Chapter 25
Casimir
He was so cute when he was a grumpy pain in the ass, but it wasn’t the time to tell him that. I’d fuck with him about it at some point, but for the time being, I needed to keep up the stern Dom glare that seemed to be turning him on.
“How should we start?” My question couldn’t be unexpected but he shrugged like a moody teenager. “Alright then. Let’s go in the living room.”
Keeping a straight face made me a badass Dom, but I was also a caring one and took his hand. “Come with me, baby.”
Getting him dressed had been a bad plan, so as we walked into the living room, I made sure the drapes were closed before stripping him again. I could almost hear his body sighing in relief as I took charge, but I didn’t let him see me react as I continued silently.
When he was naked again, beautiful and still pouting, I sat down on the couch and put a pillow on the floor in front of me. “I’m going to get you a special kneeling cushion to make sure you can do it long term without injuring my toy.”
For some reason that seemed to stop his brain mid-thought. He blinked a few times like something wasn’t processing right before slowly lowering himself into position. When he was still, I nodded approvingly and ran my hand over his head while I let silence and my control fill the room.
After a minute of steady breaths and getting an increasingly relaxed sub, I ran my hand down his head to gently cup his cheek. “Do you know why you’re so anxious?”
“No, Sir.” The answer came quickly enough I knew he was being mostly honest. “I…I don’t think I do?”
That was a start and I liked that he hadn’t argued with me about how he was feeling.
“I’m going to leave you caged and naked longer next time.” Good intentions didn’t mean the action was right in the long run. “You’ll kneel in the kitchen while I’m making breakfast and deciding how to use you. Later, I’ll put clothes on you when you make me lunch or dinner.”
I’d have to figure out how long the cage would stay on, but he’d needed more time in the floaty headspace it’d given him. “I might get you naked again and let you feed me if you were good enough.”
He blinked.
He liked that idea.
I couldn’t help grinning as I kept stroking his cheek. “I’d be like one of those old Roman emperors who have slaves to feed them grapes and fan them. It’ll be fun. You’ll wait on me and then I’ll find new ways to play with you as my after-dinner treat.”
He’d make a tasty dessert.
Leaning into my touch, he licked his lips and nodded slowly. “You’d leave the cage on all day?”
Realizing just how much he wanted the feelings it’d given him, I nodded. “Yes. You’re beautiful when you’re caged and I loved seeing how good it made you feel to know you belonged to me.”
That had him letting out a slightly shaky breath which seemed to surprise him if I was reading the flash of wide eyes correctly. “I…”
Pausing, he sorted through some thoughts and tried again. “I think that might be part of the issue.”
Well, at least we were both in the same book…and possibly on the same page.
“We didn’t get a chance to finish our conversation last night.” At least not when he was thinking clearly and had the ability to worry thoroughly. “We touched on it a little but not when you were processing everything in this headspace.”
I wasn’t sure if he’d respond to that part, so I was pleased when he sighed. “It…it felt different before.”
Atlee in subspace was much more trusting and accepting of what I said.
“Do you need me to repeat my words or do you need me to confirm I was honest before?” There were other options but that felt like a good place to start.
“Um…” Swallowing hard, Atlee frowned. “I don’t know?”
He didn’t like that but at least he was trying to explain the problem.
“What do you know?” Taking a mental step back, I tightened my legs around his torso and leaned against the couch to make sure I looked relaxed. “Tell me anything.”
Oh, he wanted to argue with me…probably to tell me I wasn’t holding him accountable enough…but he thought better of it.
Smart man.
“I liked it when you said you were going to cage me longer.” His frown said he wanted to grumble about that in some way, but it seemed more about being a brat than being upset.
“I liked being caged. It’s…relaxing might not be the right word but I’m also not sure saying I feel like a different person when it’s on is a reasonable explanation. ”
Oh.
“I think it is.” That stopped my dramatic boy right in his tracks.
He liked being right but in this case it had to be confusing.
“You’ve done your best to keep your submissive side under control for a very long time.
It leaked out in frustrating ways but you didn’t have the right information to handle that part of yourself. ”
He was probably lucky it hadn’t fucked with his life more because his submissive side was incredibly strong. Ignoring it and hiding it away had probably been exhausting, so it wasn’t a surprise to me it felt alien to him.
