My morning went very well. I watched Amy pinch her nipples until she cried out, which was so fucking hot. Her cries sent chills down my spine. As I got out of my car, I received the notification that the Golden Boy of Irons read my email. This was fantastic, and I was eager to receive his response.

When I checked my phone during my lunch break, I noticed a missed call and a voicemail were waiting for me along with a text. Before looking at the text or the number of the call I missed, I checked my Irons email.

Nothing.

He hadn’t responded yet. “No need to panic,” I told myself. It was around 9:00 a.m. this morning when Graves read my email. He’d be at work, or on his way to work. He probably doesn’t actually do a fucking thing at Everett Gaming, other than collect a paycheck and maybe take coffee to Everett.

He’ll probably respond tonight when he gets home. I can’t expect him to reply to that at work.

I assumed my text was from Amy but was surprised to see a text from my older brother, Johnny.

Johnny: Hey, Paul. I know you’re probably at work but give me a call when you can. I need to talk to you.

I set my phone down as I retrieved my soup from the microwave and took it back to the table. The missed phone call and voicemail message were also from Johnny. My mind assumed something terrible. I held the phone to my ear to listen to his message as I stirred my soup.

“Paul, it’s Johnny. Call me when you can, please. Love you, man. Later.”

I frowned and listened to the message again. He coughed a few times during the message. Was he sick again? I ate a spoonful of my soup and decided to call him now. My heart pounded as the phone rang while I waited for him to answer. Finally, on the third ring he picked up. He managed to get, “Hello?” out before a cough attacked him again.

“Johnny, it’s Paul.”

“Paul, thanks for calling me back so fast.”

“What’s up, man? I called as soon as I heard your message. I’m on my lunch break.”

“Are you sure you can talk now? I can call you tonight.”

I shook my head and leaned back in my chair. I knew what was coming.

“I can talk. What’s going on, John?”

There was a pause, followed by his cough. I had heard that cough of his since we were kids. I knew what was going on.

“It’s back, Paul.”

Even though I knew what he was going to tell me before he said it, hearing him admit the cancer was back still hit me hard. He’d been fighting this his whole fucking life.

I stood up, collected the cup of soup and threw it in the trash and walked outside while talking to my brother on the phone. I kept glancing at my watch so I wouldn’t be late getting back inside.

“The doctors are confident that they can operate and remove the cancer.”

I sighed and clenched my fist in my pocket as I walked along the scenic path by the building. My brother had been through countless surgeries with “confident” doctors. And he’s still in the same fucking place.

I had to be positive though. Yeah, it fucking sucks he has to go under the knife again, but if it’ll help him, then it’s necessary.

“When?” I asked.

“They’d like to operate as soon as possible. They say it’ll give them the best chance before it spreads.”

I nodded and leaned against the railing of a small bridge over a pond. I gripped the wood railing as hard as I could. I knew what was coming next, as well.

“Before they’ll schedule me though, I need some help financially.” Johnny coughed hard and I tried to prevent him from talking.

“Johnny, I can help. Try to relax, man.” My watch beeped near my ear. “I’ve got to get back inside for the rest of my shift. I will call you tonight and we will figure it out. Did you call Jay?”

“Thanks, Paul. Yeah, I left him a message when I left you one. I know he’s probably at work too.”

I headed toward the building and reassured my brother that we’d figure it out and I promised to call him tonight. I would talk to my oldest brother, Jay, tonight as well. I was the youngest of four and only three of us were still living. My second eldest brother died while serving overseas, so it was just Jay, Johnny and myself left.

My afternoon went by quickly, yet not fast enough. I forced myself to pay attention and not get sidetracked, but it was damn hard. I spent a few minutes in the bathroom during my afternoon break to check my banking balances. I just paid my Irons dues a few months ago, and that nearly wiped me out. I hadn’t built up enough equity in my house since my last refinance, so that wasn’t a helpful source. I decided to call Jay on my way home and see where he stood with being able to help.

“Hey, Paul. I assume you heard from Johnny.”

“Yeah. Fucking sucks,” I stated the obvious.

“I know. But he said the doctors thought they would be able to get what is there. Thankfully, Johnny has been going in for regular tests and they caught it quick.”

“He sounded terrible, Jay.”

“He sounded pretty fucked up. Where do you stand, Paul?”

“Fuck, I’ve got to look at my numbers tonight. I’m on my way home now. I only have a few thousand in my immediate possession. I can do a loan against my retirement account though. How about you?”

“We just outfitted the twins with braces, but we can give $5,000 without breaking a sweat. We might look at refinancing the house quickly. Johnny said he can secure the scheduling appointment with $7,000. Apparently, that’s about half.”

I quickly thought. I could commit tonight to the extra $2,000 for the rest of the deposit. That would get him scheduled and then we can figure out the rest.

