Soft Limits: A Deviations Novel (Deviations Series Book 6) Read online

  “Nickel and dime, sir.”

  “ ‘Nickel and dime’ are your words. As a refresher, boy, if you say ‘nickel’ I will stop what I am doing and ask you what you need before proceeding or changing things up. If you say ‘dime,’ then the scene will end immediately. I will free your hands and feet and we will talk over what happened. Is that acceptable?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

  “Do not be afraid to use them if you need to. I will not be upset or disappointed with you. And say them with conviction. Make sure I can hear you. Understood?”

  “Yes. Thank you, sir.”

  The more he reassured Nikki of his safety, the more he watched the boy’s shoulders relax. “Are you comfortable now, boy? Anything too tight?”

  Nikki didn’t answer right away, testing the bonds and resettling his feet. “I’m fine, sir.”

  Satisfied, Bradford walked over to the wall and examined the floggers that hung there, looking for one with more bark than bite. His fingers itched for the shot loaded, oiled leather flogger that was his tool of choice with an experienced sub—oh, the things he could do to the boy’s lovely canvas of pale skin with that instrument—but it was far too intense for Nikki yet. Instead he pulled down a suede flogger with wide falls, going for a decent thud coupled with only a very light sting.

  He tested it in the air a few times, then on the divan, against his own thigh. “I’ve got a flogger, boy.” He walked around in front of the free-standing cross so he could show it to Nikki. “Have a look at it. There are about forty falls made of suede, so it will have a decent weight and make a lovely thudding sound against your skin, but it won’t sting much. This one is fancy, meaning it’s been balanced by this silver ring on the end of the handle. That gives me more control, I can be quite precise with my placement.”

  Nikki watched closely as he pointed out the different parts of the flogger.

  “So, before you ask, yes, I’m going to use it. And yes, I will start slow as I promised. Do you have other questions, boy?”

  “Can I touch it?”

  Bradford smiled. “Later. After we’re done.” He let Nikki believe that was because his hands were restrained, but it was more than that. Anticipation of the unknown was a lovely tool, if short-lived. “We will begin, hm? Remember your words,” he said once more as he moved out of Nikki’s line of sight.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He drew the flogger up the outside of Nikki’s leg and across his ass, letting the falls drag against the boy’s skin. A moment later he began to swing the falls underhanded against Nikki’s calves and thighs.

  “So, boy. You didn’t come back to the brownstone last night.”

  “No, sir.”

  “I’m glad you had a good evening. But in the future, a phone call would be appropriate, boy. So I know not to expect you.”

  “Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir. I…lost track of time.”

  “I can understand how that might happen. Still…next time.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Bradford switched to an overhand strike, very light, barely more than a flick of his wrist, the falls tapping gently against Nikki’s shoulders. “Who were you with?”

  “Sir?”

  “Did you not understand the question, boy?” He laid one slightly more intense strike and then returned to sensation only.

  “I understood, sir, I—”

  “If you don’t want to answer my question, you are welcome to use your words, boy.”

  “Cade,” Nikki said quickly. “I stayed with Cade.”

  Bradford played with him. “Really? He’s lovely, isn’t he? Slept on the couch, did you?”

  “No, sir. I slept in his bed.”

  “Oh, and he slept on the couch.”

  “No, sir. We slept together in his bed.”

  “You slept together? Or you slept together?”

  “I…sir, I—”

  He took a step back so he could strike with the full extension of his arm. The blows grew consistent and heavier. “Answer the question or use your words, boy.”

  “Just blowjobs, sir.”

  He grinned. Cade and fellatio went together like fish and chips. “Very nice. Cade has a masterful mouth, doesn’t he?”

  “He…sir?”

  “What is it, boy?” he asked with a laugh. “Do you imagine Cade would be insulted by my praise? I assure you I have told him as much myself.”

  “I suppose not, sir.”

  Bradford landed a set of blows to the flat wide area of Nikki’s shoulders, four in a row, half-power. Nikki gasped. “Did you like his mouth on you?”

