Authors: KC Wells
Paul was dismayed to find his hands trembling as he poured coffee into the mug. He gave himself an angry shake.
Get a grip. How bad can it be? Adam said it was like a gentle massage
. The rest of Adam’s statement came to him. There was also the ‘tearing him up’ part.
It was one thing to be curious about BDSM. It was something else to take a step further.
Paul hoped fervently that it wouldn’t be a step too far.
Paul wasn’t sure he could face breakfast. There was no room in his stomach anyway—the butterflies had already taken up residence. He couldn’t even face the thought of coffee. He showered and dressed before Adam got up, but couldn’t focus enough to begin his morning routine.
Seth would be there before midday, Adam had said. Paul had spent a fitful night, dreaming of a huge man dressed from head to toe in leather, brandishing a whip with a long studded tail. He knew it wasn’t an accurate picture—he’d seen Adam’s floggers, for one thing—but that hadn’t stopped the dreams from creeping into his subconscious and disturbing his sleep. He’d slept alone, vaguely aware that a restless night was on the cards, and he didn’t see any reason why Adam should go without his sleep, too.
Adam said if I wanted it to stop, it would.
He clung to those words like a lifeline.
Paul crossed the landing to descend the staircase. He needed to push aside his fears and apprehension, and get on with his day.
“Paul, come in here, please.”
Paul pushed open Adam’s door and entered. Adam was sitting in the centre of the bed, fully dressed, his back resting against a pile of pillows. “Good morning,” Paul said quietly.
Adam smiled. “Your mind is all over the place this morning, isn’t it?”
“How did you—?” Paul broke off, shaking his head. Of course Adam knew. It was his job to know such things. “Yes,” he admitted. “I was on my way downstairs to make breakfast, not that I’m in the slightest bit hungry.”
“Come here.” Adam patted his lap. “Let me help you.”
Paul frowned. “Help me? How?” He remained where he was.
Adam raised his chin to gaze at him, those milky-blue eyes fixed on his face. “Remember that spanking I’m always promising to deliver? Well, now’s the time. I want you lying over me, your hips across my lap, naked. Now,” he added when Paul didn’t move.
“I haven’t done anything wrong,” Paul protested.
Adam became still for a moment, before opening his arms wide. “Come here. Let me explain.”
Paul climbed onto the bed and crawled across the aged peach bedspread to where Adam awaited him. Adam pulled him to sit on his lap and put his arms around him, holding him close.
“This is not a punishment,” Adam told him in a low voice. “It’s discipline, intended to be therapeutic.”
In spite of his nervous state, Paul couldn’t hold back his chuckle. “Spanking my bare arse is therapeutic?”
Adam nodded. “I’m not going to smack you any old how. I’m going to deliver spanks rhythmically and consistently, to allow your mind to focus. I’m not going to use a paddle, just my hand. It’s not meant to be painful—unless, of course, you want it to be.” Adam smirked. “If it gets too much, you tell me to stop and I stop. Simple as that.”
“It allows me to focus?” Paul was still trying to get his head around that.
Adam nodded. “You’ve got a big day coming up. You need to get into the right mind-set for it. This is meant to help you. This is whatever you make of it. If you want to cry, go ahead and cry. If you want to turn inward and think, then do that. Okay?”
Paul breathed deeply. “Okay.” He knelt up on the bed and stripped off his clothing, before stretching out over Adam’s lap as instructed. He shivered when Adam stroked over his arse, the movement gentle.
“Usually when I deliver a spanking, I cup the genitals in my left hand, but not this time. When I’m spanking you, think about where my hand is going, because that’s where Seth’s flogger will be going, too. That should help focus you.” He rubbed and squeezed both cheeks. “You have a gorgeous arse, you know. It feels bloody good when I touch it.”
Paul’s face heated up. This was so surreal.
“Ready?”
Paul inhaled. “Ready.”
Adam stroked across his shoulders and down his back to the swell of Paul’s arse. He gave a couple more squeezes before delivering the first spank. It wasn’t that hard and made little noise, and after a few similar blows, Adam stopped and gently rubbed the skin.
He began to spank Paul in earnest, delivering ten or twelve blows to one cheeks before moving to the other, pausing now and then to rub the flesh. Then it was back to spanking him, Adam getting into a rhythm. Paul lost himself in it all: the thud of each blow, the sting that followed, the heat that blossomed and spread over his skin. He closed his eyes and thought about the flogger’s leather tails connecting with his bared skin, whether they would land with a thud like Adam’s cupped palm or a sting.
