Page 62 of Pretty ’n Peak

The cool air that rushed in when it was lifted felt almost invasive. His skin was damp, whether from sweat or tears, he didn’t know.

He kept his eyes closed, ignoring the hum of voices in the room.

“Can you stand for a moment while I open the cuffs?”

He probably could, but he didn’t want to. “Will you hold me, Daddy?”

The word slipped out before he’d realized it. Was that bad? He knew Austin wasn’t really his Daddy, even for the weekend. But he was feeling so vulnerable, and yet so adored.

“Of course, baby boy. I’ve got you.” Austin held him closer, smoothing gentle hands down his torso. “Sebastian, can you get the cuffs for me?”

“I’ve got it.” That was Jamie’s voice. But that was fine, too.

As each cuff opened, Daddy pulled Mateo’s arms into his chest, gently massaging his wrists and using the position to hold him closer.

It stretched the welts on his back, making them sting, but he welcomed it.

“We’re going to walk to the elevator and up to your bedroom. Ready, baby?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Austin moved to hold him from the side, but he didn’t even try to open his eyes. Maybe a quick squint, but mostly he walked blindly.

A little giggle welled up in him. It was literally the blind leading the blind.

And he’d never felt so safe.

12

Austin

Austin filled his chest, savoring the crisp morning air. Birdsong came from every direction, and the scent of fresh pine and dew was so immediate that he felt like he could almost see the branches that framed the path and the sunrise over the gorge.

What he could actually see was the fuzzy outline of the white path as he ambled along the trail, but there was a freshness to it that was missing in the continuous grays of the city.

Everything felt more clean here. More alive.

It was some ridiculously early hour, but he’d woken so full of energy that he just felt like he had to move.

It also gave him plenty of time to think.

What was so different out here?

The break from the endless stress of work?

The change of scenery?

Or, perhaps, the realization that maybe his days as a Dom weren’t over.

He’d been so certain that he’d never wield a flogger again.

But he’d fallen asleep last night reliving the reverberations of the cane in his hand as it struck. Echoes of Mateo’s eager cries filled his ears.

And that was after he’d frantically jerked himself off under the sheets a second time as he imagined pushing Mateo’s jeans down and sinking into that tight, needy hole…

He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d come twice in one night. Maybe at some play party, in his early days with Cam.

And last night he didn’t even have a partner around.