Paid to Be Shared

by Romilly King

  Ivo took his stethoscope from his bag and listened to Birch’s heart. His hand moved down Birch’s body, running over his ribs and pressing lightly at his upper abdomen. “Do you want to hand me a cloth and I’ll clean him up,” Ivo said, and Griffin hurried to the bathroom to get one.

  He watched as Ivo gently handled Birch’s soft cock, cleaning up his drying spend and carefully wiping the head of the sub’s cock. Watching Ivo handle Birch caused renewed arousal to shiver in Griffin’s belly. He pushed the feeling down.

  “I’m just going to spread your leg’s now Birch,” Ivo’s voice was thick, and Griffin knew his husband; this was turning him on.

  Ivo grasped Birch’s right leg and gently eased it to the side. Pliant and co-operative, Birch sighed in his subspace, and his limb moved easily. Ivo snaked an arm out to catch Griffin’s forearm and pulled him closer, together they leaned in to look between Birch’s legs.

  “You certainly used his hole,” Ivo murmured, “Was he sufficiently prepared?” He pulled gently at Birch’s rim, and a thin line of cum trickled out. Ivo’s breath hitched, and Birch sighed in his position.

  “Yes, very well prepared,” Griffin whispered.

  Griffin watched his cum run over Ivo’s fingers and then watched him slide his finger back into Birch’s loose hole, less probing, more enjoying. Ivo turned to look at Griffin, and Griffin knew his husband was hard, so hard in his pants, and he wanted to take him out and suck him while Ivo played with the hole Griffin had just fucked.

  He felt like saying, Look what I did, as if asking for praise, Let me suck you while you finger my cum in our boy’s hole.

  When did Birch become, our boy, he wondered?

  Ivo’s gaze never left Griffin’s face while his fingers toyed with Birch.

  “He will be fine,” he said eventually, his voice even now as if he had gained control of his arousal, “Go through your usual aftercare routine and call me again if he’s not totally compos mentis in say, half an hour,”

  Griffin gritted his teeth, “Yes doctor,”

  Ivo smirked at him and began to fold his stethoscope.

  Griffin had always known there was something clinical at the heart of Ivo, and he used to put it down to it being a medical thing, a scientist thing, but he eventually realized it was a sadist thing. It wasn’t that Ivo didn’t care. It was just that there were moments when he detached to enjoy something privately, inside his own head, in his own way.

  Knowing that didn’t make Griffin love Ivo any the less, but it certainly pissed him off when it happened, particularly at this moment when they could have come together in their shared arousal. It felt like an opportunity wasted.

  Griffin scrubbed his hands over his face, “Thanks,” he managed to say, “I’ll take it from here then,”

  “You do that,” Ivo said, “It’s your responsibility,”

  Griffin tightened his jaw, “Enough,” he said, low and menacing, “You’re pushing your luck now,”

  Ivo leaned forward into Griffin’s space, “Know your sub,” he hissed, “Learn him, support him, care for him, it’s the job,”

  Griffin clenched his fists. When he felt like it, Ivo could be a cutting bastard. On the bed, Birch moved, hummed and blinked his eyes open. Griffin was at his side in seconds, he ran his hand through the boy’s short hair and cooed to him. When he looked up, Ivo was gone.

  Chapter Twenty - Griffin

  “I would like to take Birch for an intense scene this weekend,” Ivo said across the breakfast table.

  Griffin looked up from his tablet, where he had been scanning the headlines, “Of course,” he said, “Which day?”

  “Saturday, I think,” Ivo looked thoughtful, “No, better make it Friday evening, he will probably need a week to recover from it,”

  Fuck.

  His concern must have shown on his face, because Ivo added, “It will be an intense scene, but there will be no damage. It will be a long scene, and it will be,” he looked for the right word, then shrugged, “Intense is the only way I can describe it without putting you off your breakfast,”

  Griffin scowled at him, “Not funny,” he said.

  “I wasn’t trying to be,” said Ivo, “I just didn’t think you would want details.”

