Tom cocked his head. “Boyfriend?”
Mischa blushed. There was no way around admitting that. “Yes.”
Tom leaned in and kissed him again, then snuggled up. “You are romantic. Very romantic.”
Mischa groaned. “You’re the death of me, boy. Do you know how hard I’ve worked to get my reputation as a cold bastard?”
Tom was totally unperturbed. “Oh, you’re a badass, no question about that. You just have a soft heart, too. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Mischa grumbled. “You better not.” No need to let the world know that there was a sappy romantic behind the grumpy façade.
Tom pushed closer and sighed. “This is so good.”
Mischa couldn’t do anything but agree with him. This was a match made in heaven.
***
“No!”
“Yes, damn it!”
“No, absolutely not!” Mischa glared at Tom, who didn’t look intimidated at all.
“I am going to pay rent. I live here, I help with the expenses.”
Mischa sighed, exasperated. What had started out as cooking dinner together had turned into talk about the practicalities of Tom moving in. Which had turned into a screaming fight over the practicalities of Tom moving in.
“You’re not. I built and paid for this house when I closed a deal that made me a lot of money. That covered it. There is no rent.”
“I still want to pay. I’m not going to mooch.”
Mischa put his arms at his sides. “I’m not going to make money off my boyfriend. Which I would be if you were paying rent. No way.”
Tom frowned, but didn’t seem to be able to find a way out of that argument. He nodded.
“Okay, but then I want to pay expenses. You still pay for utilities and groceries, right?”
“I don’t want you to pay!” Mischa was yelling now.
“Too bad, because I want to pay!” Tom didn’t budge an inch.
Mischa glowered. There was just no fucking way to make that man change his mind. It didn’t help that Mischa most of all wanted to grab him and kiss him.
“Fine.”
Tom was about to argue again but interrupted himself. “Fine?”
“Yes. You can pay. A percentage.”
Tom narrowed his eyes. “A percentage?” He sounded downright suspicious now.
“Yes.” Mischa was very satisfied with his solution. “You pay the same amount toward utilities as I do, calculated as a percentage of your total income.”
“But since you make obscene amounts of money that would be about five cents for me!”
Mischa crossed his arms again. “That’s the only fair way of doing it.”
“But I want to pay my share!”
“You will!”
“Ah, guys? Am I interrupting something here?”
They snapped their heads around toward the sound, and Mischa could see on Toby’s face that it had to look pretty funny. The Dom stood casually, leaning against the door-jamb and looking as if he had been there for a while.
“Not that you’re not putting on quite a show or anything, but I came for the pillory. Like we agreed to?”
Mischa blinked. Oh. He cleared his voice. “Yes. Tom, it seems I forgot to tell you that Toby was coming by tonight.”
“And that you invited me for dinner.”
Oh, fuck. “That, too.” Mischa gave up any attempt at faking his way through this. “Okay, I forgot. We were in the middle of a... discussion.”
“So I heard.” Toby took a step and reached a hand out to Tom.
“I think we met at the party?”
Tom shook his hand. “We did. I just look different with my clothes on.” Mischa stared. Tom didn’t even blush. Much.
“You sound different, too.” Toby was clearly having fun.
“Yes, well, I’m trying to convince Mr. Stubborn here that I’m not a freeloader. I want to pay my share of the rent.” Tom glared once more at Mischa.
“You’re moving in?” Mischa felt smug when he heard the astonishment in Toby’s voice. That’d teach him to have fun at their expense.
“He is, and I want him to pay the same percentage of his income toward the utilities that I do.”
Toby nodded. “That sounds fair.”
Tom looked outraged. Toby smirked. “I’d just give in now if I were you. You’ll never get him talked into anything more than that.”
You could see the fight on Tom’s face. Then he obviously decided that it was a lost battle and changed the subject. “So, Mischa invited you for dinner and forgot about it again?”
Mischa sighed. This was going to be a long evening.
“He did. I can always just pick up the pillory and drive back.”
“No, no, there’s plenty of food. We’re making a roast.”
Toby nodded and stepped up to the counter. “Tell me what to do.”
Tom raised an eyebrow, but then he put Toby to work. Mischa couldn’t help being amused; Tom wasn’t the only one with great adjustment skills.
“So, you want a pillory.” Tom was chopping up leeks and onions. “Is that for business or pleasure?”
