tonight? Having fun filing the VOP? Sutton ream you out?”
Tai put a hand on the back of his neck and tried to flatten out the pain, or at least spread it out. “Actually, Sutton was glad I was the one on it, so shit got done faster than the newsfeed could pick it up. As opposed to dicks who leave an hour early and stay on the clock.”
DiBlasi faltered a little on that. “You try and say no to your wife and baby girl when they’re planning a wedding. Just thought you oughta know what you traded.”
David. A chance to get to know his boy. Who was today hell-bent on making Tai crazy by ignoring him. “Oh?”
“For a one-percent motherfucker, he’s been all right. Shows up for his meetings, tests clean. Today he calls, all polite and proper, asking about how he files a change of address.”
The headache turned into red-hot spikes being driven into the back of his brain. Where the fuck was David going?
“He can’t leave the county.”
“Don’t snarl at me, Fonoti. I ain’t your probie. Yeah. He knows. Says he’s been having problems with his lease and landlord. Thought those rich bastards were the landlords. But the point being, he called me. How many addresses you been to, chasing Meade’s other girl juvie around the fucking county?”
“Fuck. You.”
Tai shut off the phone and threw it in the footwell. Jez nudged at his armpit with a whimper, and he reached back to reassure her. David was going to be goddamned lucky Jez was there. She was the only thing making him keep control of his temper.
DAVID ANSWERED the door, then folded his arms and leaned against the frame, lashes dropping in that lazy way he used to piss Tai off. “Did we have an appointment, Sir?”
There was nothing remotely respectful about his tone.
“Do I need one to come over?” Tai swallowed back the boy he wanted to use to finish his question. Safer to keep this way out of D/s space.
Jez was looking anxiously between David’s kitchen and back over her shoulder to plan a retreat.
David bent to her. “Hi, sweetheart. I’m very pleased to see you.” He rubbed her head. “I got you a special toy today.” He grabbed a long, furry squirrel-shaped chew toy off the counter.
Jez sat as she’d been taught, her eyes bright and fixed on the toy.
“Catch.” He tossed it up in front of her, and she lunged, jaws snapping on it and head violently shaking any remaining life from her prey. She flipped it in the air, then caught it, delighting in the squeak from inside, and trotted off to rend it to pieces.
Tai let out a frustrated breath. “You could have run it by me.”
David stepped up to him. “Is there an approved-toys list? I need your permission for that?”
“You need my hand on your ass.” Tai squeezed the back of his neck. “What the fuck is going on, David? When were you going to tell me you were moving?”
David’s shock and surprise was the worst kind of answer. He retreated to the other side of the counter. “Do you check up on me at work?”
“No.” And thank God he hadn’t run that background check. “Your PO said something to me.”
“He knows about us? I thought that would be very bad.”
“No. He—Never mind. I think the point is you planning to move and keeping it from me. Christ, it’s the only thing I’ve asked you for. To be honest with me.”
“And when the hell have I lied?”
“Running and hiding isn’t very honest.”
“For your fucking information, you opinionated asshole, me moving was all about you.”
“What?” The headache spread into Tai’s jaw. He interlocked his fingers behind his head and tried to stretch the agony out. He’d never seen—heard David so angry. Never had it directed completely Tai’s way.
David stomped over to the small bar near the balcony, ran his fingers over one of the bottles, and then came back and poured himself an orange juice. “Want something?” As quick as the explosion began, it was over, David’s voice mild as he held up a glass.
“An explanation.” Tai planted himself on one of the stools at the counter.
David paced on the other side, his orange juice untouched. “The management company here has a very selective policy regarding pets.”
“You said they were allowed.”
“They are. Except those that become a nuisance or are perceived as a threat, which means”—David made air quotes—“such dog breeds with a reputation for violence, including but not limited to American pit bulls, German shepherds, Doberman pinschers, and rottweilers, are not permitted.” He sighed and stopped to wrap his fingers around his glass. “Nothing about that rabid dachshund on the third floor who goes berserk in the elevator and tries to make off with my Achilles tendon.”
“So it’s about Jez?” The headache eased back from a ten to a nine and a half.
“Apparently if you both continue to visit, I’m facing a sheriff eviction in fourteen days. That probably won’t look good to the court.”
“They can’t evict you with just one notice.”
