A Strong Hand

gotten into him. Normally he played the responses of a sub like a virtuoso, always stopping well within their limits, while carrying them to the heights of satisfaction for both parties.
    Now he had shown that he could not trust himself to take proper care of Nick, and that meant that for both their sakes, he would have to end it. If he could find the strength.
    "I want too much," he whispered to himself.

    * * * *
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    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    "I must have been crazy," Nick said, peering at himself in the mirror in the bathroom.
    "It looks very pretty on your cute little butt," Damian leered, patting him lightly on that portion of his anatomy.
    "I'm stiff." Nick twisted to look at himself the other way.
    Damian laughed. "You are so fucking proud of yourself.
    Look at you, preening over it."
    Nick protested, "Well you said this was my one and only. I have to appreciate it while I can. And I lived to talk about it!"
    Damian stepped closer, allowing their half-erect cocks to duel lightly. "I promised that I would record it for posterity and I will. I think tomorrow it will be at its peak, the most beautiful dark plum color. So if you have time to come to the studio and let me get a shot—"
    "This isn't for the catalog." Nick scowled in embarrassment at the thought of his marked arse on someone's coffee table for the ogling.
    "No, this is only for me. To always have and look at when—" Damian stopped short, not wanting to say when you leave me .
    "Are you going to show it to anyone?"
    Damian was startled at the stab of jealous pain that shot through him. "No! No one will ever see it except you and me."
    "Okay, then." Nick smiled with satisfaction and then sighed. Maybe Damian would remember him after he dumped him for whoever caught his eye next. He wished that he was good-looking enough or smart enough or something enough that Damian wouldn't get bored with him, but that was too much to hope for.
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    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    "Get dressed. I'll order a pizza. And don't forget your pillow," Damian teased, and ducked out of the bathroom before Nick could find something to throw at him.

    * * * *
    Nick came to the studio after school the next day, walking stiffly. He'd told his mates that he'd done extra workouts and had charley horses. Luckily none of them was the swat-on-the-butt type, and so he'd escaped any extra stimulation of his sore bottom.
    He pushed the door open and Damian heard him. "Nick?"
    he yelled from the back.
    "Yeah, Ian, it's me."
    "Lock the door and come and look at this."
    Nick locked the door and went into the studio. "What the fuck?"
    Damian had set up a platform with a large bed, draped with a swathe of lustrous red silk. He smiled triumphantly at Nick. "Strip and get in bed."
    Nick's hands went automatically to his jeans, but he said,
    "I don't think I can—"
    "Not for sex, Nicky. This is for your photographic record of the one lick you are going to experience from the cane. Hurry up; get undressed." Damian turned and went to his camera, surreptitiously pressing a hand to his crotch. Just the anticipation of seeing Nick exposed and he was starting to get hard. He shook his head over himself.
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    A Strong Hand
    by Catt Ford
    Nick took off his clothing, draping them on a nearby chair.
    He walked slowly to the red, running a finger over the iridescent shimmer of the silk. "This is for me?"
    He felt warmth on his back and knew Damian was standing behind him. "All for you, baby. Just think of how that silk will look against the sweet honey of your skin."
    "What do you want me to do?" Nick turned and laughed at the mischievous look in Damian's eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't ask that?"
    "Oh, you should," Damian assured him. "But for right now, climb up on that bed and be prepared to stop when I say so."
    Nick got onto the bed, kneeling on his hands and knees. A flash of light blinded him and he yelled, "You didn't!"
    "Yes, I did, and it's a perfect shot of your ass, with that line right across it," Damian said smugly. "Just for me, remember that."
    "Fine. You're a pervert," Nick grunted as he crawled further onto the bed.
    Damian laughed, relieved that Nick had recovered enough from his funk to even make a joke like that. "Okay, hold it.
    Lie on your stomach, yeah, just like that. Let me do a couple tests, for exposure."
    Grabbing the light meter, he passed it over Nick, taking readings from head to foot. He adjusted the level on the power pack and tested again.
    "Okay, lie there just like