(Joshua's POV - Thur. 21 November 2013)
"Good evening Joshua, did you have a nice trip?" Tony asks as I determinedly walk toward the car and slip in the back seat while he holds the door open for me.
"Tiring...," I grunt. Tony shuts the door and hurries to place my luggage in the trunk before he sits behind the steering wheel and heads off toward Northbrooks.
Yes I am in a bad mood and I have many reasons for that. Liam's little act yesterday evening was the beginning of twenty-four long and painful hours. He has been so good over the past two weeks, applying himself to be the perfect Submissive and working a lot on his submission and self-control! I don't know where this little act comes from, but the one thing that's sure is that it pissed me off and disappointed me. I don't mind him going out as long as he tells me so that I don't worry, and as long as he respects the rules. I could have gotten over it and made sure to lighten my mood before I come back home but unfortunately, this was only the beginning of a series of shitty troubles. There was a big storm last night in Houston and I could hardly sleep at all despite the double glazing. Then, room service delivered me the wrong breakfast this morning; the guy didn't know where my trolley went and I had to wait for them to bring me what I had ordered, making me fifteen minutes late for my appointment and I hate being late.
Thank God, Liam had done a great job with the presentation for the meeting I had with this subcontractor. However, it took us ages and a lot of negotiations to reconcile the information and the figures I had, with the data that they had. I had to call Derek and his AP manager three times to get an explanation on why the invoices didn't match the quotations and they were only able to provide me with vague and approximate answers. I will need to have a serious conversation with these two when I get back to the office. Fuck! This is not my job to reconcile our overdues! This is Derek's team's job! My only luck was that the guy got tired of all these discussions and accepted to wipe the slate clean, and we were finally able to work on our next project which implies a huge luxurious office building in Houston.
And to cap it all, the weather was so bad that all the flight landings were delayed in Chicago, making me reach home at 10:15 instead of 8:00. I release a long sigh as Tony parks in front of the house, trying to forget about this awful day and aiming at suppressing all my tension. I need to recover my self-control within the next seconds because I certainly won't take it on Liam. A good Dominant wouldn't do that and I am supposed to be a good one. I know that I have played a lot with my Submissives in the past, getting rid of them when our agreements came to an end, disappointing those who were expecting more than sex and a lot more feelings, but I was always honest from the start and never gave them any hope of a longer relationship. Liam is actually the first one with whom I proceed differently and I often wonder if that is the sign of a possible future... No! I can't think about that now!
"The boy seemed rather nervous and tense this morning and tonight when I drove him here," Tony says out of the blue as I slip out of the car. His tone is not concerned or worried, but rather accusing and warning.
"And...?" I ask him defiantly.
"Nothing Joshua; I trust you to be wise enough to set up boundaries between the professional and the private," he replies in a much lighter tone. "Have a good evening, and I'll be ready by 7:30 tomorrow morning."
"Good evening too..." I grunt back and head inside the house. I have had my share of stress in the last 24 hours and I certainly don't need an argument with Tony now.
All the lights are out on the ground floor, so I quickly get rid of my coat, jacket and shoes and climb upstairs. I am not really surprised to see the light filter from the playroom but I first go to take the quickest shower I have ever had and only put on an old pair of jeans, leaving the last button open. When I walk into the playroom, my hair still damp and dripping droplets along my back and chest, I find Liam in the most perfect display position, kneeling naked on the floor and his head lowered. His thin hands are resting on his parted thighs, slightly shaking from the stress I guess considering how warm it is in the room. I can't really see the expression on his face, but for sure it is not smiling. I haven't been able to talk to him today at all but he sent me a text this morning to say good morning and another one to say that he had safely arrived at home, to which I only briefly replied, so I can only imagine how frustrated he has been, which all in all is a good punishment for him.
"Good evening, Pet," I say sternly.
"Good evening, Sir..." he whispers, his voice barely audible. He has obviously taken the end of our conversation yesterday evening very seriously and I can already feel how repentant he is.
