Joe began to move his palm in circles over Scott’s arse; around and around, letting the skin warm gradually under his increasingly firm caresses.
Scott whimpered. As he sank deeper into his submission, he dropped his gaze. Barely a moment later, he bowed his head toward the blanket beneath him. Joe didn’t alter anything about his own actions in response. That was important. Scott had to know he could react however he needed to, and it wouldn’t change a damn thing about Joe’s plans for him.
All the pressure to make choices and influence the world around him—that all belonged to Joe now, and he relished every bit of it. Scott’s universe was his to bend and shape. Everything Scott felt, everything he sensed, was under Joe’s control now.
Moving his hand to Scott’s other buttock, Joe rubbed his hand over the skin there too. Again and again, as if time didn’t mean anything and they were the kind of guys who didn’t have to get up the next day and work to pay the rent.
Joe frowned. Was that part of it? Was Scott worried that Joe wouldn’t be able to provide for him, that he wouldn’t be able to look after him financially if he needed to? Joe’s mind raced as he flicked through a mental scrapbook of the time they’d spent together. It was possible that Scott thought Joe was barely able to care for himself financially, let alone another man.
Never betraying anything about his thoughts, Joe turned accountant and raced through a whole host of calculations he’d never bothered with before. Wages. Overtime. Rent. Bills. Joe hadn’t done that much mental arithmetic since he was in school.
* * * * *
“My toy collection is complete.”
Scott snapped out of his near Zen-like state with a jerk. He’d known deep down that Joe would be disappointed to find that he hadn’t even added an extra fly swat to his toy collectionsince his last visit. Scott had been to Joe’s place often enough to know how important having the right equipment was to him. Hell, Joe didn’t even seem to own anything that wasn’t kinky. “I’m s-sorry. I d-didn’t—”
“I’m not complaining,” Joe cut in. “I’m perfectly happy with my hand. I’m just…mentioning it.”
“Yes, s-sir.” Scott peered blindly down at the blanket beneath him, trying to work out what the hell Joe was trying to tell him.
“So, I don’t need to spend any more money on toys,” Joe went on.
“Yes, s-sir,” Scott said again. It seemed like the only safe thing to say while he remained completely baffled.
“The club and the sauna both pay well,” Joe announced. “So do the other places I work occasional shifts. And a lot of my income will be freed up now I don’t need to buy any more leather and stuff.”
“Yes, s-sir.” Finally, something inside Scott’s brain joined the dots. An image of the real conversation taking place appeared before his eyes. “N-No, sir!” Scott twisted around and tried to look over his shoulder.
Joe’s hand came to rest on the back of his neck and stopped him short. “Stay where you are.”
“I d-don’t want your money,” Scott blurted out.
Joe’s grip on his neck didn’t ease in the slightest.
“It’s n-not about that.” Scott closed his eyes. The obvious thing to follow up that statement with was what thiswasabout. He drew a complete blank and dipped his head toward the bed sheet in defeat. He really wouldn’t have blamed Joe if he walked away from him in disgust that very second.
As soon as Scott stopped trying to look over his shoulder, Joe eased the pressure on his neck. He went back to rubbing his palm across his buttocks.
Scott tried to breathe deeply and slowly, but he was only moderately successful.
Joe’s hand disappeared.
Scott tensed, waiting for Joe to take another guess at the root cause of his idiocy. Instead, Joe’s hand came back, connecting sharply with Scott’s right arse cheek.
With a yelp that had everything to do with shock and nothing to do with pain, Scott shot forward on the bed.
Apparently, Joe hadn’t expected that. He made no move to try to stop him. Scott automatically turned to look at him. This time he succeeded. Joe blinked at him, obviously too surprised to hide his first reaction.
A moment later, Joe’s lips twitched and his expression cracked into a grin.
Blushing brightly, Scott moved himself carefully back onto his hands and knees, presenting his arse to Joe again.
Joe didn’t punish him for his mistake or make him beg. He immediately settled his fingers back against Scott’s arse. A few circles later, Joe lifted his hand. The palm came down on Scott’s left buttock this time.
Now that he knew what to expect, Scott didn’t flinch. He remained exactly where he was and took the firm smack with pleasure. Heat radiated out through his body until it reached the tip of each finger and toe.
He clawed at the blanket and tried to hold onto his wits as the spanking began in earnest, but no grip on mere cotton had any chance of helping him keep his sanity.
