Page 40 of Learning to Trust

I supported Andrew's weight while he fought to catch his breath. His front and back were a maze of welts and reddened skin. He squeezed my hand almost hard enough to break bones as I walked him into the bathroom. When Andrew said he needed to relieve himself, I turned away to give him privacy.

Once done, I helped Andrew into the tub where he stood. He was reluctant to sit, and I understood his hesitation. Stepping in behind him, I placed my hands on his shoulders and whispered in his ear.

“Sir, you need to sit down while the water is warm.”

Andrew grumbled and groaned as he lowered his big body and when he slid beneath the water, he let out a string of colorful language. I scooted in behind him and he rested his head back on my shoulder.

“I don’t understand, Sir.”

“What, Baby?”

“Why would any Dom or sub willingly go through what you are now?”

"I don't understand it either, but subs have told me the bite of pain produces spectacular orgasms. The skin always looks worse immediately following a whipping or flogging but it settles, and the pain goes away after a day or two."

"Sir, the paddling you gave my ass was enough for me, it hurt like hell for fucking days. I agree with the other subs though, the orgasms were incredible and more powerful than any I'd had before. I think, Sir, we will restrict my pleasure and punishment to the ass, it's the only area tough enough to handle whatever you dish out."

Andrew laughed. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts too much.”

“Sorry, Sir.”

"You hurt for longer because I didn't take into account you had a virgin ass and caused you bruising. I am very sorry, and I will be more cautious in the future."

“I hate that you hurt.”

“It looks much worse than it is and although I have a lot of pain, Kyle is well-trained and highly experienced, so he knows how to flog without causing injury.”

“I’m still not happy with either of you. A simple apology would have been more than enough.”

"Kyle and I talked about whether or not my behavior should be overlooked. We even talked about me spoiling you for a full day which is more common when Doms do the wrong thing but, Baby, what I did was serious. I put you in danger and I am experienced enough to know better."

I scoffed. "You didn't put me in danger. I was upset and asked you to leave because I needed to think. You were merely respecting my wishes."

Andrew turned his head and I looked into his glazed eyes.

"David, we had known each other for one very short week. You were coming out of a long-term relationship, and I had no idea what your state of mind was when I took you home from the club. I should not have left you. My behavior was unacceptable. What if you had been suicidal?"

“I’m too much of a coward to consider suicide, you had no need to worry.”

“Firstly, you are not a coward, and I will not have you thinking about yourself in that way. Secondly, I didn’t know you weren’t suicidal.”

“I hear what you are saying but I’m still pissed about you being disciplined.”

“How about we agree to disagree and try not to let it happen again?”

Andrew rested his head back against my shoulder. I plucked a washcloth from a shelf on the wall and gently dabbed water over his body so he would get the full benefit of the oils.

When the water began cooling, we began the strenuous process of getting Andrew out of the bath, dried off, lotion applied, and into bed. Totally exhausted, he fell asleep.

***

While Andrew slept, whimpering, and moaning now and again, I slipped home and grabbed my laptop so I could continue with work. Before going upstairs to the playroom, I pulled a ready-made sandwich from Andrew's fridge and grabbed myself a coffee.

Upstairs, I sank into one of the over-stuffed armchairs and started up the computer. While I waited for it to boot up and do a scan, I devoured the sandwich and gulped down half the coffee.

When the computer was ready, I opened the Eyely program I’d been developing. The algorithms that had been added weren’t giving the outcomes I wanted, and I couldn’t for the life of me see what I was doing wrong.

After an hour of getting nowhere, and with frustration building, I opened another program for a new game that promised to be ideal for young children. To progress through levels, children would need to take part and be successful in quests involving arithmetic, history, and geography. The game didn't yet have a name, I was still mulling it over, so for now it was known as Game 604. Maybe Andrew would be able to suggest something.