Toby snorted, and Mischa had to bend down after a bowl to hide his smirk. “Well, since you want to know, it’s for the club. But I like to use them myself, too.”
“Yeah? Mischa doesn’t have one in his playroom, so I’ve never tried one. Actually, why haven’t you got one, Mischa?”
That was clearly a question that made it necessary for Mischa to put his arms around Tom and nuzzle the boy’s throat. “I don’t like them.” Okay, maybe not so necessary, but now he was here, there was no reason to let go, was there?
Tom didn’t seem to mind, either. He leaned in a bit and kept on chopping. “Why not?” Mischa had to focus to remember what they were talking about.
“I can’t see the sub’s face. It doesn’t turn me on.”
“Mischa is all about the power play.” How could Toby make even a simple statement of fact sound teasing?
“What else is there?” That wasn’t a question, and Mischa hugged Tom tighter. Toby wasn’t deterred, though.
“Oh, there’s plenty. The pain, the humiliation, the restraining -- the physical sound and sight of a flogging. There are about as many reasons to do BDSM as there are practitioners.”
Tom nodded. “I guess so. But you can have the pillory; I want Mischa to see me, too.” Tom turned around in Mischa’s arms and kissed him. Mischa was about to put the boy down on the floor when Toby cleared his voice, loudly and incredibly fake-sounding. Mischa turned to him and glared.
Toby actually looked a bit nervous -- until he managed to get the knife out of Tom’s hand. Then he shook his head. “It’s really not a wise idea to make out with a Japanese chopping knife in one hand.” Tom blinked and then snorted with laughter.
“I guess not. We wouldn’t want to cut off any important parts.” He kissed Mischa again, and this time, Toby had to shout to get their attention.
“Guys! I realize it’s a big day, but either you come back to earth and have dinner with me, or I take my pillory with me and leave you to fuck your brains out.”
Mischa felt just a little silly. He managed to take his hands off Tom for long enough to get them something to drink while the vegetables went in the oven. Tom seemed as keen to be close to him as Mischa was, though, so the boy ended up leaning against Mischa while they drank their wine. Toby smirked but didn’t say anything, and that made Mischa really grateful. He had a hunch that there was a lot to make fun of.
***
Tom had actually dreaded this -- meeting Mischa’s Dom friends, especially outside of the club. He didn’t know if they expected him to be all subservient and grovelling, and he didn’t particularly want to be that way. Not at all, in fact. Toby didn’t bat an eyelid, though, not even when the man caught them in the middle of their fight. Which had been quite entertaining, Tom had to admit. It seemed he even liked fighting with Mischa. Tom snorted and put the last plate into the dishwasher.
“Are you communicating with the tableware, baby? Because I’ve heard that’s supposed to be unhealthy.” Tom spun around and snapped the tea towel at Mischa. The man yelped when it hit his ass.
Tom crossed his arms. “That’ll teach you to keep a respectful tone.”
Toby roared with laughter, and Mischa looked like he didn’t know whether to put Tom over his knee or laugh, too. Mischa stepped closer and kept his voice low. “Looks like somebody’s just earned himself a spanking.”
Tom moaned and grabbed Mischa’s shoulders, supporting himself when Mischa’s tone made his knees go weak. Then his balls twinged, and he moaned in earnest. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Fuck, Mischa, don’t say something like that. My balls are so sore they’re about to fall off.”
Mischa looked unbearably smug. Toby just grinned. Tom leaned in and took a kiss, smiling into it. Toby cleared his voice.
“I know I’m repeating myself here, but can I please have my pillory now?” Mischa pushed Tom away and smacked his butt.
“Yes, behave now, boy.” Mischa winked.
Tom raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think he means me, baby. You’re the one who knows where the pillory is.”
It was quite satisfying to see Mischa’s blush. The Dom leaned in. “A spanking. Tomorrow.” Then Mischa got all businesslike and let Tom stand there, trying not to moan and go down on his knees in front of their guest. Toby grinned and winked at Tom. They had to be taught winking at Dom school.
It turned out that the pillory was in the shed, and they went out to get it. Tom gaped when he saw the room. There were shelves and hooks and even tape on the floor to mark where everything went, and the whole place was neater than an operating room.
