Chapter 7
Adrian
I wasn’t sure how we’d gotten to this point, but I didn’t want it to end. It was… peaceful. There was nothing else to worry about — no bills waiting to be paid, no homework to finish or dishes to do, no future to plan. All I had to focus on was listening to Master’s voice and following his instructions.
It was so easy and so perfect.
When Master finally reached down and took off the leash, it made me freeze. I whined low, trying to make him understand. Master just looked at me, cocking his head to one side.
I wasn’t ready to let go of whatever it was I’d found.
Master straightened, the leash in his hand. “Do you still want to play?”
I wanted anything that kept Master there and let me soak up the praise and soothing touches he gave out so generously. I backed up hesitantly, afraid he’d leave if I went too far, then crawled over and took the ball I’d set out earlier into my mouth.
Cautiously, because Master had only said we’d practice with the leash, I crawled over and laid down. I tucked my arms and legs under me awkwardly, holding the ball in my mouth.
“Good boy.” Master’s voice was soothing when he repeated the words, and I drank them in as eagerly as I had every other time he’d spoken them. They didn’t lose their luster, their appeal. It was easier to slip deeper into the peace of the moment and quiet the voice in my head that always warned of everything.
He crouched down in front of me, coming face-to-face with me. There was something startlingly intimate about the moment. If we were anything other than master and puppy, it would’ve been impossible to tell in that moment. He reached for the ball, and I bit down on it a little harder, tugging a little.
It felt natural when a peal of laughter escaped him, relaxed and rich, and he tugged a little more — not hard, but enough to be insistent. “Is that the game you want to play?” he asked, a smile lingering on his lips.
I pulled back a little and shook my head, teasing him and tugging on the toy again. Master laughed and sat down on the floor, legs crossed, just shaking his head. “I can’t throw the ball if you won’t let go, Pup.”
He would throw it?
I let go and crouched back, happiness flooding through me, and I watched as he waved the ball back and forth. When he finally tossed it across the room, I scrambled to chase after it. Master was playing with me. Nothing else mattered and nothing else intruded on the moment.
There was just pure joy as I watched it bounce and heard him laugh.
When I finally caught it, I quickly crawled back over to him and dropped it in his lap. Master reached out and stroked my head, running his fingers through my hair and down around my collar. He traced the edge of the leather. I could see him looking at it, but I wasn’t sure what he was thinking.
I didn’t want to think at all. I wanted him to laugh, and I wanted to simply be his pup and have nothing else matter.
Lying down in front of him, I stretched my head and nudged the ball with my chin before looking up. Master looked worried, and his hand stilled. Had I done something wrong?
I sat up and gave him another little bark that was starting to come so naturally. That seemed to pull him back, because he smiled again and reached for the toy.
I wasn’t sure how long we played, but eventually, I got tired and chasing the ball seemed like more work than I was willing to do. Master started to pick up the ball again, but I just pushed my head onto his lap and curled up beside him, closing my eyes.
Master tensed for a split second before relaxing, leaning against my bed frame. He started running his fingers through my hair, and I was almost asleep when he gently nudged me after several minutes. “All right, Pup,” he murmured, brushing his fingers along my cheek. “Let’s get this off of you so you can get some sleep.”
I was tired, my legs ached, and my knees were sore, but moving away from him was the last thing I wanted to do. I hadn’t felt that safe and relaxed for a long time. Moving meant I was going to lose it.
With his hands starting to take off the collar, whining didn’t seem right anymore, although I wasn’t sure what made it right to begin with. When the leather was gone from my neck, the blissful feeling of being worry-free quickly faded.
Real life sucked.
Maybe that was why people wanted to be puppies.
Reading about it online and seeing the happy pup in the video had been one thing, but honestly, the relief that came from not having to worry or think was even more incredible than I could’ve imagined. Sitting up, I looked down at the floor. Would things get weird now?
I hadn’t meant it to go that far, and I doubted Owen had either. He didn’t even seem to like me most of the time. That was starting to change, but I wasn’t sure what direction it was in or how. He’d said he was going to help me, but that probably hadn’t meant cuddling me and holding me.
Had it?
Owen reached out a hand to me. I took it, searching his expression like that would give me the answers to questions I wasn’t even sure how to ask. He was as closed off as always, and the ease he’d shown as Master had faded.
I felt a pang. It had been nice seeing him like that, too.
I rose with his help, and he nodded to the bed.
“C’mon. You need some rest after that,” Owen said, and his lips finally quirked into a grin — not the mocking one I’d been half-afraid of, but one that reminded me of his relaxed smile. “Want me to tuck you in?” Maybe even more surprisingly, the words didn’t seem like a joke.
