Page 15 of Shrouded Desires
“Could you? When I found you, you were floating on a sea of pain. You couldn’t have safe-worded if your life depended on it.” He spun Raine around to face the clock behind Max’s desk. The coarse brush of his jeans against Raine’s swollen ass was distracting, but not enough to make Raine oblivious to the point that Storm was making as he read the time. “Do you know how long she whipped you, boy? Over ninety minutes, Raine.”
“Shit. No wonder my ass is sore.”
“Yeah.” Storm edged closer, his warmth a distraction that Raine didn’t need, but craved. “Which is the only reason, Raine, you’re not feeling the wrath of my hand. That may change however…”
“On?”
“How many burn marks I find on your body. Staying in a scene too long because you’re flying is one thing, to deliberately harm yourself to cope is another.” Storm growled directly into his ear. “Max warned me that you self-harmed, but fool that I am, I expected it to be like Lizzie. I was looking for cuts and bleeding.”
Raine flushed. “Not too fond of blood, Sir. I’ve cleaned up Lizzie too many times.”
“I bet.” Storm’s breath ruffled the hair at his temple. “So, am I going to find any?”
* * *
While Storm waited for Raine to answer, he refused to separate the light touch of their bodies. He wanted the boy to be aware of him, to stay grounded. Raine wasn’t necessarily in subspace any longer, but neither was he completely coherent. The last thing that Storm wanted is for the other man to become unbalanced or worse, to try to avoid their conversation. Either way Raine was going to be plenty sore tomorrow as it was. He’d have to get the witch hazel out before allowing the man to leave the office. Good thing he knew where Max kept it.
“I…the burns leave marks, Sir. Ones that never go away.”
“Fresh ones, boy,” he amended.
“No, Sir.” The words came out soft, barely audible to Storm.
“But not for a lack of desire, right?” Storm needed to know how close Raine had come, to help him catch the warning signs earlier.
“Yeah, I was tempted.” There was a pause as if Raine was gathering his thoughts. “Master’s heart attack…was rough, but Lizzie…she needed me to take over.” The admission cost the boy. Storm could tell by the way he trembled. “I couldn’t let her…”
“The switch aspect Max told me about.” He narrowed his gaze. “You’re a good friend, Raine. No one could ever accuse you of not being one, but this neglecting your own needs is gotta stop.” He squeezed one of Raine’s hip. “Or you’re going to find out how hard my hand actually is.”
A low sound, almost a whine, escaped Raine. Storm stilled, assessing the boy in front of him. Was the boy that desperate for touch, that he’d act out to get it?
He frowned. That wouldn’t do. He might be an asshole, but he’d never denied a sub the physical contact they craved. In their scene a submissive gave over their body to him, and he loved to touch. To mark up their skin. To see how far he could push before he sent them flying.
Which in Raine’s case would be a lot,he realized,but he needs to learn to ask for it, not top from the bottom.
Determination filled him. Once he dealt with Raine’s obvious punishment, they would come to an agreement. He would teach the boy to ask for what he needed, then reward him for it. Against the seam of his jeans, Storm’s cock stirred at the idea. He forced back the desire though. This wasn’t the time nor the place. He needed to check the boy over, use some witch hazel, then tuck him into bed before returning to the club to speak with Nadine. Thankfully the woman had agreed to allow him to administer Raine’s aftercare.
“Come on, boy.” He eased Raine away from the desk. “Let’s get you cleaned up. We’ll deal with your punishment later.”
“Later?” Raine seemed bewildered.
“I think your ass has had enough punishment tonight, Raine. To do more would harm you, and not reinforce the lesson.”
“Oh…tomorrow then.” Raine gave a small nod. “Punishment tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” He guided him to the couch in the corner of the room. “Stand here. Use the back of the couch if you need to.” When he was sure that Raine was steady enough on his feet, he turned to the cabinet where Max kept his supplies, both kinky and vanilla alike. It only took a second to grab the witch hazel from its resting spot.
“Good boy.” He returned to Raine’s side, his gaze scanning over the other man. Red welts crisscrossed the slender width of his back, high firm mounds of his ass, and the backs of his well-muscled thighs. Nadine had definitely put the boy through his paces with that whip of hers. Flicking open the bottle, he used a cotton ball to apply the lotion, starting at the top of Raine’s back.
Raine inhaled sharply but held his form. “Thank you, Sir.”
Storm barely paused, before answering. “You’re welcome, boy.”
Chapter Seven
Raine shifted from one foot to another, then lifted his hand to knock on the closed door in front of him. After Storm got called away by an issue on the floor last night, Raine had left him a note and taken himself back to his room under the stairs. Worn out from not only the scene, but from the turmoil of having Storm appear, he’d wanted nothing more than to crawl between his sheets and sleep. So, he’d taken the chicken shit way out, scribbled a short message, and left it on the desk for the other man to find.
“Time to face the music, bud,” he told himself, as he softly rapped on the wood. “You have a punishment to deal with.”
