The Rules of Love Read online

  Kenneth was conflicted. He still didn’t want to think anything bad about Ronald, let alone say it out loud. “Yes, Sir. But I don’t think Ronald did it in a mean way. He was never like that with me.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t. Perhaps it was the way he’d learned mastery.” Saul arched his eyebrows. “It’s not as if there’s a university course available.”

  Kenneth sputtered out laughter. Saul was incredibly understanding. It gave Kenneth even more comfort that he’d made the right decision to give himself to the man.

  “I’m going to assume that your first experience with erotic pain was at Ronald’s hands?”

  “Not entirely.”

  “Oh?”

  “When I was fifteen, a much older man came to stay one summer with one of our neighbors in Chicago. When the neighbor would go to work each day, Art would invite me over. I was bored and he was nice to me.” Kenneth knew he was blushing. He wasn’t very proud of the story and he’d only ever confessed it to Ronald when he’d asked him a similar question. “I also thought he was quite attractive.”

  “Go on.”

  “Before long, we were having an affair, but I didn’t find out until later that all men didn’t share their desires the way we did.”

  “Specifically?”

  “He was very rough with me. He’d hold me down, spank me, gag me. Once, he used a wooden ruler on me. It left awful bruises, but I loved it. I begged him for it again. That was when he ended things. He said I was sick, that I should be institutionalized.”

  “Dear Kenneth. I’d love to tell you that what happened to you was unusual, but I’m afraid it’s not. Your story is the exact reason I founded the Hampton Road Club.”

  “So it’s true what I heard you and Master Aaron discussing on our way out—you’re the real owner of the club?”

  “Does that bother you?”

  “No, Sir. I think it’s a wonderful thing you’ve done for men like us. You’ve probably helped so many over the years not to feel shame over their urges the way Art did.”

  “I certainly hope so. I take it that your affair was the catalyst for you discovering your true nature?”

  “Yes, but I despaired of ever finding anyone who would give me what I needed without despising me for it.”

  “Until Ronald.”

  “Yes. He set me free.”

  Saul leaned in then took Kenneth’s mouth in a deep, heated kiss. He tucked his hands underneath Kenneth’s thighs and ass then dragged him onto his lap in the big cushioned patio chair. They embraced and kissed, the moment more about intimacy than arousal. Kenneth sensed they’d moved to the next phase of their union. He was reassured by Saul’s acceptance and understanding of him. That knowledge took him to another place where he was anxious to get his other needs met. He wanted to feel the snap of Saul’s whip on his flesh.

  * * * *

  “Boy. Look at me. Are you still with me?”

  Kenneth’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “Yes, Sir.”

  “What do you say to me when you’ve had enough, when you want me to stop what I’m doing to you?”

  “I say mercy, Sir. Mercy.”

  His breathing slowed, but he didn’t want it to. He’d been in the middle of a glorious rush of pain. It had been a massive adrenaline surge that he swore he could’ve ridden to the ends of the universe. He couldn’t imagine why Saul had stopped.

  “Are you ready to cry mercy?”

  Kenneth frowned, confused. He was tied spread eagle in a standing position in one of the private rooms. His wrists were restrained by a natural rope that was attached to chains anchored to the ceiling. Large iron rings were bolted to a matching metal base that was anchored to the floor. It was their first time back at the club since Kenneth had moved in with Saul the prior week. That was how he chose to label it. He didn’t want to sully it with anything related to Preston.

  “No, Sir. Why would I want to cry mercy?”

  Saul reached behind Kenneth and swiped his fingers across the middle of his back. Kenneth jumped and hissed from the sting. When Saul presented the two digits to him, he was shocked to see the blood staining them.

  “This is why.” Saul wiped his fingers with a handkerchief. “I’m untying you now so I can tend to your wounds.”

  “But…Sir. I didn’t cry mercy.”

  “I’m aware of that, boy. Are you defying me?”

  Kenneth shook his head vigorously. “No, Sir. Never.”

