Chapter 27

Tucker: You promise he’s not upset? I hate that you snuck off before we got a chance to say goodbye.

Wes: He was worn out. I’ll let him share details with you later. It was a perfect performance. Thanks for taking the chance.

Tucker: Laughing emoji. You know how much I love the chance to fuck Daddy in public. It’s never a hardship. Have him text me later. BYEEE

I heldGerald closer to my side as the town car drove us toward my apartment. While I’d roused him enough to get him out of the club and into the vehicle, he’d knocked right back out. The adrenaline crash was to be expected. A lot of submissives become overloaded when in a club environment for the first time. Add to things that he experienced in his own mini-scene and, well, it’s no wonder he’d fallen asleep on me again.

By the time we got home, he wasn’t much better. I convinced him to make it inside the elevator. That was about where it ended. I had to throw him over my shoulder to finish the distance from there to my bedroom.

And yes, I put him in my bedroom. I had to. Leaving him alone after a scene like that was a no-go.

Once he was in bed, I removed his suit piece by piece. With that done, I began tucking him in. As expected, he slept through it all. In fact, he was so deep into his REM state that I undressed, showered, and plated up snacks before making my way back to the bed.

The covered snack tray went on the nightstand, as did the bottles of water and pain pills I grabbed. There was no steadfast rule on how a person’s body responded to sensory overload, so I was prepared for everything.

With that handled, I finally climbed into bed beside him. I wasn’t too tired yet. Not after having my entire evening shift so dramatically. What I thought would be a boring evening shaking hands turned into all my wildest dreams coming true.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to the sound of a groan. My eyes popped open to find Gerald shifting restlessly beside me.

“Hey, there,” I cooed softly. “Time to wake up, Precious. I need to get some sustenance in you.”

As I watched, his eyes blinked a few times before opening slowly. I beamed at him, happiness soaring through every inch of me at the sight of him here, in my bed, and disheveled. It might not have been from a night of wild sex, but it was just as important to me to simply have him in my space. The rest could wait, as I’d told him before.

I wouldn’t rush him. He deserved to be treated like the prize that he was.

That’s part of why I’d chosen the name Precious. Because it encompassed what he was for me. What I hoped he’d continue to be for a very long time.

“What time is it? Where are we?” He looked around the space, clearly noticing we weren’t in his room.

I grabbed the food and water, then motioned for him to sit up. “We’re in my room. I didn’t feel good about leaving you alone after the scene at the club. It would have been disorienting.”

He nodded and rose to match my position. As the blanket fell away, he looked down at his chest. “I’m guessing you got me comfy too?”

“Yes. I hope that”s not a problem.”

“Not at all. Thank you. What do you have there?” His stomach rumbled as he leaned closer to inspect the covered tray in my lap.

Laughing, I snapped the lid open. “Just a few snacks.”

When I extended the tray, he dove in with gusto. Seemed it was smart of me to grab him some options after all. It made sense given our dinner was tiny, and we went straight to the club after.

“Thank you,” he mumbled around a mouthful of cheese and crackers.

“Manners, please, Precious. And you’re welcome. It’s no trouble to help take care of you. In fact, I like it very much. Thank you for allowing me the honor of doing so.”

He stopped eating at that. Something about my words gave him pause. I wondered if he believed me. Maybe that was why his eyes turned cautious and his body went taut.

“Sir?” he asked softly.

I lit up at the continued use of my title. “Yes? What is it? You can ask me anything. I promise to answer.”

As I waited, he nibbled on more of the food. The quiet between us was comforting. I didn’t feel a need to fill the void, nor did I worry he wouldn’t eventually answer my question.

“Is it wrong that I liked it so much?”

Relief swept through me at his question. While I wished he had no doubts whatsoever about the events at the club, I thanked my lucky stars that he felt comfortable enough with me to ask. I was also happy to hear he enjoyed himself.

Taking his hand in mine, I waited for him to look me in the eye. “There”s nothing wrong with liking what you saw last night. In fact, I’d say that the majority, if not all, of the room enjoyed it as well. They sure sounded like they did.”

He chuckled at that. “I agree. It did sound… pleased.”

“True. As for you and how you’re feeling, I want you to know that there isn’t anything wrong. Just like others have various kinks that I may or may not partake in, this is unique to you and your preferences. Can you tell me what about it you liked most? I’ve been curious what drew you to the idea.”

In reality, I wanted to get him talking about things more. A lot of shame in the kink world centered on the unknown or simply a lack of understanding. While I didn’t plan on giving him a lecture about his voyeuristic nature, having him express his emotions would do him well on his journey to figure out more about himself.

Gerald had been hurt in the past. His relationship, no matter how good it was in the moment, left him broken and confused. The fact that there was kink involved burned his idea of the BDSM community as a whole. I knew it from the moment he confessed his past to me.

As a Dom, and as the man interested in more with him, I knew I had to help him change his perspective. He had to see that not all relationships were like the one he had. That you could be kinky and happy and open with others. There didn’t have to be secrecy and shame if both partners were communicating their wants properly.

