That he hadn’t forgotten that meant his mind was still pretty clear. The pain had lessened, almost distant from him, but he sensed the dull throb of his abused flesh. He couldn’t feel any moisture, so she hadn’t cut him. But she’d definitely left some marks.
“I’m good.”
“Good. Then take a breath and we’ll finish up.”
Deep inhale. Slow exhale. He glanced over at Heath as Chicklet stepped out of the way and forced a smile, but Heath didn’t look reassured. He had his arms crossed tight over his chest, lips drawn in a thin line. Ignoring whatever Richards was saying to him.
But he’d be okay. This was almost over.
The first strike reminded Dave of a lesson he’d gotten from Callahan. Changing the rhythm, or stopping, let a bottom come down from the high enough to feel every stroke as deeply as they had in the beginning.
This time, he counted every lash of the cane. Fought to keep his muscles relaxed as the pain exploded across his ass.
Nine. WHISH. Eight. WHISH. Seven. WHISH.
“Fuck!” He gritted his teeth and dug his nails into his palms. “Six!”
“Do you need to stop?”
“No! Please just finish it!”
Five. Four. Three. Two.
“One.” Chicklet laid the cane across his ass with one final snap. She came to his side again.
He pressed his eyes shut, hating how wet his lashes were. That his nose was running. That he wanted to beg her to release him.
But that wasn’t how this worked.
“Do you know why you were punished?”
He’d expected the question, but he still had to scramble to come up with the answer. Staring down at the cane in her hand, he licked his lips. “We fucked up. I fucked up. Those stupid pranks, keeping this shit going so long… We’re a team. We need to act like it.”
“Yes, you do.” She gave him a small smile, approval in her eyes, which somehow balmed the pain, if only a little. “Are you steady enough for me to release you?”
He inclined his head. Cleared his throat. “Yes, Mistress.”
After handing the cane to someone behind her, Chicklet untied the ropes, taking his elbow when he stumbled. She held him for a moment and he did his best to stand up straight.
Then she waited.
Sighing, he lowered carefully to his knees. Looked up as she retrieved the cane and brought it close to his lips. He kissed the cane. “Thank you for helping me get past this, Mistress.”
“Anytime, Rookie.” She chuckled at his frown. “You’re not ‘officially’ a rookie anymore, but I’ll keep calling you one, like it or not. As will most of the team.”
He managed not to scowl, his blazing ass reminding him he was on her turf and he’d better play nice if he ever wanted to come back. “Why?”
“Think about it.” She shrugged, then nodded toward Heath and Richards. “He’s good to go. Help him get dressed and keep an eye on him for a bit. Call me if there’s anything.”
“Will do.” Richards watched Chicklet walk away, leaning close to Dave to whisper. “She didn’t hold back, eh?”
Dave’s lips quirked as he took his jeans and boxers from Heath. He couldn’t look at the other man.
Not yet.
He gingerly pulled on his boxers. The light material sent a sliver of pain across his tender flesh. Jeans would be torture. Fuck it, he could manage to pass the boxers off as shorts from here to the car.
“Feel as bad as it looks, mate?” Heath held out his shirt, chewing on his bottom lip when Dave finally looked up. “We should have taken turns.”
Pulling his shirt over his head, Dave sighed. “It wasn’t an option. And I wouldn’t have let you do it anyway, so drop it.”
With a nod, Heath turned, following Richards, while still sticking close to Dave’s side. He seemed to want to help, but didn’t offer. He was pretty good at taking a hint. But he did watch Dave through the rearview mirror the whole drive home, which had Dave schooling his features even though every bump in the road drove the ache in deeper. He was sweating by the time they reached Coach’s house.
Heath tensed when Dave got out.
“Come on.” Dave smirked when Heath practically tripped out of the car. He glanced over at Richards. “You wanna stick around?”
“No, I have my own apologies to make.” Richards’ lips twitched. “I’ll probably enjoy mine more than you did though.”
“Yeah, fuck you, buddy.” Dave rolled his eyes, easing onto the sidewalk from the backseat and hoping no one was watching him as he made his way to the basement entrance, walking like he’d aged fifty years in an afternoon.
