8. Damian

The view across from his car might have looked to many like a regular New York City street. Tall buildings, a bustling sidewalk, shops and bars open for business.

But for Damian it was something else.

Damian was doing what he loved to do. Reconnaissance, or recon for short. The ultimate act of being a hitman was of course the moment when a life had to be taken, but Damian enjoyed the methodical planning and preparation stage more than most hitmen he knew.

The sight of Connor Reed's club door, no doubt bullet-proofed and fitted with more locks than Fort Knox, was the focus. Damian knew that getting inside the club was out of the question, but that didn't mean he couldn't observe from a covert position.

Reconnaissance was a long game, but one that Damian relished.

What Damian enjoyed even more than recon however, was recon when accompanied by his two fellow mafia men, Nico and Antonio. Neither Nico nor Antonio quite shared Damian's love of staking people out, but it was at the very least a good opportunity to spend some time together.

‘How much longer?' Antonio said, his dark brown hair and square jaw looking immaculate as the glistening sun hit his face. ‘You forget that I'm the senior boss here. You should know that I'm busy, right?'

Damian and Nico laughed.

It was true that Antonio was, in theory, the senior mafia boss among them. But that being said, their bond ran far deeper than even the mafia hierarchy and code of conduct would suggest. As far as the three of them were concerned, they were a band of brothers.

‘I think Antonio maybe does have a point,' Nico said, sipping on his coffee. ‘As much as I love your Maybach, I've got things to do myself.'

‘Patience, guys. We need patience,' Damian said, the plush interior of his Maybach town car at least providing the three men comfort as they waited. ‘Connor Reed is reckless. If we wait, we'll see something. We need to know exactly what the fuck we're getting ourselves into with this guy.'

‘Don't we already know? He's a snake and he's making some moves,' Nico said, the impatience in his voice clear.

‘Maybe so. But there's more to this than meets the eye,' Damian said. ‘You have to trust me on this. I smell something different here. This isn't playing out how it normally would.'

Both Antonio and Nico nodded in acknowledgement of what Damian was saying. One of the biggest teachings that Damian's mentor had given him was that a gut feeling was to be trusted – but it should always be backed up with concrete evidence to support it.

‘Guys, we're live,' Damian said, suddenly noticing some movement. ‘What the… fuck…'

The three men watched from the safety of the car as a group of three heavy-set security men entered Connor Reed's club from the side entry. But what distinguished this from a normal situation was that the three security thugs were covered in blood.

‘Something's gone down,' Damian said.

‘And by the looks of it, someone has lost a whole heap of blood,' Nico added, holding his phone up and taking some photos of the three burly thugs before they were out of sight.

The three men looked at one another.

Something was afoot. And if it involved Connor Reed then all three of them would have to be on their guard to ensure that they didn't fall victim next.

As a hitman, it was Damian who had the most to fear.

But with the recon mission complete for now, it was time to turn his mind back to another… issue. And that issue just so happened to be a very naughty thieving brat by the name of Jake.

* * *

‘Where the fuck is he?' Damian growled. ‘That ass is in serious trouble.'

Damian paced up and down his living area. With a calming glass of whisky in one hand, Damian attempted to retain his composure. But it wasn't going to be easy.

Having arrived back from the recon mission to find that Jake was nowhere to be seen, Damian had immediately messaged Jake to command him to return to the apartment ASAP. But not only had Jake not replied to his message with anything more than a winking emoji, but Jake was now a full hour late.

This can't fucking stand.

I'm Damian Sorrento for Christ's sake.

I have to teach this brat a lesson he'll never forget...

Damian was just about at the point of totally losing his cool when he heard the apartment door open. It was Jake, and he was accompanied by the concierge.

‘I found this absolute brat of a boy attempting to use the VIP elevator, sir,' the concierge said, a dismissive tone in his voice.

‘Don't worry, I'll deal with him. You can count on that,' Damian said, nodding his head and watching as the concierge turned and left. ‘You. Over here. Now!'

The volume and intent in Damian's voice was clear, yet Jake didn't seem to be taking him seriously. Damian could see that he would have to take things up a notch from yesterday's punishment.

It was time for Jake to learn a harsh lesson.

Wasting no time, Damian strode over toward Jake and grabbed him by the ear, immediately leading him into the kitchen.

‘Awww! Let go of me! I came back already!' Jake squealed, flailing his arms around.

