by Zoey Marcel
“Yes, Sir.” His balls drew up, sending him to a level of nirvana that was sexually painful.
A long pause followed those two words of deference.
“Apologize to me.”
My God, he sounded so hot and masculine, so authoritative and angry.
“I’m sorry, Sir.”
Malachi’s octave got a whole lot quieter. “Thank me for disciplining you.”
Sean went dizzy at the order. He’d heard that was a BDSM thing that some people did, having the submissive thank the Dominant for their punishment.
“Thank you for disciplining me, Sir.”
“Did it hurt?”
The question nearly blinded him with pleasure.
Fuck me, please.
“Yeah, it hurt really badly.” He made his voice meek, submissive, and tried desperately to keep the insane lust out of it.
“Good.”
His dick nearly exploded over the word.
“You won’t sass me again or repeat tonight’s indiscretions, will you?”
An electric sizzle commenced in his testicles. So close.
“No.”
“No what?”
Sean bit his lip. His balls ached. His cock throbbed and his anus tingled. He wanted Malachi to take a look at his battered ass more than he could stand.
“No, Sir.”
“Good boy.”
His penis clenched. He had to will his mind to somehow control the orgasm that flirted with him.
Malachi headed toward the door. “Get ready for bed.”
Sean yanked his jeans up and fumbled to close them. “Wait.”
He stumbled on his way over and Malachi caught him. His erection brushed the older man’s leg and he hoped Malachi didn’t feel it.
“Please don’t stay mad at me.”
Malachi helped him to his feet. “I’m not mad, Sean.”
“I shouldn’t have sassed you.”
“It’s forgotten.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Sean clung to him. “You’re my best friend.”
Malachi gazed at him with caring eyes. “You’re mine.”
Sean drank in his features. God, the man was male perfection incarnate. Those penetrating steel-blue eyes, that heady voice, and those beckoning lips.
Sean’s hands moved to the man’s shoulders.
He went for it, pressed his lips gently to Malachi’s, massaging them, enticing him. It all happened so fast he wasn’t sure what was wishful thinking and what was real. It felt like Malachi’s lips moved on his. Sean tasted the man’s top lip on the tip of his tongue through barely parted lips. The smooth strength that slanted over his lips in sensual unity enraptured him.
Malachi’s hand went to his arm and Sean panicked. He would know. Sean pulled away fast before Malachi could break them apart. He stumbled backward, panting in fearful euphoria.
The look on Malachi’s face shook him up. The man’s eyes were hooded and his head was down, jaw set in shock and another emotion that was either guilt or disgust. Sean couldn’t tell. Malachi looked away, lips barely parted, seeming as shaken as Sean over the whole thing.
“I’m drunk,” Sean blurted.
“I noticed.” Malachi cleared his throat and made for the door. “Get ready for bed like I told you to.”
He shut the door so loudly it was almost a slam.
Sean shuddered and put his hand over his mouth, sinking to the floor with his back up against the bed.
He knows.
What was he supposed to do without his best friend? Malachi was everything to him.
Please don’t hate me.
It would kill him if Malachi never spoke to him again after Sean moved in with Uncle Greg.
* * * *
The next morning was torture. After brushing his teeth, Sean stood near the closed bathroom door for several minutes, quaking with dread, heart sinking with despair before finally heading out to face his mistake.
He found Malachi sitting on the couch reading his bible. Notes lay nearby.
Sean stood in the doorway, not knowing what to say to him. “Malachi?”
Malachi didn’t act surprised to hear him there. He looked over at him. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. About last night, I’m so sorry. I don’t know where that came from. I’ve never done that before. I was just drunk.”
Malachi moved his attention from him to peek down, expression serious and contemplative without giving anything away.
“I get horny sometimes when I’m drunk.”
“Then you shouldn’t drink.”
“You’re right.”
Quiet fell between them.
Malachi set his bible aside and scrutinized him, patting the couch. “Sit down.”
Sean obeyed and sat next to him.
Malachi scooted closer. “I’m sure you’ve heard it said that alcohol forces people to be honest.”
Sean didn’t look at him for fear of giving away the truth. “It also causes people to make fools of themselves and to act out of character.”
“That’s true. Are you bisexual, Sean?”
“No, sir.”
The elephant in the room came in the form of a question Malachi didn’t ask.
“You know I can’t have a deviant in my house. I have a reputation to consider.”
“I’m not a deviant. I’m as straight as you are.”
The silence got heavier and neither man looked at each other.
“Why did you kiss me last night?” Malachi finally asked.
“I don’t know.”
He looked at Sean. “Don’t you?”
Sean glided his hands together anxiously. “I was drunk. I would have kissed an emu last night.”
Malachi’s crooked smile put butterflies in his stomach. The man was beguiling.
“I think I was just vulnerable last night. After you spanked me I felt grateful and close to you, but I shouldn’t have kissed you. I care about you as a mate and a mentor, and I took it too far. I won’t get drunk again.”