His basement apartment had never been more beautiful. The door clicked, shutting away the world.
Leaving him alone with the one man who cared about him as few ever had.
Which was damn nice.
He finally got to his bed. And let himself fall on it, face first. Groaning, he tipped his head sideways as Heath approached. “I am gonna be a shitty host. Sorry about that.”
Heath’s brow creased. “A drop?”
“A drop… You mean a sub-drop? No, nothing like that. Just pain and embarrassment and needing a minute before I start worrying that this really isn’t over. The video is still out there and—”
“I should have deleted it.”
“You fell asleep. I’m the one who left it on the nightstand.”
“It’s my phone.”
“Which I borrowed.” Dave laughed and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. It happened. And it was fucking stupid. I deserve every bit of pain.”
Heath’s lips thinned. He shook his head. “No, you don’t. We’re in this together, right?”
“Mmhmm.” Dave tried to roll to his side. Winced at the tight, shock of pain. Decided to stay put. “Having you stick around helped, so thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I didn’t do anything.” Heath looked around the basement apartment. Started toward the fridge, calling back over his shoulder. “I’ll get ice. Do you want a drink?”
“Water please. I’d kill for a beer, but I have to watch my calorie intake.”
“Why? You’re in better shape than anyone on the team.” Heath opened the fridge, leaning against the door and glancing back at him. “I’d like one, if that’s okay?”
“You’re legal, so go for it.” Dave sighed. “You know what, fuck it. I’ll have one with you.”
The smile Heath shot him was worth the extra cardio he’d have to do. With his ass throbbing and sweat stinging in the raw spots. Less appealing the more he thought about it. Maybe he should give himself a few days to recover.
Damn it, why did Heath have to be so freakin’ cute? He even had a dimple when he smiled wide enough.
Which didn’t happen often.
If having a beer with his friend made him this happy, he’d deal with whatever consequences came from indulging.
Later.
Heath returned to the bed and set the bottles on the nightstand, hesitating with the bag of frozen peas in his hand. “Do you want me to put it on your ass for you?”
“If it wouldn’t be weird? I can do it.”
Lips curving, Heath shook his head. “It’s just us. Why would it be weird?”
Because I had a really hot dream about you and I don’t want to fuck everything up by wishing it was real? Dave shrugged, doing his best to play it off like it was no big deal. Heath’s thoughts wouldn’t go where Dave’s seemed to without warning. He was just being helpful.
A good friend.
The kind of friend Dave needed.
But damn it, when Heath laid the frozen veggies over his blazing ass, he couldn’t help let out a soft moan. Then another when Heath rubbed his thigh.
Heath stilled with his hand just under Dave’s ass. “Did I hurt you?”
“Nope. S’all good.” Dave reached for the closest beer, but Heath grabbed it before he could, uncapping the bottle, then handing it over. His hand left Dave’s thigh and Dave inhaled roughly as h
e rose up on his elbows, holding the bottle awkwardly, but still managing a few deep gulps. Eying Heath, Dave rubbed a drop of beer from his bottom lip. “You looked shook at the club.”
“Just a bit.” Heath took another long drink. Shaking his head, he glanced over at Dave’s ass. “When I told Mason I wanted to be there, he said ‘Good’. I think he figured it would scare me off.”
“He doesn’t want you in the lifestyle?”
“Not yet? He looks at me like I’m still a kid.” Heath sighed and finished off the last of his beer. “He means well, but…it’s weird. I was on my own a long time.”
“But you’re not anymore. That’s good, right?” Dave studied Heath as the other man lifted his shoulders and looked away. He kinda got it, having Coach step up and give him a place to stay had been awesome, but part of him wondered how long it would be before he screwed up and lost the only support he had. For as long as he could remember, his life had been lived by his father’s terms. He’d done everything he could to make the man proud, and ended up feeling like nothing but a way for the man to make bank.