  “Dr. Gregory will, and I have to check in with him today,”

  “Dr. Gregory does not require any further information other than it will be intense and I have judged that a week to recover is ample time and that Birch, of course, has his safe word if required,”

  “Fine,” Griffin drained his coffee and stood up to take his plate to the dishwasher, “I’ll let him know,”

  Ivo stood too, he put his hand on Griff’s arm as he passed him, “There is nothing to worry about here, Griff’,” he said, “Nothing at all, you can see him after the scene, you’ll see he will be fine.”

  Griffin sighed, “I know, I’m sorry, I’m kink-shaming you, and I know that’s fucking ridiculous and wrong.”

  “It is,” Ivo agreed with him, “I’m trying not to get pissed about it, so far I’m succeeding,”

  Griffin looked up and met Ivo’s dark eyes, there was a flinty cast to them, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. “We’re just going to be discovering and exploring things,” Ivo emphasized.

  Hopefully not in the way Columbus discovered and explored America, Griff thought, with no regard for what was there.

  But he said nothing, and nodded, “I’ll mention it to Cash,” he said, “So Birch can prepare,”

  ✽✽✽

  Griffin stuck his head around the door of his office, “No calls for half an hour, please, Andrea,” he told his assistant, “I have a conference call to make.”

  “No problem Griffin. I was just going to go and get some lunch, I’ll divert your calls. Would you like me to get you something to eat?”

  “Please,” he said gratefully, he didn’t think he would have time to get out today, as it was he was really pushed for time to fit in a call to Delphic, “Just a salad or something like that,”

  “Of course.”

  Back at his desk Griffin reluctantly called up the number of Dr. Gregory at Delphic. He did think this check-in arrangement was overkill, mainly because Birch had been so accommodating and gave every indication of being happy in his interactions. He sighed and put the call through.

  Dr. Gregory answered immediately, his face on the screen wore a professional smile, “Hello Griffin,” he said, “I’m glad you called. If I hadn’t heard from you, I was going to call you myself at the end of the day.”

  Griffin pushed down his irritation and offered his own bland smile, “I’m sure you know what it’s like Cashel,” he said, “The admin gets worse every day,”

  “Indeed,” Cash agreed equably, “So how is it going with Birch?”

  “It’s great,” Griffin felt himself warm up a little as he thought about the sub, “He’s funny, charming, accommodating, and beautifully trained. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier.”

  “Yes,” Cash smiled, “He is charming, I do have a soft spot for him myself,”

  Griffin wondered what that meant.

  “So, have you both had an opportunity to scene with him?” Cash added.

  “Yes,” Ivo nodded, “I’ve had more time than Ivo, he’s been busy with work, but we’ve both had successful scenes.

  “That was one of the reasons I called. Ivo has requested an intense scene with Birch this weekend, which he will take up to a week to recover from.”

  Dr. Gregory took off his glasses and looked intently at the screen, “And what did Birch say about that?”

  “I haven’t mentioned it to him. I thought I would let you know, and you could tell him. I thought that was the arrangement,”

  “No, not really,” said Cash gently, “I want to know how your relationships are going, specific contract negotiations are entirely between yourselves and Birch. Is there a reason you haven’t asked him?”

  “Well he’ll just say yes,” Griffin tried to make a
joke, it fell flat.

  “Are you concerned about Ivo having an intense scene with Birch?” Cash asked, “Are you worried about it? Do you want me to step in and make a point for you?”

  “God, no,” Griffin felt patronized, “Ivo asked me for permission. If I was concerned, I could have just said no, and I’m not concerned. I just thought you would want to know, because of, you know..”

  “Ivo’s medical kink,” supplied Cash.

  “Yes,”

  “May I ask you a question?” said Cash.

  “You’re going to,” said Griffin and then felt childish God, this psychologist brought out the worst in him.

  Discretely Cash ignored his tone, “Do you have a problem with Ivo’s medical kink?"

  “No!”

  Cash waited, silent.

