A Strong Hand

started. He rubbed the excess into his hands and got onto the mattress, lying on his back. Nick crawled over to rest his head on Damian's chest, wanting his arms around him.
    "You are a sub, and not a slave," Damian continued. "I could require that you were always naked in my presence, on your knees, and that you never speak without my permission, but that's not the way I like to play. I also told you that I 260

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    don't tolerate a sub who tries to tell me what to do to him. Is that clear?"
    "Yes, sir," Nick said softly, snuggling into the security of Damian's embrace.
    "I have never hit anyone while I was angry but I came dangerously close today," Damian admitted. "And that's not safe. I've told you that you don't know enough to set limits for yourself. This isn't a contest where you have to compete with someone else's sub to get my attention. I want to teach you what you need to know; that way you'll never get into trouble."
    Nick heard that and his heart sank. Obviously Damian didn't want to keep him around for too long; he thought that he was responsible for teaching him and then Nick would be on his own.
    Damian sensed that something was bothering Nick and wished the boy would speak up. He ran his hands up and down the boy's spine slowly. "You have a lovely stripe on your backside," he offered consolingly.
    "Can I see it?"
    "Later. It's not going anywhere. I'll even take a picture of it for you, because it's the only one you'll ever get from me,"
    Damian said, nuzzling the boy's ear. He heard the slow sigh that heralded the start of arousal.
    "Can I...?" Nick asked, slipping his hand under Damian's shirt. He loved the slightly rough feel of his hair under his fingertips.
    "Feels like you're recovering, baby," Damian chuckled as his lover's erection poked him in the stomach.
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    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Nick unbuttoned the older man's shirt, laying his chest bare. He bent to suck a pink nipple into his mouth, delighted with the gasp of arousal from Damian. His hands wandered lower, unfastening Damian's jeans and pushing at them. The older man obligingly lifted his hips, helping Nick to reveal his boxers, the front a little damp.
    Damian pulled Nick on top of him and the younger man ground his hips down with a slow rotation. The feel of the boy's bare skin against his chest made him wish he could take him right now. But he had already hurt Nick enough today and he couldn't think of a position that wouldn't put pressure on the boy's bruised ass.
    Nick groped between them, feeling the head of Damian's cock break free from the elastic waistband of his boxers. He heard an aroused hiss and felt the buck of the older man's hips under him when he stroked the dripping head. He pushed at the boxers, wanting to see everything.
    Damian held him in place with one strong arm, lifting both of them to yank his boxers down. Nick gasped as their silky hard flesh slid together when Damian exposed his cock.
    The arm around his waist restrained Nick, making him feel safe and secure once again. He opened his legs, allowing Damian to thrust up against him. He kissed the older man, wanting to feel his tongue inside his mouth, sucking on it desperately as they moved together, gasping and moaning.
    Damian felt the sharpness of Nick's teeth, biting on his lower lip. The boy was moving urgently on top of him and it felt so good to hold the writhing body, desperate for his touch. In one of those sudden moments of insight, Damian 262

    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    knew that Nick needed this to reestablish their closeness. He ran his hand down the slender flank, working it between their frantically moving hips, and pressing both their cocks together, stroked them to a shattering climax.
    The wet heat spilling onto his stomach made the boy slide away and Damian held him even more tightly as they came down from their orgasmic high.
    Nick continued kissing Damian, only now it was soft open-mouthed kisses, until he came to rest, their open lips just touching, a breath shared between them.
    "Go to sleep," Damian whispered.
    "You too?" Nick asked.
    "Yes."
    But Damian couldn't find solace in the oblivion of sleep. He watched Nick's beautiful unconscious face, lips curved slightly in a replete smile, and wondered at the trust the young man still had in him.
    He had made many mistakes with Nick, but none that seemed as irretrievable as giving in to Nick's request to be caned. Damian groaned quietly, wondering what had