by K. L. Hiers
“And when you’re driving back here.”
“Uh-huh.” Tom pushed his hair out of his face and took a deep breath. “Mean, mean man.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.” Cypress smirked smugly. “And so will your punishment.”
Those words echoed in Tom’s mind the whole drive over to the funeral home. Even as his erection subsided, he was still running through an entire litany of erotic thoughts. He prayed as hard as he could that this would be a simple removal, and he’d be done quickly.
Once he arrived at work, he grabbed one of the suits he kept in his car to change into. He looked around to make sure there weren’t any monsters hiding in the shadows and hurried over to the back door.
He found Bosco inside the office getting all the removal paperwork together. They exchanged waves, and Tom went into the bathroom to get changed.
When he was ready, he met Bosco back in the office and headed outside to the van to get going.
“Thanks for helping out tonight,” Bosco said when they were both getting buckled up. “I know Scott appreciates it.”
“No problem.” Tom fidgeted, tugging at his seat belt. “Hopefully this will be easy, in and out.”
“In and out,” Bosco agreed.
There was nothing in and out about it.
When they arrived, there were at least a dozen cars crowding the deceased’s residence. The house was full of family and friends, and even a few neighbors. Bosco managed to find the next of kin, the husband, holding court at his kitchen table.
The smell of alcohol was almost nauseating, and it was clear everyone here was drinking. Tom stayed out of the way, already mentally tracking how they were going to get the deceased out of the house.
He was confused when he saw the hospital bed in the living room was empty.
Where was the body?
Turns out the husband had decided to take his wife upstairs to their bedroom so he could hold her one last time. Tom knew this because he could hear the poor man sobbing out the whole story from the front door.
And oh, would they mind waiting? They had a few more family members coming by to see her.
Bosco joined Tom where he was posted by the door, mumbling under his breath, “It’s gonna be a while.”
“Yeah, I heard,” Tom whispered back. “It’ll be fine. I mean, how long could it possibly take?”
Two hours.
It took two miserable hours for the remaining family to arrive and another half hour to get back with the deceased’s body to the funeral home. Navigating the stairs hadn’t been very fun with such a large audience because of course, no one wanted to leave.
Tom’s heart had been jackhammering with a flood of adrenaline the entire time, and he’d never been so grateful to leave a removal. He kept Cypress posted on what was going on via text, apologizing profusely for running so late.
It’s okay, Cypress texted back. Just be safe.
Bosco parked the van outside the garage door of the funeral home, turning the jazz off that he’d been playing for the deceased based off a Louis Armstrong picture he’d seen in the house.
“You unload, I’ll do the paperwork?” Tom offered.
“No,” Bosco grunted. “You go home. I got this. If anything else comes up, I’ll call Scott.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Get the hell out of here.”
It was already almost midnight, and Tom wasn’t going to refuse such a kind gesture. He hopped out of the van, exclaiming, “Thank you so much. You have a good night, Bosco. Hopefully, this will be your only call.”
“Thanks, Tom. Night.”
Tom practically sprinted to his car, doing another quick scan of the parking lot to make sure it was safe. He sent Cypress another text to let him know he was on the way back and quickly drove over. He left his suit jacket in the car when he got there, opting to change later.
After all, he was fairly certain his punishment wouldn’t involve any clothes, so it wasn’t like he’d be wearing them for long.
Tom used the key Cypress had given him earlier to let himself in through the back door. He locked it behind him and started to turn to go upstairs, but he noticed there was a light on in the flower shop.
“Cypress?”
“Back here!”
Tom followed his voice over to the work table in the back hallway. There were flowers scattered all over it, and Cypress was hard at work arranging them in a little basket full of green foam. There was soft music playing from a small radio, something jazzy that made Tom think of the music Bosco had played earlier on the removal.
“Thought you’d be in bed,” Tom said, coming up behind Cypress and hugging his shoulders.
“Last minute order. Another charming husband who forgot their spouse’s birthday,” Cypress said, reaching up to touch Tom’s hand. “Same old shit.”