  “I don’t understand it,” said Griffin defensively, “And I did it with him once and hated it, and I know he will treat Birch properly, but a week to recover seems a long time.”

  “Not really,” Cash rubbed his eyes and put his glasses back on, “For some of the more intense forms of anal play several days recovery is perfectly normal,”

  “I’m really sick of people using that word around me,” Griffin snapped, “I’m starting to think it’s code for fucking mental!”

  Cash again ignored the comment, “Ivo is well versed in this type of play. Birch is keen to experience it. It is within the terms of the contract. The only one who seems to have an issue right now is you.”

  “I don’t have an issue,” Griffin said, “I was just running it past you as I believed you wanted, my apologies for bringing it up.” Griffin leaned back in his chair and attempted to push down the aggression he could feel rising.

  Griffin resolutely met Cash’s eyes through the screen. Cash’s face was impassive, but Griffin felt judged.

  Griffin heard Cash’s quiet sigh through the speakers, it irked him.

  “How relationships develop are a critical part of contracts like this..”

  “My relationship with my husband is just fine thanks” Griffin interrupted, “The contract is making no difference to it,”

  “There are more relationships here than yours and Ivo’s. There are the additional connections you both have with Birch as well as your relationship as a triad.”

  “There is no relationship between the three of us. There is barely a relationship between him and us as individuals,” Griffin was thoroughly riled now, “We contracted him as a submissive, he’s happy in that role, we’re happy with what he’s doing, that’s the extent of it.”

  As he says that, he remembered Birch kneeling at the dining table, his smile wide, his easy company a balm to both him and Ivo. He remembered laughter as he popped morsels of food in Birch’s mouth, and the soft looks he and Ivo exchanged over Birch’s head as Ivo petted his hair. He didn’t know why he was lying to Cashel or why he was so angry. He just was.

  He shook his head, “Look I’m really sorry, I am up to my eyes in it here, and I am snappy as hell,”

  “That’s okay,” Cash’s tone was mild, “I have to be honest Griffin, even if you don’t like hearing it, it’s kind of built-in with me,” he shrugged apologetically, “But I think you need to consider what kind of a relationship you want with Birch. I know he is delighted so far in the contract, I am less sure about you. And even though you don’t want to admit it, there is a three-way relationship between you all, and ignoring its existence won’t do any good.”

  Griffin nodded, “Yeah, I guess. Birch is brilliant, he has been just great, I couldn’t ask for better, and I don’t know why I’m coming across as such an asshole at this point.”

  Cash grinned, and for the first time, it was genuine, “Because changes are happening in your life, and they might be good ones, and they might be things you have wanted for a long time, but you’re a Dominant, you want to be in total control of those changes. It’s the curse of those who are here to lead.”

  “You’re not a Dominant?” Griffin found himself asking.

  “No,” Cash shook his head, “But I spend my life looking after a lot of them, so I understand them very well. And they have my sympathy!”

  Griffin smiled ruefully, “Look, again, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to be a dick,”

  “It’s okay,” Cash said, “And if Birch was less happy than he is, I could be a phenomenal dick back, but he is, so far, happy and thriving. My only advice would be that you all talk about the upcoming scene, particularly if you have some trepidation about it.”

  “Okay,” Griffin nodded, knowing that wasn’t going to happen.

  Cashel signed off after they agreed to speak again in a couple of weeks, and Griffin spent most of the afternoon kicking himself for once again a car crash of a conversation with the authorities at Delphic.

  Chapter Twenty-One - Birch

  Tay was stood in the entrance to Cash’s office, he filled the whole doorway and Birch slipped agilely under his arm to enter the room. “Hi, Senior Dominant Master,” he chirped at Tay.

  “Not in the mood today, kid,” Tay growled.

  “Who put itching powder in your jock?”

  “I’ll leave you to it,” Tay said and closed the door with a commendable lack of slam.

  “He’s grumpy,” Birch said to Cashel.

  “Long week,” Cash looked tired too.

  “What’s up?”

