I pressed my leg between Zach's thighs, bending my knee so my thigh pressed against his balls. He ground against me until I dug my fingers into his hips. “Not right now. First, you'll take your punishment. If you don't want to do this, say red. That's the word you need to remember for the rest of the day.”
“Not going to say it,” he ground out. “I'm not an idiot. I know about safe words.”
“I never said you were,” I pointed out. “Still, I need to know that if it gets to be too much, you'll say something. Otherwise, this ends now.”
“Fine,” he spat out. “I'll say the damn word if I need to.” He stood straight, squaring his shoulders as he looked back at me. “But I'm not going to. I can take whatever you dish out.”
I ran my hand down the length of Zach's spine. “I have no doubt you're stubborn enough to take whatever pain you're given. But what about pleasure? Are you ready for that, too?”
“I've been ready. You don't have to treat me like a damn child.” My hand cracked down on Zach's ass hard enough my palm throbbed. He cried out in pain.
“Nobody here thinks you're a child, Zach,” I reassured him. “We just want to make sure you're here because you want to be.”
“I do,” he promised me. “Couldn’t walk away from you if I tried. Need to know what this is like.”
“And you won't lie to us anymore? You’ll try to tell us what you need?”
“I'll try, but it's hard,” he admitted. To reward him, I pressed my finger between his clenched ass cheeks.
“That's all either of us expect from you, Zach. No more hiding.” He tensed when he felt the tip of my finger at his entrance. “Don't worry, when I play with you here, I'll make sure you're good and wet for me. Don't want to hurt you.”
“Says the man whose threatening to beat me,” he pointed out.
“Oh baby, that wasn't a threat.” I blanketed his body with mine, grinding my erection against his ass as I nipped his ear. “That was a promise and you damn well know it. Now, enough talking. Quit distracting me.”
“I can't make you do anything,” he retorted.
God, he was such a damn brat. Eventually, he’d learn that he was the one with the ultimate power, and that Daniel and I couldn't do a damn thing without his consent.
“I'll take it easy on you for today because I don't think you were trying to hurt Daniel, but you did.” I made no comment about the damage he’d done to himself because thatwasintentional. He’d been trying to let the hate consume him so he would resist the pull he felt.
“Don't deserve easy,” he cried out as I massaged his ass, warming his skin for my touch.
“That's exactly why I’m not going hard on you.” I kissed between his shoulder blades. “You’ve spent your entire life beating yourself up for what you want. You hurt others because you were scared they’d learn your truth. But none of that was done with malicious intent. And it's time for you to let go. After today, the score is settled.”
Before he could argue with me, I began landing a series of blows across his ass and thighs. When I needed a break, I’d kiss my way across his shoulder blades while I caressed his abused flesh. He alternated between cursing, telling me I was an asshole, and sobbing that he didn't know what was wrong with him.
“There's nothing wrong with you, baby,” I reassured him when I took a quick break. I swiped the towel off the corner of my bed, wiping the sweat from my brow. “You're perfect just the way you are.”
“I'm not. I’m the worst type of asshole,” he cried. “I’m not perfect.”
“You are to us, and it's time for you to forgive yourself.” I increased the intensity because that was the only way Zach would believe he’d paid the price for his actions.
By the tenth blow, Zach transitioned from begging me to stop to sticking his ass higher in the air and pleading with me for more. But these weren’t the cries of a man needing to torment himself. This was someone who had a lifetime of denying himself, finally learning to let go.
“You're so damn pretty like this,” I praised him, squeezing his bright red ass in both hands. He stifled a shout. That wouldn’t do at all. “Give it all to me. Let the pain go, sweetheart. It’s over now. Let it all out.”
When I heard the bedroom door open, I had no doubt Zach was oblivious to Daniel joining us. I wrapped my hands around Zach’s middle, kissing the back of his neck as I whispered soothing words in his ear. As I continued comforting him, I reached one hand back to Daniel, inviting him to join us.
“You’re safe now, baby,” I promised Zach. I stepped back, allowing Daniel to take my place. “We both understand how hard this is for you, and neither of us are going to let you do it on your own.”
“But Daniel…” Zach protested. “I swear, I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't know he felt that way about me. I wouldn’t have invited him if I’d known. I can’t do this if he doesn’t forgive me.”
Daniel's breath hitched as I wrapped an arm around his waist. I leaned in close enough that only he could hear my words. “Tell him it's okay. Let him apologize. He needs us.”
Daniel bent down to kiss the back of Zach's neck. He slid an arm around Zack's chest, holding him tightly. As I watched the two of them together, I felt like an intruder on an intimate moment. I shoved that fear away, knowing that this was the start of all three of us and we needed to be on the same page.
“It's okay, sweetheart,” Daniel promised him. “Like you said, you didn't know. And I could have told you I wasn’t interested. I could have been honest about why it was so hard for me. We both made mistakes and now we can learn from them.”
