Chapter Twenty-Four
Liam
By the time we get back to my house, Ravi’s face is unusually red. I think he’s even on the verge of tears.
I’m used to my word being final. I’ve faced down gangs and suicide bombers and armed war generals, but here I am about to be brought low by a nineteen-year-old twink.
“He’s all I have, Liam. Please.”
He’s pissed because I won’t let him go get his damn cat. Furious, in fact. On the inside, I’m already desperate to give him what he wants. Anything to wipe that look from his face. But if I cave now, I know I’ll regret it.
“There’s no way that guy was serious about eating the cat. He can wait.”
“I know, but, Liam, if he’s impatient, he could let it go or give it away or, I don’t know, get mad and throw it across the room.
I went to school with a kid whose father did that to their dog when he was drunk, and he had permanent neurological damage.
You’ve seen things like that happen. I know you have. ”
Whatever issues I had with Corvus’s oversized employee, he was not hot-headed. That much I’m sure of, or we’d be on the way to the damn club. Right now, I have half a day left with Ravi, and I intend to use it.
“He’ll be fine for a few more hours. I gave you my answer.”
Waiting isn’t going to kill him. It really isn’t. The way he falls silent, I know he knows I’m right. He may not like it, but he knows. Self-loathing swells in my chest all the same.
I pull up in front of the house. “Get inside,” I order.
He trudges up the front steps with his shoulders hunched. The defeat on his face is enough to make my insides squirm, and that’s before he opens his mouth again. “Liam, please. I’ll do anything. He’s the only thing in my life that loves me. Doesn’t that matter at all?”
I don’t expect the way that makes my heart sink.
There are a lot of ways I could answer. Reminding him he’s got friends. Reminding him a kitten probably doesn’t love him so much as see him as a safe and reliable source of food.
Telling him I’m right fucking here and I love him? That would open a can of worms I can never close.
Even though I do.
“You’re due a punishment for leaving without permission. You’re still on my time. If you take it like a good boy, we’ll go and get your cat.”
A crease divides the center of his forehead. “It won’t take all night again, will it?”
Is that really his only concern? Jesus.
“It won’t.”
“Fine.” He raises his chin, marching inside as if he’s on a mission. I suppose he is. “Naked on your bed again? Should I go ahead and starfish so you can tie me down?”
The ground moves under my feet, threatening to pitch me into the stairs. Goddammit, this kid’s going to be the death of me. “If you think you can behave yourself, I don’t need to tie you down.”
His amber eyes flash. “I don’t know, Daddy. I’m not so good at behaving.”
Fucking kill me now.
“Go.”
For a few seconds I indulge in the sight of him marching up the stairs, his pert ass bouncing under a loose pair of shorts he must have thrown on before heading out. Then I detour into my playroom to gather a few things, including the last remaining shred of my sanity.
When I walk into the bedroom, he’s on his hands and knees. The full moon of his ass hits me right in the face. His uncut cock is hard already, hanging heavily between his legs.
“You don’t have to stay in that position,” I tell him. “We could be here a while.”
He flips onto his back. “You said it wouldn’t be all night.”
“That’s right, I did. Given that it’s still pretty early in the morning, that would be a long-ass time. But I don’t intend to make this easy on you, and you’re going to want to be in a more comfortable position.”
“You also said you’d tie me up if I couldn’t promise to behave.”
Now I have a dilemma. He’s leading me, and I generally can’t stand subs who try to top from the bottom. I also really fucking love seeing Ravi tied to my bed.
Holding his defiant gaze, I slip the loops over his wrists and tighten them slightly. “I’ll leave your legs free this time. You’ll probably need to move them around.”
The best place for this would be in my garage.
There’s a padded bench made for exactly this sort of thing.
I could drape him over it and have easy access.
It’s effortless to picture him in there, surrounded by my toy collection and the scent of polished wood.
Taking him in there, though, is crossing a threshold neither of us is quite ready for. Not yet.
Each boundary I’ve set with Ravi has wound up being one I eventually smashed through or jumped right over. A voice in my head tells me I might as well give in. Sounds an awful lot like my old buddy Merrick, but he died the night I “earned” Ravi’s auction money.
Still, there’s a certain sort of person I have in my workroom, and Ravi’s not one of them. They’re temporary. Faceless. I don’t want Ravi to be faceless or temporary to anyone.
Not even me.
