CHAPTER EIGHT
Luke thought he’d be less nervous his second time with Jack. The fact that he’d been unable to get out a coherent sentence when he’d run into Jack at Scott’s office should’ve given him a clue, but he was overly optimistic.
He was even more nervous than he’d been before, because now he knew what Jack might expect of him, what he might give him, and what he might make him wait for. Being forced to sit there while Jack did whatever he wanted was so damn hot, but Luke wanted more. He wanted to touch Jack, to kiss him, to find out what it would be like to have Jack’s cock in his ass. Having Jack tell him exactly what to do, how to move or not, speak or not while he fucked him had been his primary jerk-off fantasy that week. How much longer would Jack make him wait?
This is only your second time together.
He felt like he’d been waiting forever. Even back when he was so worried about getting caught, he would stay up until everyone was asleep, jerk off into a sock, and hide the evidence at the bottom of his laundry basket, he’d fantasized about a man like Jack who would control him. The days since last Saturday had seemed endless. Yet now he was so nervous, he had to ball his hands into fists to keep them from visibly shaking as he walked toward the entrance to the Edge.
Once he was inside, he saw Jack seated right where he’d been last weekend.
Did the fact that he was already there mean he was as eager as Luke? He sure hoped so.
Jack glanced up as he approached. “You’re early. I like that.”
His obvious approval made Luke feel warm all over. “You’re early too.”
“I like to get here before my subs so I can watch them come in. I like to see their reaction the moment they notice me.”
Why was that so hot?
“Do you want something to drink, or would you like to go ahead and get started?”
No way could Luke sit there and have a drink without losing his mind. Just talking with Jack had Luke so worked up, he could hardly sit still. If Jack asked him to wait patiently again, could he?
What choice did he have?
That thought made him shiver. “I’d like to start now, Sir.”
Jack grinned. “This time I’ll let you have what you want. Don’t count on that happening again tonight.”
Jack’s words went straight to Luke’s cock, and he had to adjust his pants as he followed Jack to the same room they’d used before.
“Strip,” Jack ordered as soon as he shut the door.
Luke was glad he hadn’t worn a button-up this time. He didn’t think his fingers would cooperate to work the buttons. He managed to get his T-shirt over his head and lay it on the table despite his shaky hands. His fully hard cock made it difficult to get his zipper down, but finally he was able to push his jeans and briefs to the floor. When he was completely naked, he stood up straight but kept his gaze on the floor. Somehow he felt even more exposed than he had the week before.
“Remember what I said about eye contact.”
He drew in as much air as he could and forced himself to look up. Jack was giving him an assessing stare.
“Yes, Sir. I remember.” A flush rose up his neck and crept into his cheeks as Jack studied him.
“Your eyes are too beautiful to hide.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“I love seeing all of you.”
Luke longed to see all of Jack too.
“What are you thinking about?” Jack asked.
Luke’s face grew even hotter.
“Answer me, Luke.”
Jack’s sharp tone jolted him to awareness. “I was thinking about how it would feel for you to fuck me, Sir.”
“Were you now?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Do you think that’s going to happen tonight?”
“Probably not, Sir.”
Jack smiled. “Do you know what is going to happen?”
“No, Sir.”
“I’m going to spank you.”
Luke sucked in his breath, and Jack laughed. “I see that you like that idea.”
His cock was somehow even harder than it had been when he’d undressed.
“You’re incredible. I can’t wait to see you writhe.” Jack cupped his face and traced his cheekbone with his thumb, the soft caress a contrast to his cruel words.
Luke groaned and leaned into the touch. Jack moved closer. Their mouths were mere inches apart.
Luke closed his eyes and licked his lips as he anticipated how Jack’s mouth would feel on his.
But Jack stepped away without touching him. Luke felt like the air had been knocked out of him.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, Sir.” He wasn’t going to complain. This was about surrender, about letting go. Jack would decide what they did and when.
That’s what you want, isn’t it?
Yes, but I also want to kiss him, to hold him, to laugh with him and talk to him. Shit. I want to be his boyfriend.
But you’ll take what you can get.
Yeah, I will.
Jack took hold of the spanking bench and pulled it into the middle of the room. Luke only knew what it was because of seeing them in videos.
“Position yourself here with your arms hanging down,” Jack ordered.
“Y-yes, Sir.” He wanted this, but it didn’t stop him from being scared—that it would hurt too much, that he wouldn’t like it, that he wouldn’t please Jack.
Jack must have sensed how uneasy he was. He coaxed him to sit on the padded bench and knelt in front of him. “I’m going to spank you, but I’m only going to use my hand, and I won’t expect you to endure it for long. I’d like to restrain you because I want you to be able to struggle without falling off the bench or moving in a way that allows the blows to hit you somewhere it will hurt you. I’m aiming only for your ass and the backs of your thighs.”