‘You left the apartment without leaving a note. You failed to properly respond to my message. And now you show up over an hour late,' Damian roared. ‘Well if that's the way you want to play this, then that's fine by me.'

Damian roughly pulled Jake's pants down and took his briefs down at the same time. Damian caught a brief glimpse of Jake's cock and it appeared to be semi-erect.

‘And?' Jake giggled, covering his rapidly hardening dick up with his hands. ‘Wanna' suck?'

Damian knew that Jake was trying to distract him and provoke him. But it wasn't going to work. This boy was going to get a taste of what a real mafia punishment could be.

Reaching up into the kitchen cupboard, Damian pulled out a wooden spoon. The look on Jake's face told its own story. Gone was his cocky, sassy expression and in its place was a look of serious apprehension.

‘Oh, you didn't think it was going to be another quick spanking, did you?' Damian laughed, roughly pulling and pushing a limp Jake into position and bending him over the kitchen table. ‘You'll be getting two dozen cracks of my Sicilian spoon on your wobbly bottom. And if you so much as sass me once, I'll be bringing the count right back to zero.'

‘Please! I won't be late agai-'

‘Quiet!' Damian bellowed, bringing the wooden spoon down squarely onto Jake's left cheek. ‘Only another twenty-three to go. I'd hold on tight if I was you, boy!'

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

Each crack of the wooden spoon brought release for Damian and stinging pain for Jake. Damian knew that Jake could handle a spanking, but now it was time to see just how high this boy's pain threshold was.

As Damian continued to administer the discipline, he felt something inside him change. Yes, he was still angry and frustrated by Jake. But Damian also felt like he owed it to Jake to make this punishment as firm and unrelenting as this.

Damian wanted to help Jake understand that discipline was necessary in life, and that proper guidance from a stronger, wiser older man was precisely what Jake needed. This punishment was important, and Damian wanted to ensure that Jake knew exactly why he was receiving it…

‘Naughty boys have their asses reddened,' Damian said, aiming another perfectly targeted swat down onto Jake's reddening behind. ‘Master Damian will look after you, but you have to learn. And if that means learning the hard way, then so be it.'

‘Awwwww! I've learned, I've learned!' Jake bleated, his voice full of desperation for the swats to stop.

‘No, no. Bratty boys don't choose when the discipline ends. That's for their Master to decide,' Damian retorted, landing three quick but powerful cracks in succession. ‘And you'll understand that soon enough.'

As the twenty-fourth and final crack of the wooden spoon landed on Jake's throbbing butt, Damian could see that progress had been made. Jake was quiet and clearly feeling emotional. This was a sign of progress.

Damn, he's cute.

The things I could do to him…

No. Mind on the job, man.

Putting his own carnal desires to one side, Damian could see that Jake needed some love and attention. As he had done previously, Damian picked Jake up and carefully held him in his arms.

‘Bath time?' Jake said, his voice soft and unassuming.

‘No, this time I've got some special cream for your butt,' Damian said. ‘And we're going to apply it in my room.'

Jake smiled sweetly and snuggled up closer to Damian's chest as Damian carried him through the apartment and into his master suite.

Damian laid Jake down onto the bed on his back and carefully lifted Jake's legs up skyward so that he could apply generous dollops of the finest Italian cooling and cleansing cream onto his butt cheeks.

‘It's tickles!' Jake said, giggling a little as some of the cold cream went in between his cheeks and touched on his little butthole.

‘Yes, well, enough of that for now,' Damian said, doing his best to remain stoic and not give away just how turned on he was in that moment. ‘It's time for me to read you a story and for you to take a nice nap. You've clearly used up a lot of energy today, and I want you feeling fresh.'

‘Y-y-yes, Master Damian,' Jake said, shyly looking away as he said the words. ‘I think I might just need a long sleep. Will my tushy still sting when I wake up?'

‘That just depends on how long you're asleep for, boy,' Damian said. ‘Now I think it's time you rested.'

‘But… I…' Jake said, unsure of what to say, but clearly wanting to say something.

‘Don't worry, I'll be right here,' Damian said. ‘I may be the one disciplining you, but you never have to be worried about being safe for as long as you're around me. Well… not too much anyhow.'

Damian watched as a thoroughly punished Jake closed his eyes and rapidly drifted off to sleep.

Damian wondered what Jake would be dreaming about. But more pertinently, he knew that he had his own shit to work out also.

Poor boy.

He's had quite the day.

And I think it's about time I got real about my feelings too…