Room at the Top (25 page)

“Austin. Your turn.”

Austin shivered and settled himself into position, preparing himself. Jay’s fingers moved, clutching awkwardly at Austin’s, the bonds linking their wrists making the angle a difficult one.

Liam moved around the bed and placed the ruler against Austin’s arse, enjoying the flinch he got on one level. He raised the ruler an inch or two and brought it down, over and over, gentle pats, warming Austin’s skin with the wood and his words. “You can take this, Austin. It’s going to hurt. You saw how much from Jay’s reaction. Your skin’s going to feel as if it’s split open, you’ll fight for breath, but I know you, and you’ll accept that pain as gladly as you do a kiss from Jay.”

He gave one final pat, then brought his hand back, the edge of the ruler digging into his palm.

Austin made a breathless keening sound, trying to move closer to Jay, picturing what was to come too clearly for comfort, Liam guessed. Anyone who thought what they did was all about the physical was missing so much. He paused, lowering the ruler to his side.

“No. Push your arse out for me, Austin. This is a punishment, remember. You didn’t stay quiet when I’d told you to, but you can make up for it by taking this stroke as if it’s what you want more than anything in the world. And it should be, because it’s going to please me to give it.”

Austin trembled, then swallowed hard and did as he’d been told, arching his back so that his arse stuck out, making the perfect target for Liam’s ruler.

He almost wished he was using his hand. It would have been impossible to strike them with enough force without hurting himself as well, which was probably the main reason why people had begun spanking with objects in the first place. But it would have been satisfying to know it was his skin and bone that brought tears to Jay’s eyes or made Austin’s breathing hitch and catch.

Maybe next time, Liam told himself, and brought the ruler swinging down. The sound of it making contact with Austin’s flesh was a sharp one, and Austin’s mouth opened in response to it in a silent cry. He shuddered all over, and his cock pulsed once but didn’t spill its release. Austin did make a sound then, a quick, desperate panting as he tried to control his reaction to the blow.

“
Yes
.” Liam didn’t try to disguise his delight at the way Austin had taken his stroke. “You’re both doing so well for me tonight. I’m pleased.”

They didn’t smile, but he saw their faces relax, a subtle acknowledgment of his praise.

“I’m going to whip you both now. It’s going to take a while to build to something more than you can take, because I plan to take my time. Before I begin, though, I think I’ll remove the ginger. It’s done its job, and I don’t want you to be distracted.”

They made a sound in unison at that, a relieved exhalation. He grinned. “You don’t like it? Poor, sore holes. They must feel so hot. Unfortunately the ice has all melted, or I could cool them down for you.”

He dealt with Austin first, crouching by the bed and staring, fascinated, at the small plug and the dark pink flesh clutching it. The mark the ruler had left was stark against Austin’s pale skin. Liam drew his finger along it, feeling the faint ridge, and then traced the darkest part of the stripe with the tip of his tongue, tasting sweat and feeling the trapped heat.

“S-Sir? Oh, God, that feels—” Austin gasped, the sound raw and needy, then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Sir.”

“Mm,” Liam said, idly working the ginger in and out of Austin’s hole before pulling it free. “I’m sure you are. And if you aren’t, I can arrange it, because really, that was very disobedient.” It was hard to sound severe when he was smiling over finally getting Austin’s self-control to snap. “I think you can wait to get dressed until you’re just about to leave. When we’re discussing the session later, you’ll be naked and on your knees by my chair, not with Jay on the couch.”

Neither of them would enjoy that, but Liam would. Oh God, yes, he would. Austin would kneel, his eyes downcast, his cheeks crimson, singled out, alone, leaning into Liam’s leg, looking for comfort.

He walked around to Jay and bent over, removing Jay’s plug with a swift jerk and a slap against the curved cheek of his arse, a version of the gentler touch Austin had received, tailored to Jay’s preferences.

“Thank you, Sir,” Jay said demurely, deliberately disobeying Liam’s order not to speak.

Cheeky brat. Liam frowned, genuinely irritated, if far from angry. Jay’s motive—to get to share Austin’s punishment and thereby lessen its impact—was obvious and sprang not from rebellion but concern; Liam knew that. Even so, he couldn’t ignore—or allow—such a blatant attempt to manipulate him. For Liam, a sub topping from the bottom wasn’t something to be encouraged.