“Ah.”
“How did your removal go?”
“I will never understand why families don’t wait to call us until they’re actually ready,” Tom said with an annoyed sigh. “That’s what the holdup was. They didn’t want us to take the deceased until all the family was there, and one guy was over an hour away.”
“Maybe they don’t think about it. I mean… someone did just die.”
“Sorry. I sound like an asshole, huh?” Tom leaned over Cypress, resting his chin on his shoulder. “It gets frustrating, especially if we have another call and have to make the other family wait. Then they get mad we took so long, and just… ugh.”
“Well, did you have another call?” Cypress asked, cutting the stem of a pink flower and sticking it into the foam.
“No.”
“Good.” Cypress turned to kiss Tom’s cheek. “So, it could have been worse.”
“Ha! Trust me. It can always be worse with this job. So much worse.” Tom hugged Cypress again. “I’m glad it’s over.”
“No sign of Junior?” Cypress began to trim more flowers, his dexterous fingers making quick work of the stems and leaves in his way.
“No,” Tom replied firmly. “Maybe I should have asked Bosco if he knew anything. I don’t know.”
“Probably was better to keep what’s going on to yourself. If you asked him anything, he’d want to know why you were asking.” Cypress turned, so he was straddling the bench, patting the space in front of him. “Come here.”
Tom sat down, swinging his legs under the table. He picked up one of the flowers. “What’s this one?”
“A peony.”
“These?”
“Lilac stems.”
“And the little pink ones?”
“Sweet pea,” Cypress replied, taking one of the big peonies and sticking it down into the basket. He picked up another bloom, but he paused. “You wanna try?”
“Me?”
“Why not?” Cypress offered the flower to him. “You said it was like getting someone ready for a viewing, right?”
“Kinda.” Tom looked over the arrangement, looking for an empty spot to put the flower in. “Like that?”
“Pretty good,” Cypress said, handing him some of the lilac stems. “Use some of these tall ones for some height. Makes the arrangement more interesting.”
Tom stuck the stems in random places, hoping he wasn’t totally ruining it. He glanced down at some green fuzz left behind on his fingers from the foam. “Why is it wet?”
“You soak the floral foam in water to help keep the flowers fresh longer,” Cypress explained. “I put a little bit of plant food in the water before I soak it, too.”
“These next?” Tom picked up another lilac stem.
“That one needs to be trimmed,” Cypress said, wrapping his thick arms around Tom’s waist. He leaned in close and kissed his neck. “Take off the little leaves, cut the end of the stem at an angle, and then you pop it in.”
Tom shivered, unconsciously tilting his body into Cypress’s embrace as he tried to get the flower ready. Flashes of heat were prickling down his neck from Cypress’s kisses, and
he stammered, “L-like this?”
“Very good.” Cypress began to unbutton Tom’s shirt, pulling it loose from his pants. “Mmm, just grab that last little leaf there at the top.”
Tom tried to stay focused on the flower, but he was more concerned with Cypress’s hands. “Uh, you, you mean this one here?”
“Uh huh.” Cypress pressed close and began to loosen Tom’s belt. His lips ghosted over his ear, his hand sliding low on his stomach, caressing him slowly.
“And now?” Tom felt his stomach flip pleasantly, his body quickly responding to Cypress’s touches. His cock was thickening up in his pants, trapped against his thigh by the tight fabric.
“Still gotta cut the end.” Cypress nodded at a small knife. He kissed Tom’s neck, right behind his ear, and he began to slip his fingers into his underwear.
Tom twitched when Cypress’s long fingers teased around the base of his cock, and he was getting hot all over. His hand shook when he picked up the knife, carefully cutting the end of the flower.
“Very good,” Cypress praised, continuing to paw at Tom’s cock and sliding his other hand around to palm his ass. “Now put it in the foam.”
Tom found a good place for it, as good as he could anyway while being groped. He started to turn so he could kiss Cypress, wanting to get his hands on him, too.
But Cypress held him in place, chastising, “Ah, ah. We’re not done with the flowers, are we?”
