I wanted a photo of him kneeling for me.
Master needed something to stroke his cock to if the slave wasn’t around.
“Which brings us to your kneeling.” I squatted down in front of him and slid the thin cane up along the inside of his thigh. “When we’re out here, you’ll be naked some of the time. I’ll want every inch of you on display.” I teased the tip of the cane over his smooth balls and around his cock. “Part your knees properly and sit back on your heels. Hands behind your back.”
He did as told, and I stood up to inspect him. I circled him slowly, letting my cane trace the exquisite lines of his body.
“Excellent posture,” I murmured. Back straight, shoulders squared, thighs parted, his pert little ass resting on his heels. “This will be your standard position if I’m sitting down when I tell you to kneel. If I’m standing up, you will keep your legs closed and your ass off your heels. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir,” he replied. “May I ask a question?”
“Make it quick.” I bent down and planted an openmouthed kiss along the curve of his neck.
He exhaled a short laugh and shivered. “Shouldn’t I be taking notes? I don’t want to forget anything you tell me, Sir.”
I’d been expecting that question. Archie did like making lists.
I squatted down in front of him again, and I smiled at his gorgeous self. “That’s what the training’s for. My demands and desires belong up here—” I tapped his temple “—not in a notepad. And that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep notes of certain things, but our protocol will be practiced and discussed until it’s part of your muscle memory. I’m patient about this. There’s plenty of room for error and mistakes.”
The relief was visible in his deep-blue eyes. “Understood, Sir.”
Good. While many kinksters enjoyed a flogging session or an elaborate role-play scene with everything from interrogation to doctor’s exams—hell, who didn’t?—my core kink brought me out here to do exactly this. Practice high protocol, embed my submissive in a total power exchange lifestyle, establish ceremonial behaviors, and mold his existence after my needs.
The intensity and gravity of such play, when it wasn’t play at all, made it a rare fetish. A fetish reserved for long-term relationships and profound connections.
It was meant to be developed slowly, which I pointed out to my boy. I didn’t expect him to learn anything overnight. Every change had to settle in with great consideration and with time to process. Otherwise, informed consent was just an empty term.
Archie turned a little rueful in response. “I get it—I do—I’m just impatient.”
“We’ll practice that too, sweetheart.” I kissed his nose. “We don’t want to blur the lines between a high-protocol Master and a brainwashing piece of shit.”
He fucking giggled, the cutest sound I’d heard all week. “I guess not.”
A rush of contentment flowed through me, even as I heard voices coming down the stairs. It was part of public play, shutting others out. I straightened once more and returned to my task, because we hadn’t gotten to the most important bits of today yet.
Money and titles.
I waited while a bondage couple made their way through the club area, the Top and I exchanging a quick nod before they disappeared out onto the patio.
“We’ll discuss more on your kneeling poses for when we’re at home later.” I rapped the cane lightly against his shoulder blades when I noticed his posture had slumped. “Back straight, pet.”
He straightened right away.
“Our next topic doesn’t have anything for you to memorize. It’s a matter of coming to an agreement.” I tested how ticklish he was by brushing the tip of the cane along his feet. They twitched a little, and he squeezed his toes together. Fucking cute. I was impressed by his self-control, though. I filed that away for future exploitation. “As our dynamic evolves and our romantic relationship deepens, you’ll have a lot of responsibility—your list of tasks and chores is already substantial.”
“I love that, Sir.”
I knew he did. It’d been one of the first things I’d noticed this week; he thrived when he had a lot to do.
I combed back his hair with my fingers and made him peer up at me.
“You’re not on speech restrictions yet, but keep the talking to a minimum.”
“Yes, Sir. Apologies, Sir.”
I smirked softly. “Don’t apologize when you do something you don’t know is wrong.”
He smiled back and lowered his gaze again.
“I know you want to carry a lot of responsibility, but my job isn’t to use you as a cook and a cleaner.” I sat down in the chair and told him to maintain eye contact for this. “The kinky aspects of our relationship will hopefully place you in my home so often that we have to address our financial situation.”
Archie lifted a brow but said nothing else.