“I was honestly waiting until we had an empty house.” The mischief in Adrian’s eyes wasn’t tainted by sorrow or emotional pain. He put a hand on Sterling’s ass and pushed him through the door. “The second we bring toys into the bedroom, I guarantee it’s going to get loud. You’re not going to be able to helpyourself.”
“Is that achallenge?”
“I hope it is.” Adrian shut and locked the door behind them. “Why don’t you come with me into the bedroom andfindout?”
30
Adrian
The soundof Sterling’s suffering echoed through the bedroom in time with the swish of the cane through the air, and each rasped pant afterward sounded all the more sweet as Adrian spoke over them, reminding Sterling of how far he’d fallen, and how much further he had lefttogo.
While Sterling contorted on the bed, knees curling to his chest to protect himself, Adrian pushed his legs open and slotted his knee between them, bringing his thigh right up against Sterling’s torturedballs.
“Do you know what they’ll think of you?” Adrian asked. He let his knee caress Sterling’s sac as his hands flattened on Sterling’s shoulders and pushed him flat on the bed. Sterling’s body struggled, but the submission that lidded his eyes and glowed behind his skin told Adrian that he hadn’t pushed too far yet. He knew Sterling well enough to read the signs of his body. If Sterling ever needed to use his safe word, Adrian would feel as though he’d failed. Knowing Sterling’s limits was important to their relationship, and Adrian got to know them a little better every day. “Do you know what they’ll say when they see your balls are swollen and your ass isstripedred?”
Sterling’s hurried gasps fueled Adrianonward.
“They’ll know that the shepherd himself has fallen to one of his flock,” Adrian whispered. He leaned close so his lips brushed against Sterling’s, even as Sterling struggled to regain his breath. “They’ll know that the man in charge has been overpowered—that he’s so weak, that anyone can take advantageofhim.”
Adrian’s knee pushed forward, creating pressure only hintingatpain.
Sterling squirmed, eyes closed and headthrownback.
“Do you want that, Sterling?” Adrian moved from his face to his neck, speaking against the underside of Sterling’s jaw where the scent of his alpha was strongest. “Do you want them to ravage you? To pass you back and forth while they fuck you senseless? While they knotyourass, because of how far you’vefallen?”
The whimper he received in response was accompanied by a twitch that made Sterling’s cocktremble.
“You want to be fucked, don’t you?” Adrian’s teeth grazed Sterling’s neck, and as his knee threatened Sterling’s balls, his fingers traced patterns up Sterling’s shaft. “You dirty little slut. You rule The Shepherd—you're itsMaster—but all you want to do is be pushed facedown into the pillows and filled until you can’t takeanymore.”
The whimper turned into a moan, and Adrian’s heart leapt into his throat. The idea of topping didn’t appeal to him most of the time, but right now? With Sterlinglikethis?
Adrian pinched his knees against Sterling’s balls, and Sterling let out a sharp breath that should have been a bellow had it not been sostarved.
“Get on your stomach, bitch,” Adrian uttered. He bit the crook of Sterling’s neck, rough enough for it to leave a mark without breaking the skin. “If that’s what you want, that’s exactly what you’re goingtoget.”
Every push forced Sterling to climb that much higher, and every time, Adrian soared with him. To feel Sterling respond to him like he did—to hear the pain and the pleasure tangled as one in his voice—left Adrian’s excitement open-ended.Hewas doing this to Sterling. The pleasure he took from inflicting pain was received by a partner wholovedit.
Adrian needed him, and he neededhimnow.
Once their bodies were untangled, Sterling rolled onto his stomach and laid still for Adrian. There were cane marks on his ass from an earlier beating, and they were still red and well-defined. Adrian smoothed them with his palm, showing Sterling kindness in order to make everything he felt that much more poignant. He wanted Sterling to reach subspace. Even as he wished pain onto Sterling, he did so with the intention of giving him unparalleledrelease.
Adrian parted Sterling’s cheeks with his hands, then ran his thumb over the puckered flesh between them. Sterlingshuddered.
“How many men have had your ass?” Adrian asked. He worked his thumb in teasing circles, putting just enough pressure so Sterling squirmed. “How many have you let insideofyou?”
“None.”
“And that’s about to change, isn’t it?” Adrian grabbed the lube and let it drizzle down Sterling’s valley. When it met his thumb, he worked it in small circles while Sterling moaned. The tight pucker relaxed, and Adrian’s pulse shot up as his arousal spiked. “Look how hungry you are for this. Youwantsomeone in your ass. You want tobeused.”
Sterling onlymoaned.
More lube slicked his ass. This time, Adrian changed the position of his hand so he could work his index finger around Sterling’s hole. When he put pressure, he didn’t hold back. His finger slipped into Sterling’spassage.
Sterling gasped. His body went rigid, then he lifted his hips and pushed back against Adrian as Adrian let his finger sink into Sterling’s body. He stroked Sterling’s walls, hunting for the spot that would turn Sterlingtomush.
And when he found it, Sterling’s shocked cry was theprettiestyet.
“Look what I found,” Adrian murmured. He curled his fingers again and again, toying with different levels of pressure to see what Sterling preferred. “Do you like it? It looks like you fucking like it, Sterling. You’re suchaslut.”
