Chapter 7



Justin looked over the worksheets from his SAT course and grimaced. This was such simple work. He knew this stuff. But Brian wanted him prepared for his SATs and so he took a deep breath and began filling out the worksheets. The next session was in two days and he would take his first practice test then. In the meantime, he had finished his homework and was now getting down to the extra work.

Brian looked up from his desk and saw Justin working steadily on his homework at the small conference table in Brian's office. They had gotten into a routine over the last few weeks. Brian went to work in the morning and Justin stayed home to meet with his tutors. Around one, Brian took his lunch and went back to the loft to pick Justin up. They would eat together and then head back to the office. Brian finished his work while Justin did his homework and worked on his SAT prep. If the younger man was finished before Brian, which often happened, he would either bring out his sketch pad or go to the art department and bug the team there for a while.

"Brian?" Justin said, looking up from his worksheet a while later. "Daphne called yesterday."

"Oh?" Brian asked distractedly. "What did she want?"

"She wants to go to the mall this evening," Justin said. "Homecoming is next weekend and she wants me to help her pick out a dress. Can I go?"

Brian finally looked away from the file he had been reading and frowned. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Justin asked. "It's just the mall. And we wouldn't be gone for very long."

"Because you are an un-collared sub and Daphne is a weak beta," Brian said reasonably. "If someone tried something, who would protect you?"

Justin pouted. "I can take care of myself. I've been taking the self defense courses and I did just fine before I met you."

Brian raised one eyebrow. "You are pushing it, Princess. Change your tone."

Justin dropped his head. "Sorry."

Brian got up from his desk and walked over to Justin. He carded his fingers through Justin's hair and smiled. "Okay. You can go. But the first sign of trouble and I want you to come right home. Do not try and handle it on your own, do you understand?"

Justin grinned up at his alpha and said, "Yes sir. I promise. But there won't be any trouble."

"I'll expect you home before nine," Brian said.

"Yes, sir," Justin chirped. "Thank you, sir."

"Go call Daphne," Brian said. "I can tell you aren't going to get anything else done until you do."

Justin stood up and kissed Brian enthusiastically before rushing from the room, his cell phone already out and his fingers working the keys. Brian shook his head and went back to his desk. Justin was so easy to please sometimes. It was funny, but he'd never thought he could be a full-time alpha. He didn't think he would have the patience to deal with a needy sub. But Justin wasn't really a bother at all. And Brian actually liked taking care of the kid.

Some people might believe that it had to do with Justin's age. But the doctor they had seen with Jennifer was right. Justin was very mature for his age. He could have made a fine beta. He was strong, intelligent, and had more courage than most alphas. But under all that was a vulnerability that made Brian want to care for him and protect him from the world. There was an innocence in his smile and his eyes that Brian never wanted to disappear.

If this was what it meant to be an alpha with a sub, it wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. Maybe he'd have to rethink his stance on collaring the kid. Eventually. No need to rush. Neither of them were going anywhere.

BJBJBJBJBJ

By ten o'clock that evening, Brian had changed his mind about how easy it was to have a sub. Justin still wasn't home and he wasn't picking up his cell phone. Brian wished he had thought to get Daphne's number before letting the damned kid go off with his friend. His mind kept playing all the worst case scenarios he could come up with as he paced the length of the loft. Brian was just about to get his coat and go looking for them when the door opened and Justin and Daphne came through looking sheepish.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Justin said with a nervous smile.

"Daphne say goodnight," Brian ordered, his eyes never leaving his sub.

"Oh, um, yeah," Daphne stammered. "Good night Justin. Thanks for your help."

"You're welcome," Justin said as he gave her a hug. Daphne looked from Justin to Brian and back again before practically running for the door.

"She's right to run. She's lucky I don't cane her," Brian muttered.

"It wasn't her fault," Justin said timidly.

Brian scowled. "I gave my sub into her care and she disregarded my directive regarding his welfare. She deserves a caning."

Justin frowned but couldn't argue with his reasoning. Legally, Brian was right. "But there was a reason we were late."