David took a sudden interest in his orange juice, his words half swallowed by the glass as he drank. “Ah, they can when it’s the third notice.”
“What?” The skull pressure ratcheted back up to eleven.
“I had an email. And a voicemail message. The certified mail today was a bit more peremptory. I guess we shouldn’t have let her piss all over the tires of that prick’s Mercedes.”
Tai’s fingers itched to grab David and haul him across the counter, but he slammed an open palm against the sealed granite as his next best option. “You ignored the first two notices?”
“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. Another is that their policy is asinine and prejudicial.”
“That was irresponsible. Now you have to—”
“How is it irresponsible? I know I have to keep an address on file with the probation office, and I damned well knew it couldn’t be yours.”
“You should have—”
“I found a hotel that will, for an exorbitant deposit, allow Jez as a guest. Your Officer DiBlasi didn’t think highly of my plan to take up residence on the Nancy.” David turned to the sink and began washing out his glass.
“David—”
“If you’re going to say my name with that amount of disgust in your voice, call me Beach,” he said to the running water. “I thought you’d—I wanted to present it as a done deal. Something I took care of the right way. On my own. Something you’d approve of.”
Tai wanted to wrap his arms around David, ease the protective hunch in those shoulders. But Tai had come over here furious, and that wasn’t a good time to start a scene. Telling himself that didn’t do a damned thing to ease the need to get his hands on his—David. Tai stepped around the counter.
David spun the faucet off but spoke with his back to Tai. “I like you spending the night. The evenings are short. And even on the weekends, well, I know you have Sammie this Sunday, and that is really important, and I have to do this thing for Gavin. I owe him. I really do. He may be milking it for all it’s worth, but he saved my life and—”
Tai lost the fight with his better nature and reached out to drag David against him. “Take a breath.” He brushed a kiss behind David’s ear. “I already have a headache.”
David pulled free, moving to the end of the counter. “Wow. That’s a new one. I’m usually much too incompetent to inflict anything more serious than fleeting frustration.”
“That’s a pretty big jump from what I said.”
“At least you won’t have to come in after me.”
Tai rubbed his forehead. “Exactly what are we talking about now?”
David shrugged. “I’d just as soon forget about it all.”
The pressure inside Tai’s skull was nothing compared to the boulder slamming into his diaphragm. His nuts hiked up tight and hard. Over. Like that.
“I think there’s an Orioles game on again, if you want to watch it.” David started toward the couch.
Tai’s lungs stopped seizing and a bit of oxygen reached his brain. Forget the conversation.
Okay. That was fine. It didn’t seem to be doing them much good anyway. “Baseball’s like that. Pretty much every night for six months.”
David nodded, picking up the remote. “What channel is it, then?”
“You pick something.”
David arched a brow, blue eyes wide, then nodded, flicking around to some kind of mysteries-of-the-supernatural documentary, if you could call that bullshit documented. He didn’t join Tai on the couch but bounced around, filling the water bowl he had for Jez, playing with her and her new squirrel toy.
“Do you want to watch this?”
David threw the toy for Jez and then came over to the couch. “I’m fine with baseball.”
“C’mere.”
David walked around to Tai’s side, lowering himself to kneel on the floor.
Tai stopped himself from the instinctive stroke of David’s hair. Things were too unsettled to go there right now. “No. I meant sit here with me.” He patted the couch.
“Are you tired of us doing that?”
“No.” Tai’s voice had so much force Jez stopped shaking the soggy strip of fur. He softened his tone. “I’m not tired of it. Or of you, if that’s what you’re asking.”
David sat next to him but still felt miles away. “The hotel is right downtown. You can park in the garage for free.”
“Do you need help moving?”
“No, I’ll take a suitcase. My stuff can stay here since I still have a lease. That is, if you want to see me there.”
“David—” Tai pulled him in against his side. “—yes. I want to see you there.” After running a hand down David’s arm, Tai closed his fingers around the cuff on David’s wrist. “You’re my boy.”
As they settled on the couch to watch, Tai tried not to mock the overly serious tone the narrator was taking about the dramatized events that took place in the Richardson home over the course of “one mysterious summer,” confining himself to a deriding snort when the word mysterious was also applied to a figure, a sound, a room, and a clock. The program might have been stupid, but the company wasn’t. His fingers wandered around on David’s arm, rubbing the cuff, stroking his fingers, massaging the hard, muscled shoulder. Tai rolled his head on his neck, the tension melting into the comfortable cradle of David’s sofa.