  Saul worked the knots on his wrist, but he leaned into kiss Kenneth’s sweaty temple.

  “That’s a good boy.”

  Once he had released Kenneth, Saul led him over to a padded table and directed him to lie across it on his stomach. Saul went to a wood cabinet that was similar to the one Kenneth had always retrieved the oil from, then opened the door. He brought back a jar then dug out some sort of paste with his fingers. Saul gingerly spread it across Kenneth’s skin and he bit his lip in an effort to keep from whimpering. He didn’t want Saul to get the wrong idea and never beat him again. He needed it.

  Once Saul had finished with the paste, he put it back then brought out something else. As soon as Saul had opened the bottle, he recognized the scent as jasmine. His favorite time of the year in Los Angeles was when the star-shaped white flowers would bloom. The heat would carry the fragrance all across the city and it gave him a sense of calm.

  He groaned with pleasure as Saul massaged his shoulders. The tenderness of his touch was in sharp contrast to the brutality of his blows. It was exactly how Kenneth had pictured being Saul’s submissive would be like. Except he still didn’t understand why he’d stopped, when Kenneth hadn’t asked him to.

  The oil slicked the way for Saul’s fingers to slide along his skin, loosening his aching muscles that had been pulled taut in their restraints. Saul paid special attention to his overtaxed limbs and avoided his abused back.

  “Are you with me still?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Do you feel everything I’m doing to you?”

  He was back to being confused. “Yes. Absolutely, Sir.”

  Saul kept soothing with his hands. He was no longer massaging, but stroking, caressing.

  “Did you feel everything my whip did to you?”

  “Yes, Sir. I did.”

  “How many lashes did I give you?”

  “I…”

  His breath caught in his throat. He hadn’t the faintest idea. It could’ve been ten or it could’ve been a hundred. Ronald had taught him that it was okay to drift off as the pain enveloped him. He’d said it was like the breaker in the ocean—once he got past that point, he’d be all right. He’d float away.

  When Preston had been the one to inflict the pain, Kenneth had learned to immediately force himself into that state as protection against the agony that Preston always thrust on him. He’d never build up to anything. He would tear into him right away. The vitriol he’d hurl at him ruined any pleasure he could’ve gotten from the act. It had been easier to simply retreat into his head.

  “You have no idea then?”

  “I-I’m sorry, Sir. I don’t.”

  Tears filled his eyes as the certainty came over him that Preston had ruined one of the main things he’d always enjoyed. Kenneth had assumed that once he was with Saul, he would immediately fall back into the way it had been when he’d been lovingly beaten by Ronald.

  “It’s going to be all right, dear Kenneth.” Saul kissed the back of his neck, licked behind his ear, then nibbled on the lobe. He never stilled his hands as he loved on him. “You told me you enjoy having your cock punished, your sac?”

  “Yes, Sir, I do.” He frowned again, frustration overtaking him. “At least, I did at one time.” His tone had been hostile and he immediately regretted it. He waited for a reprimand that never came.

  “There, there. Do you trust me?”

  “God, yes.” His voice hitched as a sob poured out. “I do, Sir.”

  “Good boy. Let’s get you cleaned up. I’ll be applyin
g some bandages to the one spot on your back that opened up, then we’ll be going to the ballroom for a demonstration. I’ll tell Aaron to let everyone know.”

  “I don’t want anyone to think you mistreated me.”

  “Hush now. You said you trusted me.”

  Saul had been helping him to sit up and he bowed his head. It was rare that Saul ever requested that he keep his gaze lowered. It had only been when he was specifically working with him on something. He’d also explained that he might ask for it at the club at times when they were mingling with the others. Other than that, he’d told Kenneth that he’d rather see his beautiful eyes.

  “Lift your head so I can see you.”

  He did as he’d been told. There’d been no time to hide his shame.

  “There now. I’m not disappointed in you and we’re going to reclaim your pleasure together. That belongs to you and you belong to me. Therefore, I want my pleasure back too.”