After bleeding away every cent Dave had on risky ventures, his father had pretty much ghosted. He hadn’t heard from him in months. All Dave had left now was the debt that would take him years to climb out of, including lawyer fees —teammates were helping him with— to get his father’s name off all his finances.
If he couldn’t trust his own father, how was he supposed to trust anyone else?
He moved to sit up, bowing his head as the tender flesh on his ass felt like it was being stretched apart under the frozen peas. “Fuck, I was gonna give you a hug, but Chicklet broke me, man.”
Heath chuckled and rubbed Dave’s back. “Don’t you have that stuff for bruises?”
“Yeah, I’ll put it on later. Kinda hard to pamper my ass with you here.”
“Not really. Where is it?”
Brow furrowed, Dave looked at Heath, then nodded toward the bathroom. “In the first aid kit under the bathroom sink.”
Inclining his head, Heath rose from the bed and headed to the bathroom, returning seconds later with the tube of Arnica Dave used on almost a daily basis during the season. Even during practice a speeding puck hitting thin padding could leave one hell of a bruise. And he tended to piss the guys on the team off enough that they didn’t take it easy on him.
Not that he wanted them to. Even if they hated him, they knew he could take whatever they dished out.
“Let me see.”
Dave blinked as Heath stood over him. He must have heard that wrong. “What?”
“Your butt. You can’t reach it properly when you can hardly move.” Heath gave him an irritated look, then reached for the waistband of Dave’s boxers. “Come on, it’s not a big—”
Catching Heath’s wrist, Dave did his best to calm his racing pulse and keep his tone level. “What are you playing at, kid? I didn’t bring up what happened last night because I figured you didn’t want to talk about it, but there was…something. Something you’re not into or whatever. Fine. But you’re pushing it.”
Teeth pressed hard into his bottom lip, Heath met his eyes. Then lowered to the edge of the bed, staring down at the lotion held tight in his fist. “I’m not trying to. It’s just…when it’s just us, I don’t worry so much. I hated seeing you hurt. This is something I can do.”
“Not something two guys do who are just friends, Heath.”
“I know.” Heath hunched his shoulders and dropped the lotion on the mattress. “Here, you should put some on. I’m sorry I made things hard.”
Dave groaned and pressed his face against his folded arms. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. He should let Heath leave.
But he couldn’t.
He’d promised himself he’d let the younger man take the lead even if it got them nowhere. That Heath was comfortable enough to offer something like this was huge. And he felt guilty about Dave taking the punishment for them all.
Letting Heath touch him would be pure torture.
Maybe he was a bit of a masochist.
He let out a soft laugh. “You didn’t make things hard. And you’re right, putting it on myself will be tricky. I’d appreciate your help.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” God help me. Dave lifted his hips as Heath moved the makeshift ice pack and eased his boxers down to his thighs. The cool air made goosebumps rise all over his flesh as the welts on his butt began to heat again.
Heath hissed through his teeth. “It looks worse.”
“I had the frozen veggies on for too long. It’s probably red from that.”
“No. The welts are really swollen.” Heath gently ran his fingers over Dave’s skin and Dave struggled to hold still as all the blood rushed down to his cock. “She didn’t break the skin, but there are broken blood vessels. Is that normal?”
“Mmhmm.” Dave wasn’t feeling much pain anymore. His skin was tingling where Heath continued to trace the marks, as though they fascinated him. “Missing the first few games of the season probably won’t be a bad thing.”
“That’s in three weeks. You won’t still be hurting?”
“No, probably not.”
“Good.” Heath uncapped the bottle. Poured some of the lotion in his palm. “Are you ready?”
Nope. But he nodded anyway. Heath just wanted to take care of him. This was no different than going to the doctor.
Only, his doctor wasn’t hot. Or surprisingly affectionate. And Dave had never wanted the man to keep touching him for as long as possible.
Warmed in Heath’s hand, the lotion was soothing as Heath spread it slowly over the welts. The slightly flowery scent of the lotion filled the air as Heath dabbed a bit on the welts at the top of Dave’s ass, around to the curve of his hip which stung a little and hadn’t been covered by the ice. He reached over to the other side, his focus so intense Dave couldn’t look away, even though he had to strain his neck to keep his eyes on Heath’s face.
