Pup (19 page)
his keys on the table near the door, Tackett forced himself to walk casually as he made his way to the kitchen. He hadn’t spoken a word to Micah since they’d left the parking lot near the art fair, letting Micah’s anticipation and fear settle into the boy’s gut.
He glanced over his shoulder as he pulled two bottles of water out of the fridge, spotting Micah standing near the front door, shifting from foot to foot nervously, wringing his hands and looking a little lost.
He wanted the boy to be nervous, even fear him. He wasn’t really upset with Micah; it was actually pretty funny watching the boy. Micah had tried so hard to pay attention to walking at heel, doing his best to stay focused on his Dom, and his boy had done wonderfully for the most part, but it wasn’t enough. Those little fingers of his just weren’t getting with the program and had gone wandering.
It was probably an unfair test, knowing Micah was a sensualist who needed to touch, and to put that much temptation within his grasp was a bit cruel. He’d expected Micah would fail before they even left the car, but he’d also been very easy on Micah the two days previous, and the boy needed to be stretched a little. Needed a good healthy dose of fear for his ass and back to get the wayward mind and fingers under control.
“Strip and display,” Tackett ordered, setting one bottle down on the island and opening the other. He took a long pull, wetting his dry throat as he kept his gaze on the boy.
Micah’s movements were jerky, pulling his T-shirt over his head without too much difficulty, but the snap on his pants seemed to give him a bit of trouble due to how badly his fingers were shaking. His pup was persistent though, and after a couple more attempts at the button and zipper, he got it.
Once Micah was gloriously naked, Tackett strolled over to him, keeping his features even. There really was no reason to let the boy know how much he was enjoying this. He circled Micah a couple of times, taking in the boy’s body, enjoying the sight of all those trembling muscles. Micah, however, wasn’t enjoying himself nearly as much as Tackett was. His slender cock hung soft and limp.
Once more lap around him, and Tackett finally stopped in front of the man, tipped the bottle back, and took another gulp, making it seem as if he were still trying to calm himself. In actuality, he was trying to keep calm not from anger, but from the thrill of excitement that was swirling around in his belly and surging through his veins. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on Micah, beat him, hear him scream and beg, his skin turning red with each pass of the flogger. His dick twitched against his hip, at the thought of covering Micah afterward, feeling that burning heat seep into the flesh of his chest and stomach as he fucked his boy.
And Tackett no longer had a shred of doubt, no matter what he told himself or others. Micah was his. Micah only needed one thing, and he knew exactly what that one thing was to keep him from getting lost in his thoughts. Micah needed Tackett.
Tackett studied him for a moment longer, and then turned away. “Follow me, boy.” He grabbed the other bottle of water from the island and led his boy into the bedroom.
Setting the bottles on the bedside table within easy reach, he opened the top drawer and pulled out the heavy cuffs. “All right, boy, before we get to the punishment, I think we need to talk about what happened today, don’t you?”
“Yes, Sir,” Micah said with a longsuffering sigh.
“Give me your hands, please.”
Micah instantly thrust out his hands. Tackett had no doubt, in Micah’s current state of mind, he’d do anything he asked of him, which was a damn good thing for Tackett since he planned on asking for a lot from his boy.
Once the cuffs were around each wrist, he connected them by the clamps. “Would you like to explain to me now why you broke my rules?” he asked sternly. “Not once, but seven times? That seems a little excessive, Micah, even for you. I have to wonder if you are intentionally trying to piss me off. Don’t you value the skin on your back and ass?”
“No, Sir…. I mean yes, I value my skin and yes, I think we need to discuss me breaking your rules, but no, I didn’t do it on purpose, honest, Sir.”
“Convince me.” Tackett took a step back, spread his legs a little, and held onto his wrist at the small of his back, pulling off the perfect badass drill sergeant impersonation.
Nah
, he thought,
more like a Dom who is about to do some badass topping
.
Micah started to lift his head but changed his mind, obviously thinking better of meeting Tackett’s eyes. “How, Sir?” he asked. “I’ll do anything,” he pleaded, sounding sincere.