Brian stared at his sub for long minutes. The fear that something had happened to him had subsided and been replaced with anger. Now that anger was beginning to fade. He went to the sofa and sat down, pointing to the ground beside him. Justin was quick to take his place on his knees. "Explain."

"We had just finished picking out Daph's dress—it's this cute pink frilly thing that looks great on her—and still had some time left, so we decided to get an ice cream from the food court," Justin said. "Unfortunately, we ran into one of the boys from my school. Chris Hobbes is one of the alphas who was causing the most trouble before I stopped going to school. He came up to us and started getting all alpha male on me." Brian growled low in his throat, but Justin ignored him and continued. "I promised you that I would leave at the first sign of trouble, so I grabbed Daphne and tried to get out of there. She wanted to stay and yell at him."

"She's got a mouth on her," Brian said. "One that will get into trouble if she isn't more careful."

"Yeah," Justin sighed. "Anyway, I tried to get us to the car, but Hobbes kept following us and once we were outside, he grabbed me and shoved me up against the car. Daphne started hitting him, but it was like a fly attacking a horse; more of an irritation than anything else. So I kneed him in the groin and then laid him out using some of my slick self defense moves." Justin was grinning at the memory. "That's when security showed up."

"What happened?" Brian asked. He was calmer now and could see some humor in the situation.

Justin's grin faded. "They took us all back to their offices for questioning. They said it looked like we were beating up on an innocent man. It took a while to fully explain the situation and by then, we were already late."

"Why didn't you call me?" Brian asked. "Or answer your damned phone?"

"It got broke in the fight," Justin admitted. "I'm sorry. I should have called from the security office, but all I could think about was getting out of there and getting home."

"You're right, you should have," Brian said. "And you shouldn't have gone to the food court. I didn't give you permission to go anywhere but dress shopping, did I?"

"No sir," Justin said in a subdued voice. His head was hanging now.

"I'm very proud of you for standing up for yourself and protecting yourself," Brian said. "But you broke the rules and you will need to be punished."

"Yes, sir," Justin said as visions of being spanked flashed in his head. Brian stood up from the sofa and looked down at Justin. Justin quickly stood up as well, waiting for his next directive.

"Strip."

Justin started at the abrupt command. His entire body was instantly covered in goose bumps, but he dared not disobey. Justin kept his gaze lowered as he slowly and deliberately removed the layers of his clothes until he was completely exposed to his lover's gaze. Brian didn't move or say anything for a very long time, long enough that Justin began to squirm uncomfortably.

"Hold still," Brian ordered and Justin immediately complied, forcing his restless body to remain motionless. Brian rose and ran one finger lightly up Justin's arm, causing a slight shudder to go through the young man's entire body. Brian stepped away and out of Justin's sight. "I think I need to clarify something for you. I am in charge of what happens within these walls and outside of them, not you, and definitely not Daphne. You belong to me."

Those words had the effect of making Justin's cock grow incredibly hard. Justin chanced a look over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, Justin caught sight of a long wooden paddle in his lover's hand. A shiver broke through him, a combination of anticipation and fear.

"Brace your arms against the back of the sofa and spread your legs wide. You need to keep your balance," Brian instructed in a cool tone. Once Justin was in position, Brian continued. "I am going to spank you, Justin. I will give you five strokes for each offense. That's five for neglecting to call me and five for going for ice cream without permission. That's ten strokes. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Justin said breathlessly. His erection, at the promise of a paddling, seemed to ache even more. "Ten strokes."

"You will count each stroke out after I have administered it." Brian ran a cool hand over Justin's hip and arse. Justin pushed his hips back to gain more contact, but the hand disappeared.

CRACK!

"Oh fuck!"

"Princess, I believe I gave you an order. Unless you want to add to your punishment you will obey me."

"O-one!"

CRACK!

"Two!"

CRACK!

"Th-three!"