“I’m almost home, and I’ll call you guys tonight. I can do the rest of the amount needed for the scheduling deposit,” I said.

“Great, it buys some time for us to get the rest together,” Jay said.

As soon as I got inside, I sat down with my phone and saw four text messages waiting for me. I quickly glanced; they were all from Amy. Nothing looked urgent. It looked like she finished her book description.

I opened my banking app and initiated the transfer of $2,000 from my savings account to Johnny’s account. Once I saw that it was complete, I quickly replied to Amy.

J.P.: That’s great to hear about the book description. Now Samantha won’t forbid me from seeing you.

Johnny began texting me, thanking me for the transfer. Meanwhile, Amy’s texts came over, and Jay called me again. We talked for a good hour about the surgery and care for my brother. Thankfully, Jay and his family lived close to Johnny in the Bay area and could check on him.

Johnny lived in an apartment building in Oakland and has bounced around from job to job. He’d never been able to keep a job due to being sick and needing time off. But because he hadn’t been with jobs long enough, he’s never been able to build up much paid time off. And he always ran through his family medical leave of absence quickly. It’s just not fair. He’d struggled all through life.

And some people are just fucking handed money. So much fucking money that they don’t know what to do with it.

Jay and I would have to figure how to come up with the other $7,000.

As soon as I got off the phone with Jay, I caught a few glimpses of texts from Amy. I barely had enough time to read her text about some book stuff before Johnny called. Johnny and I talked for close to two hours, and by the time I got off the phone, I was tense and my shoulders were tight.

I left my phone in the living room and went to get changed for Irons. I needed to be in that environment tonight. If nothing else, just to unwind and have a beer. Before I left the house, I checked my email. Nothing from Graves. It was almost 9:00. Surely, he’d be home by now and could fucking type a goddamn email.

Being a Tuesday, Irons wasn’t very busy. I glanced around the parking lot and was relieved that it was minus two BMWs. Not that I would have minded seeing Graves, but I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Everett. Blake was here though.

I sat subdued at the bar, thinking about Johnny. He stood up for me when my parents went off the cliff when they found out about the shit I was into. Poor guy was dealing with being weak from chemo treatments, and he still pulled my dad away from me. I owed him.

As I finished my beer, Dustin, a male house sub, walked over to the unattached sub area and knelt down next to four female subs. I needed to play and play hard. I wasn’t going to lose my opportunity tonight. I walked over and stood in front of Dustin and looked down at him. Dustin, like many of our house subs, was what I call “fluid.” Nearly all of our unattached house subs or slaves were bi-sexual and understood that filling a role came before gender.

“Master Paul, good evening,” Dustin greeted me.

Dustin reminded me a lot of Blake and Cathy’s Noah. He was tall but had a muscular, lean build. None of our house subs or slaves were built like Graves; tall, muscular but thick. Dustin was going to have to do tonight, provided he consented.

“Dustin, I’m going to be very honest with you. I’m looking for a very heavy-hand scene tonight. Paddles, leather straps, studded floggers, and the cane. I’m not here to fuck tonight. There will be no penetration,” I said and watched his eyes move slightly from side to side as he was thinking.

“I understand, Sir.”

“Are you up for it, Dustin?”

“Yes, Sir.”

I nodded as he stood.

“Did you arrive with anyone tonight?”

“No, Sir.”

I nodded and led us down to the dungeon. I needed to keep in mind that he arrived alone and would be leaving alone. Which meant he needed to be put back together by the time he leaves and gets behind the wheel of a car.

At the entrance to the dungeon cell, I held my hand out, and he placed his play card in my hand. I motioned for him to enter the cell while I studied his card.

Safe word is “red,” no known triggers or allergies to latex or leathers. Hard limits: fire play. No places on his body were listed to avoid.

“Dustin, are there any updates to this card that I need to be aware of?”

“Yes, Sir. I’m on the last few days of an antibiotic that I’m taking for an ear infection.”

Good to know. I approached him and looked into his eyes.

“Which ear so I know to keep clear of it?”

“My left, Sir.”

“Are you hydrated?”

“Yes, Sir.”

I went over to the tiny fridge that was built into the stone walls and checked its contents to ensure there was bottled water. His endurance probably wasn’t where it should be for this kind of scene, but I’d keep an eye on him.

“Undress and stand in the center under the cables,” I instructed as I walked to the wall that held the implements.

Every implement that I was looking for was on the wall. And poor Dustin was going to fill the role of Graves tonight. There was no one that I wanted to beat on more than Graves. When I turned, I found Dustin standing naked under the cables. I took over a length of chain and quickly wrapped it around his wrists before attaching it overhead to the cable system.

“Has anything shitty happened to you lately, Dustin?” I asked him.

