Milton's Struggles

Milton’s Struggles

“Milton,” Landon said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Go away.”

“If you growled at Gordon like that, no wonder your backside can provide enough heat energy to light the entire building.

“I’m not in the mood for your humor,” Milton snapped, propping himself up on one elbow, so he could give Landon a proper dominant glare.

“That works better when you don’t look like you’ve just been crying.” Landon ran his thumb down Milton’s cheek, capturing a stray bit of moisture. “What was it about this time?”

“Nothing.” Milton scrunched the pillow into a tighter ball. “He needed to strengthen his shoulder muscles or work on his stroke.”

“Milton.” Landon stroked his fingers through Milton’s too short hair, its usual stern orderliness lost from the earlier struggle with Gordon. He ignored Milton’s automatic flinch; the boy was like his grandfather and didn’t take to physical affection easily. “You make this hard. Gordon didn’t beat you for no reason.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to what?” Landon studied Milton’s red eyes, jutting chin, and mouth compressed into a hard line. “The meeting tonight. You went another round about having to attend. You know it’s not optional.”

“All those men look at me like a piece of meat.”

“All those men are jealous.”

“They think I’m a submissive who hasn’t two lumps of brain matter to rub together and who is only good for kneeling at my master’s feet and begging for a pat on the head.”

“I’m a submissive,” Landon said slowly and clearly. “Am I those things? Is your Uncle Doug those things?”

Milton shook his head, a faint blush rising up his suntanned features.

“You just realized what you said, didn’t you? You’re lucky I’m not Gordon. You would have endured another visit of his cane no matter the current condition of your ass.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re still angry. Submissives were an easy target. Submission, even as training to be a dominant, is very hard for you. No one will touch you. No one will speak to you. You know that. Why is it so hard?”

Milton stared up at Landon, his eyes big, brown, and about as innocent and confused as  Landon had ever seen them. Milton was shielded and reserved except in the wake of an encounter with Gordon. Only brutally sore with his soul almost buckling under the strain did Milton ever reveal even a glimpse of his true feelings.

“They look at me. They know things about me. They talk about me.”

“The only talk is awe at your poise as such a young man and speculation about your future proficiency as a dominant, and, well, the submissives drool among ourselves over you when the tops are out of earshot.” Landon grinned and kissed Milton’s forehead. Milton didn’t grimace, a sure sign that he was preoccupied and still wrestling his own demons. “You need to know these men. At Gordon’s feet, you can study them without the need to engage in social niceties. You will lead them long before some will be ready to hand you that power. You must understand your fellow dominants and know their strengths and their weaknesses. Once you are a peer, many will be less than honest in your presence as you will intimidate them by the sheer force of your personality and with the skills I can already feel despite Gordon’s efforts to keep them under wraps.”

“They’ll know I have cane marks all over my ass. It hurts to move.”

“I know.” Landon kissed Milton’s cheek, letting his lips rest too long for a fraternal kiss. “Walk slowly, sink to your knees, and don’t move. They might guess, but no one will say anything. You’re tough.”

“You take more than this.” Milton sat up with a groan and pulled the blanket around himself to hide his nakedness.

“I’m an experienced submissive. I’m a masochist, and I go into subspace. You have none of those advantages.”

“Beating into a happy space.”

“Gordon can take you there if you let him. You resist. You need to understand punishment, but you also need to understand the pleasure. You’ve had too much practice on the punishment side. Now lie back down, and I’ll put some cream on those welts, so you can make it through the evening.”