Dreamspinner Press Year Nine Greatest Hits

by Michael Murphy

We crossed the parking lot and went into the little office of the tree farm my family had frequented for years. I handed Kyle the ax and as I paid for our tree, I charmed the same old lady behind the register that my father had charmed for so many years.

  “Have you been here before? You look so familiar.”

  I grinned. “Yup. My family’s been here for years. My dad’s usually getting a tree. Tate,” I said, and she lit up.

  “Oh yes! I remember your family now. How’s that sister of yours?” she asked, taking my cash and making change.

  “As annoying as ever. Zoe’s in her last year at college.”

  “Wow, they grow so fast,” she said, sighing. “Isn’t one of your brothers married?”

  “Simon? Yeah. He and Katy got married three years ago now.”

  “That’s why we haven’t seen him!” She shook her head, then peered closely at me. “And you, young Malcolm? When are you going to settle down?”

  I hesitated briefly, never quite sure how an older person might take it. “I’m working on it,” I said, glancing over at Kyle. “But I’m not sure he’s ready for me to propose yet.”

  Kyle’s face turned bright red.

  She laughed. “I’m guessing from his expression he wasn’t expecting that.”

  Kyle looked slightly panicked.

  I chuckled and tugged him close. “We haven’t been together all that long,” I said, turning back to her.

  “Well, no need to rush these things! Spend some time together, make sure things work everywhere before you commit.” She winked at us.

  I thought Kyle was going to pass out. His face turned redder and he made a choking noise.

  “We’ll definitely not rush,” I assured her, burying my laughter. I didn’t think Kyle would appreciate it. “But… we do need to go get our tree.”

  “Of course! Take care, dears, and have a Merry Christmas!”

  “Thank you,” I said, waving, then hurried Kyle out the door.

  “I… she… we… I…,” Kyle stammered.

  I leaned in and kissed his temple, taking the ax from him. “Yes, she did. Come on. Let’s see what we can find, hmm?”

  He shook his head hard as if to clear it and turned to walk with me.

  BY THE time I got the tree into the house and in the stand, Kyle had done as I’d told him. I had amended the orders to include putting our take-out Mexican food into the kitchen first. But then he’d done exactly as I asked him. I paused on the other side of the room to stare at him. I liked seeing him like that, naked in my home, wearing my collar, waiting for me.

  The paddle was lying neatly in front of the cushion, just beyond his spread knees.

  His cock was already half-hard with anticipation. He kept his eyes trained on the floor, but his dick still twitched as I stalked closer. I walked around him, brushing my hand through his hair, then settled on the couch.

  “Bring me the paddle and settle across my lap, boy.”

  “Yes, Master,” he said, voice low.

  In a single, amazingly graceful move, he stood with the paddle and rounded the coffee table. Once he handed me my favorite implement, he stretched over my lap.

  I arranged him so his cock was between my legs, making sure it was quite hard by the time he was settled. “No coming, boy,” I ordered, tightening my legs just a little. I wasn’t going to make it easy on him. He wouldn’t want me to.

  He took a deep breath and nodded.

  “Count them,” I said, then, not giving him a chance to prepare, brought the paddle down hard.

  He yelped and jumped, but forced out his “One. Thank you, Master.”

  I set the paddle aside and rubbed his ass, giving it the little warm-up I hadn’t wanted to earlier since I’d wanted to surprise him. He moaned and shifted a bit. I picked the paddle up, pressed on his lower back, and gave him the next one.

  He jumped again, though he didn’t yelp this time.

  By the time I got to fifteen, he had tears on his face and his ass was a very pretty red. He’d have a hard time sitting for dinner. I hadn’t hit too hard, but I did give him enough to make him have to work through the pain.

  I could also tell he was struggling hard against the need to come. I grinned, closed my legs the last bit so they were firmly holding his dick, then gave him the next one. He stuttered out the count, tensing, and I guessed he was fighting orgasm. I glanced at his face, happy to see him slightly fuzzy, and gave him the next four, hard and in rapid succession.