  Kenneth’s lip quivered. All he wanted was Saul. “Sir, I need your kiss. Please.”

  Saul cupped the back of his head then pulled him close. He opened up for his lover immediately, and they tangled their tongues, tasting and licking. Saul captured Kenneth’s bottom lip between his teeth and tugged on it, scraping it then demanding entrance to his mouth with his tongue once more.

  When Saul broke their connection, Kenneth was hard, his balls filled and aching. The tip of his cock was beaded with moisture and he wanted to ask Saul to lap it up the way he had the day before. He’d teased Kenneth by taking only that small offering from his slit then stopping. Then he’d blown on his dick, watching as it twitched and bobbed, waiting for the next bit of pre-cum. Again he’d suck that portion and wait for the next until Kenneth had been ready to scream. As soon as Saul had finished leading him to that glorious precipice over and over, all it had taken was Saul telling him to come then blowing on his tip for him to shoot so hard it had hurt.

  “I know what you’re thinking, boy.”

  Kenneth jerked his head up in response. “How can I help it, Sir?” Saul’s expression was one of mirth and Kenneth was reassured—the way he was on a daily basis—that Saul was a decent and good human being. Kenneth had found treasure the day he’d spotted him for the first time. If he could ever be grateful to Preston for anything, it would be that he’d brought him to Saul.

  As Kenneth sat on the table patiently, he sipped on a bottle of seltzer water Saul had opened for him. He waited for Saul to return from notifying Aaron about the showing and for him to apply a covering to his wound. Kenneth worried that Saul might feel guilt or that Kenneth would be upset over what had happened. He hoped to set his mind at ease that it wasn’t an issue.

  When Saul returned he wiped Kenneth down with a soft towel then fixed up the cut on his back. Saul was helping Kenneth off the table and he couldn’t hold back any longer.

  “Sir? I don’t want you to feel bad about the whipping. It doesn’t bother me.”

  Saul paused. “It bothers me. But not for the reasons you think.”

  Kenneth stumbled over the edge of one of the carpets.

  Saul pursed his lips. “If you’re too tired, we can save this for another time. You’ve already been through a lot this evening.”

  “I can keep going. We’d only barely started.”

  “But it was a helluva start.” He nodded. “If you feel you can proceed, I think this would be good for you right on the heels of what just happened.”

  “Like I said, I trust you, Sir.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Kenneth fell in step behind Saul as he led the way to the ballroom. Already several men were seated, some with their submissives at their feet. He spotted both Aaron and Theodore with Sam and Francesco kneeling next to them. Thomas was sitting nearby, but he had no one with him. Kenneth wondered if it was true what Saul had said he’d heard from one of the other men. Linus had decided not to come back after all the things that had gone on there. If so, he was sad over it. The few times he’d interacted with him, he’d believed that with the right man, Linus would have blossomed.

  Saul guided him to the center of the stage area. It was only one step up from the floor level on a specially constructed solid wood surface. All manner of rings and attachments had been drilled and secured to it in order to accommodate any equipment a Dominant man might wish to use on his submissive. Kenneth was completely naked with the exception of the generic leather club collar he wore to designate that he wasn’t available to another man.

  Once he was positioned with his feet shoulder length apart, his arms at his side, Saul stood directly in front of him, blocking him entirely from the audience.

  “Look at me, boy.”

  Kenneth did as he was told, waiting for Saul to continue.

  “I said look at me. Is that clear, boy?”

  Saul’s tone was adamant, but Kenneth was completely confused. He was looking at him. It wasn’t as if he could miss him, they were practically nose to nose.

  “Sir?”

  Sweat broke out on his forehead, and they hadn’t even started yet. Had they?

  “See me. Really see me. I’m here with you. I’m staring into your eyes, and you into mine. Do you feel my heat, my breath on your face? Can you detect the hint of jasmine that still clings to you from when I worked the oil into your skin? We’re here together. You and I.”

  Oh.

  “Yes, Sir. You and I.”

  His tension left him and all of his attention was on Saul. Approval shone back at him from Saul’s’ gaze.

