Free By His Rules by J. A. Rock

partnership. Not with a woman, of
    course, but with a man. He just couldn’t imagine any
    man being interested.
    He did meet a few who were willing to give the
    arrangement a try, but they never seemed to get it. They
    treated it as a role-play, purposely leaving the house a
    mess or back talking Keaton, as though their lines and
    actions were scripted. They were turned on by spankings
    —not their fault, but not what Keaton wanted. He didn’t
    get off on having a boy bare bottomed over his lap, at his
    mercy. What he craved was his partner’s trust, his
    partner’s need for guidance. Try as he might, Keaton
    couldn’t find a partner who was interested in a long-term
    —and very real—domestic discipline relationship. And
    Obey wasn’t the place to look.
    There had been that boy. That beautiful boy who’d
    watched Keaton from across the room. Keaton had asked
    Daddy, one of the other tops at Obey, about him.
    Apparently the kid, Aiden Cole, was in high demand. He
    was a talented role-player, had a high pain threshold,
    gave incredible head, and was—well, gorgeous. Not a
    word Keaton used often, but one that fit Aiden Cole.
    Right now the boy belonged to Scott Runge. Keaton
    didn’t know Scott, but the rumors he’d heard were
    unsettling. Scott played hard, pushing his subs to their
    limits with little regard for their pleasure. He was sexy,
    charismatic, but could be downright cruel. He was a fan
    of toys and torture devices and wasn’t afraid of bruises—
    or even blood. Scott didn’t usually take on subs for any
    length of time, so his continued relationship with Aiden
    was the subject of a lot of gossip around the club.
    Aiden must be into the hard-core scenes, Keaton
    told himself. Real pain. He’d never want what you want.
    Anyway, he’s young and pretty—probably just another
    superficial twink who’ll blow anything that moves.
    Keaton couldn’t make himself believe it.
    Who’s superficial ? You’re the one who’s fantasizing about
    him based solely on the fact that he’s gorgeous.
    It wasn’t just that, though. There was something
    else. Maybe he was deluding himself, thinking he could
    tell anything about the boy’s soul based on a look
    exchanged across the room. But Aiden’s eyes were those
    of someone intelligent and creative, someone whose
    mind was constantly active. There was a sense of shyness
    about him as well—a delicate desire to please.
    He’d smiled at Keaton—looking about seventeen
    when he did—but there was something mature and
    slightly melancholy in his expression, wise but a little
    lost.
    Stop it, Hughes . It was dark in the bar; you could barely
    see.
    Yet he’d seen enough to know he was intrigued by
    the slender young man with chestnut hair and wide,
    intelligent eyes.
    He unlocked his dark blue Solara and threw his bag
    into the backseat. Then he climbed in the front, put his
    hands on the steering wheel, but left the car off. He
    leaned back against the seat rest, closing his eyes. He
    often felt out of place at S&M clubs like Obey (hence
    bringing his journal as a buffer). He was looking for
    something separate from the whips-and-chains motif. He
    was looking for some one who wanted to be more than a
    slave, who wanted to be guided, cared for, and truly
    disciplined—no games.
    But if he couldn’t have that, then maybe he ought to
    think about finding a nice sub to do a scene with now
    and then. Perhaps he could brave the music and the
    chaps-and-chains crowd again this weekend at Obey and
    look for Aiden Cole.

    * * * *
Aiden’s alarm was going off, but he couldn’t make
    his arm move to hit Snooze. So he let it ring. He’d been
    having a hard time sleeping lately. His hours at the gym
    left him wired in the evenings, so that it took him a long
    time to fall asleep. And when he finally drifted off, he
    half expected, even at home in his own bed, to be shaken
    awake in the middle of the night to be fucked or to give a
    blowjob or take a beating.
    With