“This one,” I said and handed him a dark wooden cane, the surface of it natural and a little bit rough in places.
“Red birch,” he said. “I picked this one up while visiting Emrallt Valley, from the creek that runs along Crystal Castle.”
“Turtle Run. My father used to take me there to fish. I more often caught frogs and lizards to study and draw later.”
“And now you will feel the sting of it on your bare ass. How fitting.” Vasil hit the surface of his desk with a loud thwack that startled me. “Pull down your pants, Cedrych, your underclothes too. I want them down around your ankles. And bend over my desk here. Hold onto the edge to maintain your balance. Your knees may give out.”
Fear warred with anticipation as I followed his instructions. Baring my ass to him was a humiliation all its own, which only served to enlarge my cock. There was definitely something wrong with me. Fortunately, Vasil had a complementary affliction. My knuckles paled against the polished wood where I gripped the hard edge. My ass cheeks were cold and my sac drawn up tight. I didn’t enjoy having my genitals hanging out there so defenseless, and I certainly hoped his aim was good. Vasil laid a warm hand on my backside with surprising affection. If this was punishment, then why did he do it with such care?
“Why are you being punished?” Vasil asked.
“For trying to leave you.”
“No, for breaking my security protocol and not telling anyone where you were going. For endangering yourself needlessly. Why is that wrong?”
“You don’t want me to get hurt?”
“That’s right, because you are important to me, Cedrych.”
I swallowed, not caring to analyze the soft sentiments he stirred up, especially not when he was about to cane my ass. Instead, I closed my eyes and braced myself.
“It’s better if you breathe through it. I’ll give you ten stripes. You have your word if it becomes too much. Count them out,” Vasil instructed.
The atmosphere was charged with electricity, and I sensed a shift in the air as he drew back his implement. The switch came down hard and fast against the meaty part of my buttocks. The pain came a second later, a sting that made my sinuses burn and my eyes water. Even with his warning, it was as surprising as a slap across the face. I grunted and shifted my stance as if that might ease the next blow.
“One,” I said, an afterthought.
“You can expect all of them to have roughly the same intensity. I’ll try not to hit you in the exact same place twice,” he said.
Was he trying to be kind? Because if so, he certainly did not need to land every blow with such force. It was my first offense, after all. Any rebuttal I might have had died in my throat on the next strike, replaced by the immediacy of pain. Sharp. Biting. As unrelenting as the man himself. I gritted my teeth and counted out the blows. My grunts turned to whines and then whimpers, and then I was swallowing compulsively so as not to cry. When was the last time I cried? Not when my ex left me. Not even when my father passed.
Vasil was a demon with that damn cane. Red birch? Never again. He’d warned me it would hurt and Goddess above, he was right. My skin pearled with sweat as if in the throes of a fever spike during the last few hits, my whole body shaking, every nerve alert. He must have covered my entire ass and upper thighs with welts, until at last I shouted with exaltation, “Ten.”
The relief that surged through me was close to ecstasy, and my legs did wobble and threaten to give out. My mind was a blur of pain and endorphins. No anger, though, and no resentment.
“Very good, Cedrych. You bore that well. I like to follow up every punishment with an apology so we can put it to bed.”
He wanted me to apologize? Indignation rose within me, hot and sharp, but before I could bite back, his hand was on my lower back, a soothing balm. “Remember, the rules are meant to keep you safe. Because I care about you, as your keeper and protector. Apologizing doesn’t make you any less of a man, it's simply acknowledging your acceptance of my commitment to keep you safe.”
I sniffed hard, swallowed my pride and my bratty rebuttal. I had agreed to this, after all. I was all out of sorts, certainly still in pain, but also strangely grateful to Vasil for following me last night and bringing me back home–his home. For every promise he’d made to me, he followed through, even this one, while seeking my consent at every juncture. The attention was a little too much for me to process, especially with my pants down around my ankles and my ass in the air.
“I’m sorry for breaking your security protocol,” I said to him with a hitch in my voice.
“I forgive you. Now, stand up, my brave boy.”
I stood on shaky legs, still leaning heavily against the desk. My tumultuous gaze met his, where utter calm was reflected back at me. “Leave your pants here and join me on the chaise,” he said. I stepped out of my trousers, naked from the waist down, and followed him to where he was already reclined. He pulled me on top of him, positioning us so I was lying on my stomach with my hips between his thighs. I rested my cheek, damp with sweat, against his chest and breathed through the residual ache. He had a jar of minty smelling salve and used it to paint my welts with his fingertips. It was almost harder to endure this tenderness than the punishment itself. Thank the Goddess he couldn’t see the tears as they slowly dripped down my cheeks.
“Did you enjoy that?” he asked.
“No, sir,” I said grimly. I’d endured it, yes, but it wasn’t something I’d be asking for again.
“That means it will be an effective punishment. Some submissives like pain.”
“I don’t think I’m into that sort.”
“No, perhaps not.”
We were silent for a spell. Despite Vasil’s calm demeanor and even breathing, it was hard to ignore the behemoth snaking along his upper thigh and pressing into my stomach.