Justin thought he was going to pass out from the pain. The edge of the paddle struck at his most sensitive flesh where his arse met his thighs and left him feeling like his skin was burning. This was so much more than just the mild sting he had expected.

CRACK!

"Four!"

CRACK!

"Five!"

Justin's entire arse and the top of his thighs were on fire. The pain was so centralized that it seemed worse than anything he had ever felt. The next minutes were torturous for Justin, but surprisingly, by the time they reached eight, Justin felt his cock twitching back to life.

CRACK!

"Nine!"

CRACK!

"Ten!" Justin almost collapsed with relief. It was over. But then there were hands gently stroking his raw and reddened flesh. It hurt and yet was so enjoyable at the same time. His half-hard cock began to swell once again.

"Stay there," Brian instructed. Justin panted and tried to remain still as he heard Brian walk away from him and up the steps to the bedroom area. A few minutes later, Brian returned. Justin almost sighed in relief when he felt the cool tingle of a healing balm being spread over his sore ass.

"Disobedience will only get you into trouble, Justin," Brian purred into Justin's ear as he leaned over the still bent young man. As he continued to talk, Justin could feel his fingers quickly preparing his arse with the same balm and moaned at the cooling sensation. "You will learn that if you want something, you need to ask for it first. If you are faced with a situation where you do not know how to handle, you will call me. You may not always agree with me, but I will expect you to respect my decisions."

Justin nodded blindly, "Yes, sir, anything! As long as I can have your cock in me!"

"You are a greedy slut, aren't you," Brian purred and plunged deep into Justin, burying himself in one thrust. Justin screamed his pleasure and pain. Brian's heated flesh made Justin's arse sting all the more each time their bodies collided. It was an almost brutal joining, but Justin reveled in it, in the baseness of Brian's possession of him. Brian grasped his hips and began pulling Justin towards him as he pushed roughly into Justin's tight channel. The adrenaline from his confrontation, the pain and arousal from his punishment followed by this incredibly animalistic fuck was too much for the younger man. After only a few minutes, Justin felt his balls tighten just before his world exploded, and then he was coming harder than he could remember.

Brian continued to pump into his abused body, but Justin was like a rag doll, totally lost to anything at that point. His entire world was focused into a single point of light behind his eyelids. Soon, however, Brian was coming as well, crying out hoarsely as he spent his seed into the condom.

Justin didn't think he lost consciousness, but he didn't really remember getting to the sofa. He simply became aware slowly of the hands stroking his arms and back gently. His head was resting on Brian's chest and he listened for a long time to the heartbeat pulsing steadily there.

"Are you back?" Brian asked quietly.

"Yeah," Justin sighed happily. "I didn't pass out or anything, did I?"

Brian chuckled, "No. You simply needed a minute to come back to earth."

"I'm sorry I worried you," Justin said quietly. "I didn't mean to."

Brain petted Justin's hair and smiled to himself. "I know. And like I said before, I'm proud of the way you stood up for yourself. But you should never have been in that position in the first place."

Justin sat up and looked down at Brian. "You can't protect me all the time, Brian. There will be times when I have to be on my own."

Brian snorted. "Twat. Of course there will be times when I'm not with you. But I s=can still protect you."

"You mean…?"

"A collar," Brian sighed. "I hate the very idea of them, but… It would protect you from idiots like the one you ran into tonight."

Justin was stunned. "You don't have to do that. I know how you feel about collars."

"I never do anything I don't want to do," Brian said. "It won't change anything between us. We're already stuck with each other. What will change is the way the rest of the world treats you. I think giving up my obsolete principles is worth that added protection."

Justin was silent for a while and laid back down with his head on Brian's chest. "Why obsolete?"

Brian paused before answering. "Obsolete because with or without a piece of jewelry around your neck, you belong to me. Obsolete because I've discovered that being bound to someone for the rest of my life isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Obsolete because I kind of like knowing that no one else will ever get to touch what is mine."

Justin grinned and looked up at Brian. "So. When can we get that collar?"

Brian growled playfully. "When I'm damned well ready, Princess. And not a second before."