Without another word, I grab the armchair and push it until it sits a few feet away in front of him, before I silently sit down and rest my right ankle over my left knee. I remain silent for a good ten minutes, scraping my stubble - oh yeah... this fucking razor decided to add to my troubles this morning by breaking down... I had forgotten about that little fucker too... - only adding to the tension.
"Look up," I order and I watch his head slowly rise up until his glimmering eyes meet mine. There's a brief glimmer of lust when his beautiful globes travel along my bare chest but it immediately disappears when he takes in my scornful expression. "Is there anything you would like to say?"
"Yes Sir... I want to apologize for breaking one of the rules... I know it was stupid... and I am sorry because I talked back..." he says, his eyes full of sincere remorse.
"How come you were able to get some alcohol? I thought your friend was underage too?"
"He is turning 21 next week... and he looks a bit older than I do... so it's easier now... And the bartenders in that place are quite free about their customers' age, it seems. But I swear it was only beer... nothing strong..."
"That's still alcohol, Liam... I know that you're almost of age to drink and I have even let you drink a glass of wine at times, but I'd rather you do it in my presence because I'll make sure that it remains reasonable and in a safe environment. I don't know if it's your friend who led you there but even if that's the case, you should be able to say no. I thought that what happened at the club almost two months ago would have served as a lesson, so I'm a bit disappointed there..."
"It did! I learned the lesson that night!!! That was the first time I ever got drunk that night! That had never happened to me before!!" Liam suddenly exclaims, taking offense and slightly raising on his knees, before he resumes his former position and casts his eyes down. "I would never repeat what happened that night... I swear... And even if I broke the rule... it was just beer... there's really no need to make too much fuss about it..." he then mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You know what, Liam? I was about to give up on your punishment. Indeed it was only beer and you're very close to be legal; you did break a rule, but you sounded sincerely remorseful just a few minutes ago. However, this new little outburst reminds me that of yesterday evening and I think that you really need to be taught a lesson about not talking back, so please stand up," I order as I unfold my leg and sit on the edge of the armchair. "Come here," I say, pointing my right side. "Bend over my knees," I order once he is standing next to my legs.
"What...?"
"You've understood me well, Pet. Bend over my knees." I help him to lie down across my lap, his hands and feet resting on the floor, and begin to warm up his backside. "You'll get spanked ten times for talking back and I want you to count out loud. Understood?"
"Yes Sir..."
I make sure to keep a good rhythm, alternating each slap with a brief massage, and the punishment is finished within less than three minutes as I want to get this over with. Once he has reached ten, I ask him to stand up and bend over the armrest while I go get some lotion to sooth the warmth on his bottom. I gently rub the substance into his soft skin and pull him into my arms for a long hug. His hair smells deliciously good of shampoo and my body finally relaxes at holding him in my arms.
"I'm sorry I talked disrespectfully..." he mumbles to apologize again, his face still flushed from the embarrassment of being spanked as a child would have been in older times.
"You're forgiven now, Baby," I reassure him.
"Are we not going to have sex now?" he asks as I lead him to my bedroom.
"Nope," I simply answer. Without a word, he follows me to the bathroom where he puts on a pair of pajama pants he had left there and we proceed with our evening routine before we go to lie down in bed.
"Why aren't we having sex?" he asks once I have turned off the lights and he has snuggled against me.
"This is part of your punishment."
"But you're also punishing yourself this way..." he comments sheepishly. Oh boy... if you knew how much self-control I have on myself and how many times I gave up on sex while punishing a Sub...
"Shut up and sleep now Liam," I simply reply.
He snuggles even closer, wrapping an arm around my waist and resting his head on my chest, and I thought he was really going to get to sleep, but a few minutes later, just as I am about to drop off, I feel him disappear under the comforter and pull down the front of my pants. Before I know it, his mouth is around my semi-hard cock... Oh God... it seems like this boy is gaining some confidence faster than I would have thought.
