With his heart pounding madly, Faris locked his hands behind his back. “Don’t touch me unless I tell you to.” His voice belayed none of his nervousness. “Do you understand?”
Ulric’s eyes widened and his tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip. “Yes.”
Stella held the paddle, handle out for Faris. “Take it. He needs to understand you are in control. Take it and show him.”
What the fuck? “I…you want me to…?”
“Yes. Take it.”
He did, but could not look at Ulric. The wood was heavy in his hand, the handle of the paddle filling his palm completely. Thick leather covered the grip, making his palm sweat as he adjusted his hold.
Stella pressed her body to his back, her hands scratching furrows into his shirt.
“Look at him, lying there waiting for you.”
A light sheen of sweat covered Ulric’s body, a full flush coloring his face and neck.
Ulric’s eyes were wide and bright, focused intently on where he stood with Stella. He could only imagine the picture they painted.
“His cock is hard,” she whispered as she pressed her cheek to his back. “His ass is waiting for you. You have the power here. You have the control to do whatever you want to him. How does that make you feel?”
Faris chuckled. “Terrified.”
“Good. That means you care about what happens to him. You know he needs something and you want to make sure you give that to him.”
“What if I hurt him?”
“I won’t let you.”
He spun in her embrace. “But what if I do? I’ve never done anything like this before. I…I don’t know how hard to strike, or where. I could cut him or make him bleed.”
Stella frowned, and for the first time since the evening had begun, Faris saw doubt in her expression. It was short lived.
“I will show you. Is that what it will take to reassure you nothing will happen to him?” She pressed her hips to his groin, his erection trapped painfully between them.
“Or maybe I should demonstrate on you first?”
Faris pressed closer to her as his eyes fell closed. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Nothing in his life could have prepared him for this—but he wanted it. He wanted her.
Stella nodded. “Take your shirt off. It’s hot work when done correctly.”
He went to work on his buttons, keeping focused on her and doing his best to ignore Ulric, watching them in silent regard. With each inch of skin exposed, Stella placed a kiss to his chest.
“I’m starting to understand why he brought you to me. You have much you could learn from both of us. How to control…and how to be controlled.”
She stopped him from pulling his shirt off, instead taking over the task and sliding the fabric down his arms in a painfully slow path. The cool air of the room was in stark contrast to the heat from his body. He’d only had a handful of lovers over the years, and none of them looked at him the way Stella did now.
Her fingers caressed and evaluated his biceps, chest, across his shoulders and down his back.
“So strong,” she muttered. “So innocent.”
“I want to learn,” he pleaded. “Show me what I need to do to help him.”
Without speaking, Stella slipped the paddle from his grasp and tugged on the waistband of his pants. He followed her until once again he found himself standing before Ulric.
“Truly, the best way to learn is to experience firsthand. Bend over and place your hands on either side of Ulric’s head.”
He knew it wasn’t an order he had to follow. Stella would easily accept his refusal and take over the task of paddling Ulric herself. But Faris couldn’t walk away, not now.
Filled with trepidation, he moved as she’d directed, bracing his hands on either side of Ulric’s head. Moist heat from Ulric’s breath tickled his arm. Faris still wore his pants, but instinctively he knew they wouldn’t dull much of the sting.
Even so, he wasn’t prepared for the sharp bite of the paddle against his virgin ass.
He cried out, half in pain and half in surprise, as Ulric moaned.
“See,” Stella said as she ran a hand down his back, “you give pleasure to him without even trying.”
Another slap, followed by a pause and three more quick hits. One to his ass and two to the backs of his thighs. The burn was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
Acute to start, it deepened into something that penetrated deep into his body, heating through to his cock. It was intense and almost too much for him to handle.
“You’re doing so well, Faris. A natural. I can tell you’re enjoying it as well. The way you’re holding still for me, waiting for the next blow. Do you want another?”
He shivered, but whether it was from anticipation or the constant heat of Ulric’s breathing against his skin, Faris couldn’t be sure.
“Yes.” He hardly recognized his own voice.
“Of course you do. I told you, you did.” One, two, three more—each one a different intensity, a different location so he couldn’t anticipate where and when the next slap would land. His mind became focused on the sensations, all other thought fleeing his brain.
Only once Stella moved away, her fingers raking a trail down Ulric’s back as she went, did Faris come back to himself. His gaze sought hers, needing to see if there had been any impact on her, or if he was alone in his desire.
Her calm serenity was betrayed by nothing.
“Do you understand now, Faris?” She lifted the paddle, resting the flat head against her bare shoulder.
Straightening, he nodded. He wished he was naked, could turn and see the hue of his ass change from white to something richer. He couldn’t—but he did have the next best thing before him.
Ulric.
“I understand.” He swallowed. “I think…I’m ready to try.”
She said nothing, simply waited for him to move to her and the instrument of his desire. Faris took the paddle from where she held it and turned to face his mentor. The signs of Ulric’s earlier paddling were fading. There was little body fat to cushion the blows—Ulric would feel them keenly.
Moving closer, Faris adjusted his grip on the instrument and widened his stance.
Simple to start with. Pulling his hand back, the jolt of the paddle connecting with Ulric’s ass reverberated through his body when he connected the wood to flesh. He knew it wasn’t as hard as what Stella had done to him, but Ulric tensed before letting out a low moan. The sound encouraged him to land another, this one harder than the first. Ulric’s skin immediately took on a pink glow.
He waited, enjoying the way Ulric writhed in anticipation. Had he looked the same? Did Stella feel this thrill of control tempered by the bone-deep need to give pleasure to another? She must.
His gaze roamed over Ulric’s red skin, tempted him to reach out and caress its surface. Faris felt his cock twitch at the thought of sliding his finger between the cleft of Ulric’s ass to tease the opening he knew was hidden there. He’d wanted to earlier when Ulric was stretched out, hanging from the ceiling. He couldn’t remember why it had been so important to stop then.
No, this wasn’t supposed to be about him. Pulling his arm back, he landed another hard crack to the ass tempting him to take more.
Faris lost track of how many blows he’d landed. He shifted where he would connect with Ulric—moving from his ass to the thighs. When the paddle grew too heavy, he threw it to the floor and continued with his hand.
There was something so much more satisfying when his hand connected with the bare flesh. He could feel the welts on Ulric’s skin begin to rise, and gave in to the temptation to massage his hands into them. Ulric groaned and gasped, squirming beneath the touch.