  “That’s my good boy.”

  Saul silently cuffed his ankles in leather straps to the rings on the floor. After they were secured, Saul lifted first one then the other arm so that Kenneth’s wrists were cuffed to the chains hanging from the ceiling. As soon as he was restrained and on display for the club members to see, Saul stepped back. The room was quiet. No one made a sound. He waited—they all waited for Saul’s next move.

  After what seemed like an age, Saul slowly and purposefully circled him. A few times, he touched Kenneth with the tips of his fingers. Whenever he did, Kenneth was reminded that it was him and Saul. Together.

  “Look at me.”

  He almost frowned but caught himself. Saul had stopped just to the right of him. He turned his head and found it was easier to really see him than it had been before.

  “Are you here with me? You and I?”

  His gaze never wavered. “Yes, Sir. You and I.”

  The approval was there again and his heart fluttered. It was like invisible threads had reached out of his chest, connecting him to his lover.

  “Very, very good.”

  Saul gave him a chaste kiss on his lips then strolled over to the large wood cabinet that housed all the devices and implements for the stage shows. There was a small creak as Saul opened one side of the piece of furniture, and Kenneth was so unbelievably aware of his surroundings that it made him jump. After Saul had presumably chosen the item he wished to use, he advanced on Kenneth again.

  When he stood before him, he held the flogger across the expanse of his opened palms as if he were presenting it to Kenneth. He wasn’t sure how to respond, what Saul wished from him.

  Do you trust me?

  He did. He did trust Saul. So he waited, ready for whatever his Sir might wish from him. Kenneth still held Saul’s gaze.

  “Look at what I have in my hands.”

  Kenneth did as instructed. It was a beautiful instrument. The brown suede tails were knotted in various spots on the extra-long strands. The braided leather handle was thick and solid. The softness of the leather was a false promise. In a practiced hand with a good measure of strength, it could inflict a sharp sting. His breathing accelerated, sweat forming on his upper lip. His eyes glassed over and he began to drift off.

  “Look at me!”

  His head snapped up almost involuntarily. He reconnected with Saul.

  “Stay with me, boy.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

&n
bsp; His breathing became regular again and Saul lifted the flogger until the handle was next to Kenneth’s lips.

  “Keep your eyes on me and kiss it.”

  He’d already begun to harden as soon as Saul had restrained him, but when his lips met the leather of the whip, his cock jerked, his nuts tensing up against his body. He detected moisture seeping from the end of his erection as he resisted the urge to moan.

  Saul lowered the flogger. “Don’t hide from me. I want everything. You and I. You’re sounds. Your submission. Your pleasure. All of it.”

  “Yes, Sir. All of it.”

  Saul gripped the handle of the whip and dropped it to his side. He brought his palm up to stroke Kenneth’s face. “Such a good boy.” He took a step back. “Stay with me.”

  The scream that was ripped from him when the tails struck his torso then wrapped around his side had surprised even him. He yanked on the restraints, his toes curling as he processed the pain spreading out from where the leather had connected with his skin.

  “Look at me. How many lashes was that?”

  He was incredulous over the question.

  But I trust him.

  “One, Sir.”

  “Very good.”

  The next strike was across the top of his thighs, the ends snapping him under his ass. The hurt was different than the first time. He found the pain less satisfying there than when it had been on his stomach. It was duller, not as pleasing. He wondered what it would be like if the target had been the backs of his thighs instead.

  “How many lashes was that?”

  He looked without being directed to.

  “Two, Sir.”

  “Excellent.”

  He shrieked when the ends of the tails snapped on his cock, wrapping it in a cacophony of pain that included his sac and his legs again. The urge to fall away and disappear until it had ended washed over him. Saul was upon him.

  “Look at me.”

  His voice was soft, soothing. Kenneth let loose a deep groan. He refocused on Saul and was struck by how handsome he was. He had no idea why that thought had crossed his mind right then, but it was so true. There was even a good chance he was falling in love with him.