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Finally the last of the diplomats left. Arthur shut the door to Francis's office with a bang. Francis raised a brow at him.
"Isn't there anything you would like to tell me, Francis?" Arthur asked in a business-like tone. He walked calmly to the desk and leaned over.
"I don't think so, no?" Francis said nonchalantly but with a hint of smile tugging at the corners of the mouth. He had an idea where this was leading and he was excited already.
Arthur moved closer and casually sat down on one buttock on the desk right next to him. "Nothing about... a certain meeting you had the other day... with a certain Mediterranean..." A malicious grin grew on Arthur's face with every word he said.
"Oh, dear little Italy? Yes, I met him." And Francis had feared that he had done too good a job at covering it up. He should have known he could trust old Arthur to find out about everything.
It was so hard to hide his own grin.
Arthur smiled almost amiably. "Yes, I heard you did indeed. And that's fine with me. You are entitled to spending time with your dear neighbours." Then he suddenly grabbed Francis's tie and pulled the man a little closer, only a little closer -- for now. "But you do know that there are some things that you shouldn't do without permission, hmm?"
"Oh? I don't know what you're talking about at all." Francis wasn't hiding his grin anymore. Arthur noted that and grinned even wider himself, his suspicions now confirmed.
He pulled at the tie. Just a little closer. "I think you do."
Francis tossed his head haughtily, though the smirk never left his face. "Believe what you want then."
"I don't have to trust my judgement, my dear," Arthur said before dropping his voice down to a whisper: "You know I have my ways of confirming things."
Francis let a violent shudder of anticipation pass through his body. He only just managed not to outright moan. Arthur licked his lips and was clearly having a similarly hard time not to kiss his waning smile. Instead he pulled him closer, slipping his free hand into the long curls and sinking his nose into the hair behind Francis's ear. "You have no reason to worry, if you're innocent," he said sweetly. It was a lie and they both knew it.
"I'm not worried," replied Francis and that was also somewhat of a lie but only within the little game they were playing. He sighed deeply when Arthur pulled away, only to usher him up and to the door, an arm wrapping around his shoulders, only seemingly friendly. The hand on his bicep was firm and unyielding. To escape now would be to admit his guilt. And Francis wasn't planning to give up so easily.
Besides, if he ran, he might accidentally manage to escape and he wasn't feeling patient enough. Even though he knew he could trust Arthur to catch him sooner or later. Perhaps another time, he decided.
They took a taxi back to Francis's house, even though it wasn't a long trip. They were both in a hurry even if neither wanted to show it. Once they got into the master bedroom, he made his last attempt to play it casual by trying to strip Arthur while being stripped by him, as if it was just a normal lovers's night. He would play innocent and oblivious as long as possible. But Arthur would of course have none of it. He just pushed Francis's hands away and that was it because now he was a Dom. "Get the cuffs," he said tonelessly, crossing his arms. "And some extra chain."
Francis sighed melodramatically but did as he was told, digging up the hand-cuffs from his bed-side drawer. He chose the padded ones, hoping Arthur would approve of them. Having your wrists rubbed raw was terribly uncomfortable after all.
Arthur did give them a Look but didn't object, taking them, though not yet putting them on him. "Take the plant down."
The plant was a spider plant that was dangling from the ceiling in its little pot. It was a flimsy decoy to mask the rather sturdy hook that Francis had attached there for more interesting purposes. He pulled himself a chair and stepped on it to take it down.
He stepped down from the chair and put the plant aside. Arthur was already next to him. "Hands." Francis obediently presented them and Arthur put the hand-cuffs on him, slipping the extra chain in the middle. Then Arthur stepped on the chair in his turn to fasten the chain to the hook, making sure that Francis had only minimal slack; just enough that he didn't have to stand on his toes.
He left Francis standing like that, his hands tied up high. He put the chair aside and spent a fair while searching the drawers for suitable equipment. Once done, he laid his loot on the bed where Francis could see most but not all of it.
He picked a cane and returned to Francis, pressing close to him from behind and letting the cane brush gently against his thigh.
"Now," Arthur began. "Did you sleep with Italy without my permission? Do you confess?"
Francis shuddered, knowing what was to come. He took a deep breath and then said, softly: "No."
"No?" Arthur murmured, caressing his goosebumpy skin. "Are you sure? It would make it much easier for you..."
"I'm sure. I didn't do anything wrong." Francis braced himself.
Then he cried out when the strike came, hard, biting and merciless on his derrière. Arthur wasn't a gentle interrogator. The pain seeped deep inside and throbbed for a long while before it started to fade.
"Still sure?"
"Yes."
"It won't get any easier, love." Arthur's smirk was audible.
