by Romilly King
"Yes, Ash," he said. The calm inside him settled further and he felt his back muscles loosen, relaxing into an arch.
"You look good like this, Ricky," Ash said and caressed across the top of his buttocks. Richard shivered with pleasure. He could imagine what he looked like, what Ash was seeing from his position, slightly behind Richard and to his left. "We should do this more often."
The first strike was light, a quick slap to his right cheek that made Richard twitch in surprise, even though he'd been expecting it. It was an indignity to be sure, but it wasn't painful.
The second was in the same spot, and it was slightly harder.
Richard tensed when he felt Ash's hand again, but it just brushed over his skin in a long, slow line, leaving goosebumps in its wake. "Don't tense baby," Ash whispered, "Relax into them, it's better."
The next two hits were both to the underside of his ass, to the sensitive sit spot, and Richard's flesh jiggled in response.
"You're already pinking up. Let's see if we can spread that color around." Ash said and Richard shifted restlessly from foot to foot. He froze when he realized what that must look like to Ash who had a perfect view of his cock and balls hanging heavy and vulnerable between his legs.
"Don't stop on my account," Ash said and Richard's face burned.
"No?" Ash asked when Richard remained still. "Alright then, spread your legs a little more, Ricky," Richard shuffled his feet a little wider.
"More," Ash ordered and Richard complied.
Ash moved closer between Richard's legs and set his hands on Richard's buttocks, his thumbs tracing the vulnerable skin close to Richard's hole but not dipping in.
"I like you like this, Ricky," Ash said hoarsely, squeezing gently before he let go.
Richard closed his eyes at the unexpected compliment, at the warmth that bloomed in his chest. "Th-thank you, Ash," he whispered.
"What a good boy," Ash said and delivered the next strike. Richard wondered if he intended to keep getting more forceful with each hit. "We should do that next time, that's the traditional way, have you thank me after each one. What do you think, Ricky? That was five by the way."
Five. Ash had spanked him five times. Fifteen to go.
"I'd prefer there not be a next time," Richard said and he had no idea why it came out so wobbly.
"Really?"
Richard's knees buckled as something brushed against his erect cock.
"Are you sure about that, Ricky?" Ash asked, not giving him the chance to answer before he was spanking him again.
No, he wasn't sure. The heat was flaring all over his skin. The position, the humiliation, the sparkling pain of the blows to his ass, it all combined to make Richard feel things he had never felt before. Richard was grateful to not have the chance to think as the next set of five came in rapid succession with no breaks in between. By the end of it, he was trembling, his legs unsteady.
He had no idea why he was reacting the way he was. Ten hits. That wasn't very much, especially when Ash was being so careful with the amount of force he used. And yet.
He gave a hitching moan as Ash rubbed over the hot skin of his ass. He found he wanted to press into the touch as if Ash's touch would make it better as if he weren't the one delivering pain in the first place.
"Gorgeous," Ash said, and Richard whined in response. He dropped his head onto his forearm and tilted his ass up higher. He had never thought about being spanked before and had expected to hate it. But here he was, and hate wasn't the word he'd use to describe how he felt right now. What had Ash done to him?
Ash spent a long time stroking his thighs and buttocks, seemingly admiring his work. His hands moved in circles over Richard's flaming skin with a touch that both soothed and aroused as he skirted closer and closer to where Richard really wanted him to be. Finally, grudgingly, Ash lifted his hands off.
"I've changed my mind about the last five. These next ones are going to hurt, but the last five won't be half as bad," Ash said, and Richard tried to nod but he wasn't sure he managed it.
Richard gasped with the next strike as Ash caught him squarely on the inside of his left thigh. He didn't mean to jerk away just as Ash was going for his right leg but that had hurt a lot more than any of the previous blows and his body tried to dodge without conscious thought. Only the tops of Ash's fingers landed, which still stung, but not nearly to the same degree.
"Richard," Ash said, and it was only his name, but Richard flinched nonetheless.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly, his heart racing as he immediately fixed his posture back the way it'd been when they started. "I'm sorry, Ash."