“Yes, Mischa has a thing with order.” Toby had been watching Tom and seemed to find his reaction hilarious. “It may seem a bit anal, but I guess it’s his attention to detail that makes him so good at his job.”
A bit anal? Try a lot. When Tom came to think of it, there wasn’t any clutter in the house, either.
“Which one of them? As a Dom or as an investment manager?”
Mischa was imperturbable. “Both, baby. Both.”
He quickly found the pillory, and they took it apart. Even in smaller pieces, it was incredibly heavy, and Tom was sweating when they had gotten it all into Toby’s car.
“Do you want us to go with you to get it into the club?” Tom didn’t really want to, but it was too heavy for one person to carry.
Toby shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have plenty of people to help me at the club.” Somehow, Tom couldn’t see the big Doms doing heavy manual labor in full leather gear. The image made him giggle. Toby looked questioningly at him.
“Sorry, vivid imagination.”
Mischa put his arms around Tom. “Now, get lost. I have a naughty boy to tend to.”
Toby rolled his eyes, but seemed to understand that they were a lost cause for now. They said their goodbyes and watched while Toby drove away. When the car disappeared, the only sound came from the wind in the trees.
Tom sighed, leaning into Mischa. “It’s so quiet out here. It’s like a sanctuary.”
Mischa turned him, looking at him. “That’s how you see it?”
Tom felt a little silly, but he still nodded. “Yes. Coming out here has been what I’ve looked forward to all week during the last couple of months. I’m really happy that you asked me to move in.”
Mischa kissed his forehead. “I’m really pleased that you said yes. Just remember that it probably isn’t going to be like before. Now we’re not only going to do the fun stuff. You think you can handle me twenty-four seven?”
Tom nodded. “I think so. I loved staying with you while they cleaned my apartment. And if we get into trouble, we’ll talk about it. Or yell about it.”
Mischa smiled and pulled him close. “Yes, we know how to do that.” He got serious. “I want this to work. Please tell me if something’s bothering you, okay? I’m bossy, and you might have to be very clear about it if something doesn’t work for you.”
Tom snorted. “That shouldn’t be a problem. But you’re right.” He pulled back and looked at Mischa. “There is one thing, actually.”
Mischa waited, patiently. Tom took a deep breath. “I still want our scenes. We both have to work, but I’d like to have a session once in a while, and if we could still have an entire weekend now and then, that would be great.”
Mischa nodded. “I don’t think either of us could go without it. And I have plans for you for the rest of the weekend; we’re going to explore like usual.”
Tom smiled and hugged Mischa. He loved talking and joking like this, but he needed the other part, too.
“Right now, though, I want to spend the evening on the couch. Does that sound good to you?”
“It sounds great.”
And that was exactly what they did. Their excuse was watching some game on TV, but Tom didn’t even try to pay attention. It was far too good to cuddle into Mischa and let the world disappear. This was home.
***
He had woken Tom up slowly, keeping his kisses so gentle that Tom just sighed and leaned into them. Mischa began nibbling Tom’s throat, and Tom had started waking up, grinding sleepily against Mischa’s hip. When Mischa was sure the boy was awake, the Dom held him down and kissed him until Tom was moaning and there was a wet spot where the boy was rubbing against Mischa’s stomach. Then Mischa pulled back, looming over Tom and looking into his sub’s eyes.
“Good morning, boy.”
Tom let his head fall back, baring his neck a bit more. Mischa wondered if Tom even noticed his submissive gesture himself.
Mischa noticed, though, and so did his cock.
“Good morning, sir.” Tom blinked slowly, deep in that place where the sub normally only went in the playroom. Mischa felt the pride swell inside over his boy and the easy, uninhibited way Tom surrendered to Mischa. He kept his face stern, though, and leaned closer, narrowing his eyes.
“It’s going to be a hard day, boy. We’re going to go into the playroom, and I’m going to make it hurt. Are you ready for that?” There was no doubt Tom was ready, but Mischa wanted him to admit it. And he did, so easily.
“Yes, sir. I’m ready.”
Then Mischa had fed his boy, staying in his role. To enhance it, he kept Tom naked while Mischa wore leather pants himself. It wasn’t only for Tom’s sake; he relished being able to sink into his Dom space. It felt right.
Tom had stayed quiet, getting deeper into his subspace while they had breakfast. He looked relaxed and self-assured. It made the surprise even bigger when he halted just outside the playroom.