Luke had wanted this for so long. He wasn’t going to back out now. “I… Yes, Sir.”
“You consent to being restrained?”
He nodded.
“Luke?”
“Yes, Sir.” His voice shook, and it wasn’t easy to get the words out.
“Then get into position.”
Luke did as he said, wishing he could stop quaking with fear.
Jack stroked Luke’s back and curved a hand over his ass. “What is your safeword?”
“Nebraska.”
“Use it anytime you need to.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jack bent down and fastened the cuffs around his wrists. Luke shuddered when they snapped closed. He wanted this and yet, he was nowhere near as turned on as he’d been when he imagined it earlier. Jack was telling him what to do, restraining him, like in his fantasies, but it felt distant somehow, like something had come between them. Was Jack not as desperate for them to touch as he was? Maybe he was just so much more experienced at holding back, but last time, he’d seemed to be struggling to keep things slow. Today he was very precise, very controlled—except for that almost kiss.
Maybe this was how scenes were supposed to be.
No, there was no supposed to. This was about what they each wanted. Other than the need for consent, there were no rules about what a Dom and sub had to do or not do for each other, at least that’s what he’d learned from his research.
Jack closed the other set of cuffs around his ankles; the metal was lined with felt or something soft. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but Luke had a sudden desire to break free. He fought it, trying to stay still, but his chest was tight and his legs and arms rigid.
“Go ahead and test the bonds,” Jack said.
Luke let his breath whoosh out, and he pulled against them, glad he’d been invited to do so. He struggled hard once he realized there was no getting free. He wasn’t at all sure he could handle this.
Jack would stop if he used his safeword, though. Luke was sure of that, so he would hold out a little longer. He wanted this to work. Luke tried to breathe evenly, but he only succeeded in gasping for the air his lungs couldn’t seem to accept.
Jack laid a hand on his back, and he jumped.
“Sorry, Sir.”
“You don’t need to apologize for a natural reaction.”
“I… Um… Yes, Sir.”
“The more tense you are, the worse this will hurt.”
“I can take it, Sir.” Was it obvious to Jack that he was trying to convince himself?
***
Jack studied Luke. He’d expect any sub to be nervous about their first spanking, but this wasn’t the eager jitteriness Luke had when he’d entered the club. Jack was worried he’d gone from nervous to terrified.
“I believe you could take it, but we agreed this wasn’t about suffering for suffering’s sake. I want you to get off on it, to enjoy it as much as I do.”
He reached under Luke and worked his cock, but it stayed soft. Some subs only got turned on after they experienced pain, but even the day they’d talked in Richard’s office, Luke’s cock had been straining his jeans from the mere mention of what he craved. When he’d stripped for Jack—when Jack had almost kissed him, longing for a taste of him—Luke’s cock had been fully erect. Luke was far more scared than turned on now, and that was not what Jack wanted.
You could kiss him until he relaxes again.
No, kissing was far too intimate. If he was going to keep their relationship from becoming more than what he could handle, he couldn’t do that. It would blur the lines too much between enjoying getting off together and something…more.
Starting at Luke’s shoulders, he massaged his tense muscles until slowly, much of Luke’s tension eased. When Luke had relaxed enough that he was letting the bench support him rather than holding himself stiffly in place, Jack slapped his ass. Once. Twice.
He struggled against the bonds like he was trying to get away.
“Hurts!”
“Do you want more?”
Luke turned to look at him, searching his face like he needed to know what to say.
“There is no right or wrong answer.”
“I want more, Sir.”
The words were stiff and determined rather than the breathless, needy confession Jack wanted. He would try for a few moments more, but if Luke didn’t ease into it, he’d stop even if Luke didn’t ask him to.
He started with soft taps and ramped up. Luke grew more and more tense as he began truly spanking him.
“Luke?”
“Nebraska.”
Jack stopped immediately and knelt by Luke’s head. As he undid the wrist cuffs, Luke slumped against the bench and closed his eyes.
“Talk to me,” Jack said.
“This all seemed so hot when I imagined it, but I can’t get into it. It all felt so sudden.”
“Sudden?”
“Or…” His cheeks reddened as Jack released his ankles and encouraged him to sit back.
“Please be honest with me. We’ve stepped back from our scene now. You can say or ask anything.”
“I thought it would all be warmer.” Luke gazed up questioningly.
“Keep talking,” Jack was afraid he understood, but wanting to be sure.
“You seemed…distant?”
Shit. He’d really fucked this up. Luke needed the things Jack was too scared to give him. Jack had agreed to be his play partner, but he’d ignored what Luke really needed—a lover who dominated him in the bedroom. A hot fuck at the end of a scene wasn’t going to be enough for him. Jack had agreed to take care of him, and to Luke, that obviously meant a lot more than just making sure he wasn’t hurt by their play.
