Page 37 of His Middle

“Do you want true humiliation, or only the thrill that it’s possible?”

“I’m not sure.” Noah drew his eyebrows together. “No one’s really been willing to explore that with me before. I’d be up for trying out different scenarios.”

“Does having you at my mercy also mean bondage is okay?”

“Bondage ismorethan okay. Like, super okay.”

The press of Sawyer’s lips to the fleshy part of his ass caused him to let out a satisfied groan.

“I appreciate you sharing all that with me.” Sawyer wrapped an arm around Noah’s torso. “Come on. Up you go before you pass out from the blood rushing to your head.”

Noah snorted. “For real.” He pushed up from the floor and used Sawyer’s knees to brace himself as he rose to a sitting position. “But I’m glad you asked me all those things. I sort of hold back on what I want in deference to my Daddies, which I’m guessing you could tell.”

Noah curled up in Sawyer’s lap, his butt cheeks filled with a pleasant ache as opposed to the throbbing one he would typically be enduring at this point. He hung onto Sawyer’s neck with his head tucked beneath his chin, the position swiftly becoming his new favorite place to be. Part of him again wished Sawyer would say they could not only be late to the club, but skip going in altogether. However, that would be massively unfair to Arlen.

The sigh that escaped his lips came out much more mournful than he’d intended.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Sawyer hugged him tighter. “Are you in a lot of pain after all? I can go upstairs to get some cream for your skin while you rest here.”

“No!” Noah tightened his hold. “That’s not what’s bothering me.”

Sawyer nuzzled his hair. “Talk to me. I need to know what’s going on inside my boy’s head.”

“Daydreaming. Wishing we could have another day off together.”

Sawyer kneaded Noah’s back. “Mmm. Me too.” He pressed his lips to Noah’s head. “Not only because I’m filled with excitement over a new relationship, but because I know you need time to relax and recharge. I feel like you’ve been on the verge of imploding from the weight of the responsibilities thrust on you.”

“Tell me about it.”

He didn’t want to add pressure to Sawyer, but he would seriously have a complete meltdown if Sawyer hadn’t already said he’d stay.

“That’s why I want you to take Mondays and Tuesdays off for the foreseeable future. I’ll be working on getting Arlen trained this week, as well as getting the back office systems organized with your help. That way we can begin searching for an office manager, or maybe simply outsource things like payroll.”

“Me? A help? That’s a good one.” Sawyer popped him on a sore ass cheek. “Ow!” It hadn’t been all that hard, more of a love pat. “Why did you smack me?”

“I won’t tolerate you making snide remarks about yourself. I know you’re joking around, but there’s a part of you inside that truly feels that way.” Sawyer started rubbing his back again. “If you’re having doubts about yourself, tell me. Daddy will help you work it all out, okay?”

Noah closed his eyes and snuggled up to Sawyer again.Daddy. “Okay. I promise.” His eyes flew open. “So that means that next Tuesday I’ll be stuck here at the house by myself?”

Sawyer placed a finger beneath Noah’s chin and encouraged him to meet his gaze. “No. Those will be our days off together. We need to start establishing a balanced routine. I’m committed to helping you save the club, but not at the expense of your or my health.”

“Oh.” Noah smiled. “Okay, awesome.” He furrowed his brow. “What about Arlen? Won’t that be placing too much pressure on him so soon?”

“I’ve already discussed it with him. He’s excited for the promotion and he’s been wanting to be the floor manager for over three years. Having him step in is the perfect solution. Not only does he want the job, he’s already familiar with the club and its members. We’ll need to find him an assistant at some point, but for now, I want to do some outside hires for more reliable staff, and I have Ricky interviewing potential candidates to help him in the kitchen.”

“Wow. I knew you were meeting with all the staff, but I didn’t know all that was going on.”

Sawyer had spent about half the time with him going through files and setting up new systems on the office computer, but the rest of the time, he’d enlisted Noah to spruce up the party rooms so they could get some pics taken for the website. He felt bad he hadn’t been of more help.

Sawyer jostled him. “Hey, should I have included you in the staff interviews and hiring process? Do you feel left out?”

“God no. I gave you permission to take over that part of the business for a reason.” He snorted. “You know me and conflict.”

“Hiring and promotions doesn’t involve conflict. I should’ve asked if you approved of my decisions.”

Noah shook his head. “No, you shouldn’t have. I’m at a loss when it comes to asking people questions about themselves or job performance or stuff like that. What if they were fired from their last job? I’d be so uncomfortable asking someone why they were dumped.”

Sawyer gave him a hug. “Okay. But next time, I’ll double-check to be sure. I tend to charge ahead when I’ve been given a task to complete. However, this is still your business, not mine.”

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