By the time wild theories were being flung around in summary, Tai’s headache had faded to a faint pulse, though the muscles of the arm and back resting against him were still rigid with tension. Tai would see what a little making out on the couch could do about that, but before he got started, David pushed to his feet and went into the bathroom.
Tai switched the channel over to check the score of the O’s game and then stared as David came back out with a bath brush that he put in Tai’s lap.
The internet could be a hell of a dangerous place for information, especially on D/s.
That was one serious escalation, from a limit forbidding spanking to an implement that easily bruised even toughened, hard-to-mark sub asses. Had David discovered a masochistic kink? No, the crotch of his cargo shorts was untented, though his eyes were dark and his breath came fast.
“Sit down.”
David folded stiffly onto the couch.
Tai turned the brush over in his hand, feeling the weight in the flat-backed wooden head. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Last night you said if I broke silent mode, it wouldn’t be your hand. I wondered what—then I saw this.”
Tai had meant his belt, maybe a ruler if he could find one, something short where he could control the impact.
“You said I’d be sore, and when I looked, this seemed pretty serious.” David’s eyes tracked the motion of the brush as Tai swung it and tapped it lightly against his palm.
“That doesn’t explain why you brought it to me now. You didn’t break your silence last night.”
“You told me I needed to trust you enough to ask for what I needed.”
Point for David there. “Did something happen you haven’t told me about?”
David shook his head.
If he got off on it, if he needed it to calm down, it would be one thing. Yes, Tai was pissed David hadn’t come to him about the problem with the lease, that David had ignored the first two warnings, but after a shitty day, how much frustration would Tai be venting on David’s poor ass? Tai let the brush rest across his knees again and made his voice as soft as he could get it. “I don’t feel in the space for this.”
“Oh.” David got up and walked to the balcony, slid the door open, and stepped outside.
Tai dropped the brush on the couch and followed.
After the cool of the apartment, stepping through the hot night air felt like moving through soup, a soup of marine diesel and dead fish given the smells from the harbor. Then a breeze came, chasing it all away, and it was only the sparkling lights out on the water, summer air moving over them, lifting the hair from Tai’s neck like a kiss. And David was ready to give this up so Tai and Jez could spend the night with him.
David had one hand on the rail as he turned to face Tai. “Is there some kind of safeword for Doms?”
Tai let out an amused breath. “Not usually necessary. Though some people do switch between the roles.”
David nodded. “It’s just—I don’t—It’s how I know to be around you. It feels like I’ve done something wrong, that you don’t want it. You told me it was who you are.”
Christ, Tai had been one epic asshole tonight. He dragged David close, wrapping him in a hug until David let out a long, shaky breath. “You’re right. I’ve been giving you some majorly fucked-up signals since I got here, and that’s wrong. Maybe you should try out the brush on me. Did you go buy it today?” The nod rubbed against Tai’s chest. “How did that feel?”
“Terrifying. But—” David turned his head so that his mouth was aimed near Tai’s ear. “Right and exciting. I felt so stupid when I opened that letter. Then pissed-off enough to stomp into the management office and tell them where to shove their bigoted ideas about dog breeds. Getting a matched pair of Dobermans as a fuck-you didn’t seem fair to the dogs, so I ended up buying the brush. I felt somewhat less crazy after, so then I found a hotel and called Officer DiBlasi.”
Tai lifted David’s chin. “And how do you feel now?”
David’s gaze flicked away until Tai tightened his grip. Barely meeting Tai’s gaze, David blurted, “Like there’s a thing hanging over me. I need to do something. Go somewhere. Try something.”
David needed. Tai wanted. A connection deep and satisfying and as certain as when Sammie first focused on his face and closed her tiny fist around his finger.
A gentle suggestion in Tai’s grip, and David sank to his knees on the balcony with a shudder that echoed through them both. David rubbed his face against Tai’s groin. He knew, deep down in his gut, not only would David kneel for him out here, yield under the sky, with the risk of eyes watching from neighboring balconies or the dark windows on the next wharf, but with the slightest encouragement, David would suck him off. Power surged under Tai’s skin. He could light up the harbor with it.
