Chapter 24
Rohan
Helping him find where his mind was hiding hadn’t worked, so I decided it was time to play instead.
“You’ve got five minutes to get cleaned up enough for me to use.” Nodding in the direction of the stairs, I kept my voice even and stern. “For every thirty seconds over, you’re going to lose one spank. If you lose five minutes, I’m going to take away something big.”
Trying to keep Knox from obsessing about what ifs and gremlins hadn’t worked, but talking about making sure his ass was clean enough for me to use got a different response. “How clean?”
“Thoroughly.” My answer got a shiver from him and he stayed on track and focused on my face. It was the most functional reaction I’d gotten from him since we’d left his house, which gave me even more confidence in my slightly makeshift plan. “Don’t forget. Five minutes.”
Licking his lips, Knox blinked and gave his head a little shake. “I...I’m not super focused but I think I need to tell you that I consent to anything on my list and anything we’ve gone over and...and I think I’d like to take a break from reality for a while, please.”
Yeah, that wasn’t a surprise.
“Good boy.” Giving him a quick peck, I cupped his cheek and did my best to make sure his eyes stayed on mine. “I know your limits and I remember the scenes we’ve talked about. I’m going to stick with the toys you brought over.”
Because when someone moved in a hurry, sex toys and notebooks were the important things to bring.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t have fun fucking with him, though. “I’m going to wear you out and then make sure you have nothing to do with the real world for quite a while.”
He let out a deep breath and his shoulders finally relaxed. “That sounds like a very good plan. Is? Um? Have I forgotten to tell you anything?”
Probably, but I wasn’t worried.
“We’re fine.” One more kiss had him relaxing again, and just seeing him come down from his stress had mine fading too. “You’re home. You’ve got me to take care of you. You don’t have anything else I’m going to let you be responsible for tonight.”
He might be technically able to make decisions, but each one would take him thirty minutes to figure out...and then he’d forget what he’d said and would have to start over.
“I...” Knox slowly let out a breath. “I’m home. You’re going to take care of me. You’re going to make the decisions.”
“Exactly.” Caressing his cheek with my thumb, I nodded carefully. “You’ve had a long day, but you’re safe and I’m going to make sure all you have to think about is pleasing me.”
That got a shiver from him and a low whimper escaped, but silence followed and I realized it was taking a while for him to find the words he wanted. So I was patient since there was nothing else we had to do and nowhere else we had to be.
“I don’t feel safe when I think about going back to the other house.” His confession wasn’t a surprise, but I was proud of him for approaching the subject instead of putting it off. “But we...we can talk about it later?”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” I shrugged and let my unreasonable side come to the surface. “I’m keeping you. You’re mine. Your office is here. All the food is here.”
He had condiments at his house and that was about it.
“The food is here.” Somehow that seemed important to him. “You’re right. You have to feed me.”
“That’s my job. I’m also supposed to keep you on track and make sure your house is livable. Well, this one is livable.” The other one wasn’t. Not because it was still a mess but because it had way too many stressful memories for a guy with as vivid an imagination as Knox had.
“This one has a big desk and shelves.” It was probably the most rational thing he could think of and he held onto it. “I like shelves and we...we already picked out what needed to go on them.”
“And I bought you pictures.” There was no way around it. I got to keep him. “So there’s no talking about going back.”
We just had to figure out if he was going to sell it or rent it out...and we had to figure out where all his random shit was going to go.
That would definitely be a me chore, so I didn’t even bring it up.
“I don’t have to go back?” Relief coursed through Knox so hard his knees wobbled. “I...I was very good and talked to you about my stuff...the stuff I want to keep here.”
Technically yes.
“That’s right. You were very clear about what you wanted and you didn’t argue about looking at the pictures.” He’d just shaken the whole way through it. I’d thought getting it out of the way so he couldn’t obsess over it would be a good way to handle it.
News flash.
It hadn’t been.
“That’s why you don’t have to go back.” There was no way I was letting him force himself to go back there. “You were clear about what you needed and I’m going to handle it from here.”
He stared at me for several long moments like the lights were on but no one was home. Eventually, he nodded slowly as some of his brain cells started firing. “Yes. You’re my Dom. You’re in charge of that and I’ll...I’ll write you a new scene tomorrow. You’ll like that.”