It was a shock when he realized Adam had stopped.
Adam caressed his arse, slowly rubbing the hot flesh. “You focused.” It wasn’t a question.
Paul lay there and enjoyed Adam’s gentle ministrations, his mind clearer than it had been all morning. “You were right,” he said, when the burn had eased. He caught his breath when something cool and slick was spread over his skin.
Adam chuckled. “As it was your first spanking, I thought I’d deliver a little soothing aftercare. I’ll be doing the same thing later, when Seth has finished with you.” He withdrew his hand and Paul knelt up on the bed. Adam reached for Paul’s cheek and cupping it, pulled him closer. “You did very well for your first spanking.” He kissed Paul on the mouth, letting his lips linger there, soft, warm and chaste.
Paul closed his eyes and breathed Adam in, the musky scent of pure male, his fingers resting lightly on Paul’s cheek.
Adam released him and sat back. “And now you need to get dressed, go downstairs and act like it’s a normal day.” He smirked. “Try not to think about what’s coming.”
Paul shook his head as he climbed down from the bed.
Some hope of that.
* * * * * *
Paul listened to the hum of voices in the hall below, drifting up the stairs to where he sat on his bed, the door ajar.
Seth’s here. They’re talking about me.
Paul concentrated on breathing, focusing on the memory of his spanking, his still tender arse a gentle reminder. Adam had left him to his own devices for the last hour or so, which was exactly how Paul wanted it. He didn’t want to lose his mind-set.
Footsteps on the stairs. Apparently Paul was to be flogged upstairs.
Flogged…
A shiver pulsed through him, caused by a heady mix of fear and anticipation. Paul was conscious of one overriding thought: he wanted to please Adam, to make him proud.
God, please don’t let me screw this up.
“Paul? Can you come into my room, please?”
Shit
. It was time.
Paul stood and walked slowly to Adam’s door. He paused before entering, taking another moment to breathe. Adam was sitting on the bed, Seth beside him. He was older than Adam, maybe in his late forties, and dressed in a pair of worn jeans. His feet were bare, as was his chest which was covered in silver hair. His head was shaved.
Paul blinked. Seth was definitely not what he’d expected.
Seth smiled, his brown eyes twinkling. “Hello, Paul. It’s good to meet you.” He rose to his feet and held out his hand. Paul shook it, liking the firm, warm fingers that gripped his. “Come sit down for a minute while we talk.”
Adam patted the bed next to him and Paul complied, breathing easier when Adam reached around with both arms and held him close. Paul loved the feeling of Adam’s chest pressed up against his back, warm, strong and comforting.
Seth sat facing them. “Before we start,” he began, his voice low and even, “I need to make you aware of a couple of things, the most important being—you are not alone here. Adam will have physical contact with you the whole time, okay? If he doesn’t like something I’m doing, he’ll damn well say so.” He smirked.
Paul laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like Adam.” The tension in his shoulders eased a touch.
Seth nodded, smiling. “Ah, there you go. You look much better when you smile. Adam, your boy is beautiful. His eyes light up when he laughs, and that smile is a killer.”
Adam’s arms tightened around him. “Thank you for that gift, Seth,” he said softly, pressing his lips to Paul’s nape in a brief kiss that sent a shiver through him.
“Now, are there any injuries I need to know about? Any sore spots?”
Paul snorted. “You mean, apart from my warm arse where Adam spanked me this morning?” Adam snickered.
Seth burst out laughing. “Oh, I like him, Adam. This one’s a keeper.” He addressed Paul. “Nothing else apart from that?” Paul shook his head. “Now, listen carefully to this next part,” Seth continued. “If you want me to stop, simply say ‘Red’ nice and loud. You got that?” Paul nodded. “Similarly, if you want a breather, if it’s all getting a bit much, you say ‘Yellow’ and we’ll stop until you feel able to continue.”
Paul nodded again, feeling more comfortable. “Got it. Red to stop, yellow to slow it down.”
“Good boy.” Adam kissed his neck again.
Seth reached behind him and brought out his flogger. “There you go.” He held it up for Paul to see. The tongues were long and flat, coming to a point at each end. Paul stretched out his hand tentatively toward it and Seth nodded encouragingly. “Touch it, by all means.”
Paul fingered one of the tongues. “It’s soft,” he said, “just like Adam’s.”