“You haven’t gotten a chance to get to know your sub side, so he’s a stranger at best.” I was amazed he was handling everything as well as he had been. That Type-A had to do everything right side was helping him along in some way, but we’d have to see if it was a good thing in the long run or not.
Atlee swallowed, nodding slowly. “I guess that’s reasonable.”
Brat.
“Of course it’s reasonable.” My huff had him trying not to smile. “I’m your Dom. That means I’m always right.”
“Master.” The word jumped out before he could stop himself.
Knowing there was a difference to him, I nodded slowly. “Master. It’s going to take me a little while to shift that headspace because I’ve been trying not to take over that much. Reminding myself to take things slow has become an internal mantra that’s become a habit.”
His scrunched-up face said he was internally grumbling about something but he smoothed it away almost immediately. “I’m still very new to all of this, so that’s reasonable.”
“Even if you don’t like it.” Ignoring how he’d pressed his lips together, I gave him a peck. “We’re not sticking with that slow model anymore, though, because it’s not a good fit for what you need from me.”
Blinking, it seemed like his mental grumbles were quieting enough for him to hear what I was saying. “But your needs and limits are just as important as mine.”
“We’re both important but we’re not coming close to my limits.
I’m more worried about keeping you on an even keel so coming out of subspace isn’t this hard.
” As his shoulders came down and his muscles relaxed, I leaned in again and gave him a softer kiss.
“This isn’t good for you, so we’re going to come up with another plan. ”
Submission only went perfectly the first time in books and dirty movies, but our hiccup wasn’t bad in the scheme of things.
“We’re…we’re going to communicate and I’m going to explain how I’m feeling.” His slightly sighed-out reminder seemed to be more for himself, but I nodded anyway and kept up the soft caress of his face and head. “Even if my answer is I don’t know.”
“Correct.” He really didn’t like not knowing and that had to be a big part of why this was making him so frustrated. “We’ll use what you know as a starting point and we’ll adjust as we go on. Our first adjustment is leaving you caged for longer.”
Something about the situation was finally getting through to his submissive side and not just his overthinking side because he let out another long breath. I could feel some of the stress leaving him but he needed more time for it to sink in.
So I continued petting him as I kept my legs around him in a firm hold. The silence that stretched out seemed to reinforce my control but eventually I sighed dramatically. “If I put you back in your cage, though, I’m going to use you again.”
I made sure it sounded almost like I was talking to myself, which had Atlee wiggling nervously as excitement of some sort seemed to push through him. Cocking my head, I studied him and slowly slid my index finger into his mouth, fucking it back and forth. “Your mouth. I’ll use that.”
With the decision made, I looked down at his hardening cock and frowned. “This is going to need some attention.”
Oh, that must’ve sent something fabulous rushing through him because he shivered and his eyes flashed wide. “I…I can’t help it.”
Still looking serious, I raised one eyebrow. “Is it trying to make you naughty?”
Would he remember the conversation from earlier or had he been too deep?
Atlee went still, going quiet and licking his lips as something processed. It was a strong reaction, but he’d shifted toward the submissive headspace again, which had to be a good sign under the circumstances.
It just took him a few moments to be able to give me the response I was looking for.
Well, a few moments and some breathy whines.
Oh, yes. We were moving toward a much better headspace.
“May…” Atlee swallowed hard as his gaze went soft again. “May I have taps, Master?”
Nodding, I kissed his cheek and ran my hand down his neck to stroke his chest. Inching toward his growing erection, I made a pleased hum that got another shiver from him. “I think that’s a very good idea. You need a reminder about who you belong to.”
And hopefully it would have a strong association with telling me what he was thinking quicker next time.
“You… I…I belong to you.” His need to be the best was at war with his desire for pain and pleasure, but he took a chance on losing his taps.
“This will help you remember that.” At least until I could get his collar on him.
Saving money on shipping wasn’t worth the stress on him.
“And I’m going to enjoy it.” Letting him hear the desire in my voice had him sinking deeper into subspace and getting harder. “I like seeing my boy caged and sweet.”
We were both going to love giving him what he needed, then we’d take time later coming out of it slower. I’d just have to find some fun new ways to keep my ownership of him at the front of his mind until he was ready to come back to reality.