  The boy nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  He started raining blows down on Nikki’s skin. First the boy’s shoulders, then those pale thighs, then back again. It wasn’t long before Nikki’s shoulders fell and the hands that had been balled into fists relaxed and flattened against the cross.

  But when Nikki moaned and that head of blond hair bent forward, he knew the boy was his. “Good, boy.”

  Now he could have what he needed.

  The next set of blows were full-power, aimed precisely for the center of each of Nikki’s already pinked ass cheeks.

  “Ah!” Nikki cried out. “Sir!”

  “I’m listening. Use your words if you need them, boy.”

  But Nikki didn’t. The boy stayed silent.

  Trusting in the very light sting of the flogger and his boy’s understanding of safe words, he let fly, using his whole arm, skillfully battering the wide expanses of skin on Nikki’s back, ass, and thighs. He was watchful, of course, as he would be with any sub, and though Nikki grunted for him, the boy never once shied away from his flogger. It wasn’t until Nikki was breathing fairly heavily that Bradford slowed the blows, lightened up, and finally halted them altogether.

  “Still with me, boy?”

  “Yes, sir.” Nikki’s voice was a great deal stronger than he would have expected.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Fine, sir. Relaxed.”

  Relaxed. Settled. And quite coherent. “Are you feeling sore? Tired?”

  “No, sir. I want more.”

  “More?” He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

  “It’s not enough, I…please, sir. I need more.”

  “More strokes?”

  “Well, yes but more…I want to feel more.”

  Feel more.

  He looked at the flogger in his hands. It was a heavy fall but mild on the skin. The boy wanted more sting. He was feeling plenty warmed up, so he tossed that flogger over with the paddle and reached for the next level up, a fancy combo flogger with twenty falls. This one was still half suede, but it was half oiled leather and would give Nikki a pretty good introduction to what the boy was asking for. He also grabbed a bottle of water and brought it to the boy.

  “Water,” he said, offering it to Nikki who nodded. He held the bottle while Nikki drank deep. “This one is thinner, and half of its tails are leather. You let me know how you like it. Hm?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

  “You might not want to thank me yet, boy.” But something about Nikki’s demeanor suggested that the boy was more than ready. He ran a hand over Nikki’s back. The skin was pink and well-warmed by the suede flogger, but there were no marks or lines from the individual strands of leather. That would change shortly.

  “All right, boy. Because I’ve found a new flogger at your request, you will thank me again each and every time I pause.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And remember your words.” Bradford didn’t hesitate and laid two full-out strokes in succession across Nikki’s ass.

  Nikki hissed and he watched the boy’s toes curl. “Fuck.”

  “Swear if you must boy. Say anything you like, but thank me for it.”

  “Sorry. Thank you, sir.”

  Bradford laid four more across the sub’s shoulders, heavy blows placed carefully so he could repeat them precisely. As he pulled his arm back, Nikki thanked hi
m, sounding a bit breathless. He paused a moment longer, but the boy didn’t have anything more to say this time, so Bradford raised his arm. The boy wanted more, had his words, and so far didn’t seem to be anywhere near them.

  And this was starting to feel good.

  He landed four more blows directly on top of the ones he’d just laid on Nikki’s shoulders, and then without pause, he added four to his sub’s ass as well.

  “Thank you, sir!” Nikki ground out between gritted teeth. “Thank you.”

  He wanted to take Nikki in a bit, stall so he could be sure the boy was all right. “How do you feel, boy?”

  “Good, sir. So good.”

  “Enough?”

  “No, sir. I’m fine, sir.”

  If Nikki was fine, he had some work to do. “You want more?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Beg.”

  “Beg, sir?”

  “Yes, boy. If you want it, beg for it.”

  “Please, sir?” He had to smile at the boy’s enthusiasm and the lack of hesitation in following his command. “Can I please have more?”

  “You may.” He raised his arm and got to work. Laying one blow after another on his boy’s ass, thighs, and shoulders. Nikki hissed and panted, moans low and grateful, and Bradford felt something deep in his soul break away and dissolve as if it were a scab or a bandage, something he suddenly didn’t need anymore. His arm felt stronger, freer than it had in a long while. It was astonishing.