Seth smiled at him. “You’ve seen Adam’s floggers? Good. Okay, let’s talk about what’s coming. I’ll be starting out nice and light, and then I’ll slowly build up speed and intensity. If it starts to get painful but not enough to stop it, try focusing on something other than the pain. Adam will be physically connected to you, so maybe focus your attention on him. Listen to his reactions, because trust me, if I’m flogging you? Adam will react.”
“You can also focus on Seth’s voice,” Adam added. “Listen to its rhythm, its cadences.”
Paul nodded, leaning into Adam, reassured by the feel of those strong arms around him.
“I think we’re ready to start,” Seth said briskly, rising from the bed. “Strip, please.”
Adam rose to his feet, pulling Paul with him, and helped him to undress. Paul shuddered when Adam ran his hands over Paul’s bared body, trying not to think about being naked in front of a stranger.
“It’s okay to be nervous,” Adam said quietly. “I’m here with you, Paul.” He bent his head and kissed him softly on the mouth. Paul couldn’t help but respond, closing his eyes and leaning into the embrace, focusing on the feel of Adam’s lips against his, the feel of his hands on Paul’s back and arse, squeezing, cupping, stroking.
“That was lovely.” Seth’s voice was filled with warmth. “Adam, can you stand with Paul facing you, please? Paul, I want you to put your arms around Adam’s neck. Adam will put his hands on your waist. There’s no fear of the flogger hitting them there, because I’ll be avoiding that area.”
“That’s where your kidneys are,” Adam whispered, his hands warms against Paul’s skin.
Paul was grateful for the aside, not that he didn’t already know Seth was good at what he did. Adam wouldn’t have let him anywhere near Paul if that wasn’t the case.
Seth moved behind him. “Adam, lower your head until your foreheads are touching.”
Adam did as instructed, his breath fanning Paul’s face. “I’ve got you,” Adam whispered.
Paul tightened his hands around Adam’s neck. “I’m glad about that,” he whispered back.
Seth stroked over Paul’s shoulders, his hands firm and warm. “Good muscle tone, Adam. He works out.”
“Told you,” Paul couldn’t help retorting with a snicker.
Adam chuckled. “Brat.”
Seth stroked lower over his buttocks, rubbing with firm strokes before delivering a slap there. Paul jumped at the unexpected contact with his still warm skin.
“Easy,” Seth soothed. He resumed his gentle stroking over Paul’s arse and then across his upper back, except now he was delivering slaps to those areas.
“You know what he’s doing, right?” Adam asked quietly.
Paul knew. “He’s showing me where the flogger will go, like you did this morning when you spanked me.” His voice quavered.
“Good boy.” Adam’s words made his chest swell. He concentrated on Adam’s breathing, aware that his own body was shaking. His body was covered with a thin sheen of sweat.
Seth caressed Paul’s back and buttocks with the flogger’s tails, before hitting him lightly with it across his shoulders. He repeated it a couple of times and then his hands were back, stroking and rubbing. More trailing of the flogger over Paul’s skin, its touch soft, gentle.
The first hard strike against his arse made Paul gasp and jerk violently, the tails connecting with a thud that he felt deep in him. Adam’s hands tightened on his waist. “I’ve got you, Paul.”
Paul’s breathing sped up, a series of gasps followed by holding his breath.
Seth was back, soft again, almost delicate, followed by another two or three hard hits. Paul clung to Adam as realization set in: it was going to get worse. Those first few moderate strikes had lulled him into a false sense of security.
Seth paused. “Breathe, Paul. Breathe.”
Paul did as he was told, and jerked once again when Seth resumed, getting into his rhythm, the strikes increasing in intensity. He felt the impact of each blow, a localized ache which slowly developed into heat, both over his skin and spreading throughout his body. Every now and then Seth would slow down to give him time to absorb the onslaught, and then it was back to business. Once Seth had gotten into a steady rhythm, there was no slowing down after that. Paul was intensely aware of the rustling sound the flogger made as it connected with his skin, the swish as it moved through the air.
Not all Seth’s strikes were the same. Sometimes the tips of the flogger’s tongues gently grazed his heated flesh, and this was a very different sensation, almost sensuous. When Seth repeated the action with more aggression, those same tongues delivered serious stings. Seth switched back and forth between the styles of strike, and Paul began to look forward to those gentler strikes that brought with them some respite. The brushing strokes over his arse had a very different effect: to Paul’s amazement his dick started filling. Then Seth switched again and that was that.