"Are you safewording?"
"No, Ash," he said, frantically shaking his head, and he meant it. The experience was turning out to be different from what he'd expected but he didn't want to stop. Not only did he not want to give Ash another reason to be disappointed in him but he was starting to feel something else as well.
"I'm letting that one go then because I didn't specify at the start that you needed to keep still," Ash said, taking a handful of Richard's hair and using it to tilt his head back until they could look at each other, "but I'm saying it now: you stand there and you take it. Do you understand, Ricky?" he asked, his fingers tightening.
"Yes, Ash," Richard said, his voice a hoarse rasp, and the need to be good was almost overwhelming.
He mentally counted off the next three strikes as they alternated between his thighs, and he didn't move, his legs trembling as he fought to stay still.
"Yeah, Ricky, fuck. Just like that," Ash breathed, and Richard nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a loud thump behind him, but it was nothing to how he felt when Ash's mouth pressed against the very same spot he'd just hit.
Richard's erection had wilted from the last few blows, wilted, but not gone completely down. It came back full-force, however, when Ash started sucking a hickey into the back of his thigh.
"Ash," he gasped.
Ash covered him in biting kisses, changing the pain into something sharper, and when Ash licked a continuous line from one leg to the other, Richard thought he was going to collapse.
"Fuck," Ash said, rough and gravelly. "Fuck. Are you doing okay, Ricky?"
"Yes, Ash." Any other answer was inconceivable.
"Good." Ash rose to his feet, keeping one hand on Richard. "Ready for the last ones?"
"Yes, Ash," he said, the languid heaviness inside him was back and he found that he wanted these last five strokes. He settled into his position, his chest flat on the bed, his arms at his side, and again his back lengthened out into an easy stretch and he tilted his hips up to offer himself to Ash.
"Just five more, then you're done." Ash's hand was possessive on the top of his buttocks, "But I want you to do something for me, okay? I want you to spread your cheeks for me for the last five," Ash said, and Richard's hands were moving before his brain caught up with the request.
He reached back and placed a palm on each buttock, spreading his cheeks apart "Like this?" he asked and his voice sounded far away.
"Yeah," Ash sighed. "Just like that. I'm going to spank your hole now, Ricky. Brace yourself."
At the moment before Ash connected, Richard nearly panicked. He'd never been spanked before, but he'd suspected it was likely to happen sometime during the two weeks based on what Ash had asked for from Delphic. This, though, he hadn't expected this.
"One," Ash said just as the first blow landed and the sensation sent a bolt of lightning up Richard's spine. Richard's fingers twitched for a split second spreading him open even more. He flushed the heat in his face matching the warmth emanating from his hole.
Ash was right, it didn't hurt anywhere as much as the stinging slaps to the inside of his thighs. It was the idea of what Ash was doing, what Richard was helping him do, that affected him.
"Two."
Richard rubbed his cheek against the bedspread, smothering the sound he made.
Ash could make him bare one of the most vulnerab
le parts of himself and then abuse it and Richard would not only let him do it he would be grateful for how it made him feel.
"Three."
Fuck. Richard groaned, he couldn't keep it in, and the sound wasn't pain, it was a deep throbbing groan of gratification. He was pleasing Ash, he knew it, he could feel it.
Not only would Richard hold himself open for Ash but after each impact and flash of pleasure-pain he would arch his back in readiness for the next one and he felt, he felt, he felt good.
"Four."
He sucked in a deep breath, his hole flexed over and over again, putting on a shameless display for Ash.
How had he never known that he could want something like this? How was that possible?
"Five."
He bit down on the fabric to contain the noise he made when the last strike landed. Everything throbbed in anticipation of something that wasn't going to happen again. He wanted more and he couldn't understand how he was already missing the shock of impact followed by the flash of heat, the sting, and pressure that lit up all his nerves.
"Fuck, Ricky," Ash said, panting. "You really liked that."
It wasn't a question, so Richard didn't respond except to moan, humiliated and aroused down to his very bones. He grabbed the sheets now that they were done and he didn't have to hold himself open anymore, hid his face in them, even if it wasn't his face that Ash was currently looking at.