“That’s good, Sean.” Malachi laid his hand on Sean’s leg about an inch above the knee. He turned his head and looked right at Sean, knowingly with sharp accusation in his eyes. “Now tell me why you got erect last night when I spanked you with a belt.”
Sean’s pulse went erratic and his heart slammed against his ribcage. “I wasn’t.”
Malachi’s expression darkened and his jaw tensed. “Don’t lie to me.”
Sean squirmed when Malachi moved his hand higher up his thigh. Was he testing him? He was doomed. Steadying himself, he focused on breathing and tried not to think about Malachi’s hand on his leg.
“I was intoxicated. Do you seriously expect me to remember what happened last night?”
“Lacy said some rather strange things last night.”
“She was drunk.” His tone broke when Malachi’s hand ran slowly up his inner thigh.
“You’re not pretending to be straight, are you?”
“No. I really am. Lacy and I had a fight so we broke up, but we’re still mates.”
“If you’re straight, then why are you enjoying this?”
Malachi’s palm moved to his crotch. A breathy sound rushed from Sean. His cock swelled beneath the masculine touch, growing even hotter. He gaped down at the man’s hand lying over his swollen penis, separated only by his clothes.
Malachi’s countenance became hard and authoritative. His hushed timbre was as searing as his hand. “You’re hard, Sean.”
“I had erotic dreams about women last night. I woke up this way.”
A cry wrung from his throat when Malachi squeezed his erection through his jeans. A hot flow of blood rushed into his pulsing dick, engorging it, making his shaft throb in the strong hand grasping him. He’d never ached so badly in his life.
“Look at me.”
He slowly turned his head and raised his pleading eyes to the other man.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you’re not gay, tha
t this doesn’t feel good.” Malachi’s murmur turned his cock to steel.
Sean sucked in a sharp breath when Malachi’s finger ran along the hump under his cockhead. His shaft twitched in his pants, the crown bobbing to attention beneath the insidious stroke. His throbbing dick was in agony.
Could he say it? Did Malachi actually want him?
Was he only testing him?
He might tell Sean’s father. Malachi had gone to great lengths to try to cure Carsten of his natural urges by sending him to every religious place under heaven.
This had to be a trap.
“I’m not gay. I swear.”
Malachi pulled his hand away, gaze full of skepticism.
Sean glanced down, donning a more confident air with feigned guilt. “Yesterday I watched bi porn for the first time. It was just a three-way with two men and a woman. I didn’t know the men were gonna play with each other, too. By the time they were done pleasuring the woman and they started to go at each other I was so turned on that what they were doing together aroused me, too.”
Malachi just listened.
Sean made eye contact with him, erecting a confident facade. “I’m not bi or gay, though. I think it was the eroticism, you know. The woman was happy and they made each other happy. I got confused, but it’s okay because sometimes people get aroused by the idea of sex rather than a particular act or gender. When you touched me it reminded me of that.” He shook his head and peeked down at his hands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have watched it.”
Malachi relaxed. “Porn can leave people confused and aroused by things they shouldn’t be involved in. You don’t want to go down the road of threesomes and bisexuality. I won’t let you do that to your conscience.”
“So you believe me?”
Malachi gave him a glance that made him nervous. “Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”
“No.” Sean didn’t know if he was convinced or not, but he didn’t want to linger on the topic any longer than he had to.
“People make mistakes in their youth. I don’t think any less of you for it.”
“You’re not gonna send me to that ex-gay camp like you did with Carsten, are you?”
“I don’t have to if you’re straight, do I?”
Sean forced an uneasy smile. “Right. Please don’t tell my da.”
“I wasn’t going to.” Malachi stood. “Read those scriptures. It’ll put things back in perspective for you.”
“Okay.”
“And, Sean?”
Sean looked up at him standing in the doorway.
Malachi’s countenance was severe, his eyes threatening and voice stern with reproach. “Don’t ever kiss me like that again.”
Sean bowed his head and nodded, shame and depression clouding his mood. “Yes, sir.”
“Good boy. I’ll help you finish packing later so you can be ready when your uncle comes for your things.”
“Thanks.”
Sean’s attention fell to the bible. It was open to Romans. The notes had every scripture against homosexuality in the book, plus some verses on drunkenness.
His spirit sank. He didn’t feel bad for wanting a man, especially not when he was in love with him, but he felt guilty for tempting a preacher with a kiss.
He’d thought Malachi had kissed him back, but maybe not. Why else would he test him this morning and then rebuke him for sin afterward?
At least they could still be mates.
His heart seized with pain when he realized that Malachi was never going to change his views on gays or men loving each other. Sean would never be with him and that hurt more than anything. His head said it was over, but in his heart he knew it never would be.
Chapter Eleven
So this is a BDSM club.
Danielle walked between her Dom and Brighton. The atmosphere inside Leather & Lace was exciting, to say the least. Seeing half naked people and a few nude ones was refreshing in that there were a variety of different body types present and nobody seemed to be judging anybody for being too small or too big, nor too average or too unnatural.
A dash of concern made her wonder if Kale would notice the other women’s bodies a bit too much. There was a slender woman with a perky butt, moaning while a man in leather used a riding crop on her.