I wasn’t sure why I blushed. Ignoring it was probably the best idea, but something about the way he looked at me and the images that it put in my head were more intense than I was expecting. “I need a shower. It was harder work than I thought it would be.”
It wasn’t what he’d asked, but I wasn’t sure how I should have responded to the question. Did I want him to tuck me in? Was it even a real question?
Owen shrugged. “All right.”
I hadn’t expected the disappointment when he dismissed it that easily, even though it was probably for the best. It was less confusing this way.
He paused, though, touching my cheek then tucking a few stray hairs behind my ear. “Bath,” he said firmly. “Use those bath bead things you have.”
He didn’t wait for me to answer, and he turned. I had to stare at his back as he left, which left me just as confused as I’d been when he’d first come to my room. Was that an order or a suggestion? What had he thought of the whole experience? Would it be weird to see him later, knowing that he’d seen me crawling after a ball?
Well, he’d thrown the ball without complaining, so it couldn’t be that awkward. And he’d always been incredibly vocal about his opinions. If he’d found the experience strange or stressful, he would have said something.
Owen wasn’t the type to suffer in silence.
Did that mean he was okay with what we’d done? I still wasn’t sure how to define it. Was it a scene? Should it be called play time? Had it been a complete aberration that wouldn’t ever happen again?
I stared at the closed door for entirely too long.
Finally, my legs started to protest. I wasn’t out of shape, but playing had clearly worked muscles that didn’t usually get much exercise. Maybe Owen was right about the bath.
As I headed out of my bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom, I couldn't help but look at Owen’s closed door. I’d thought moving forward with the project would help me see things more clearly, but after everything that had happened, I was left with more questions than answers.
So many things I didn’t understand were running through my head. His reaction to the scene was a big one, but so was mine. It’d been so freeing and so… innocent was the first word that came to mind, but judging by my cock’s reaction, it probably wasn’t the right one.
Had he noticed?
I walked into the bathroom, trying to think back. I wasn’t even sure when it had happened. One moment, it was about the ball and the fun, and the next, it was more than that. It was loving and special.
My body just hadn’t seemed to understand that Owen was my brother.
In that moment, he’d simply been Master. Master’s touch came with soothing words that told me what a good job I’d done and sent waves of pleasure running through me. Master had smiled when I’d barked and had run his hands through my hair like he was petting me.
It was almost like they were two different people.
There was Owen, my standoffish brother who didn’t like anything I did and seemed to prefer avoiding me most of the time. Then there was Master, who smiled and let me cuddle into him. Master liked to pet me and laughed when I teased him with the ball. I couldn’t reconcile the fact that they weren’t separate individuals.
Did I have to?
It probably wasn’t even something I had to worry about. What were the chances Owen would even want to explore more of it with me? Some of it was still about the research, there was no denying that, but there was also a part of me that was curious.
If just having the leash and collar on let my brain turn off like that, how would more feel? If chasing the ball had made him laugh and cuddle me, how would he have reacted to the tail? How would Master feel if it wasn’t just about the research for me any longer?
Looking at myself in the mirror, I frowned at my reflection. There was an even bigger question I was hesitant to ask.
How would I feel about taking it beyond the research?
When it had first started, I’d been confident it was just about the class and getting an A. I just wasn’t sure when that had changed. Somewhere during the videos and blogs, it had moved beyond that. I just wasn’t sure where it was going.
Stripping off my clothes, I turned on the water and looked at myself in the mirror again. I still looked like me. Nothing had changed on the outside, but I felt different inside. It was like I was seeing myself for the first time, and I couldn't decide how I felt about it.
Turning, I stepped in the shower and tried to push it all away. I wanted that blissful feeling back. I wanted to have that peace and happiness where nothing mattered but pleasing Master and chasing the ball. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall, letting the spray pound away at me.
Master had been smiling, and the way he’d touched my hair and that one moment where he’d cupped my face had been so tender. It’d been so long since someone looked at me like that — like I was special, and I mattered to them.
I hadn’t needed to do anything but have fun and be myself at the most basic level. That had been enough for Master to smile at me and want to spend time with me. He’d stayed, sitting down on the floor and throwing the ball just because it made me happy.
I wanted it back.
I wanted that perfect moment back, but I had no idea how to get it.
How was I supposed to open up to Master and ask him for more when I wasn’t even sure what it was or how to define anything that we’d done? How could I explain that it couldn’t be wrong if it was that perfect?