“Don’t move,” he said. “And don’t speak, or this will be the last attention you receive tonight. You think you can control what happens by breaking the rules? You’re wrong.”

With that, Liam turned all his attention onto Austin, aware of Jay’s outrage and Austin’s concern, and determined to ignore both. This was the time to teach Jay a lesson. If it wasn’t taught properly, there would be repeat incidents of disobedience, and that would not do.

“Now, I trust you’re going to do as you’re told.” He ran a hand up the back of Austin’s thigh, feeling the wiry hair prickle his palm, letting his fingertips brush against Austin’s balls, then reached around and pinched the base of Austin’s cock.

Austin jerked but didn’t make a sound. His gaze had started to go unfocused as it did when he was really letting the scene carry him away.

“Yes,” Liam said. “You are.”

He stood at the foot of the bed, the flogger in his hand. Not the best angle if he’d been aiming solely for their arses, but he wasn’t. They were his to mark within the limits he’d agreed to, and that meant he had a damn sight more territory to claim. The flogger was too light, the strands too soft to really hurt. They wouldn’t agree after it’d struck them a few dozen times, but by tomorrow, there’d be barely a trace of red on their skin.
Pity.

He swung it down, the five strands landing across the back of Austin’s thighs with a sting in their tail, the next strike a backhanded slash across Jay’s side.

“Move for me, both of you, rub off on each other. I want you hard. I want you sweating and crying, you’re so desperate for relief.” He heard the uncompromising edge to his voice, each word snapped out crisply. “If you come before I give permission, you’ll discover that I have plenty of punishments that you won’t enjoy, even you, Jay.”

Liam found a rhythm with the flogger, a back and forth swing that let him put more force behind the blows—even a hundred strokes in, the feel of this whip striking skin wouldn’t be as intense as being struck with some other objects. Jay was staring at Austin’s face and writhing against him, and Austin was glassy-eyed with the pleasure of being in sub space. The one thing that was unsatisfactory about this was that the way they were pressed together meant Liam couldn’t really see their cocks, just the occasional glimpse of sliding, damp flesh.

There were lots of things he
could
see, though. He could see the sweat beading on their shoulders and upper arms, the pink flush to their skin even in the places he wasn’t whipping them. The expressions of their faces were clearly visible: the tight, determined set of Jay’s jaw that told Liam he’d obey; Austin’s parted lips.

“You’re beautiful like this.” Liam spoke the words deliberately. He didn’t want to feel guilty for them later, for having lost control, so this was a conscious decision. “Both of you.”

Somehow he thought one of them might break the rules and speak, but neither of them did. Liam brought the whip down again and again, flogging them until his arm muscles were a fiery ache and their skin was dark red and slick with perspiration.

Enough.

He dropped the whip and stood over them, his chest heaving as he got his breathing under control so he could speak without gasping. The two on the bed didn’t even notice the whipping had stopped for a moment, but when it registered, there was no more than a pause before they continued to move. That was fine with Liam. He hadn’t told them to stop, after all.

“Move apart,” he said and made sure that there was no doubt in his voice. If they disobeyed this order, he’d be so fucking disappointed, not with them but himself.

Jay was arching his hips up, rubbing his cock against Austin’s stomach. He looked lost in the sensations he was creating for himself, but at Liam’s words, he jerked backward, the first clumsy movement he’d made since Liam had tied his ankles to the bed. Austin moaned, a dismayed, bereft sound, but even though Jay wasn’t touching him with anything but their linked hands, he too edged back a few inches.

Liam stared down at them. Their cocks were as deeply shaded in red as if they’d been whipped, the tips glistening, the shafts streaked with sweat. They’d taste and smell of sex, those jutting, hard pieces of flesh, raw, rich, musky, overwhelming his senses if he put his mouth on them. He shuddered, unbearably aroused by what he could see, what he’d done to them, the unthinking, instinctive obedience they’d shown.

“Come for me,” he said, testing them one last time. “Like this, not touching. Let me see.”

He wanted his order, not each other’s warm, damp skin, to be the trigger for their climax.