“Come on.” He helped Luke up. “Let’s go sit.” He yanked the sheet off the bed. “Wrap this around yourself.”
Luke did as he said and then sat in one of the chairs. He was still shivering when Jack handed him a water bottle.
“Do you want to sit with me?” Jack asked, settling in the other chair. “I can help you warm up.”
Luke settled onto Jack’s lap and buried his face in Jack’s neck. Jack held him without speaking for several moments. When his shivering had stopped, Jack shifted position, and Luke groaned as his now-hard cock brushed against Jack’s abdomen.
Jack slid his hands down and cupped Luke’s ass, encouraging him to straddle Jack. He needed the contact, and Luke did too. It felt so fucking good, and Jack wanted him like this: aroused, needy, playful. Why was he fighting it so hard?
Because you don’t want to fall for him. Because you’re scared.
He’d screwed up the scene by making it too clinical. Sure, he’d had partners for whom that distance made everything hotter. They loved the idea that they were being ordered around by someone impartial, someone who got off on control, rather than someone who wanted them personally. That wasn’t right for Luke, though. Jack had known what Luke craved, even wanted to see it. Luke needed intimacy—kissing, touching, physical comfort—before he could submit to Jack.
Jack encouraged Luke to work his hips. When their cocks rubbed against each other, Jack hissed. He cupped Luke’s face and tilted his head up so their gazes met. “Have you been kissed before?”
“No, Sir.”
Jack shivered. The idea of being someone’s first in all these ways was so fucking powerful. “I’m going to kiss you now, but this is just us as we are. It’s not about me mastering you. It’s about us enjoying each other, okay?”
Luke nodded.
“Later, if you want me to, I’ll kiss you during a scene, but for now I want you free to enjoy this any way you want to.”
Jack brushed Luke’s lips with his, and then Luke reached for him, opening and deepening the kiss. They ran their hands over each other’s bodies as their tongues tangled. When the mood shifted from languorous making out to something more serious, Jack pushed at Luke’s shoulder.
When Luke opened his eyes, they were glazed.
“We need to talk about what happened.”
Luke frowned. “I don’t want to talk.”
“Luke.” Jack tried to sound stern, but he was afraid the word came out more desperate.
“I know we need to.”
Jack wanted to kiss him again. His lips were so soft. They watched each other for several seconds, suspended in time. Then Jack cleared his throat and motioned for Luke to move to the other chair.
He did so, wrapping the sheet back around himself.
“You need more buildup, don’t you?” Jack asked. “More touching and teasing like we did the other day, before you can submit to a spanking?”
“I think so, yeah. I think that’s why you seemed too distant. I want… I need you to touch me.”
Jack nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t handle this very well. Sometimes no matter how much experience I have, I read someone wrong or forget what I know. But I hope you’ll trust me enough to try again.”
Luke caught his gaze. “Of course I will. I trust you completely.”
Jack let out the breath he’d been holding. A part of his brain might still be trying to convince him he didn’t want the kind of relationship Luke obviously needed, but the thought of Luke walking away, of Jack having screwed up this fragile thing between them, made his stomach churn.
“We will try again, but not today. I think maybe…” Jack took a deep breath. Just say it. “We need to spend some time together away from the club, where we can just talk.”
“What if someone sees us?”
“I know we need to keep this a secret, so we’ll come up with a cover story.”
Luke seemed to be pondering the idea. “I want to go out with you. I’ve wanted to for a long time, since way before I saw you at the club.”
“That day Miss Julianne interrupted us—”
“Yeah?”
“I was going to ask you to dinner and then chickened out. God, that’s so embarrassing.”
Luke grinned. “I would’ve said yes.”
“Then say yes now.”
“Okay. Yes.”
“Lunch on Saturday?”
“We have to wait that long?”
Jack raised his brows, and Luke sighed. “Fine.”
“Where do you want to go?”
Luke chewed his lip, and Jack groaned.
“What?”
“I both love and hate when you do that.”
“Do what?”
Jack gestured toward his mouth. “That damn thing with your lip.”
“It’s just a nervous habit.”
“A nervous habit that has me hard in seconds.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “Wow.”
“Yeah. Now stop that, and pick a place to eat lunch.”
Luke pressed his lips together like he was trying not to laugh. “We’ll see people who’ll gossip about us no matter where we go, so we might as well eat at Trish’s. Fried chicken and gravy is the Saturday special.”
Jack studied him with a smirk on his face.
“What?”
“It’s the way you said that. Like you could come from eating chicken and gravy.”
“I haven’t actually tested that, but I think I probably could.”
Jack laughed. “Trish’s it is, then. But meet me at the inn. We’ll leave your truck there to help with our cover story.”
“And after lunch…?” Luke dug his teeth into his lower lip and slowly raked them over the plump flesh.
“Keep that up, and I’ll send you home with orders not to touch yourself for a week.”
Luke appeared truly horrified. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”