“This is my punishment, isn’t it?” Tom groaned, gasping sharply when Cypress nipped at his jaw.
“Part of it,” Cypress replied, now nuzzling the spot he’d bitten. The tips of his fingers petted Tom’s cock, pulling it out from his pants and starting to stroke.
Tom picked up another flower, trying to pull off the leaves and nearly ripping it in half. Cypress’s strong grip was a powerful distraction, and Tom nearly moaned when he began to speed up.
Right as it was feeling really damn good, Cypress stopped. He slid Tom’s shirt off his shoulders, pressing kisses along his collarbone. “Go on,” he urged. “Gotta finish this up before we go to bed.”
Gritting his teeth, Tom picked up more flowers to put into the basket. A few of them were crooked and not very clean, but he would blame Cypress pinching his nipples for those. As the basket began to fill out, his mistakes were easily hidden.
Cypress kept petting Tom’s nipples, stroking them both until they were hard, and making him shudder. Cypress dragged his hands down his chest, tracing the curve of his belly before grabbing his cock again.
“Fuck,” Tom hissed. He couldn’t believe how sensitive he was right now, his nipples throbbing and every inch of his skin tingling with excitement.
Cypress squeezed his cock, his thumb playing in the leaking pre-come and rubbing it all over his slick head. He kissed at Tom’s neck again, teasing here and there with his teeth. “I can’t wait to be inside you again.”
“Fuck,” Tom said again, his vocabulary reduced to that single word as Cypress continued to torture him. He couldn’t stop squirming, and every little touch was making him ache. He would start to get so close, his thighs shaking with the urge to come, but Cypress would stop before he could.
“Missed a spot,” Cypress said, eyeing the bouquet before turning his attention back to Tom’s neck.
“I can’t… mmm… Cypress.” Tom grunted. “I need to fuckin’ come. Please.”
“Not until you’re done,” Cypress taunted, his lips brushing over Tom’s ear. “You’re so very close.”
“Please.” Tom leaned into Cypress’s mouth, dropping the little knife and reaching up to stroke his beard. His heart was pounding away, and he was positively writhing now. “Let me come, and I’ll do whatever you want.”
“You’re going to do that anyway.” Cypress chuckled, taking Tom’s hand and redirecting it to the knife. “Just a few more peonies. Maybe then I’ll let you come.”
“I’m sorry,” Tom panted as he struggled to trim up the last of the flowers. “I’m sorry I went to work. I know it was stupid, and, and mmm… and I need to learn to do things for me.”
“See, you say that, but then you do the opposite.”
“I know,” Tom said, his hips bucking as Cypress grabbed his cock again. “I will get better. I will.”
“Mm, maybe I haven’t been giving you the right motivation,” Cypress mused, all his strokes feather-light and teasing.
“I’m feeling pretty motivated right about now.” Tom stabbed the very last flower into the basket, having to use all his willpower to give his work a serious examination to ensure it would pass Cypress’s inspection.
Cypress’s grip tightened, and he jerked Tom off with more intent as he looked over the arrangement. “Looks pretty good. In another life, you could’ve been a great florist.”
“How about being a guy who gets to come?” Tom grabbed Cypress’s thigh, squeezing hard. “Please. I need it, I need it so badly–”
“Close, aren’t you?” Cypress smiled. “Your cock is so fuckin’ wet right now.”
“Come on,” Tom pleaded loudly. That delicious pressure was building up inside of him, making him throb and ache for release. Cypress wasn’t stopping yet, and Tom let himself get carried away, almost there, right there—
Cypress’s phone jingled.
“Ah, one second,” Cypress said, looking ever so smug as he pulled away to check it.
Tom huffed loudly, all the air knocked right out of his lungs. His balls were painfully tight from being denied, and he wanted nothing more than to reach over and grab Cypress’s phone and throw it.
“Good news,” Cypress said cheerfully, reading over a text message.
“You’re gonna let me come?”
“Even better. Junior’s finally been arrested.”
