Page 38 of Disciplinary Action
“You once said you’d rather have a cobra living in your house than a dog.”
Gideon shrugged. “I said a lot of things I didn’t mean when Grant was alive.”
They fell into silence, both of them staring out into the night sky but neither really enjoying the view.
Finally, Des said, “Hey, we’re playing atBru’s Roomin the old neighborhood on Saturday. Why don’t you come? Bring your boy.”
“You know I don’t play anymore,” Gideon said quietly.
“I’m not asking you to play. I’m just asking you to come out and support me…your only friend. It’s just for fun. None of us are looking to get famous. Come hang out with us. Introduce Cal to the guys. They miss you, man.”
Gideon wanted to say no, but now, it was a challenge. He’d let Des paint him into a corner. If he was nothing like Grant there was no reason for him to say no. If he refused, he was just reinforcing Des’s ideas about him and Cal. “Fine. But I’m absolutely not singing.”
“Yeah, I hear you. I doubt you can still sing anyway. But do me a favor and try to blend in with the old crowd?”
Gideon gave him the finger. “I’ll leave my tuxedo at home.”
“Thanks. That should help immensely,” Des snarked.
“Good. Now, finish your beer and get out of my house.”
Des chuckled and drained the last remaining bit in the bottle before standing. When they entered the loft, all the lights were out but the one beside the bed. Gideon could just make out two lumps under the blankets, which he assumed were Cal and Alexa. He should reinforce Alexa sleeping on her dog bed, but Cal had only just returned from the hospital. It couldn’t hurt to let him have what he needed for one night. Besides, Gideon felt like he needed to do something completely un-Grant-like for his own peace of mind. He and Cal were nothing like his relationship with Grant. They just weren’t. Were they?
Gideon locked the front door once Des was gone, changing into soft black sleep shorts and quickly brushing his teeth before slipping under the covers. Cal had been spooning Alexa, but the moment he sensed Gideon, he rolled over, snuggling himself up under Gideon’s arm and rubbing his face on his chest with a contented sigh.
Gideon dropped a kiss on Cal’s forehead, threading their fingers together. He should be sleeping, but Des’s words had burrowed under his skin like a mite, driving him to distraction. He gazed down at Cal’s face, half in shadow. He was beautiful—perfect bone structure, pouty lips, inky black lashes that threw shadows against his cheeks. He didn’t look like a child, even in sleep. He wasn’t a child. He was an adult. Fuck Des for making him doubt himself. He didn’t want Cal as a servant, as a sexual slave. He wanted him because he was mouthy and smart and could separate their playtime from reality. Cal melted into punishments; he thrived as a submissive. He wasn’t playing a role, he was finding his power.
“You’re squeezing me like you’re a boa constrictor and I’m a towel,” Cal croaked sleepily.
Gideon froze, realizing Cal was right. He had been squeezing him. “Sorry, little bird. I was thinking too hard.”
“About what?” Cal asked, peeking up at him.
He could lie but what was the point? “About us.”
“What about us?” Cal said, tone guarded.
“I just worry I might be taking advantage of you.”
Cal barked out a surprised laugh, causing Alexa to stand and slip from the bed, flopping down onto the dog bed to glare at them for interrupting her sleep. “How are you taking advantage of me? I blackmailed you into having sex with me. You paid for my hospital bill, my medications, and you said you’d pay for me to live until I can afford to support myself. If anybody is taking advantage, it's me.”
Gideon shifted until Cal was on his back and he was looking down on him. “Promise me you’ll never agree to something just because you think you’re obligated.”
Cal stared up at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“If you are hurting or stressed or you don’t like a punishment…you need to use your safe word. You need to tell me. I never want you to feel like you don’t have a say because I’m helping you financially.”
Cal’s confusion morphed into a dreamy look, and he smiled, cupping Gideon’s face. “You really are Prince Charming.”
Gideon gripped his wrist but didn’t pull his hand away, just kissed his palm. “No jokes. Promise me you’ll never let me take away your voice or your free will. I’ll never hold money over your head.”
Cal leaned up to kiss him softly. “I don’t know where any of this is coming from, but I promise. I wish I still had money because then I wouldn’t feel like a financial burden for you, but you’ve never taken advantage of the situation. Hell, you offered to pay me that first night for doing nothing, and that’s when I knew…” Cal trailed off, biting his lip.
Gideon stared down at Cal’s face, trying desperately to read the truth in his expression. “Knew what?”
“That I was where I was supposed to be. That night with you, the spanking…the sex…the submission… I had never in my life felt so…wanted, relaxed. I could just shut my mind off. I could just give into the sensation, and I knew you’d take care of me. I was nervous because it was new, but it was the first time in months I wasn’t afraid, even if it was just for a few hours.”
Gideon pressed their lips together, his tongue teasing past the seam of Cal’s lips, tasting his spearmint toothpaste. When he pulled back, he dropped tiny kisses on his nose and cheeks and forehead before dropping back onto his pillow. Cal once more clung to him, this time throwing his leg over Gideon’s. He smiled at the tangle of their limbs. Grant had never let Gideon touch him while sleeping. The thought brought Gideon up short and he made a decision. “Go to sleep, my little octopus. I have a surprise for you in the morning.”