He dragged David to his feet. “Inside, now.”
Once the balcony door was closed behind them, Tai tipped David’s face up and kissed him hard. With a groan, David opened his mouth and took it, answering the rough thrust of Tai’s tongue, pushing to flatten their lips against teeth and bone. Hand tight in David’s hair, Tai yanked David’s head back and licked a line up his throat.
“If you think you need to be punished, go get that brush and bring it to me.” Tai released him, letting David find his balance, letting him decide.
After a few shaky breaths, David walked over to the couch and picked up the brush.
Then—damn, but he was perfect—he knelt and offered the brush, resting on open palms.
Tai ran his fingers over David’s hot, swollen lips before grabbing the handle. “Take a piss first. Then go into the bedroom. Take off your clothes and wait for me.”
“Yes, Sir,” David whispered.
Tai caught his breath as David walked away. When he was out of sight, Tai checked over the brush. The back was varnished, sealing away any rough spots that could drive in a sliver or break the skin. The heft of it, concentrated in a six-inch-diameter-circle head, would be a lethal enough impact. Tai never used an implement he hadn’t tried on himself first—or with a single tail, let Nic try on him. Tai took a few practice swings on the top of the sofa, wincing at the dent, then choked up on the long handle to shorten the swing. He smacked the side of his thigh, sucked in a pained breath, then aimed for his ass and jumped a little at the impact. Christ. David was going to get more than he bargained for. Tai had topped for heavy-sensation bottoms and pain sluts, learning from Nic how to dole out the impacts, timing, and placement. He’d punished service subs who craved the correction and brats who couldn’t stop themselves from pushing. David might go the brat route sometimes, but that wasn’t what he was asking for now. He wanted this—he’d made the choice clear—but what drove him wasn’t like anything Tai had seen.
David had taken to D/s like he’d been waiting for it his whole life. There were bumps and adjustments, but he was always straining for more with a half-frightened, half-hungry look in his eyes. Tai started to smooth his gauntlets only to realize they were still at home, that he hadn’t planned on any of this. Now David was waiting for Tai to give him the release he needed. Tai remembered his own eagerness, wanting to discover everything, try everything. Taking a firm grip on the brush, he locked down the fear that he couldn’t, wouldn’t be enough for David. At least not enough to keep him.
As Tai came into the bedroom, David looked up from his seat on the bed. Anticipation had him licking his lips and rubbing his hands over the bedcover while his feet circled in opposite directions. Tai switched on the lamp and drew the curtain over the balcony.
“Stand up.”
David bounced to his feet, and Tai selected a seat where he could angle David across his lap.
“Come here.”
David stood in front of him. There was a jump in his muscles, a fine vibration like a tremble. It reminded Tai of the horses headed for the gate he’d seen when he worked summers at Pimlico. The sharp edge of expectation, an explosion waiting beneath the surface. David’s body might have been excited, but his cock was soft, balls loose and heavy, though a deep breath brought Tai the smell of sex in the sweat from David’s crotch. “Did you jerk off today?”
“No, Sir.”
“It’s all right if this turns you on.”
“It doesn’t when it’s happening. It hurts too much. It’s after. Because—it’s like the cuffs. I can still feel you. And it doesn’t hurt for long.”
“You might not say that this time, boy. Let’s go.” Tai pulled David’s wrist and settled him across Tai’s quads. The bed supported David’s torso, while his feet were on the floor.
Tai warmed him up with brisk slaps, catching David’s hand as soon as he reached for his ass, pinning it to his back. He alternated the slaps with rubbing and squeezing, sensitizing the skin while easing David into the sensation. As soon as his ass started to color, Tai stepped up the force of his swats until he heard grunts spill out along with David’s pants.
When Tai stopped, David’s body went slack against him. The room was suddenly quiet, David’s breath the only sound. Even the air-conditioner fan had shut down. Tai ran a hand down David’s spine, then felt the heat of his skin.
David’s breath turned to a hiss. “Shit. I forgot how much it hurts.”
Tai smacked him hard. “Why are you being spanked?”
“Because I asked you to punish me. Because I know I shouldn’t have ignored the first two notices, and I guess I should have told you what I was planning. Sir.”