Or the woman that was about her own curvy size but had been fortunate enough to be gifted with a beautiful face instead of a plain one. Plus her boobs were bigger and natural, like pillowy mountains busting out of her purple and black corset. She had an assertive personality as she made a collared naked skinny man worship her feet.
Hell, there was an exotic-looking, dark-haired beauty that was slim and toned with what appeared to be natural breasts, but Danielle knew all too well that they were fake. No one’s body fat was that low with a rack that size. But they’d been well done, probably placed under the muscle to appear more natural. Men would be fooled. Men like Kale.
Mood-killing jealousy made her hurt inside. Her attention darted to Kale, but he didn’t seem to notice the women or the men. He had one hand on her back and the other resting against Brighton’s as he led them toward the bar. Maybe he really was so wrapped up in his cherished pets that he didn’t notice anyone else in the club. Or it could be that he’d gotten the wildness out of his system back in his twenties and now had a level head and a committed mindset toward the two people he cared about.
“You both look ravishing tonight,” Kale told them.
“Thank you, Sir.” She drank up the praise.
“Thanks, man,” Brighton said.
Kale stopped walking, bringing them to a halt as well. “Is that how you address your Dom, pup?”
“Oops. Crap, man. I’m sorry. I’ll remember next time.”
Kale swatted his ass, making Brighton jump a little and yip. “You will show me respect now.”
“You’re right, Sir. Sorry about that.”
Kale rubbed his ass, making a low grunt as he kissed each of their heads and then carried on toward the bar.
The guy behind the counter looked like he was in his early or mid-twenties. He had dark brown hair that was bleached on top, giving him a teenage pop star kind of look. His eyes appeared hazel, but a little different in nature than Kale’s, which had more of a caramel look to them. This guy’s ran the gamut between various shades of brown and green.
“What can I get for you guys?” the young bartender asked.
Kale pulled out a barstool for Danielle and then one for Brighton. “My pets will tell you their preferences. The two of you behave yourselves while I go set up a room for us.”
“Yes, Sir,” they said in unison.
“Brighton, take off your shirt like we talked about,” Kale instructed.
Blushing, Brighton slowly pulled his shirt off and then handed it to Kale, who smelled it with a pleased groan. She didn’t have to look down at Brighton’s lap to know he was aroused by the action.
“I won’t be long.” Kale walked away.
The young man behind the counter grinned. “You guys look great, by the way.”
“Thanks,” both replied.
Danielle had on a black French maid outfit with a white apron. She wore black fishnet stockings with her dark heels, which made her feel a little less skimpy. It was sexy lingerie night at the club. She’d curled her hair and put on plenty of makeup, though nothing that would get her abducted by the circus and turned into an exhibit.
Brighton wore jeans and tennis shoes. That was all. Kale had let him wear a shirt here since it was cold outside, but he’d told Brighton that he would be shirtless while they were in the club. Seeing his lithe, strapping bare chest was distracting. Moisture seeped into her dainty black lace thong.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” she asked the bartender.
The guy studied her. “Maybe. I’m Justin.”
“That’s right. Justin Huntington?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I remember now. You and Brighton were always friends in secret
because of the whole family feud between the Huntingtons and the McAlisters.”
Brighton snorted. “Yes. Freakin’ Lena, getting the old guys all riled.”
“They weren’t old back then,” Justin pointed out.
“They were always old,” Brighton quipped. He turned his head to look at her. “How did you not recognize him? I introduced you years ago.”
“Well, he’s all grown up now.”
Justin smiled.
“What do you mean he’s all grown up? You think he’s sexy, don’t you?” Brighton teased.
“No matter what I say, somebody present is going to be offended.”
“That’s right. You can think he’s cute, baby, but remember I’m the cutest thing ever.”
She interlaced her arm in Brighton’s and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “You are.”
Justin appeared to be soaking in their lovey-dovey behavior. “Aw, but seriously, guys, order something before Aiden comes over here and gets mad at me for standing around.”
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“One of my bosses.”
She made up her mind first. “Can I just get some water, please?”
“You got it.”
Brighton smirked, features perking in a quirky manner she found loveable. “Who the hell orders water from a bar? You really want your studly man paying for something he can go out and collect for you in a rain bucket?”
Justin snickered.
“Well, yeah, I’m gonna pay for water if a rain bucket is your method for hydrating me.”
He cracked a toothy smile. “Oh fine, get water. I’ll have some Sprite.”
“You guys are going easy on me tonight.” Justin got to it.
“Eh, you deserve a break once in a while,” Brighton said. “Speaking of your bosses, Shane is definitely not here tonight, right?”
“Nope, he has the night off,” Justin replied.
“Okay, good. We specifically arranged our coming here for when he was gone.”
Danielle shook her head, thanking Justin for the glass of ice water he passed to her. “Honestly, why don’t your dads just shake hands and let bygones be bygones?”
“She has a point,” Justin agreed.
Brighton let out a mock gasp. “They can’t do that. Then Shane would let me into this club instead of you sneaking me in. How is that as fun?”