He would've climbed onto the bed, but then he felt something cold drizzle onto him, his hole clenching in reaction, and he shuddered, staying where he was.
"You're swollen a little bit," Ash said, rubbing the lube in and Richard whimpered, wishing Ash would stop talking.
"I have to say, though, you've got a pretty, pretty hole, Ricky," he said just before he breached him with his finger making Richard groan in a mixture of embarrassment and relief.
"Do you want me to fuck you, Ricky?" Ash asked as he started up a slow rhythm that had Richard humping back to meet Ash's finger.
Yes, Richard mouthed into the sheets, unable to say it out loud.
Ash pulled out.
"Yes!" Richard gasped; he lifted his head and twisted around to look back at Ash. "Yes, Ash, please."
"I don't know, Ricky. Do you really want it?" Ash asked, slowly sliding two fingers into him as Richard whined. "I mean, you've been here a whole week and you haven't asked me for it. That doesn't seem like a guy who's hungry for my cock."
His face burned. "Please, Ash," Richard whispered, canting his hips to get Ash deeper.
"Yeah, I think we're going to have to get that dildo out again." Ash started rubbing against his prostate, and Richard shuddered helplessly. "You can show me how much you want the real thing. If you can't come from getting fucked, then you just don't want it bad enough."
"Ash," he gasped, pushing back. "Ash."
"Uh uh," Ash said, pulling out and smacking Ricky lightly on his right cheek, making him jump. "You're going to have to show me next time."
"Richard sobbed and dropped his face back into the bed linens.
"Put your legs together, Ricky," Ash said which confused Richard but he did what Ash wanted even if he didn't understand why he wanted it.
He heard the sound of a zip being pulled down. "Keep them closed." He heard when Ash slicked his cock up, and for a minute, Richard thought maybe Ash was planning to fuck him after all, except when Ash stood behind him, he didn't put any pressure against his hole.
Ash hissed as he slid his cock in between Richard's thighs. "Yeah, nice and tight. Tense your muscles baby."
Ash's cock rubbed against the tender inside of his thighs and Richard bit his lip at the friction--tasted blood when Ash reached around and took his cock in his hand.
His hand was hot and Richard realized it was the hand Ash had used to spank him.
"You took that spanking so well," Ash said as he started to thrust, his cock nudged against the back of Richard's balls, and fuck, Richard's eyelids fluttered from the pleasure. "You're going to be just as good with the dildo, aren't you, Ricky?"
"Yes, Ash," he panted, trying to match his rhythm to Ash's, but he was too close; he couldn't maintain it.
"You're going to prove to me how much you want my cock," Ash said, thrusting harder and shoving Richard forward in the process, and Richard gasped, "Yes, Ash," before coming all over the side of the bed.
Chapter Fifteen
Something changed from that point on. For him and Ash.
Richard felt grounded afterward, more secure in himself. From the start, he hadn't know whether he could do the things Ash wanted of him, but now he knew that not only could he do them, he could enjoy them too. It was a revelation, and whilst he'd never considered such things before, now he couldn't imagine a life without them.
As for Ash, he became much more relaxed after the spanking. He began to spend more time with Richard, joining him for a swim or inviting him to his office after breakfast in the mornings. At first, he used the excuse of some meaningless task Richard could help with if he was bored but it quickly settled into a routine of just so they were in the same room together.
Richard liked it, a lot, it felt like a safe space for them. He liked the combination of easy silence they could settle into just as much as the sudden random thoughts Ash would voice as he worked. He even liked the messy room which felt familiar, like the dorm rooms and cramped TA offices he had shared for years.
#
"My partner is a sub," said Ash.
Richard looked up at Ash in surprise. Ash had been tinkering on his laptop and Richard was trying and failing to parse his way through an article in Science magazine.
Ash's phrasing struck him as weird. "What do you mean?"
"My business partner, Brio, he's a submissive."
"Oh," Something green and slithering stirred inside Richard, "Is he submissive for you?"
