“Yes, Sir.”
“You’re not allowed to come. If you do, you’ll dislike your punishment. Count them for me,” he said, and then his hand slapped down on my right cheek.
“One.”
Left cheek.
“Two.”
Lower on my right cheek.
“Three.”
He kept going, and I kept counting, each sharp sting of his palm part of an intricate pattern that I knew deep inside was to protect me. He spanked and I counted, at some point slipping into this foggy place in my mind that I’d always known was there but had never lived in. I cried out, tears coming harder and harder, and somehow I knew they were less because it hurt and more because I’d let him down. I counted without true knowledge I was doing so, following instinct into this place Aidan was leading me as he punished me the way I needed, showing me in the simple act how much he cared for me.
The sting went deeper, spread out, and I felt it from my ass all through my body.
Then suddenly I was in his arms. He was holding me, and I was straddling him, my face buried in his neck, salty tears on my lips and tongue and Aidan as I clung to him with everything I had inside me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I’m sorry.”
“Shh. It’s okay, precious boy. I have you. I’m not going to let you go. You took your punishment so well. I’m so very proud of you.”
Aidan stroked my back, my ass, my nape, and petted my hair the way I loved so much. His hold on me didn’t loosen as I cried into his skin and allowed myself to be lulled by his soothing words.
Finally, when I came down and my vision began to clear, he stood with me, my legs around his waist and my arms around his shoulders. Aidan set me on the bed, and I clutched him, needing him close, needing his presence to ground me. Wanting to make up for what I’d done. “Don’t go. Please don’t go. I’m so sorry for what I did.”
“Shh. I’m not going anywhere, okay? Roll to your stomach and let me see your ass.”
Oh, how I’d longed to hear those words from him so many times, but not under these circumstances. I wanted it to be out of pleasure and need. I did as he said and shuddered when his warm fingers danced over my tender skin.
“It’s not bad. Will definitely be sore, but that’s it.”
“Okay,” I replied softly, moving to wipe my tears. Aidan’s hand was there first, and he did it for me, drying my face and making me feel so very treasured.
“I’m sorry,” I said again.
“Shh. It’s over with. You took your punishment, and the slate is clean.”
I cuddled into the pillow and closed my eyes as Aidan took care of me.
CHAPTER TEN
Aidan
Finley relaxed as I danced my fingers over his pinkened ass. I didn’t allow myself to focus on how pretty the shade was along his pale skin. All I saw in it was that I’d failed him somehow in not nipping this in the bud earlier.
Pulling away, I sat on the bed, with my legs out in front of me and my back against the headboard, knowing he still needed me close, that he was still in that delicate place where he needed my care.
“You can put your head on my lap,” I told him, and he did, wrapping an arm over me as he rested there. Because I knew he liked it, knew it soothed him, I carded my fingers through the blond strands of his hair. “Do you understand why you were punished?”
“Yes, Sir,” he whispered.
“Before we go on, I want you to know I’m very proud of you. Of how you’ve taken care of my home and me. I’m not proud of your actions today, but I’m pleased with how you accepted your discipline.”
“Thank you.”
“Let me explain something to you. Maybe this is my fault. Maybe I should have done it before, but we’ll remedy it now. We are a team, you and I; we have to work together. That doesn’t mean everything will always go smoothly. It doesn’t mean I won’t ever make mistakes or that you won’t ever give me reason to tan that pretty ass of yours, but we have to work in a rhythm together. In many ways, you lead the way, even though it doesn’t seem like it. It starts with your limits and what’s best for you. I guide you based on that, and then it’s your job to follow me.”
He nodded, and I continued caressing him. I thought maybe I needed it as well.
“Now, let me explain why I think it’s important for you to get your diploma, even if technically that isn’t something that should be up to me—though you’ll remember I said it was nonnegotiable before we even began this. I likely should have done this from the start, and that’s my mistake.
“I know we aren’t in a sexual relationship and your primary concern is our home—as a houseboy of sorts, but I think we both know that the lines have been blurred from the start—and that’s something we have both agreed upon, something we both needed.”
“Yes,” he replied softly. “I want you to make most decisions for me.”
“Which brings us back to here. My role in this, maybe my most important one, is to guide you to reach your full potential. It’s to do what’s best for you, even if you don’t see it or believe it. It’s to help you be the best you can be in all areas of your life. That doesn’t mean a diploma shows your worth, precious boy, but it’s a tool I’m helping you arm yourself with. It will help you take care of yourself when I’m not there.”
“But—”
“Shh. Don’t interrupt.” I twisted his hair gently around my finger, then brushed the back of my hand against his cheek. Finley smiled and nuzzled closer to me, and it felt so very good. “I think you need to see that you can do it. I know you can.”
Finley gasped, his hold on me tightening. “But what if I can’t?” he asked, and my heart broke for him.
“Oh, sweet boy. You can. I know you can.”
“School was hard for me, and I’m not…not as smart as everyone else. What if I’m too stupid? What if I fail?”
“You’re not too stupid, and if you fail, you try again.” Because, whether he saw it or not, Finley needed this. He needed to see he could accomplish it.
“I’m scared. And when I start to think about it, about everything I have to do, my thoughts go too fast and…what if I can’t do it? What if I let you down?”
“Hey. Sit up and look at me.”
Finley did as told, and I pulled him over so he was on my lap, straddling me, his eyes on mine. I didn’t allow myself to think about the fact that he was naked…and that even though I told myself I didn’t, I’d spent three months wanting him.
“It’s okay to be scared. Do you think I’ve never been scared?” Maybe I was scared too often, but now wasn’t the time to think about that.
“I don’t know,” he replied simply.
“Well, I do get frightened. Everyone does. What matters is how you react in the face of fear, and I can promise you, trying will never mean you let me down. Giving up? Yes. Trying? No.” He nodded, and I continued. “How about this: on my next day off, I’ll get some information from you, and we’ll look into getting your old school records together. We can figure out how many credits you’re short and what they are. Then we’ll figure out the next steps we have to take. It might even be something you can do online. Does that help?”