  He lost track of how many blows he’d dealt, but he was watching Nikki intently, listening, all his senses focused on his sub. He let up on the power but not the speed, letting lighter blows fall on Nikki’s hot skin, and listened closely as the boy’s moans broke up into a soft hum.

  “Good, boy,” he said, his tone soothing and low. He wasn’t surprised that Nikki didn’t reply, he just kept talking as he gradually brought the flogging to an end and tossed the instrument aside. “I am very pleased, my boy.”

  Nikki was down deep somewhere, perhaps even beyond customary subspace, and Bradford was thrilled. He’d celebrate privately later. For now, his sub most certainly needed him.

  He released Nikki’s feet first, admiring his work and the deep red skin on Nikki’s thighs. From there he kept contact, running his hands over every bit of Nikki that he safely could within the boundaries of their agreement. He removed the cuffs on Nikki’s wrists, but Nikki held them in place until he stepped alongside his boy and coaxed them down. “That’s my boy. Good boy.”

  Nikki leaned against him, tucking that blond head into his shoulder and he was mildly surprised to discover that Nikki was hard. And not a little. The boy’s cock curved upward stiffly and was nearly as red as the boy’s ass.

  Well that was rather fascinating, wasn’t it? He was half-hard himself, which was no surprise to him at all after a satisfying flogging, but he forced himself to put away the wonderfully filthy things he was imagining, so he could focus on his boy.

  His boy, who had not agreed to sexual contact of any kind.

  He led Nikki over to the divan and retrieved the lotion he’d used after their last session. The scent was soothing and hopefully familiar enough to Nikki to bring back feelings of comfort. “Kneel, boy. I’d let you sit with me, but your skin is far too sensitive right now.

  Nikki knelt, still silent. That was fine, the sub was deep in his space and compliant, he didn’t require verbal acknowledgment.

  “That’s it, boy. Why don’t you rest your head in my lap?” He settled himself and helped Nikki maneuver so his sub could comfortably rest on his knees, and accepted Nikki’s weight as the boy leaned heavily into him. For a short while, he did nothing more than run his fingers through the boy’s hair, just touching gently, waiting for Nikki to recover a bit. Nikki had started to stir by the time he’d reached for the lotion.

  With great care, he applied lotion to the red skin on his boy’s back. He couldn’t help but trace a line here and a line there with his fingers where the harsher leather falls had raised the skin, and each time he got a lovely moan from his boy.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked finally.

  “Good, sir.” Nikki’s voice rough and low. “I feel so good.”

  Bradford wasn’t sure whether to be amused or insulted as Nikki’s hand wrapped around that lovely, ruddy erection and started stroking. Nikki moaned, arm pumping. Bradford knew he wasn’t going to let the boy continue, but he allowed himself to take it in for a moment. He was Master after all, and he could have what pleased him. But there was a lesson here, one of many along these lines that Nikki had yet to learn, and he could only allow himself to indulge for so long.

  “Very pretty, boy. I bet that feels good.”

  “Yes. Yes…sir. Ah.”

  He shook his head. God, he remembered being twenty like it was yesterday. “Enough.”

  “Ah!” Nikki cried out and rocked forward.

  “Have I given you permission to get off, boy?”

  “…no, sir.”

  “Have I given you permission to touch yourself? To stroke and pleasure yourself? Well, boy? Have I?”

  “No…sir! I’m sorry, sir.”

  His raised voice would have to be enough for now as they hadn’t yet discussed discipline and punishment. He noted that although Nikki was distressed, the boy didn’t appear ready to use safe words. “Sit up, boy.”

  As soon as Nikki was upright again, he stood and paced away. “Forearms on the floor, forehead on your hands, ass the air, knees spread. Now.” He kept his tone stern and clipped.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He watched Nikki work through his orders, remaining silent until the boy had settled and was still. “Knees wider. Ass higher.”

  “Yes, sir.” Nikki complied.