With Austin, it was like a button had been pushed. The young man lifted his hips once and painted his stomach with his orgasm, the fluid creamy white. Liam felt spellbound by the sight of it, and when he shifted his gaze from Austin’s cock to his face, he found Austin was watching him—him, not Jay. Austin’s love might belong to Jay, but at that moment, his pleasure was all Liam’s, each moan and twitch owned by the man who dominated him.

Liam’s own erection was impossibly hard inside his slacks. It felt as if the fabric might not survive the press of his eager cock. Austin relaxed, and Jay’s small whimpers drew Liam’s attention.

Jay was desperate to come. That much was clear. But it seemed he wasn’t able to. His body writhed, cock touching nothing but air, eyes locked on Liam’s face. He wasn’t speaking, but he was begging all the same, needing something more from Liam that he might not have been able to put into words even if he’d been allowed.

Liam bent, picked up the flogger, and straightened. His fingers ached as he curled them around the handle again, but he didn’t let it show on his face. This was no time to tease, to drag the long strands of leather, soaked with their sweat, over the straining heat of Jay’s cock until he came. Jay needed to be pushed, not led slowly.

Liam held Jay’s gaze until he had to glance away to aim, then struck, a single, precise lash, not as hard as before, but against the sensitive flesh it wouldn’t feel that way. The strands flew through the air, close together, and parted, spreading on impact, to lick and kiss Jay’s cock and balls and stomach.

Jay’s mouth fell open, but though Liam could see the muscles of his throat working, no sound emerged. Jay’s eyes were wide, stunned, shocked. For a long moment, Liam waited; then Jay released the breath he’d been holding and came, a jumble of sounds that weren’t quite words pouring out of him with each jolting spurt. Tears ran out of the corner of his eyes, trickling down to dampen his hair.

Austin bent his head and kissed Jay’s fingers, murmuring something Liam couldn’t hear over the rush of blood in his ears. He was
not
going to come from watching them. He was not. But he wasn’t sure he could move to release them from their bonds without climaxing.

God, they were incredible. So responsive, so willing to trust him.

With an effort, moving carefully because every shift of fabric across his erection was eroding what little self-control he had left, he bent to untie their ankles. A small towel was on the night table, and he walked around the bed to get it, each step sending a wave of arousal over him. He could’ve untied their hands and told them to clean themselves up, but he liked doing it. It was part of his responsibility, in his eyes. He sat on the bed by Jay and ran the towel over Jay’s stomach and down to a cock that was slowly softening, being reasonably gentle, but not coddling him. Even through a towel, he could feel the shape of Jay’s cock, and his fingers tightened possessively before he could stop them. Jay whimpered and sighed, his lips curving in a half smile. Liam released him.

Austin moved closer to Jay, offering himself up to be cleaned, that same pleased smile hovering on his lips. Liam wanted to lean over and kiss it off Austin’s mouth, take its sweetness and roll it on his tongue like candy.

He tossed the towel onto the floor behind him and unbound their hands, his breathing shallow and quick, his hands shaking.

“Rest for a while,” he told them. “I’ll bring you some juice, and if you like, you can shower here.”

“Please,” Austin said, voice sounding hoarse as if his throat was swollen. “Don’t. It isn’t over?”

It was a question Liam didn’t want to answer, because it should be over. They’d both got what they’d needed from the session, and they’d both come. That should be all there was to it. But it wasn’t, not with Liam’s cock wanting the attention it had gotten last week, the heat and suction of Jay’s mouth.

Hesitating, torn up over which decision to make, Liam reached down and touched Austin’s face. He rubbed his thumb across Austin’s lush, bite-swollen lower lip. “Isn’t it?” That wasn’t what he should have said. In this room, he was the one calling the shots.

“We don’t want it to be,” Austin whispered, gazing up at him trustingly. “Jay?”

“We want to,” Jay agreed. “This was… You’re so good to us. We want to be good for you, and to you, and… Please. Sir.”

“Please,” Austin whispered again, and Liam, so eager for their touch he barely knew how to speak, nodded resignedly.

It was Jay who reached for the fastening on his slacks and let them fall to the floor, and it was Austin who took his hand and drew him down onto the bed with them. Neither of them kissed him on the lips, but they pressed their mouths to the skin of his stomach and the curve of his hip, licked the head of his cock with slick, hot tongues.