Page 26 of Love Lessons: Expanded Edition

He bent to one knee himself to trace Landon’s perfect features. His strong brow, his gentle eyelids, his pert nose, and his soft, thin lips. His cheeks were almost smooth, with just a touch of dark scruff when he ran his fingers across them in the other direction.

He was such a treasure. So perfect, kneeling there, waiting for Dustin to touch him, and maybe use him and hurt him and then hold him afterward.

Dustin wanted to kiss him, but he wasn’t sure if that was allowed. It hadn’t been listed. He lifted one strand of his hair and then kissed that instead. Landon was just so unspeakably precious.

Landon broke the pose again. You’re doing a good job so far.

It completely ruined the mood, or at least as far as Dustin was concerned. But maybe it was good that Landon was reminding him that this was a lesson.

On the other hand, he didn’t want Landon to think that he was so incompetent and nervous that he needed reassurance like this. He wanted Landon to see him as a Dom. He wanted to feel Landon’s approval through his whimpers and moans, not a composed compliment.

He just needed to dig in and do this.

Following his instincts, he stood and ran his fingers through those soft tresses one more time. Then he grabbed Landon’s hair, tugging hard. He wanted him off balance, physically and emotionally, and he kept pulling until Landon’s back was arched and he was struggling to maintain his position.

The desperation and desire in Landon’s eyes lit a fire inside of him. Landon wanted this. He was eager, his cock jutting forward in those barely-there briefs and his muscles straining to retain his posture as Dustin pulled him even further off-center.

God, he was gorgeous like this. Submissive and wanting and completely dependent on Dustin to give him everything he needed. Dustin had thought that tying someone up was the key to submission, but watching Landon like this—bound by nothing but his own fingers clasping his hands behind his back in this uncomfortable position where he risked falling to the ground all because Dustin desired it—this was what he’d been looking for.

It was intoxicating. He hadn’t let himself feel until this moment how much he wanted to own and keep and hold this man. It had been there from the beginning, but now the feeling blazed.

Dustin knew that he had always been like this, attaching quickly and falling hard, and he needed to reel it back in. This was just one night, or maybe a few. A lesson.

He put a smirk on his face and signed one-handed, how am I doing now?

Landon blinked a few times before answering, and Dustin reveled in how lost he already looked. “Good,” he finally voiced breathily.

Sign when you talk to me, Dustin reminded sternly. Don’t worry about the pose.

Landon released one arm, still off-balance, still watching him with those needy eyes. OK. Good.

Dustin still wasn’t quite sure what to do next, but he was feeling more comfortable following his instincts. He stepped into the V of Landon’s knees and then pulled Landon up close, pressing his face into his jeans.

He could hear Landon’s breathing now, heavy and rapid, though it sounded like he was trying to slow it down. He stroked his head gently a few times, soothing the area that must be burning from where he’d pulled for so long.

Then, he tucked two fingers under his chin and tilted his head up. Take off my jeans.

“Yes, Sir,” Landon voiced, and he started to obey.

Dustin slapped him across the cheek. Not hard. Certainly not hard enough to leave a mark. But he froze up as soon as he did it. He’d seen it on Landon’s list. On the left-hand side with a little star by it.

But they hadn’t agreed to it. It wasn’t supposed to be part of the scene. He was already fucking this up majorly. The one thing that he’d read the most about in all the resources Landon sent was consent.

Landon was looking down, but in contrition or misery? Sorry, he signed.

Dustin immediately dropped to his knees in front of him, putting both of them on the same level. He cupped Landon’s cheek. Are you alright?

Landon shook his head slightly, making Dustin’s heart skip a beat. And then he gave a smile of chagrin. I’m fine, he signed. That was hot, actually. It wasn’t painful, and I would qualify it under “being rough,” which we discussed.

If you’d want to really slap me, he continued, we can discuss it and I’ll go over safety rules. What you just did, though, felt like a reminder. I’m not used to having a Deaf Dom,and there are a lot of things that I guess I do automatically when I’m in a scene. In the future, though, you should stick to what we agree on and I’ll use ASL.

Dustin searched Landon’s face. He seemed to be honest about the slap being hot, and everything that he was saying as a teacher made sense.

But there was something still nagging at Dustin, something that felt off.

He watched Landon, studying him, wanting to know everything that made him who he was. He knew that he was staring at him for too long, but he also knew that it was a choice that he was allowed to make. And he wanted to know everything. After a long beat, Landon bent his head again, unable to meet his eyes.

And then he realized what it was. Dustin might not know much about the kink world, but he was pretty sure that you weren’t supposed to say “yes, sir” by rote. When Landon said something like that to him, he wanted it to mean something. It couldn’t be automatic or unthinking.