  “Just the usual joys of organizing a multi-million dollar business that revolves around emotions!” Cash said, “Tay is annoyed by the new safety protocols for routine safe word tests on working Doms, and he is also pissed that the Crash Team was activated last night, and nobody told him.”

  “Dominant’s eh!” said Birch, “Controlling fuckers, want to know the ins and outs of a duck’s ass as my Grandmother used to say,”

  “Quite,” said Cash, but he smiled, his typically somber face lighting up, “Anyway, how are you?”

  “I’m good, as usual, rubber ball and all that,” Birch slipped into a chair and curled his feet up, he paused a minute and then said, “I’m not worried about it, because it’s nice, but I do seem to be slipping into subspace even easier than I did before,”

  Cash quirked an eyebrow.

  “Yes, I know,” Birch laughed, “Me and subspace, not exactly strangers, well known for sinking like a stone. But this is different, this is like I hover on the edge of it all the time.

  “We’ve been doing quite a lot of non-sexual stuff, like hand-feeding and general service stuff, and I feel really relaxed and joyful in it, I just wondered if it was too much.”

  “So long as you are comfortable, of course, it’s not a bad thing,” Cash said, “I do think that being in contract with two Doms may be responsible. You have good energy with both of your Emptores, and their continued presence would reinforce the dynamic. It’s almost like being in a 24/7 without the actual all day, all night thing.”

  Birch considered, “Yes,” he said, “That makes sense, from the minute I go through the door until the minute I leave I have one or the other or both of them reinforcing the submission, constantly bolstering it,” he smiled, “It does make me very happy, Cash,”

  “Well, naturally I am glad about that, but at this point, I have to drag out my statutory warnings,” Cash said thoughtfully, “One of the key areas we monitor in situations like this, rare as they are, is that the balance within the marriage remains as unchanged as possible. Your Emptores were a unit, and while your addition to it changes it, it should only make it better. You are there to channel the needs they couldn’t meet with each other, but you are not there to add additional issues.”

  “I understand that totally,” Birch said gravely, “Their love for each other is a beautiful thing, and I am very respectful and aware of it. From the beginning, I have chosen to see us as a team working to meet their collective needs, and I think we are successfully doing that,”

  “Sometimes the language we put around things is important,” Cash said, “I worry that you call the three
of you a team, that implies that your motives are the same, and in this instance, they aren’t, not really,”

  Birch sighed, “I hear you Cash,” he said, “But I don’t think we have to be on the same economic or social trajectory to have the same goals. I can guarantee you that what we are doing will not come between them, they are solid.”

  “I’m sure they are,” Cash said, “I just have to remind you of the core objective of the contract, just to make sure you don’t go off track and give more than is strictly called for,” he shuffled some papers on his desk, “And with that in mind I had a call from Griffin at lunchtime. He said that Ivo has requested an intense scene with you this weekend and advised that Ivo thinks it will take up to a week for you to recover from it,”

  Birch smiled.

  “You aren’t concerned?” Cash asked.

  “I’m a little nervous,” Birch admitted, “But mainly I’m excited. I trust Ivo, and although we haven’t scened as much as Griffin and me when I am with him, I feel known and seen. The thought of an intense scene with him is kinda thrilling,”

  “I wish they had discussed it with you themselves,” Cash said, “But it seems Ivo only mentioned it this morning, and Griffin mentioned it to me because we had a check in call. Do you have any idea what an intense scene with Ivo entails?”

  Birch shifted in the chair, “I assume it will be medical play, Ivo has a whole examination room set up in his suite at the house. I have seen it, and he has shown me around it. From the play we have had so far, I expect it will be slow and intense and not likely to involve anything I can’t handle.”

  “Good,” Cash obviously considered the subject closed, and Birch was glad, he wanted to get home and start to prepare for Ivo.

  “There was just one more thing,” Cash said.

  Birch raised his eyebrows in query.

  “Does it strike you that Griffin is the one in charge?”

  “No,” said Birch, “Not at all, why do you ask,”

  “I’m not sure,” Cash said, “I just get the impression that Griffin thinks he is,”