  “Twenty! Thank you, Master!” He nearly shouted, writhing on my lap, a combination of thrusting and dealing with the pain. I ran my hand over his hot ass, soothing it a bit as he shuddered in reaction. He whimpered, though whether it was pain or need, I didn’t know.

  “Thank your Master, boy,” I rasped, my cock painfully hard.

  He slid off the couch and nearly dove for my jeans. They were open and my cock out and in his mouth in seconds. He moaned around it and I echoed him, my balls responding fast.

  With my hands fisted in his hair, I thrust into his mouth. My hips jerked in short, fast movements, my orgasm—close from giving the spanking—flying toward me fast. He relaxed his throat and my cock popped into it, and it took all I had to keep my orgasm back. I pulled his head off my cock, picked him up, and tossed him on the couch, then scrambled for the end table. I slicked my cock quickly, and a few seconds later, was pushing into him.

  “Never gonna get enough of your tight ass,” I groaned as I sank balls-deep. “Fuck, that’s so good.”

  He moaned, grabbing the arm of the sofa above his head in a death grip. I adjusted his legs over my shoulders and set a hard pace. I slapped into his sore ass, gaze fixed on his frustrated expression. He wasn’t going to get to come and he knew it.

  The heat from his red skin felt almost as good as the tight muscles around my cock. But as turned on as I was, I knew it wasn’t going to take long. Still, I had enough time for a little more tease. “Stroke yourself, boy,” I ordered him.

  He scrambled to obey, groaning loudly when he wrapped his hand around his cock.

  My gaze darted from his dick to his face, doing my best to gauge where he was. “Tell me,” I demanded.

  “Close, Master, so close. Need to come,” he moaned.

  I waited, gave him another moment, watched until he looked ready to explode. “Stop!” I growled, and he snatched his hand away. As he did, I let go, surging hard into him and letting my climax take me, leaving my cum deep inside him.

  I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of that thought.

  I slumped forward, holding myself above him carefully as I struggled for air. When I could breathe, I shifted, lifting him into my arms, keeping myself firmly inside of him. I settled him straddling my lap and held him close. He was still panting, moaning with the denial, and I rubbed his back, comforting him.

  “Beautiful, my boy, so beautiful,” I murmured, kissing his forehead.

  “Master,” he whimpered softly.

  “I know, boy, I know. It’s going to be so good when I do let you come, baby. Just hold on.” I wavered, not realizing just how wound up he was. But it wouldn’t be good for either of us for me to start giving in on things. I had to be firm. It was better for him to know I would be, and better for me to show I could be.

  He buried his face in my neck, clinging to me as he fought his need. His dick jumped against my stomach, smearing precum. His ass flexed around my cock, keeping me hard. He shook in my arms, and I held him in wonder as he struggled so hard to obey me.

  When he finally calmed and sat up, I kissed him, keeping it soft and slow. I pulled back, cupping his face in my hands and smiling at him. “You’ve pleased me so much, boy. Made me so happy.”

  His face flushed with pleasure at the praise. “Thank you, Master.”

  “Thank you, beautiful boy.” I dropped another kiss on his forehead. “Lay down for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

  He settled onto the sofa on his side, and I patted his ass, earning a wince before I r
an upstairs. In less than two minutes, I was back with a plug in hand. It was about the size of the one I’d bought him, but the stem was thicker and base bigger. I slicked it up and worked it into him, and when it was settled, sat up again. “How does it feel?”

  He moaned. “Full. Heavy. Thick.”

  I laughed. “Good. Ought to keep you stretched enough so when I want to fuck you later, you’re ready.”

  He moaned at that. “Thank you, Master.”

  I leaned in, kissed him again, then sat up and patted his ass one more time, maybe a little harder than strictly necessary. He winced and I grinned. “So… how about that Mexican? And maybe decorating the tree?”

  He smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.”

  I KEPT him naked for the evening. With a fire roaring in the fireplace and me stripped down to shorts and a T-shirt, the room stayed plenty warm for him. I loved watching him struggle with the sore ass and plug. Both kept his cock at least half hard all evening.

  Of course, I did plenty to arouse him in other ways too, so at least half the time it was fully hard. Aside from the expected frustration, though, he didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Especially when I praised him.