"God no," Ash barked a laugh and fiddled with the mouse, the screen in front of him changing to a human brain composed of brilliant nodes of sparkling color. It revolved in 3D. "No, we're not compatible."
"Do you wish you were?" Richard asked attempting to keep his voice level, not sure what Ash was trying to tell him.
"I wish someone was," Ash swung round to look at him, his gaze assessing. He opened a drawer in his desk and rifled through it before sliding a dog eared photo across the desk to Richard. Richard put his magazine to one side and stood up.
In the photo Ash was younger, his hair longer. He wore an MIT t-shirt and his arm was slung around a slight man with unkempt blue-black hair, most of his face hidden by rainbow mirrored aviators. He was wearing a cropped pride t-shirt and jeans slung so low you could see his hip bones. "Pretty," Richard commented blandly.
"Not my type," said Ash firmly.
Richard looked at him under his lashes and Ash grinned. "Yes, you are my type!"
Richard smirked in response and the green slithery thing retreated.
"Why do you mention him?" Richard asked.
Ash sighed, "He's having a tough time," he said, "He struggles with it all. His needs are complex and they aren't being met,"
"I still don't really understand,"
"Do you feel happy here?" Ash asked suddenly.
Richard treated the question with the seriousness it deserved and thought for a moment. How did he feel? A little bored maybe, frequently horny, but yes, he was different here, calmer, happier. "Yes," he said, "I'm happy here."
"I think something about here meets some need you have inside, something you weren't necessarily aware of before," Ash said, "Something you weren't getting."
Richard thinks he wasn't as worried as he usually was, not as edgy. He had thought that the unsettled feeling inside was due to the way his life was, sick and dying Father, money worries, yet more school looming ahead for years. None of those things had changed, they were all still there and they all still mattered, yet Richard didn't feel his thoughts nose-diving into despair when he thought about them. He felt more grounded.
> He felt his mind stretching to grasp a concept. "I am a submissive?" he said hesitantly, "And that word doesn't mean what I thought it meant."
"Yeah," said Ash softly. He was watching Richard work it out.
"I have needs that are met by being submissive and that makes me feel better?"
"That's the theory," said Ash.
"And your partner, he's 'having a tough time' because his needs as a submissive are not being met?"
"Yes,"
"Why are you telling me this Ash?"
Ash looked him in the eye, "Because I never want you to get like him,"
"Oh,"
Ash rubbed his face, "It's unlikely, Brio's extreme, you're not, but I want you to always be happy Ricky so don't ignore this part of you."
"This whole experience has given me a lot to think about," Richard said honestly, "Look, I'm going to go, take a swim, make lunch, get ready for later," He dug his hands in his pockets, hunched his shoulders a little, "Thanks for talking to me about it," He said, "I appreciate it."
Ash nodded, "You're welcome," he said and turned back towards the computer.
#
As for the sex, it remained as intense as ever.
"Come on Ricky, you're not trying hard enough!"
"Please, Ash," Richard gasped, shoving the dildo in harder. He was so close, so close, but he still hadn't managed to come from just fucking himself.
"I thought you wanted my cock."
"I do--"
"Don't you want me to fuck you?'
Richard sobbed, straining to reach orgasm. "Please."
Ash put his hands on his hips and sighed, "I want to fuck you Ricky but I can't if you don't show me how much you want it."
Tears ran from the corners of Richard's eyes. He leaned back, grinding on the dildo, "I want you, Ash, I want you so much."
Ash stepped closer to him and Richard could see the bulge in his jeans. Ash palmed himself, pressing his erection hard. "I want to fuck you Ricky, but rules are rules, I can't fuck you until you prove yourself to me."
Richard's mouth dropped open as Ash unzipped himself and pulled his cock out. His erection was red, obviously achingly hard, the tip wet with precome. Ash wrapped his hand around the thick length, "Look how I am Ricky, so hard for you, so ready for you. Look what watching you does to me." He took a step closer, looking down at Richard and his hand moved on his cock, sudden fast strokes, "I watch you every day, and every day I am this hard for you."