“You might want to put your legs flat on the bed for now,” I tell him. “You’ll be doing a lot of squirming in a minute. Rest now, while you can.”
When he wants to, Ravi complies so fucking beautifully.
“Good. Remind me of your safe word, kid.”
It’s a little sick, the way calling him kid when he’s naked and spread out for me gets me so fucking hard.
Especially when I’ve never been more aware that he’s nothing of the sort.
“I don’t need a safe word. I’m not going to use it, Sir.” He presses his lips together at the end of the sentence, as if he refuses to say anything more.
“The sooner you tell me, the sooner we can start.”
“Fine. Red. My safe word is red.”
“You remember the rules.”
“If I use it we’re done here. I already said I wasn’t going to.”
This isn’t me being an asshole. At least, it’s not meant to be.
I’ve got a list of reasons longer than my left leg that this entire situation is the worst idea I’ve ever had.
Even so, I keep circling around Ravi like he’s a planet and I’m just a moon, helplessly stuck in his orbit.
The last thing I need is to find out we’re incompatible in bed.
Plenty of past partners couldn’t handle me.
“I don’t know a single person who’s never safed-out of a scene, kid. You might.”
“Maybe you might.” The brat has the nerve to stick out his fucking tongue.
The stubborn jut of his chin keeps me from responding, even though he could have a point. For all the years I’ve been doing this sort of thing, I am way out in deep water right now. If he asked me to kill for him, that would be easier than whatever I’m getting into right now.
“All right. We’ll start off easy.”
I pour some lube into my hand and reach for his cock. He’s uncut, so it’s not that I really need it, at least not yet. It’s that I want the slip and slide of my skin on his.
It isn’t long before he’s bucking his hips, thrusting staccato into my hand, seeking relief.
When we did this before, it took every drop of restraint I had not to look at him. I knew if I let myself really fall into his gravity, I’d never climb out.
What’s changed? Everything, and also nothing.
Nothing except I’m tired of fighting.
The muscle he’s worked so hard for in the gym is typically hidden under loose clothing, but now his abs flex with each thrust and his arms strain against the ties. I was right about the squirming.
“Come whenever you want to, kid.”
There’s confusion written all over his face. After hours of not being allowed to get off before, he’s wondering if this is a trap.
It’s absolutely a trap.
My cock is a steel bar in my pants, but I’m ignoring it for now. Right now, this is about him.
I brace one slippery hand on his upper thigh as he fucks my fist. He growls in frustration at being held down from all his thrashing, but on my end it’s immensely satisfying to feel his leg flex and strain against my hand while he tries desperately to get himself off.
When his release comes, it’s on a strained moan, nothing as loud or showy as the way he came after I edged him for hours. It’s the part of his wet lips and the bunching and releasing of his muscles I find so gratifying. That, and the fact that his eyes never leave mine.
“I’m struggling…to see how this is a punishment.” His chest rises and falls with each heavy pant of his breath.
“Don’t worry.” I pour more lube on my fingers, coating them liberally. “You’ll figure it out soon.”
Then I proceed to coax him back to life, which only takes a few minutes. Oh, to be young again. “There are few things I miss about being a teenager,” I murmur, “but this is a definite bonus.”
“I’m not that young. My birthday’s in a few months.” He nearly moans the assertion. “And getting boners all the time is hardly convenient.”
My heart stutters when he mentions his birthday. I’m an absolute ass.
His parents getting killed so close to his birthday meant I’d chosen not to do much to celebrate. I didn’t want him to have that cloud hanging over the day he was born. I realize now it was a mistake.
Ravi deserves to be celebrated.
Next time I’ll do something big. If he stays.
I bat the thought away. “Hmm. Well, at the moment your boners are awfully convenient for me.”
Then I slide my slicked finger into his hole.
The crook of my finger makes his eyes fly open and a surprised gasp leaves his mouth. The sound is like candy on my tongue.
“W-what are you doing?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t figured out about your prostate. I found the dildo under your pillow when I was searching your room.”
“Ooooh, there are so many things wrong with that sentence. You should not—ahhh—you shouldn’t be searching my room.” The way he whimpers takes the teeth out of his admonishment.
“My house, my rules, baby,” I say as I work him with my fingers. My strokes are gentle but steady. This is only the second wave. I’m pretty confident I can get at least a couple more out of him, but I have to start off easy.