Tai picked up the brush. “You guess?” He placed the smooth wooden back on David’s ass and rubbed it in a circle. “Did it affect us both?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Tai tapped lightly, bouncing it off one cheek and then the other. David squeezed his ass tight.
“Don’t clench like that, boy. You’ll take what you asked for.” And there’d be less bruising, less ache tomorrow if he stayed relaxed.
“Yes, Sir.”
Tai had considered starting over David’s cargo shorts. The material wasn’t heavy like denim, but it would still let him get a feel for the impact of the wood before it stung and slammed deep into his skin. But Tai needed to see what effect he was having so he could stop before he went too far.
He gave him a solid spank, turning his wrist so the weight of the brush and not Tai’s strength was what David felt. The result was electric. David reared off the bed.
“Back down, right now.”
Just as quickly, David got back into position. Tai shifted to pin David’s legs under one of his own. “Give me your hands.” He didn’t want to chance hitting David’s wrist or fingers. Hitching David closer, Tai gripped both wrists in his free hand.
“H-how long?”
“I’ll decide that, boy. You take it.”
The sag of David’s weight told Tai he was on the right track. His own heart hammering high and hard in his throat, he laid on the brush. No force, but the weight and the jerk of his wrist delivered a bruising thud and sharp, echoing sting. David flinched at every stroke, breaths sounding trapped. Tai checked to make sure his mouth wasn’t covered.
“Don’t hold your breath.”
“I’m sorry,” David spat out.
Tai nailed him three times on the same spot, low on the cheek.
“Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.” David’s gasp was full of desperation.
Tai stopped, leaving the brush on the bed while he rubbed David’s ass, taking in the reaction, the ragged breathing, screwed-shut eyes, fingers and toes clenching as his body absorbed the pain.
Tai picked up the brush again, resting it on the top curve. David didn’t have much room, but he shrank away. Tai tightened his grip on David’s wrists. “Fight it if you want to, boy. I’ve got you.”
Tai dropped the smacks faster, concentrating on one spot at a time until David jerked. Tai drove him harder, felt the rebellion rise up in a push from David’s legs, and held on as he tried to buck off.
“Please, Sir. Please. I can’t.”
The rush of power Tai had felt when David knelt on the balcony was nothing compared to this. It was dizzying, hot, strong. He was enough. He could make a man as jaded as David feel something he craved so badly. And Tai would keep him safe through it all.
“No choice, boy.” Tai aimed for the top of David’s thighs, and he struggled harder. “You’re mine.”
“Please.” There was an edge of surrender in that plea.
“Get your ass up for me.”
David stopped bucking and tipped his ass as much as he could with Tai pinning his chest and legs. Tai flipped the brush and dragged the bristles over the cherry-bright skin. David shuddered but kept his ass tilted up. There were some darker spots, a hint of a bruise where Tai had focused on the crease of David’s thighs. He’d feel it a little tomorrow, maybe. Tai scraped with the brush, back and forth over the sore skin.
David groaned. “Please, Sir. I don’t think I can—”
“Almost done.” Because they were almost there. “Trust me to give you what you need.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Don’t think, just feel, David.”
Tai started laying down smacks in a rhythm, following a pattern like the five spots on dice. Slow at first, listening to David’s breath, then faster. David pushed up to meet the brush, body there even if his head wasn’t yet. He was almost relaxed, a steady exhale.
Tai didn’t give him a warning but increased the force and speed, laying it all on the spots that were already darkest. David made one more attempt to fling himself off Tai’s lap, then collapsed like he’d come, surrender in every inch of him, limp and vulnerable to the smack of the brush on his ass.
His voice was thick as he slurred “Yessir,” over and over.
Tai tossed the brush on the mattress and helped David to sit up. His nose was running, his eyes a bit wet, but his breathing got under control fast.
“Good boy.” Tai kissed him gently. “Tell me how you feel.”
“Sore, damn.” David leaned his head into Tai’s shoulder. “Sweet Lord, that hurt. But that feeling of something I had to do—it’s better. Thank you.”
Tai studied David’s face. “You know how we end this, David.”
David’s breath came sharp against Tai’s skin. “Sir….” He looked up from under spiky lashes.
