I went gentler, rubbing the reddened skin. “You are dirty, Ryan.” He shuddered, letting out a whimper. “But I’m going to take you home and clean you up, okay?”
He shook his head. “I’m bad. No matter what you do, I’m going to be dirty.”
I kept my touch slow, steady. “You’re not bad, Ryan. You just need proper discipline.”
When I lifted him, he was flushed, eyes far away.
“I’m dirty too, see?” I gestured to my own clothes.
He stared, gave me a faint smile, before looking down at his hands. “I’m dirty everywhere.”
“And I already told you—I’ll clean you up. Do you not trust me?”
His eyes widened like saucers. He nodded. “You will? Even though I said I’d ruin your life? I don’t deserve—”
He shuddered and covered himself.
“You’re cold. C’mon.” I lifted him bridal-style, and he curled into me.
“I won’t call your dad.”
He exhaled, relieved.
It rubbed me wrong how scared he seemed of his father, but that was a topic to breach for a different day.
“But some things have to change, Ryan. This is not normal behavior, and—” I stopped when he looked down.
“Let’s get you warmed up first.”
And let’s hope my wife was asleep.
Chapter 8
RYAN
“Don’t make a sound, please.”
Mr. Thorne’s voice was low, almost strained, as he shakily pulled my shirt over my head.
He paused, like the reality of what he was doing had just hit him, then turned his back to me.
“Take off your pants and get in the bath.”
I cocked my head. “Why are you turning around? Not like you haven’t seen anything new, especially after spanking me.”
“Please, Ryan. Let’s not discuss this while you’re freezing.”
My mouth wanted to keep running, but my body was too cold to argue. I peeled off the rest of my clothes and sank into the lukewarm bath he’d drawn.
“It’s not very hot.”
“I know,” he said, still facing away. “I have to let your body adjust before raising the temperature. It’s safer to condition it slowly.”
Conditioning my body? That sounded… promising.
“You can turn around now,” I teased. “Fully submerged, I am.” I threw in a terrible Yoda voice for good measure.
“Get it, Yoda?” I teased. He didn’t react, like he was refusing to encourage me.