  I’d turned him into a human Christmas tree when I went through the lights. He’d laughed when I wrapped the strand all the way around his cock, then around his balls. He’d joked that I’d turn anything into a sex toy. He had no idea how right he was. But there’d be plenty of time in our lives to prove that, if things went the way I hoped.

  The empty ornament boxes lay in a heap off to the side, and I eyed the tree critically. There were a few open spots I didn’t like, but we were out of ornaments, so I’d have to pick some up later. I didn’t mind, though.

  The hole, front and center, I had left deliberately.

  Kyle held the last ornament to be put on the tree and stood, staring with his head tilted. He’d taken to decorating like a pro, and I’d watched in amusement as he fussed over each ball or snowflake, deciding the exact right spot to put it. He held a gold star, about three inches wide, and started to hang it in the front spot.

  “Not there,” I said, stopping him.

  He looked over, eyebrows raised. “But it’s empty and right in front. It needs something.”

  “It does,” I agreed. “But I have something planned for that spot.” I stepped up behind him and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m thinking it’s the best place for the ornament we’ll pick out together.”

  He blinked up at me. “Together?”

  I nodded. “Our first Christmas together.”

  He smiled at that, wide and gorgeous. “I… thank you, I like that.”

  I grinned. “Me too. Go on. Hang the star, and then we’ll take care of the garland. Do you like eggnog?”

  His eyes widened. “Oh, I love it!”

  “Good. Let me get it while you hang that.”

  A short while later, the tree was finished, the boxes gathered and put away. We sat together on the couch with the lights turned off, the only illumination the fire and tree. “It’s so pretty,” he murmured.

  “I think so. You did a great job.”

  He blushed. “Wasn’t just me.”

  “You certainly did most of it,” I said, chuckling.

  “I had fun.” He shrugged a shoulder.

  I beamed. “Me too, though that might have had as much to do with tormenting you as decorating the tree.”

  He laughed. “Indeed.” He glanced up at me, and one hand sneaked over, sliding along the front of my shorts. He grinned when he found me half hard. “You did seem to enjoy that, Master.”

  “Of course I did.” My grin turned a little leering. “And even when I didn’t touch, well, having a beautiful, sexy, red-assed, plugged, naked boy in my house certainly provides great eye-candy.”

  His grin widened, but he blushed at the same time. He didn’t seem to know what to say to that, and he ducked his head, turning back to the tree.

  I tugged him closer, running my hand over his arm to his hip, then over his ass. “I haven’t taken advantage of this, yet,” I murmured, pushing on the plug.

  He moaned and rocked toward me. “No, Master, you haven’t.”

  I hummed in thought, then shifted down on the couch. “Get me hard,” I ordered, and he didn’t hesitate a second to pull my shorts down and free my cock. I rested one hand on his ass as he worked, playing with the plug and earning myself a nice moan.

  He swallowed me in one move, and what could only have been seconds later, I was hard.

  “Fuck, you’re good at that, boy,” I groaned. I held his head, rocking up into his mouth, and he moaned around my dick. “Hmm, should I reward you, boy?”

  He looked up at me and moaned.

  I pulled his head off my cock. “Should I let you come, boy?”

  He frowned, whimpering. He looked at me, struggling with the decision. He bit his lip, then said, “What do you want, Master?”

  I shook my head. “That’s two. One for the bitten lip and one for the question.”

  He blushed. “I’m sorry, Master. I… I… I want to come,” he mumbled, looking down.

  I tilted his chin up to me. “Thank you for giving me your opinion,” I said, pulling him to me and kissing him. “Giving it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get what you want, but I always want to hear it. What you want is important too, boy.”

  He looked like he wanted to argue, and I tilted my head, waiting. Finally, he let out a breath. “But you’re the Master. Isn’t what you want most important?”

  I considered that before answering. “Yes, to a point. We’re Master and sub, yes. And in many cases, what I want—especially sexually—takes precedence. But….” He blinked at me. “But, we are partners, even in the D/s relationship, baby. I still want to know what you want. I can’t make a good decision for you, for us, without knowing that.”