If things were going to work between them, Tai couldn’t fail them because of the appeal in those wet blue eyes. “You needed that, yes, but this is something you earned.” He stood and dragged a pillow to the center of the bed. “Over it.” Tai didn’t give David time to think about it, tugging him so that the pillow put his ass up.
“Fuck me, please, Sir.”
That decided it. Tai picked up the brush and dealt out a good swing. “Fuck. Oh fuck. Tai—Sir.”
Tai lowered his chest onto David’s back, breathing in his ear. “This isn’t just about you, is it, boy?”
“No, Sir.”
“It wouldn’t have been hard to call me. To answer a text and let me know what was going on.”
“No, Sir.” Now David did sound sorry. Probably more because of what he was dreading.
“This is so you remember.” Tai pushed himself away. “Ten. If you kick, reach back, or swear, there will be extra. After each one, you will tell me what you’re going to do better.” Tai shifted his grip to shorten the swing, though from how dark the bottom half of David’s ass was, even that would be enough to make his point.
The brush connected with David’s ass, pushing deep into his reddened skin. “One. Let’s hear it.”
“I won’t ignore things, Sir.”
David’s fingers grabbed up fistfuls of bedding on the second stroke. “I will not ignore your texts, Sir.”
By seven, David’s feet were flexing rapidly, toes curling and uncurling, but they stayed on the bed. His answers had become repetitive, but sincere. “I won’t ignore problems, I promise, Sir, please.”
Tai wasn’t sadistic in the sense of just the idea of causing pain turning him on, but the sight of his David suffering so beautifully, holding himself there obediently, made heat prickle in Tai’s nuts, pump blood to stiffen his dick. But his boy still had to push. On ten, his feet kicked, drumming into the mattress.
“Don’t move. Two more.” Tai slid the grip down. Two full swings, even without muscle behind them, should take care of that.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” David said immediately, but Tai gave him the two extra spanks, and David held himself perfectly still.
“Stay right there.”
Tai found some kind of lotion in the bathroom and soaked a washcloth in cool water. David wiped his face on the washcloth as Tai smoothed lotion over the superheated skin. David arched into the touch.
“Good boy.” Tai stripped off his clothes and climbed on the bed. He licked a drop of sweat from David’s neck. “Very good.”
David came willingly as Tai pulled him onto his side, spooning up against him, though he flinched when his ass came into contact with Tai’s dick. Shifting slightly, David eased back and pushed his ass into Tai.
“Can we fuck now, Sir?”
“No.”
“But—”
“I want you to be quiet and feel that for a bit.” Tai moved the arm under them to place his hand over David’s heart, while pinning his hips with the other.
“Yes, Sir,” David sighed out, but his heart thudded against Tai’s palm.
TAI’S BREATH was steady in Beach’s ear. Even in sleep, Tai held Beach firmly. He’d gotten used to falling asleep like that, wrapped up in or pinned under Tai’s strength. On the occasions when Beach had shared a bed with a sex partner, Beach had preferred sleeping face-to-face, not touching. It was more convenient for talking, or to see if anyone was up for another round, or to make an excuse for departure. No matter how he and Tai fell asleep, Tai kept some body part on top of Beach, as if to keep him from slipping away. Usually he found it charming, flattering to be significant enough to merit a portion of unconscious attention. Charming wasn’t what Beach would call it tonight. Consuming, maybe. Like he’d dived into the heart of a fire and somehow was safe, but he couldn’t escape, wasn’t sure he wanted to.
It wasn’t merely figurative. Tai radiated a good deal of body heat, but the biggest factor was Beach’s ass feeling like he was sitting on hot coals. The—say it, Beach, you asked for it—spanking had calmed the feeling that he was coming out of his skin but left him with another problem. The more sensation faded from fuck-that-hurts to a glow, the more Beach’s dick wanted to party. Somewhere between that eye-watering pain and the dread that he couldn’t take it was a warm flood of pride that he could offer Sir that much surrender. The more the simmer faded, the more pride and belonging built.
But right now his ass was hot and itchy from Tai’s pubes, the breath across Beach’s ear a furnace blast, Tai’s whole body blazing like sand on an August beach at noon. The cool glass of the balcony door was only a few steps away. Incremental shifts moved Beach far enough to risk lifting Tai’s arm so Beach could slide out from under it.
Tai yanked Beach back. “No.”