“I gave you two simple tasks, Micah. Was it so difficult for you to focus on only me for less than an hour? Am I not worth that much of your time?”
“No! I was focused on you, Sir, I swear!” Micah’s voice rose. “I did exactly as you told me, I watched your back, I worked on learning to anticipate your moves, and I walked to heel. After the first couple of strikes I earned, I started concentrating on concentrating even harder. I blocked out everything.” Micah shifted a little, looking a little guilty. “Well, except the puppy, he was really cute, and I admit he stole my attention away from you, but only for a moment. I was focusing on you. Please, Sir. Please don’t think for one moment I don’t think you’re worth it. You are! Please let me make it up to you.” Micah swayed for a moment as if his legs wouldn’t hold him up, but he jerked, tightening his muscles. “You are so worth it, Sir. Please forgive me.” His pleas were guileless.
Tackett relaxed his stance, but kept his tone stern. While he may have found Micah’s behavior comical earlier, it would do him no good to be soft with punishment. “If that were true, had you really been focusing on me and my desires, you would have followed my rules.”
“I… I….” Micah shook his head, swallowing hard. The trembling in his limbs increased, and then his knees buckled and he fell to his knees, head hung low. “I have no excuse, Sir,” he whispered.
The sorrow in Micah’s voice tugged hard at something in Tackett’s chest. As he looked down at his distressed boy, he was torn between doing what he knew Micah needed and his desire to comfort. “All right, boy,” he said softly, petting Micah’s curls. “Do you want the chance to make it up to me?”
“Yes!” Micah’s head snapped up, his blue eyes wet with tears. “Please let me make it up to you, Sir.” Micah’s voice cracked, and he had to clear his throat before he could continue. “I know I can do this, I can,” he said confidently. “I want to do this.”
“Okay, pup.” He reached down and helped Micah to his feet. “Seven strikes won’t be easy.”
“I’ll endure it for my mistakes, Sir.” Micah wiped his face on his forearms and squared his shoulders. “You deserve nothing less than my complete focus and when I fail, I deserve to be punished, Sir.”
“You’re right, pup, I do deserve it. On your knees, rest your torso on the bed.”
Micah nodded without saying a word and moved into position, bound hands above his head, bare ass in the air.
Tackett retrieved the riding crop from the closet, tapping it against his thigh as he moved next to Micah, running a hand over the boy’s back. Tackett didn’t want to draw this out any longer than they already had. “Count them.” It was the only warning Micah got.
Micah gasped with the first sting. “One. Thank you, Sir.”
“Why are you being punished, boy?” He laid another stripe just below the first.
“Ah! Two.” Micah curled a little into himself before shaking off the sting quickly and relaxing against the bed. “So I can learn from my mistakes, Sir. So I can learn to focus.”
“I demand and deserve your focus.” Another strike, a little firmer, harder, this time on the left shoulder, followed immediately by one directly below it.
“Thr….” Micah hissed, back bowing. “Three and four, Sir. You deserve my focus, my submission, everything I have.” Micah’s voice was tense, but he forced himself to lower his back, shifted his knees farther apart, preparing for the next blow.
Micah gasped loudly with the next strike across his back, and then went still, not even taking a breath as he tried to control the reaction to the pain. “Five, Sir.” He coughed the words, spilling out with his first release of breath.
“Give me what I demand, pup. Give me what I deserve, and I will give you everything you need. I can take you to places so painfully pleasurable, you’ll weep, and I can find you peace, but only if you submit to me.”
“Six,” Micah screamed, when Tackett hit him midway down his back, body jerking, knees coming up off the floor momentarily until he collapsed onto the mattress. “Thank you, Sir. Ah God, need you so much.”
Micah’s words were muffled, his face pushed into the mattress, but Tackett heard the desire and need in his boy’s voice. Saw it in the way he relaxed into the bed, as he worked to slow his breathing and process the pain. While Micah’s words and tone were full of apology, sincerity, and longing, his lean body interpreted the sting of the crop in a much different way. While the regular signs of pain were presenttrembling, perspiration, tense shoulders, and clenched fistsTackett had seen these before when Micah was sexually aroused, and considering the way Micah’s cock, pushed down between his thighs against the mattress, was hard and wet tipped, his pup may not be a pain slut, but he definitely got off on intense pain.