  He walked a slow circle around the boy, checking his posture, making sure Nikki was in a position he could hold for a while. “Earlier you learned display. This position I call ‘supplication.’ Pay attention to it, know what it feels like, because the next time you end up here—and I assure you, you will—I won’t instruct you. And I’ll be less patient than I am right now.”

  Nikki nodded.

  “What was that, boy?”

  “Yes, sir. I will remember it, sir,” Nikki answered quickly, voice shaking a little. Bradford kept a close eye on the boy but let him worry a little.

  “You do nothing without my permission, boy.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  “You are to be focusing on pleasing me. Your mind, your actions, and your body are mine to command. If you need something, you may ask for it. If I say no, you may beg if you feel you need to. I may still say no. Was stroking yourself off thinking of me?”

  “No, sir,” Nikki said sullenly.

  “I can’t hear you, boy.”

  “No, sir!”

  “No, it was thinking of your own needs. It was putting your needs ahead of mine.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.” To Nikki’s credit, the boy did sound truly contrite.

  “Are you sure?” Time for the harder questions.

  “Sir?”

  “Tell me what you did wrong.”

  “I…yes, sir. I wanted…I was so hard, and I was in this…I was floating, and I just wanted and it felt so good. I wasn’t focused. I wasn’t…you want this, don’t you? That’s what Cade told me. No one says no to you.”

  Bradford snorted, one eyebrow climbing toward his hairline. Cade would hear about that one. “What do you take me for, boy? Do not try to manipulate me. Sex—getting off in any manner—is not in our agreement, and it is therefore out of the question. We follow rules and contracts in this lifestyle for a reason.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  “Tell me again.”

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  “Again.”

  “I’m sorry! Sir, please. I was wrong.”

  “That’s better, boy. Tell me more.”

  “I…I was wrong. I didn’t understand. I am still learning.” Nikki’s shoulders star
ted to tremble, and his fingers curled against the floor. “I want to learn to be better. I want to please you, I do, I promise. I know this is good for me, sir. I’ve never trusted anyone like this. I’ve never felt so real. Please, sir. I’m sorry.”

  He nodded. He hated to browbeat the boy, but some lessons were better learned by example. A lesson learned, however, deserved a reward. He sat on the floor next to Nikki’s head and stroked the boy’s hair. “You are real, boy. It will be my priority as your Master to remain worthy of your trust. You made a mistake, and you’re attempting to learn from it. I can’t ask anything more of you than that. You have pleased me.”

  Nikki stayed still as stone, his voice contrite. “It won’t happen again, sir.”

  “Oh, my boy, I can assure you it will. And that’s all right. Mistakes are human, and you have so much to learn yet. You will make them, you will learn, and I will forgive. You will have hard days. You will also have whole weeks where everything seems perfect, and then something will throw you. It happens. I expect it, and you should accept that.” He would have off days as well, but that wasn’t something he was going to say right now. Anticipating his needs that way would be something the boy would learn as they got to know one another better in this context.

  “Kneeling display, boy.”

  Nikki obeyed, taking a moment to arrange himself as Bradford stood.

  “Shoulders back. Chin up. Yes, like that.” Nikki made the small adjustments easily, and he noted his sub’s lovely erection was dissipating and a very pretty, softer cock hung in its place. “Good boy.”

  They had much to talk about. Nikki was so new on the one hand, and yet in some ways the boy was well ahead of many of the club’s more experienced subs. His instincts were lovely, his tolerance—his desire—for the sting of Bradford’s flogger, and the boy’s still-undiscovered depth was enticing and delicious.

  “All right, boy. A new lesson.” Bradford walked around behind Nikki so the boy could concentrate on the words and not worry so much about his eyes or his body language. “Conceptually, submission is very simple. At its most basic, you relinquish your own will and you submit to mine. That sounds easy, but in reality, I know it isn’t. Especially for someone who is accustomed to being self-reliant, hm? You have gone a very long time—many years—relying on yourself without assistance or support. Not because you wanted to, but because you had to. Am I right?”