“I liked getting an outside view of something I wouldn’t normally get to see. It wasn’t like watching porn or anything. There were real emotions there. And I couldn’t look away.”

“Very good. Those are all valid points. Anything else?” I questioned.

He pressed back, putting a bit more space between us. “Um, yes. I liked when you talked me through things. You told me to picture us, and I did.”

“Hmm. That’s interesting. Would you ever want to make use of the room? They allow volunteers to take the stage.” I had a feeling I knew his answer, but it didn’t hurt to ask. Plus, I wanted him to think of the experience from all angles. He’d watched and would have the option to be watched if he wanted it so.

Gerald shook his head rapidly. “No, not really. It’s not for me, I think. I can’t imagine all those eyes on me.”

I laughed when he shivered. “It wouldn’t be all that bad. You’d be too focused on your partner to care. Too focused on me.”

“On you? Do you want to do it?” He coughed, then rushed to add, “on the stage I mean? At the club?”

“Not particularly, though I’d do so if you asked. I simply want to adore you as much as you allow. Whether it’s alone or in front of dozens of people, I don’t care. You’re the deciding factor for me. I don’t have an exhibitionist kink.”

“Exhibitionist kink?”

I gave a nod as I handed him more water. “A desire to be watched. People who perform at the club usually feel the desire to have eyes on them while they expose themselves and participate in such acts. Like I said, it’s not my particular brand of kinky, though I’m not opposed. My desires lie in submission. Past that is merely me exploring with a partner to find what they enjoy.”

The conversation shifted after that to focus on the food and plans for the day. Neither of us had much to do, so we settled on being as lazy as possible. We showered together, snuggled up to watch a movie, and ate while being practically attached at the hip.

It was one of my favorite days ever.

We didn’t talkabout the club much after our first visit. It was like going kind of got the urge out of both of us. Gerald texted Tucker to let him know he was alright, and the two kept in touch nearly every day. I knew Tucker was likely bringing him into the fold of our friend group, which suited me just fine.

While we didn’t expand our sexual repertoire much further, Gerald didn’t shy away from touching me more openly. Sometimes it was him pressing back into me, his ass grinding against my crotch in a way that was overtly sexual.

To be honest, I didn’t think he even realized he was doing so. It had become second nature for us to always be connected when we were in the house together. Occasionally, he’d even slip and do something provocative outside of the house.

Like rubbing against me in the line at the grocery store one of the few times we were able to shop together. Or the time he rubbed my shoulders from behind when we went out to dinner after he noticed I was still stressed from a meeting gone wrong.

The holidays were quickly approaching. My family wasn’t big on celebrating, and after I explained my need to be around for Gerald, Robin didn’t pester me about a visit. I swore to him that we’d go soon. I just wasn’t sure when.

Because the reality meant that seeing Robin would mean Gerald had to go to a place he didn’t want to. While we wouldn’t be required to visit the ranch itself, we’d definitely be close enough to evoke memories. There was no chance of me doing so if I thought it would hurt him.

As October shifted to November, I saw a shift take over the man I loved. His moods became somber, and his attention was stretched thin. He was still completing everything he set out to do; however, there was a definite change in him. One I recognized because I’d seen it before.

One night, after another amazing session with Gage, I made my move. We were cuddled on the couch, the heat up high to combat the cold, and a blanket draped across our legs. The TV played some 80s romcom. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to know which one.

“Precious,” I said, hopeful that I’d get his attention. His gaze leapt to mine.

“Sir? What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “Nothing is wrong. I simply wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine,” he replied automatically.

“No, you’re not. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lie to me.”

Was it wrong to use my Dom voice on him? Maybe. Maybe not. I didn’t much care. I needed him to know I was serious.

“I wanted to ask you a question.” I went for a different route instead of pushing him to talk. Either way, this would bring us to the topic of the ranch and his past. “Robin has been itching to see me. We’d talked about skipping over the normal holiday stuff this year, but I really would like to see him. Make sure he’s not working himself too hard or anything.”

He leaned further back, though he was still in my arms. “You can go see him, Sir. It’s fine.”

“It’s not. I want him to meet you as well. This isn’t a trip I’d take alone.”

Gerald didn’t have to say a word for me to see the indecision in his gaze. “This time of year is hard to think about being there. I don’t know if I could go. I’m not sure I’m ready.”

I kissed him in reply. It was soft and slow, my actions meant to show him I would wait. He needed to know that he meant more to me than a trip to see Robin.

At the end of the day, my brother could deal. If I asked, I had no doubt he’d take the time off to come here.

Part of me knew the option existed, but I refused to use it.

Maybe it was because I wanted Gerald to face his past again. Or maybe I knew that we could never truly move to the next step of our relationship, the step that led to forever, if he didn’t close the door to that time in his life. I didn’t mean he had to pretend it never happened. Just that he had to heal the hurt so he could move on.

I wanted forever with Gerald Grimes, but there was a dead man and a ranch full of withering friendships standing between me and that future.