“Arrested?”
“Yup,” Cypress confirmed. “Fox and the boys in blue just picked him up. Wanted to let us know.”
Tom sighed in relief, a heavy weight lifting from his shoulders. He wouldn’t have to worry about anyone jumping at him from the shadows now if Junior was in jail.
“Shit. That’s awesome.” Tom cringed. “I mean, not for Junior obviously, but hey.”
“Hopefully, Gerald doesn’t pay his bail and lets him rot,” Cypress said, kissing Tom’s cheek. “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty stoked.”
“Is it weird I feel bad for him?”
“Taking into consideration he’s probably the one who wrecked your house, maybe a bit.”
“No, you’re right.” Tom quickly tried to dismiss the thought. It was weird to feel sorry for his ex while his dick was out. He reached up to touch Cypress’s beard, urging him in for a kiss.
“Now, where were we?” Cypress smiled, kissing Tom and letting it linger for a few moments.
“Mmm, hopefully about to let me come,” Tom mumbled against his lips.
“No, that’s not it.” Cypress hummed as if in deep thought. “I think I was getting ready to take you upstairs to start your punishment.”
“Start?” Tom complained, gesturing down at his hard cock. “What do you mean start?”
“This was just a warm-up,” Cypress said with a wink. “When we go upstairs, I’m going to have you get undressed. I’m going to spank you for being so bad and disappointing me today. Then I’m going to tie you down to the bed.
“Because you’ve been such a bad boy, I think you’ll need something more than my hand. You really hurt me with your foolish decision, and I think we might use my riding crop after all.”
Tom was practically drooling.
“I’m going to spank your ass, your thighs, and your cock,” Cypress went on, unflinching as he described every sinful act. “I’m going to remind you that you shouldn’t make decisions like this without talking to me first. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you take your punishment like a good boy, I’ll let you come.” Cypress glanced over to the basket. “This actually looks great, by the way. I’m gonna go put it
in the cooler, and I’ll meet you upstairs.”
“Really?” Tom beamed.
“Especially knowing you did it under, let’s say, extreme duress.” Cypress smiled, swatting at Tom’s dick as he got up. “Go on. I’ll be right there.”
It was hard to walk up a flight of stairs with an aching hard-on, but Tom managed. He was in such a great mood knowing Junior was off the streets and that justice was going to be served.
He did wonder if Junior would say anything about all the formaldehyde he’d forced Tom to sell, but Tom decided Junior had much bigger legal troubles to worry about.
Murder, for one.
He suddenly thought of Mr. Ross’s bare abdomen, and he was unable to erase the vivid images of his multiple stab wounds. Right on cue, he heard Mrs. Dresser’s screams, and he had to sit down on the sofa.
Shit.
No, not now. Not when everything was finally getting better. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He took another and another, his mind washing away the traumatic memories with happier thoughts:
Cypress bringing him dinner at the funeral home, the first time he spanked him, the cute way he’d always sneak gravy or some sort of little treat into Mister Doodles’ food…
Knowing that he had to be a good boy tonight, so Cypress would let him come.
By the time Cypress came upstairs to join him, Tom was calmed down. His erection had taken a hit but seeing Cypress’s handsome smile was enough to make it twitch.
“Are you ready?” Cypress asked, offering his hand out.
“Yes,” Tom breathed eagerly.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, sir,” Tom corrected himself, loving how such a simple phrase could be so soothing. He didn’t have to worry now. Cypress was going to take care of him and tell him exactly what to do.
“Your safe word?” Cypress pulled Tom up and pressed a kiss to his wrist.
“Calvarium clamp.”
“Good boy. Now, go ahead and undress for me.”
Tom wiggled out of his clothes in seconds, and his cock was rock hard again. He stood patiently waiting for his next command, smiling up at Cypress. “Good, sir?”
“Perfect.” Cypress reached down and gave Tom’s cock an appreciative stroke before fondling and squeezing his balls. “Now, you’re going to get down on your hands and knees. I want you to come to me just like that.”