“You need this,” Tackett murmured. It really wasn’t a question he expected an answer to, but a clear confirmation he’d been hurting his pup by not being vigilant with his promise of discipline and punishment. He wouldn’t neglect his boy again. He adjusted his grip on the crop and brought it down hard across the small of Micah’s back.
This time Micah didn’t cry out, though his body twitched with the impact. The only sound that came from him was a whimpered “Seven.”
Tackett dropped the crop to the floor and went to his knees, straddling Micah’s calves and covering the boy with his body. The fire that burst from Micah’s back burned against Tackett’s chest. “Every day,” Tackett murmured, nuzzling Micah’s neck.
“Yes, need you so much, every day, Sir. Please.”
“I know, pup, I know.” He kissed the salty skin on Micah’s neck, and the bitter tears from his cheeks. “You have me. I promise, Micah, submit to me, and I’ll give you this every day.”
“Help me,” he whispered softly. “Help me submit to you. Please, Sir.”
I won’t fail you again
, he promised silently. He ran a soothing hand through his boy’s hair, kissing him softly.
Micah began to squirm beneath him, groaning as the friction increased the sting to the man’s back, but it wasn’t enough of a deterrent. In fact it seemed to increase his movements, his hips beginning to hump against the side of the bed, seeking more friction.
“Focus on me, boy, nothing but me and what I can do for you. Trust that my pleasure becomes yours.” He encouraged Micah’s movements by picking up the same rocking motion. “Give yourself to me, and I will make you feel cherished. Give me your service and you earn your place with me.” He kissed his boy hard, claiming his mouth, exploring, devouring until they were both breathless. He sucked in Micah’s bottom lip, adding a little teeth, a little sting, and his reward was a deep moan. “Give me your submission and I will make you whole.”
“Yes, I ache with how badly I need you, Sir.”
He let his boy rub a little longer, both of them needing the connection binding them in their convictions and promises to the other. Ignoring his swollen cock, Tackett slowly rose, massaging first Micah’s shoulders, pushing his thumbs in to release the knots of tension still present, then down his spine, lightly brushing over the red, raised welts and placing a soft press of lips to each of his seven marks, before going to his feet.
Micah’s rocking movements stopped instantly when Tackett stood and removed his hands from Micah’s skin. He turned and looked up at him with questioning blue eyes, not begging, not uttering a single word, waiting.
“Let’s get you into the bath so I can care for your back.” He helped Micah stand, holding onto him and keeping him close.
Micah looked a little disappointed, but he didn’t so much as pout, huff, or make any negative sound, just allowed Tackett to lead him to the bathroom, his pup not even looking down at the hard cock straining up toward his belly, his only thought, it seemed at that moment, to do whatever Tackett wanted him to do. Micah’s reactions seemed as sincere as his words.
He continued to hold Micah at his side as he started the water running in the large garden tub and added medicated bath salts that would feel soothing on Micah’s inflamed flesh. Tackett carefully removed the cuffs and set them aside. As the tub filled, he rubbed the boy’s wrists to get the blood flowing, inspecting them before helping Micah into the bath.
“Oh,” Micah moaned as he sank into the water, stretching out and laying his head back against the tub, and sighed.
“Feel good, pup?”
“Amazing, Sir.” Micah closed his eyes, a satisfied smile on his face.
Tackett grabbed the bath pillow from under the sink and slipped it under Micah’s head.
“So good to me, Sir. Thank you.”
Tackett threaded his fingers through the chestnut curls, pushing them away from Micah’s face. “I can also be good for you, pup,” he said softly.
Blue eyes blinked up at him. “I know, Sir. You’ve already done so much. You make me feel like I can do things I never thought I could.” Micah placed his hand on Tackett’s forearm. “I know I still have a long way to go, Sir, but you make me want to be better.”
“I know, pup.” Tackett had to force himself to keep his voice even as he swallowed the lump in his throat.