Page 50 of Daddy Down Under

His fingers threaded mine. “I’m listening, Cash. And whatever it is, it doesn’t change how I see you.”

The sincerity in his voice nearly undid me. I closed my eyes, remembering the sting of betrayal, the shame that had haunted me for years. When I opened them again, Ocean was still there, patient and unwavering.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “It started with a man named Victor,” I began, my voice barely above a whisper. “He was the first one who showed me a side of myself I wasn’t aware of…”

I could still picture him easily, even all these years later. He’d been tall, dark, and handsome—every cliché rolled into one. Gorgeous brown eyes, a slightly darker complexion thanks to some Mediterranean heritage, and so goddamn good-looking he literally took my breath away every time he smiled. No one had had that effect on me since. Not until Ocean.

“He was different from anyone I’d ever met. Commanding yet gentle. Dominant but never arrogant. Successful but not an asshole.”

“Where did you guys meet?”

I liked that he asked a question. Made it a little easier to pretend this was a normal conversation. “At a business meeting. He was a lawyer working for a firm we were doing business with. I wasn’t out at the time, but the sparks between us were obvious. Once the deal was done and there was no longer a conflict of interest, he asked me out. We had a pleasant meal and then fucked like bunnies all night long.” I chuckled at the memory. “Jesus, the man could fuck. We were both vers, and we flip-fucked for two weeks straight to the point where my ass needed a break.”

Ocean grinned. “I can imagine. Was he hung?”

I shrugged. “Nothing special, but he knew how to use what the good lord gave him. So instead of fucking, we hung out and talked. And something shifted. It started with him telling me to do things for him. Small stuff. I didn’t even pick up on it at first, and when I did, I didn’t mind. I loved pleasing him, making him happy. Nothing wrong with that, right?”

Ocean squeezed my hand.

“Then he asked me to kneel for him for the first time, and…” I blew out a breath. “Everything changed. It made me realize I’d always felt this…this hunger inside me. A need to submit, to please. But I never understood it, never had a name for it. Victor gave me that.”

Another deep breath. “I was submissive. He was dominant. A trained Dom, actually.”

The memories flooded back—the first time Victor had called me “boy,” the way my knees had nearly buckled beneath me. The exquisite pleasure of following his commands, of earning his praise. My body thrummed with the echo of those moments.

“Until then, he’d only done scenes in a club, not within a relationship. We discovered a lot together. It was confusing at first.” Heat rose to my cheeks. “I mean, here I was, a successful businessman, and all I wanted was to kneel at his feet. But god, Ocean, the joy it brought me… It was like finally being able to breathe after years of suffocating.”

I risked a glance at Ocean, searching for any sign of disgust or judgment. Instead, I found only warmth and understanding.

“Victor guided me, helped me explore this side of myself. It was intense. Beautiful. I felt more alive than I ever had before.”

As I spoke, I could almost feel Victor’s hands on me, hear his voice in my ear. The phantom sensations made me shiver.

“But then…” I trailed off, the memory of that fateful night crashing over me. “Preston showed up unexpectedly at my penthouse. Victor and I were in the middle of a scene.”

The tension in the room thickened, mirroring the dread I’d felt that night. I could still see Preston’s face, the shock giving way to something darker, more sinister. “He saw everything. Me, on my knees. Victor paddling me. He saw the toys, the bondage gear, everything.”

My hands clenched involuntarily, reliving the moment when my carefully guarded secret had been exposed. “The look in Preston’s eyes…” I shook my head, unable to fully articulate the betrayal I’d seen there. “I knew in that instant that nothing would ever be the same again.”

Preston’s words still echoed in my mind, sharp as the day he’d spoken them.

“Cash, what the fuck are you doing?” His voice had dripped with disgust. “This isn’t you. You’re letting him degrade you, manipulate you.”

I closed my eyes, remembering how I’d scrambled to cover myself, shame burning through me. “Preston, it’s not?—”

“Not what? Not what it looks like?” He’d laughed, a cold, cruel sound. “You’re on your knees like a fucking dog. Is this what you’ve become?”

My chest tightened as I recounted the conversation to Ocean. “He kept going on about how I was betraying myself, betraying our friendship. How I was throwing away my reputation, my career.”

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration evident in every movement. “And the worst part? A small part of me started to believe him. Started to wonder if maybe he was right.”

The doubt had crept in like poison, tainting everything Victor and I had built. I’d started second-guessing every order, every scene, every moment of bliss.

“Victor noticed, of course. He tried to reassure me, but…” I trailed off, the pain of what came next still raw. “Two weeks later, I came home and he was gone. No note, no explanation. Just gone.”

My voice cracked on the last word. I turned away from Ocean, unable to face him as I continued, “I called him relentlessly for a week until he finally answered. He told me I’d cheated on him. A friend had told him so and that friend had seen me with another man.”

“You’d never cheat.” Ocean’s voice held barely contained fury, yet nothing had ever sounded sweeter.

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