So he was okay moving in with me?
Did he think he was bribing me with a new scene or rewarding me?
Since it seemed like we’d just worked out his living situation, I nodded and ignored the details that didn’t matter. “That’s right. I’m your Dom and that’s the only thing you need to remember.”
“Yes, Master.” His grasp on the real world was starting to fade again and I could see the focus that had been in his gaze fading. “Yes, Master.”
Well, it wasn’t whispered muttering about gremlins, so I was counting it as a move in the right direction.
“Alright, you have five minutes, and when you’re done, you’re going to stand naked in the middle of our bedroom.” Giving him one more caress to his cheek, I waited for a few seconds before trying again. “How many minutes do you have?”
Having to answer a question had some of the lights brightening again.
“Oh, um, five?” Taking a deep breath, he looked steadier. “Five. Then I lose spankings and you take away something big if my extra time adds up to an extra five minutes.”
And we were finally back to a topic his brain liked.
“Correct.” Giving him one more kiss, I nodded toward the stairs again. “You don’t want me taking away anything. Now, upstairs. Your time starts now.”
And he was off.
I should’ve specified he had to be neat.
That was a strategic error on my part because clothes were scattered through the house in seconds. There was no way he was wearing anything by the time he got to the bedroom, but I could punish him for being messy later.
I had more interesting things to do at the moment, but finding a way to drive him crazy would be a fun project for another time.
“Alright, what would a slut puppy drink alcohol out of?” Heading into the kitchen, I had to laugh at the ridiculous things I ended up saying with Knox in my life. “Oh, and water. Can’t forget that either.”
Browsing through my kitchen cabinets, I finally found two weird cereal bowls that had straws attached to them. I had a vague memory of getting them as a gag gift a thousand years ago when I’d first moved into the house, but they’d be perfect for a naughty pup.
Juices and vodka went into the first one and it ended up tasting like fruit punch, so I knew Knox would love it. Ice water went into the second, but I knew he’d ignore that one until he was worn out and actually thirsty.
Getting everything ready hadn’t taken too long, but I wasn’t surprised when I found Knox racing out of the bathroom dripping wet when I finally walked into the bedroom.
His eyes were as wide as the bowls I was carrying but his cock was hard, and I couldn’t see the confused fear that had been in his gaze earlier.
“I’m on time. I’m on time.” He was breathing so fast I knew all he’d thought about was the scene as he got ready for me. “I’m clean. I’m on time.”
He looked like he’d repeat that over and over until I agreed with him, so I nodded and just ignored the questioning glances he was shooting at me. “Good boy. Now go back and dry off, but you’re right. You were on time and you get to keep all your spanks.”
Relief flooded through him and his gaze dropped to the bowls again. I could see questions forming but he nodded instead. “Yes, Master.”
I couldn’t decide if he was trying to be good or if there was something more devious behind his obedience, but I pretended to believe he was well-behaved as he hurried back into the bathroom.
I wasn’t stupid, but I appreciated having an extra few minutes to get everything ready. There was no way Knox just used the extra time to dry off but I didn’t question it when he came out dry and breathing normally. “Very good.”
And I had things ready too, so I was very good as well.
“Thank you, Master.” Knox wasn’t subtle but he kept his head aimed in my direction as his eyes frantically searched the room. “I even hung up my towel carefully.”
Now that, I believed.
“I appreciate that.” I let him keep searching the room because it was a wonderful distraction for my naughty author.
Looking for clues about what would happen was definitely keeping his brain off the rest of our day.
It got even better when he picked up on the first oddities, though.
His brows pulled together when he saw the bowls on the floor.
Then his eyes widened excitedly when he saw the flyswatter-shaped paddle on the bed.
My favorite was the way his mouth dropped open when he saw the dog toys spread around the floor.
“They’re yours, so I don’t think I’ll be hearing any complaints, will I?” I knew why he’d bought them, but I loved the way he blushed and squirmed. “Well?”
Sighing, he finally got the words out as his dick tried to decide if it was going down or up. “I...it’s...I had to figure out how they felt.”
Yep.
He didn’t seem to remember his drunk posts on exploring puppy play night, so I waited quietly to see what he’d confess.