* * *
"Josh, are you ready? Or you need help to tuck you inside your leather?" Mark's voice echoes in my private room while I am changing in the attached bathroom. What a pain in the ass he can be at times!
"If I had to ask for someone's help, it wouldn't be you, dumbass!" I reply as I open the door and meet him in my room. Mark is barely an inch smaller than I am, but his mischievous hazel eyes and his smug face make me feel like slapping the back of his head. Of course, rarely refraining on my desires, I do so and exactly as when we were kids or teenagers, it degenerates into one of those playful fights between friends. Mark and I have always had that teasing tendency that never missed to annoy Camden when it happened too frequently. Exactly as it does now...
"Fuck! Are you two ever gonna grow up?" he growls as he walks in, while I am sitting on Mark's bottom and struggling to pin his wrists at the small of his back.
"Nope!!" we both reply simultaneously, laughing harder and trying to catch up our breath.
"And that claims to be Dominants...," he sighs. "Give me a minute and I'll go get some accessories in my private room to teach you a good lesson, you immature assholes..."
"You don't need to play your Sadistic Dom with us, Cam," Mark scoffs as he gets back on his feet and readjusts his pants once I have freed him.
"Yeah... you know it doesn't work with us..." I add.
"Sure... that's why you immediately jumped up to your feet at the threat," he smirks at us before he turns around and leaves the room.
"That's only because you're jealous!!! You're too serious, Cam!!!" Mark yells at him. "As if it never happens to him," he then adds, shaking his head. It is true that Camden looks more serious than we do, but he has his playful moments too. Hopefully he gets some sex tonight, maybe that willmake him less grumpy... Though with Cam, you never know...
Once we have checked ourselves in the bathroom, making sure we look good enough, we recover our Dominant's expressions and head out toward the Black Diamond. It is still early but there is already quite a lot of people on this Saturday evening. I notice that Liam and Jeremy are still not there, probably taking their time in the Subs' room. Mark and I meet Cam and Aaron at the bar where they are talking with this new Dominant - Andrei if I remember well - that we recruited recently. I already spoke with him last week and he doesn't sound like a bad guy in the end, although I understand this weird feeling that Mark and Aaron had about him. He is clearly a Sadist and even if we don't really have a problem with that in general, the guy seems to be quite into it. It is not even in the things he says, because he doesn't speak about it very openly and he even considers himself as a moderate Sadist, but there is this little something between the lines and in his eyes that tells me that he is more into it than he wants to admit.
After a quick conversation with him at the bar, the four of us go to sit on our couch and I finally begin to relax, sipping from a coke with lemon. I smile at the sight of my boy who has just arrived and goes straight to the dance floor with Jeremy and a few other Subs as we agreed earlier, as long as he wouldn't forget to meet me here before the show starts. Considering that I spent most of the day working in my study and left him on his own at home, I would have preferred to have him sitting with me already, but that's still another good hour before the first scene begins and he might get bored listening to us, especially as none of the guys have Subs for the evening. Besides, Liam is getting close to Jeremy and I really like that because he helps him a lot in gaining more self-confidence and I know that they speak a lot together. So I thought it would be better to let him enjoy some time with his new friends.
It has been such a tiring week... All these meetings have worn me out and I think that we will only watch a scene and go home. Not trusting my form, I asked Tony to drive us for once and he's going to spend his evening in a restaurant nearby, ready to come and pick us up as soon as we are ready. I can't wait for things to settle down at work so that I can delegate some of the things I do at the moment. Scott Andon, the guy we hired as Manager of the new hotels division seems to be a great guy and when he finally joins us in December, I am confident that he will be able to take over very quickly the job and lead his team as a good professional, but in the meantime, I still have to deal with the guys in New York.