Despite how much Beach had been craving the respite in a body length of cold glass, that one word moved through him like a complete reset. All levels back to normal.
A second later Tai’s voice rumbled, “Need to piss?”
“No.” Beach tried to find a cooler spot on the sheet for one of his legs. “Just hot.”
Tai chuckled. “I can feel where you’re hot, boy.” He ground his crotch into Beach’s ass and slid a hand down his chest before grazing Beach’s dick. “Oh.” The hand cupped Beach’s balls, fingers light, stroking. A harder pulse pumped in Beach’s cock. “If I jerk you off, do you think you could sleep?”
“Yes.”
Tai tugged on the sac. “And if I jerked you off with my dick up your ass, what about then?”
“Yes.” Beach rocked his hips back. “Please.”
Tai’s voice softened to a whisper. “I wouldn’t want you to be confused about punishment. Sex isn’t always going to happen after.” His hand slipped between Beach’s legs, squeezing the sore curve of his ass.
“I understand.”
“Good boy.”
Tai put him flat on his stomach, fucking into him at an angle that made Beach feel too tight, the friction more fire on his nerves.
“So fucking good, David.” Tai poured the praise into Beach’s ear with kisses and licks and sweet, sharp bites on his neck. It made Beach clench his muscles around Tai’s dick, the scrape of his thrusts making them both pant. “God, baby. Feel so sweet. Don’t move.”
Arms wrapped around Beach’s chest, Tai rolled them until Beach was on top, his own weight forcing Tai’s dick deeper, sweat cooling everywhere on skin suddenly exposed to the air-conditioned room, the shock taking the edge off the need in his cock as it waved in space instead of grinding against the sheet.
Tai held Beach pinned there with an arm on his chest and a hand on his hip, rocking them enough to keep his dick moving.
In twenty years of as much sex as he could get, Beach thought he’d tried every position. But this was new. Everything about it. The angle of the cock inside him, the motion like rocking in the Nancy anchored for the night, and that prickling, throbbing fire from his paddled ass dragging against Tai.
“Gonna stay inside you like this all night.”
“Yes.” Beach wanted that too. He pushed down to take in more. More cock. More soreness in his ass. More Tai. This was where he was supposed to be. Just here. Sir’s boy. Nothing else.
But as much as Beach wanted to freeze time, ride this perfect moment forever, his dick had its own plans. The urgency drove him up and down on Tai’s cock. Dick bobbing, balls tightening as a shift made Tai drive steadily across Beach’s gland.
“Work your cock, boy. Come for me.”
“Yes.” Beach’s cock leapt to meet his hand like it had been years instead of hours since he’d last come. Tai’s palm drifted up Beach’s chest until it rested over his larynx. Thumb and fingers stretched out to circle Beach’s throat.
“Put your other hand on my thigh,” Tai whispered. “Three taps, remember?”
Beach nodded as much as he could, precome dribbling from his slit at the thought of what Tai was going to do.
The pressure started slow, nothing more than a tight-collared shirt, until it wasn’t. Until Tai’s hand held Beach’s life in the squeeze of his fingers. Heat, so much heat. Cock, ass, head. Dizzy from it. Blood aching as Beach stripped his cock faster, harder, grinding down. His hand gripped Tai’s leg, the lifeline there if he needed it. The edge felt just out of reach with the puffs of darkness flooding his head, the strangeness he felt in his blood as it tried to feed his body. He strained for it.
“Mine. God, David. Mine.”
Beach couldn’t answer with his voice, but he could with his body. He stopped pushing for the orgasm and let Sir force it into him. Loose and tight, white-hot and icy-black, he gave into it, spilled over and through it. Cock shooting off fireworks to match the explosions of color behind his eyes.
He was more than wrung out, more than dizzy. The rush didn’t fade back to normal after coming like usual. Even though Tai released Beach’s throat, sensation kept pulsing into his toes.
Tai rolled Beach back underneath. In the roar of rich, sweet oxygen in his blood, he was only barely aware of Tai stripping off the condom, the quick sounds of his hand on his cock, a gut-deep groan and the heat of come splashing across skin. Tai rubbed his cock into Beach, spread the slick puddle, painted it on the sore spots on Beach’s ass, dragged it in a pattern across his back.
The last thought Beach had was wishing come could glow so he could read what Tai was writing.