Heath didn’t seem to notice him watching. His eyes were troubled as he tended to every lash mark on Dave’s skin, which made getting turned on by his touch seem wrong. The young man’s intentions were pure. He wasn’t teasing. He wasn’t fucking with Dave’s head.
He saw his friend hurt and figured they were close enough that this shouldn’t be a big deal.
Which made Dave feel guilty about being so fucking turned on. At least Heath couldn’t see his erection, pinned against the mattress, distracting him from the dull throb that came from the worst of the marks. And with his butt all marked up, Heath clearly wasn’t enjoying the view.
Could Dave do the same if their positions were reversed? He had no clue. But he hoped it never happened.
Unless the marks had been put there by him. Would Heath enjoy that? He was curious about the lifestyle. If he went all in, would he train as a Dom like Dave was doing? Dave couldn’t see it. He pictured Heath as a sub. He was so eager to please. So attentive and focused on giving.
But maybe that was just the kind of man he was.
He might not be submissive.
“Was Mason right?” Dave met Heath’s eyes as the young man hesitated, lotion glistening on his fingertips. “Did seeing Chicklet cane me scare you off?”
Tongue pressed into his top lip, Heath seemed to consider the question for a moment. Then he shook his head. “No, but it made me not want to ever earn that kind of punishment. Chicklet tried to keep things light, but she didn’t like punishing you. It’s the only thing that kept me from hating her.”
Dave tried to think of a way to respond, but as Heath went back to spreading the lotion, moving to the curve of his ass, his brain refused to function. Even the most painful areas sent a surge of lust straight to his groin. He stopped watching Heath and buried his face between his arms, concentrating on his measured breaths the only thing that kept him from saying or doing anything he’d regret.
Then it was over.
And he didn’t move. If he moved, he might spook Hea
th. The young man had one goal in mind. Tending to his wounds. Now that he’d done that, he might start thinking and feeling awkward. He might leave.
There was no reason for him not to, but Dave wasn’t ready for him to go.
“Do you want to grab another beer?”
Heath blinked, then grinned. “You’re not kicking me out?”
“Fuck no. But I thought you’d be ready to leave.”
“Why? I’m not done.”
What does that mean? Dave groaned as Heath went to fetch the beers. He brought back four this time. Dave wanted to lecture him about calories out of habit, but…fuck it. Getting a bit of a buzz might make this whole thing make sense.
Heath settled on the bed, braced up on his elbow, drinking his beer and looking like he was thinking hard. All his muscles were tense, his curly, reddish-blond hair spilling loose from his low ponytail giving him a sexy, rumpled appeal. He licked his bottom lip after every sip, leaving it shiny and wet.
And testing Dave’s restraint even more.
“Dave…” Heath set his beer aside and leaned close, his expression intense. He moved his hand to the small of Dave’s back, inches above the marks he’d tended to. “I’m not…I don’t want you to think I’m messing with you.”
“I don’t.” Dave handed Heath his beer so he could put it on the night table beside his own. “I think you’re confused. I think you feel safe with me. And I’m cool with that.”
“Thank you.” Heath moved closer, hardly breathing. “Can I…I want to try something.”
Dave knew. He knew exactly what Heath wanted. Being his safe space would be a fucking challenge. Would mean ignoring what he wanted.
But he’d do it. Heath’s trust meant more than anything.
He inhaled slowly. “Heath… I don’t need you holding back from me. I get it. I don’t know what scares you so much, but as long as it’s not me, we’re good.”
“It’s not you.” Heath closed his eyes and brushed his lips over Dave’s, pressing closer as he slanted his lips in a soft kiss. There was something both hesitant and desperate in the kiss as Heath pressed against his side, bringing his hand to Dave’s shoulder and digging his fingers in as though to hold them both in place. He slid his tongue against Dave’s bottom lip. Shuddered when Dave’s tongue touched his.
Cocky Shot_The Dartmouth Cobras_An Off Ice Novella Page 6