Devon Hawler, the new compliance manager seems to be a good fit too and apparently very self-willed. He has been mostly reviewing some documentation and studying our policies since he joined us earlier this month, exactly as I asked him, but yesterday he insisted to have a short conversation with me, so I allowed him fifteen minutes despite my already busy schedule. He said he felt himself ready to take on the job and invest himself; he has apparently been working a lot with his team and says he would like to start travelling and work on new projects. I had expected him to start slowly and only take care of almost finished projects for a few months, but he seems to be eager to control everything already so I'll have to think about that. I might ask him to travel with me to New York and see what he is worth while we visit the building site the week after next. The only problem I have with that guy is that he doesn't look clean... I'm not asking my leadership team to be Sex Gods, but as they represent the high level management of the company, the minimum is to look clean and immaculate, so this is something I will need to discuss with him very shortly.
The major good news of the week is that Ally's baby is doing much better. His operation on Monday was a success and even if he needs to stay under medical surveillance for another couple of weeks, he should get through. I will try my best to stop by one evening next week after work. Liam promised her he would too on Monday or Tuesday but we obviously can't go at the same time. I already have Tony and Allan knowing about our relationship and I don't want other people to find out, even Ally... although, she will probably guess or draw the information from me at some point when she comes back from her maternity leave. However, this won't be until March or April since I ordered her to take her time and to take care of her baby for as long as possible, which she accepted willingly for once.
This gives me a few more months to work with Liam and then he will continue his internship in another department of the company. He is really doing a great job as an assistant and I am confident that any of the other leadership members will gladly welcome him. The only thing that bothers me is that I won't be able to ogle him all day long anymore when I am in the office or call him in for a quickie... although this is not any less certain. Knowing me, my libido and my determination, when I want something, I usually get it and I rarely run short on ideas. There are always solutions...
"Josh... Josh!" Aaron, who is sitting just next to me on the couch, calls out, nudging me in the ribs.
"What...?"
"I was asking: when do you intend to collar Liam?" he asks very seriously, making my eyes automatically flick back toward my sweet boy. He is still dancing with his friends, the boys grinding each other in a very sensual way, but a few Dominants have joined the group too, which is not unusual in itself, but it makes me pay a little more attention to what is going on.
"I don't know... I'm not sure he is ready for that yet..." I vaguely reply to Aaron, keeping my eyes on the group.
"Why wouldn't he be? He is doing perfect as a Submissive and I have rarely seen another Sub embrace the lifestyle so quickly. He's even better than some other guys who have been here for years..."
"I know... but this is still new to him, and getting collared is another level..."
"If I didn't know you any better, I would rather say that you are afraid to commit," he says sarcastically. Of course he does know me and of course he knows that commitment is not in my habits. I have never collared a Sub before, because to me, it is a serious commitment, like offering an engagement ring to your lover. It not only means that you openly claim the Sub as yours, which is the main purpose for a lot of Dominants, but to me, it also means that you look to a longer future with the person you are collaring, and I am not sure to be ready for that yet. I don't even know if I will ever be ready at all. "Liam is different than the others, you know that. And I'm not talking about him in particular, but about your relationship with him. If you had wanted another Submissive, you would have gotten one here like you always do. But you brought him from outside and threw him in the lifestyle. It can only mean something...."
"Shut up, Ron..." I snap, my eyes flicking to him at once. "He needs more time before I collar him."
"Or you need more time...," he chuckles.
"Maybe I do too... you know my opinion on collaring Subs..."
"I know, but if you really care about him, and I think you do - much more than you want to admit to yourself - then you should do it. At least that would avoid that kind of problem..." he says, pointing his chin to my right and shifting on the couch to stand up. When I look to the other side, a new emotion rises within me, something I haven't felt in a very long time, at least not since I was in college, and a deep growl escapes from my mouth when I see that Liam is sandwiched between two young Dominants. The one in his back has one arm around Liam's neck and is openly humping his backside, apparently whispering things to him, and the other has his hands on Liam's hips. And despite, or maybe because of, my boy's clear embarrassment, I just see red...
Published on 7 Oct 2016