Complaining was a lot of work, though, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to expend the effort. Once I was naked, Roman walked me over to the bed and tucked me in. Leaning back into the comfort of my pillows, I gave him a long look. I wasnotgoing to be the only one in bed.
He grinned and started stripping off his clothes before climbing in with me. Wrapping himself around me, I expected him to say something sweet or loving. Nope.
“Before you go to bed, we’re going to start your punishment, Brat.” He said it like he was talking about something romantic.
I wasn’t smart enough to keep my mouth shut.
“What kind of punishment?”
I was a moron.
Roman’s hand came down to rest on my still-soft cock. “How do you think your panties will look with a cock cage under them?”
Chapter 17
Roman
“I’m still not sure this is a good idea.” Looking in the mirror at where Eli was lounging on my bed, I straightened my tie.
“You’re right.” He frowned at me, but it was ruined by the drama queen sound in his voice. “That tie is overkill, definitely a bad idea.”
“Hey, I look good in this suit, and this is an expensive tie.” It wasn’t too fancy but gave the impression that I was taking the meeting seriously.
Eli groaned and threw himself back on the pillows. “It’s just a meeting with Preston, not the president of a bank or a Fortune 500 company. You are entirely too worked up about this.”
“Are you asking for a spanking, Brat?”
Eli was quiet for a moment. “Maybe.”
“Stressful day?” In the three weeks we’d been seeing each other, I’d learned that he only got that snarky when he was overly tired, bored, or overworked. Sometimes it was a combination of all three.
“Yes.” He closed his eyes and took a long breath. “Long week. My mother has called three times and won’t take no for an answer about visiting her again. But there just isn’t time.”
“If this is about my stuff—”
He broke in, shaking his head. “No, it’s everything. Preston’s overworking himself. I need to step up and take on more of a real role at the company, so he can take a vacation. I’m almost done with the master’s program, but this last part is crazy. And I found a new line of fetish wear that I absolutely love, but I need to find out more about the company. I don’t have the time to take a week off and play Elijah for her. She needs a freakin’ hobby.”
“She does have a hobby—trying to get Elijah married.” When Eli had first started explaining his ultra-boring alter ego, I’d thought he was crazy. But as he began letting me into his life more, I started to understand.
Not that I approved, but I didn’t have the healthiest relationship with my family, so I couldn’t say much. Eli had initially been worried that I’d be angry or disappointed that he wasn’t ready to talk to his family about us, but when he wasn’t even out to them, me losing my marbles over the fact that they didn’t know we were a couple was stupid.
And it wasn’t like I was a meet-the-parents kind of guy.
That was always awkward, and I wasn’t expecting the first time I met his family to go any better. When googling my name meant seeing all about my sex life, I wasn’t expecting it to be something that went over well.
“Elijah is exhausted and wants to fade away. He’s tired of existing.”
And Eli’s habit about referring to Elijah as another person was odd, to say the least. “It’s up to you, Brat. But she’s not going to drop it.”
His mother was like a dog with a bone. One of those little yappy ones that bit. She thought she would get her way no matter what and expected people to just see her as cute and sweet. But I’d been bitten by one of those angry fluffy dogs as a kid, so I was expecting the claws to come out at any time.
Eli hoped that she would accept who he was and what he wanted once he was ready to tell her, but he’d also made it clear that he had a family at Leashes and Lace who would support him if she went all batshit crazy on him.
“I know. I’ll figure it out.” He didn’t glance over at me as I started to move around the room, but he stilled, so I knew there was something else he was waiting to say. Finally, it came out. “I don’t want to even pretend to date other people over there. And I don’t like the idea of being away from you when I won’t even have enough privacy to call.”
He glanced over like he was expecting a reaction. I wasn’t sure what was going through his mind, so I walked over and sat down on the bed. Leaning close, I gave him a kiss. “We’ve had this conversation before. What did I say?”
A smile finally started to form. “That you’d understand and see any socializing I had to do over there was something completely platonic. But that if I even thought about kissing someone without your permission, you’d tan my hide and leave me in the cock cage indefinitely.”