What he volunteered verbally might give me some fuel.

“Not really?” I asked him again as I lightly slapped the leather falls against his back to warm him up. “Too shy to share?”

“Yes, sir.”

I could see his cheeks grow red. I would have enjoyed giving his face a playful but firm pat, but I was mindful of his sore ear. I wasn’t going to bust his balls over not sharing. It would have made it more fun for me to work his mind up, but the guy wasn’t feeling one hundred percent as it was. This would be enough as it was.

I was able to work up to a nice rhythm with the studded flogger on his back. His upper back was very red, and when his back started to continuously flex, I set the flogger down and reached up to feel his hands. They were starting to cool, so I unlocked the cable and told him to kneel and sit back on his heels. The cable hummed as Dustin lowered to the ground. When his hands lowered to rest on his lap, I reached up to lock the cable in place.

I retrieved the bamboo cane from the wall and swung it in the air a few times to make the swish noise. That noise tended to drive subs deep into a state of worry and wonder.

Crouching down in front of Dustin, we made eye contact with one another. He seemed to be doing well, so I proceeded and tapped his hands with the cane.

“Hold your hands against your stomach. You won’t want them in the way,” I warned.

I moved to the side of him and turned my wrist quickly, bringing down the cane on his thighs. The cane usually does the trick when I want to hear someone. And I was to that point now.

Thoughts of Johnny were beginning to creep into my head, and I needed to do what I came to do and then get out of the cell with this young man. It wasn’t long before I had broken a sweat and was lost in thoughts of Johnny.

“Mmph.”

The small noise of discomfort returned my attention to Dustin. I looked down at his thighs; they were a mess. His skin was angry. Purple hues decorated his skin where the hard point of the cane had made contact. Red coloring fanned out to his outer thighs. The skin was torn in a few areas, and tiny specs of blood were visible.

“Have you had enough of the cane, Dustin?” I asked and focused on his eyes. He was quiet, but his eyes were focused on the floor. “Dustin, I asked you if you have had enough of the cane.”

I brought the cane down hard on his thighs, causing him to yelp.

“If you’re done with the cane, then yes, Sir.”

His chest and abdomen were both heaving. I had a few minutes left with him before he needed to stop. I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back so I could see his eyes.

“Dustin, do I have your permission to take a few photos?”

“Yes, Sir.”

I pulled my phone out and told him to keep his head down while I quickly snapped some photos.

“Stand up, Dustin.”

I noticed his legs shook as he tried to stand on his own. With his hands chained, he couldn’t rely on his arms for balance. Finally with him upright, I raised his arms over his head again and locked them in place.

I brought the leather strap over and snapped it against his back, ass and the back of his legs. When his knees buckled consistently as the strap made contact with his skin, I knew it was time to stop. I snapped a few pictures of the back of him and then slipped my phone in my pocket.

Reaching up, I unfastened his chained wrists from the cable system and guided his arms down slowly.

“You did good, Dustin. Thank you for your service tonight.”

“Yes, Sir, thank you.”

I left his side while he gathered his clothes and I went to grab him a bottle of water. He hadn’t moved much but awkwardly held his clothes in his hands. I opened the bottle for him and handed it to him. He guzzled the water and wiped his face with his shirt.

Some blood began to trickle down his thigh, so I grabbed the first aid kit and cleaned up the cuts on his thighs before bandaging them.

“Dustin, you need to go to the care and first aid station. Do you need assistance getting there?”

“No, Sir. I can manage on my own.”

As I watched Dustin leave, I noticed Blake leaning on a pillar, watching. Let him fucking watch. I wasn’t in the mood to be scrutinized for being me. Especially not tonight.

I held my ground in the dungeon cell and took my time cleaning the implements and returning them to the wall. When I was ready to leave, Blake was nowhere in the hallway of the dungeon.

I ordered a beer then sat down and tried to unwind. While I settled in with my beer, I pulled my phone out and smiled at my new pictures from this evening. I uploaded them to my Kinky Links account and then read some of my waiting texts from my brothers and Amy.

I sighed and set my phone down and took a long pull from the bottle. When I saw Matt in the main room, I remembered the email I sent Graves. I quickly picked my phone up and checked my email for his response.

Nothing.

How the fuck can he just not respond? Even a “fuck off” would be better than the silence. What the fuck was wrong with him?

J.P.: Princess, I’m not angry at you, It’s just been a bad day. I love you, sweetheart. Go to bed.

I just finished the text to Amy when Blake sat down beside me.

“Did your scene give you what you needed this evening?” Blake asked.

“It did,” I confirmed.

“You broke a lot of skin,” he commented.

“He consented,” I countered.

“What’s going on with you, Paul?”

“Bad day.”

“I gather that.”

I closed my mouth before I said something I’d regret.