Page 5 of Aries

“I haven’t slept yet,” he said. “I couldn’t.”

I gestured to the seat in front of my desk. “Why not?”

He leaned in, taking a seat. “Last night was incredible.”

“Just incredible?” I asked, licking my lips to suppress my smile. “Come on, I’m sure you know more adjectives than that.”

“I—” he gulped hard, leaning further across the desk. “I’ve never felt my hole react to someone like that. It feels like you took something from me. And I want you to put it back.”

He was just my type. Submissive, needy, but best of all, he was giving in to those primal breedable vibes. I reached out to his face, thankful for the frosted glass office wall. “You’re gonna have to wait. I have a very busy day.”

“I came in here; I don’t want to wait.” He rested his hand around mine. “I painted a large canvas last night. Whatever you did to me, it was—it was magic.” He chewed on his thick, pink bottom lip. “I edged for hours afterwards. I painted with one hand and jacked myself just before completion.”

“If you want more of Daddy’s seed, you’re going to have to be a good boy and wait your turn,” I said, my hand moving from his chin down to his neck. “Let me ask you something, do you like it when I’m rough? Do you—” I paused to wet my lips, “—want me to treat you like a dirty little whore?”

His Adam’s apple moved against the pressure of my hand on his throat. He blinked wildly, his body shaking like a baby animal learning to walk on all fours for the first time.

“There are no right or wrong answers,” I told him. “You either want to be fucked like a slut and not be able to sit, or I can be sweet and gentle.” I took the card and flipped it over. It was an abstract design, no additional information. “I’m just trying to gauge the approach I should take when I call you up tonight.”

“I—I—” He pushed his throat harder in my grasp. “I need you to dominate me. You’re my muse.”

Fuck. He took the words right out of my mouth. This couldn’t end well. A muse circling its muse, this was going to be a lot of fun. “Then get out, unless you want me to start tattooing that skin,” I said. “Get some sleep. Wait for my call. And prepare yourself for me.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

I pinched my grasp around his throat a little harder, feeling for his heavy pulse. He was very excited. “And I want to see this art you made,” I said. “And I’ll show you some art I’ve made.” I wasn’t lying, I’d been working on tattoo designs for his fresh, virgin skin. I knew it was only a thought exercise because any untouched skin as pure as his would only be pure for as long as it went untatted. “Now go.” I gave him a kiss.

“Ok.” He pulled away and touched at where I’d been holding his throat. A smile forming on his lips. “You won’t be disappointed, I promise.”

It was both the most strange and beautiful moment I’d experienced in the last couple of months. I wanted to know everything I could about Ash Daniels, professional painter. His submissiveness had to have come from somewhere, and from someone who handed out business cards, it wasn’t going to be hard to figure out.

He was a couple clicks on the computer away from finding out last night had been a large event where he was named one of the main artists. Photographs on websites of him holding champagne and dressed in those same clothes from last night. I wondered who had caught who at the right time. For someone who had gallery openings and rubbed shoulders with the famous, I couldn’t imagine there was a reason he’d be out strolling the street in the middle of the night for anything other than sex.

Kelly, another artist came into my office, presumably after gossiping with Jenny and Brandon. She’d worked here the longest and had done a number of my tattoos herself. “So,” she started, looking around the room. “You fucked someone in here last night, didn’t you?”

“And it was great.”

She pawed at the table and clicked her tongue at me. “You better have wiped all the surfaces down,” she said. “So, was it that slim thing that waltzed through? Their words, not mine. They won’t shut up about it.”

I nodded. “Best sex I’ve had in a long time.” But I wasn’t going to tell him that. He was a sub, and for such reasons, I knew he’d feel the need to impress me, so it was better not to say anything at all. “I was a man possessed.”

“It’s called an erection,” she said, slowly raising an arm up to demonstrate. “Once it’s up, you’ve only got one thing on your mind. I can’t say I blame you. The last time I had sex was weeks ago. Cleo is so focused on work that she’s always exhausted every single night. Like, come on.”

“Cum is one word for it.”

“And that’s exactly what I’m not doing.”

“Relax,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You’re married. You have that unconditional love thing.”

“And cats,” she said. If you didn’t know that about Kelly, then her tattoos were a definite give away. “The only thing I’m missing out on is the sex.”

“I’d love to sit here and listen to all your problems, but I’m not a therapist,” I said, glancing at Ash’s proud face in a picture beside one of his paintings on my laptop. “Besides, you know how to deal with Cleo. Force her to take a break. Wine and dine her, or whatever else lesbians and bisexual couples do.”

She popped her tongue at me once more. “I hate to say it, but that’s a good idea. She doesn’t know when to take a break, and knowing you’re getting ass at every corner, I’m jealous.”

“Sweetheart, don’t be jealous of me,” I said.

“You’re right, I can hold a relationship down, and you—”