“Cal, I think I fell in love with you that first night,” he admitted, bending forward to kiss my chest. “You have this way about you that lured me in. You didn’t call me on my shit, but you made it clear that you expected more from me. And I hated that, but I loved it, too. Knew it was what I needed even when I couldn’t admit it.
“I hated you being gone this weekend. I know it’s selfish and I wouldn’t think of telling you to take me with you or pressuring you to stay home just so I don’t fall apart, but it really did suck.” He buried his face into the crook of my neck again. That was his default position when he felt insecure; almost as though he needed to get as close to me as possible to soak up some sort of reassurances.
“Would it help if we talk about this once we’re both relaxed and see if we can figure out ways to make the absences easier?” I suggested, brushing the damp hair away from his face so I could kiss him. He nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. You’re right that I can’t just decide to stay home, but I hate knowing it was this hard on you. I wish you’d told me sooner so we might’ve been able to video chat or something to help you through.”
“But I shouldn’tneedyou to help me exist,” he grumbled. As I massaged his lower back, he settled against me, his body loose and pliant. “I’m a grown man. Until you came along I managed just fine. Why am I suddenly this needy, clingy moron now?”
Water splashed over the edge of the tub as I slapped his ass. We’d talked multiple times about his habit of getting down on himself, but it was apparently one more thing I needed to crack down on. “What have I told you about calling yourself names?”
“That I’m yours and you don’t like it when people call what’s yours mean names,” he deadpanned. “I’m sorry, Cal, I just really wanted to prove to myself this weekend that I could function when you’re not available to message me every hour.”
I felt around until I could pull the stopper out of the tub with my toe and pushed Frankie upright. Before he could wipe all the soap bubbles off his skin, I snatched a towel off the rack and started drying him. With one foot dry, I steadied him as he got out of the tub, then dried the other.
“Get on the bed. I’ll be in soon,” I ordered him once he was dry. He reached for the towel but I jerked it out of his reach. “There’s no reason for you to cover up. Now go, before I have to punish you for disobeying me again.”
15
Frankie
…before I haveto punish you for disobeying me again.
Cal’s warning echoed through my mind while I waited for him to join me in the bedroom. I could see the prick wiping down the tub, as if it couldn’t wait until morning. Or at least until after we got through whatever he’d decided on for punishment. Maybe sitting out here alone was his idea of punishment and we’d be back on an even keel once he finished deep cleaning in the middle of the damn night. Falling for a neat freak had some painful disadvantages.
I tried to hide my disappointment when Calvin walked into the room wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. Had I really upset him so much there’d be no sexy times tonight? That seemed a bit harsh.
Calvin sat next to me, one knee on the bed, the other leg hanging over the side. He took my hand in both of his, lifting it to his mouth. “Like I said before, I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with you, at least not so quickly. But I did and I don’t regret that a bit. However, I feel like I failed you this weekend. I couldn’t have anticipated the impact my absence would have on you. Seeing you in the state you were in when I came home… that can’t happen again.”
“That’s not your fault,” I protested. “I was so worried about you being annoyed that I couldn’t cope without you right here for me that I decided it’d be better if you didn’t know.”
“Who makes the decisions here, brat?” My cock twitched at the stern tone of his voice.
“You do, Cal.” I kept my gaze to the ground, not wanting to see his disappointment.
“And why do I make the decisions in this house?” he continued, crooking a finger under my chin and forcing me to look at him.
“Because I let the stress build until it leads to me being stupid,” I responded. I didnotexpect Calvin to curl his thumb around so he could apply pressure to my jaw when I tried looking away again.
“What have I told you about demeaning what’s mine?” The low growl punctuating his message was kind of hot. Scary, but hot.
“That I’m not allowed to do it.” I knew that. I tried thinking before I spoke because I understood why Calvin was trying to break me of calling myself names. But dammit, I also knew he’d expected me to tell him if I was struggling and I’d forgotten that, too. Iwasstupid.
Before I could finish mentally berating myself, Calvin pulled me over his lap. I clawed at the edge of the comforter, certain I was going to land head first on the floor. A blast of cold air across my ass sent shivers racing through my body. Laying across Calvin’s legs left me feeling more exposed than ever before. “If you have any objections, speak now. And no, not wanting a spanking is not a valid reason for me to stop. I didn’t want you to lie to me, but you did, so now there has to be a punishment.”
“I didn’t—”Crack!I yelped at the sting as Cal’s palm connected with my ass.
“Not telling me when you’re struggling is just as bad as if you lied outright,” he reminded me. “And if you remember, I asked you several times how you were doing and you said you were fine every.”Smack.“Single.”Smack.“Time.”Smack.
“I’m sorry, Cal.” I muttered the apology repeatedly as he continued spanking my ass. Pain gave way to arousal every time his hand left another imprint on my backside. My dick was pressed hard against his thigh and I began rocking, trying to get the relief I craved. I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand how something that was meant as punishment got me so fired up, but I was beyond questioning my body’s reaction.
It wasn’t going to be long before I couldn’t hold back my release. Cal did this to me. He loved me enough to punish me when I didn’t let him help me. He knew what I needed when I was clueless, never gave up on me when I swore he was the one who needed help for thinking I’d get off on submitting to him. My body tensed and I knew I was going to come all over Cal’s leg.
And the bastard stopped. I kept waiting for more striking blows, but instead I felt a cold shock as Calvin drizzled lotion over my burning skin. Soothing, gentle strokes followed, nearly lulling me to sleep. It was as though my body realized it was okay to let go now and I’d been sapped of my energy.
“You took that so well, baby,” he praised, scooping me into his arms and moving us both to the center of the bed. There, he drew my body to his, holding me tight. “I don’t know how I got lucky enough for you to answer my ad, but I’ll forever be grateful that you’re in my life. I hope you know how much you mean to me.”
“I do.” My words were slurred and my head felt foggy. It was a bizarre feeling. As Calvin kept talking to me about nothing at all, I pressed my lips to the center of his chest. His scent filled my nostrils, stronger now than when I’d buried my head in his pillow while he was out of town. Peace washed over me.
Blinding sunlight startled me awake the following morning. I lifted my head to glance at the alarm clock on Calvin’s side of the bed and was shocked to see we’d both slept until almost nine o’clock. That had been an early wake-up for me before Calvin, but since he’d taken it upon himself to help me get into healthier routines, it was rare for either of us to sleep past seven. I wasn’t going to complain.