  He swallowed but finally nodded. “I understand, Master. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not going to swat you tonight. I’ll save that for tomorrow morning. Tonight, however, I’m definitely having that ass. Whether I let you come or not remains to be seen. Let’s head to bed.”

  “Yes, Master,” he said, frowning.

  I pulled him in and kissed him again, a long, deep, thorough kiss. When we broke apart, he was having trouble breathing. “What are your safewords, boy?”

  “Cherry and lemon, Master.” He looked into my eyes. “I don’t want to use them,” he said, accurately reading the reason for asking.

  “Very well, boy. Let’s go.”

  KYLE FIDGETED in the car seat next to me. His ass was once more—still?—sore from the spanking that morning. He’d managed to earn himself another set of five before I could administer it, when he’d refused to tell me what was wrong in the shower.

  He’d awakened me with a blow job again, and I found I was getting really used to waking up like that. But I hadn’t let him come from it. Since I’d given him an orgasm the night before and had already seen he was more focused when he was denied, I thought it better to do that. He’d need that focus today to deal with my family.

  Turned out, he was nervous about them. Worried they wouldn’t like him, worried about what I’d tell them about our relationship, worried about all manner of things. And he hadn’t wanted to tell me because he felt foolish being worried.

  I’d given him the swats for not answering because I’d made sure he understood he had every right to be worried and nervous. I’d made sure he understood, also, that I could and would do everything possible to help him relax. I told him if he’d been more upfront—and answered the question—I’d have given him a blow job before we left. I figured at that point, the need to relax superseded the focus.

  As it was, he now had a sore ass and hard cock as we drove toward my parents’ house.

  I was slightly annoyed with my mother. She’d called that morning to tell me all three of my siblings and their significant others would be at dinner. Apparently she’d told them I was plann
ing to bring Kyle, and they all wanted to meet him. Even Simon, who lived on the other end of the damned country, had decided to fly in and have Christmas with my family so they could meet him.

  I was not pleased.

  Kyle picked up on it. He kept glancing at me as we drove, picking at his jeans or clasping his hands together or tapping his fingers. “Mal?” he finally asked.

  I glanced over at him as I took the exit from the interstate. “Yes, baby?”

  “I… uh… I should call you that, right?”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure my folks would understand ‘Master’ very well.”

  He chuckled and I scored a point for myself. “Probably not. Uh… are you… are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong? Well, other than—”

  “No. And this morning is forgiven, remember? You got your spanking. It’s over.”

  “I… you know, uh… when I was young, before they started to ignore me, my parents, well, they’d punish me for something, you know? But they’d still be pissed at me for, like, days after.”

  I shook my head. “That’s not cool,” I muttered, annoyed with them all over again. I sincerely hoped I never had to meet them. I suspected my self-control wouldn’t hold my fist back from getting me in trouble. “That’s not how it should work. You get in trouble. You deal with punishment, then it’s done.”

  He didn’t reply to that except “Oh.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s how I work, anyway.” I took a breath and turned to him at the stop light. “I’m not mad at you, baby. I’m annoyed with my parents.”

  He blinked at me. “Why?”

  I smiled ruefully. When I explained why, his eyes widened. “Oh. Uh… do… should… what….” He closed his eyes and muttered, “Fuck.”

  I snickered. “Well, I’d prefer you didn’t fuck all of them. As far as I know, I’m the only male in the house interested in guys.”

  He laughed. “And I’m not interested in your sister.”

  “Good,” I said, turning back to drive. “It’s not that bad. They can be kind of loud when we’re all together, but otherwise, they’re good, I promise.”

  I took the last turn onto my parents’ street, slowing as we approached the cul-de-sac. I spotted a rental SUV in front of the house that was undoubtedly Simon’s. Zoe’s hybrid was parked next to Mom’s identical one. Dad’s truck was behind Simon’s SUV, and Ford’s Ford was behind Mom’s car, leaving the last spot in the driveway for my car. I pulled in, turned off the engine, and shifted in my seat to look at Kyle, who was staring at the floor mats as if the wisdom of the universe was there.