Page 70 of No Rules

His whole body was on sensory overload, completely confused over the contrast between hot and cold, soft and rough, pain and pleasure. It was maddening.

“Don’t fight it, baby boy,” Ryan said softly. “Don’t try to figure it out. Just let your body decide. It knows what it wants.”

It did. Apparently, it wanted whatever the hell Ryan was dishing out.

Alex took a shuddering breath. His chin had become wet from his drool, and the blindfold was growing clammier by the second from his tears, even though it had stopped hurting. Or maybe it hadn’t, and he just wasn’t registering anything anymore. None of it made sense, but somehow, he found the strength to do as Ryan had told him. He stopped thinking and surrendered, submitting wholly to the experience.

Alex’s mind drifted again, wave after wave of pleasure and pain washing over him like an ocean with Ryan as his lifejacket. He synchronized his breaths with Ryan’s, allowing the steady rhythm to anchor him as he gave himself over to the whirlwind of sensations. The room seemed to shrink around them as if all that existed was this space where Ryan took complete charge of his body and mind.

“Good boy,” Ryan whispered. “Such a good boy.”

Alex smiled. That was all that mattered, wasn’t it? Nothing else was important except what Ryan said. What Ryan thought. What Ryan commanded him to do.

The last bit of resistance melted away, and he flew.

The silk ropes loosened, and his wrists were freed from their tight confines. The ball gag was removed, his chin cleaned with a wet wipe, and the blindfold came off. Alex blinked, but everything was still dark. Ryan must’ve turned down the lights. The air in the dungeon seemed to lighten, like a mist dissipating under the warmth of the sun.

“Come on, baby boy,” Ryan said, soft and gentle. He wrapped Alex in a soft blanket that enveloped his body like a warm embrace, then lifted him and carried him to the couch, where he sat, Alex draped against him.

“Drink a little.”

He drank from the water Ryan held up, sucking on the straw until he was too tired to take another sip.

“You did so good, baby boy. So good.”

The tenderness in Ryan’s tone was a balm to Alex’s frazzled senses, an oasis of calm after the storm of sensations he’d endured. But when he tried to speak, nothing came out.

“Hush, it’s okay. You went deep, so it’s gonna take you a while to recover. Take your time.”

He drifted between subspace and reality, his thoughts still hazy. As they lay entwined on the lounge chair, Ryan stroked Alex’s hair, each tender touch pulling him closer to the present. A warm cocoon of safety formed around them, shutting out the rest of the world.

Alex listened to the steady rhythm of Ryan’s heartbeat, letting its cadence anchor him. Their breathing synchronized as the adrenaline ebbed, leaving behind a serene stillness. There was something profoundly comforting about being held by this man, who had seen him at his most vulnerable and had been there to guide him through it all. He’d never felt so connected to another person, so intimately bound by trust and surrender. This experience had been everything he’d hoped for and then some on his journey as a submissive.

“You back, baby boy?”

“Yes, Sir,” Alex reluctantly replied, not wanting to break the spell of this intimate moment.

“Tell me how you’re feeling right now.”

“Grateful, Sir.” Alex was choked with emotion. “Overwhelmed…in the best way.”

“Mmm, good. You responded so beautifully. I’ve never had a sub like you. Your submission is so natural, so intuitive. It’s a powerful experience for me as Dom.”

“Not even Quinton?” Alex dared to ask.

Ryan was quiet for a long time, but he hadn’t reacted in any other way, so Alex remained motionless. “Quinton was… He was submissive but in a different way. Far more bratty than you. Getting him to submit was a struggle at times. A fun one, not gonna lie, but I was a different Dom with him than I am with you. You make it so easy for me. All I want to do is make you fly.”

Wait. “Did I come?”

Ryan chuckled lowly. “You did, and that you don’t even remember tells me everything about how far gone you were. That’s a heady responsibility, baby boy, but also an incredible joy.”

“You made me feel safe,” Alex admitted without hesitation, his eyes fluttering closed. “Cherished, even. I never knew I could feel this way with someone.”

Again, Ryan was quiet for a long, long time, but just when Alex had given up hope he’d respond, Ryan whispered, “Neither did I.”

22

Ryan and Alex stepped out of their car, the sun glinting off the Saratoga police station’s glass front door. A gust of wind tousled Ryan’s hair as he pulled his coat collar up against the chill. The temps had dropped significantly the last week, and the first snow wouldn’t be far off. Once that dreaded white stuff fell, he’d be longing for Texas winters. Maybe he could manage a trip there over the winter. He could even take Alex so he wouldn’t have to interrupt his training as a sub. ‘Cause somehow the thought of spending a week or two in Texas without Alex seemed…unappealing.

---