He let Francis wait for the next one, let him tense up. When it came, it landed exactly on the same spot as the first one, enhancing the pain even more. And right as the throbbing was about to become bearable, the third one landed on the other cheek and the fourth soon followed.
Arthur asked again: "Will you confess?" And again Francis gave a negative answer.
He lost count of the strikes after that. Arthur kept an irregular but slow pace for a while, then sped up when the pain was starting to dull, bringing the torment to the next level.
He then stopped for a while, walking around in front of his victim. Francis couldn't see him, though, because his face was scrunged up from the pain. His breath came in hissing gasps.
Arthur laid a comforting hand on the side of his face, his thumb gently rubbing his cheek while he slowly relaxed and started breathing easily again.
"You don't have to suffer like this," Arthur said softly. "Just confess. Just say yes."
Francis sobbed at the thought of the pain starting again. It was so hard to summon up the strength to say no, even as his cock was getting harder and harder. But he wasn't ready to surrender, it wasn't enough yet. He needed to be completely broken down before he could truly submit, especially to another nation... especially this particular nation. He stayed silent instead, trying to prolong the pause as long as he could, to have a little break.
Arthur was having none of that, though. His chin was violently grabbed and his face lifted up. "Say it!" Arthur said, harshly now.
"N-no," Francis managed to stutter, wincing in advance. The next lash landed on his face, creating a new, fresh pool of pain that echoed in his teeth and ears and eyes. Then his stomach was targetted, the soft, vulnerable flesh completely unprepared for the strikes.
He cried openly, begging for Arthur to stop.
"You know how you can stop this," Arthur simply reminded and hit him again.
He threw his head back in pain and struggled in his restraints. Arthur still showed no mercy, walking around to his back again and attacking it again just as the tender flesh there had started to settle. Francis could feel the pain deep in his bones now.
"Stop!" he screamed. "Stop, I confess! I confess!"
Arthur stopped. Francis could hear the steps circling back to his front. He carefully opened his eyes. Arthur was grinning evilly.
"Good boy. That wasn't so hard, now, was it?" He fetched the chair again and detached the hand-cuffs from the ceiling. Francis collapsed to the floor, shivering and crying, too weak to move.
Arthur lifted him up, making him wince in pain more than once in the process, and helped him onto the bed. "There's a good boy. I'll let you rest a little before your punishment since you were so good." Francis sobbed at the word punishment. "Shh, hush, darling. I'll give you time to get ready for it. It'll be alright. You're mine again, now, and I'll take care of you. Look, you can have your collar now. You've earned it."
Arthur kissed Francis's forehead, his temple, his cheek, his hands, arm holding him lovingly. He wiped Francis's snotty face with paper towels and made him drink a little water. Finally he collared Francis, as promised. Then he let him lie down. Francis curled up on the bed, relishing the relief from pain and the feeling of being reclaimed. It had been such a long, stressful week. It felt good not to be in control.
Arthur got up and left to do something.
Francis breathed slow and deep, letting himself relax. It was the best part (well, one of the best parts), the overwhelming relief after the pain. It was such an intense pleasure. His back still throbbed, but it was a good kind of pain now. It hardly even felt like pain.
Arthur, now without his jacket and tie and his shirt partly opened, returned to the bed and sat down next to him, petting him gently. The hand was warm on his cold, sweaty skin. Then Arthur carefully pushed him onto his back and kissed him. And then kissed him some more, for a little while. Francis kissed eagerly back and enjoyed it fully as long as it lasted.
"Get up," Arthur then whispered against his lips.
Francis shuddered, but obeyed, forcing his pained body to move. Arthur helped him, putting deceptively gentle arms around him. He winced involuntarily when his Dom picked up the cane again. There was a wicked smirk in response to that. "Don't worry, it's just in case. You don't have to get hurt if you're good and do exactly as I say."
A moan escaped Francis's mouth and he hid his face in Arthur's shoulder. Damn, the man was just too hot when he was being sadistic. "T-tell me what to do, sir," Francis pleaded.
"Soon, pet." Arthur picked up a few more objects. An oblong box about the size of his hand, or maybe a bit bigger, and two lengths of chain with locking mechanisms: one was the usual thing: thick and strong, but the other was more like a necklace. "We'll just be going into the bathroom and wash you up a bit."
Francis knew not to trust the innocence of the statement but said nothing. He let himself be led into the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. Francis had multiple bathrooms in his house. It had been convenient back when he had actually had colonies and real power over them. Now it was a little sad. He pretended that it was just luxurious.
Arthur told him to step into the bathtub and attached his handcuffs to the rail of the shower curtain to keeps his arms up. That was strange since Francis had already submitted to him. But then again it was obvious that he was planning something. And it had to be something evil as he was clearly presuming that Francis wouldn't be able to obey.
The answer came when Arthur took the shower head, pointing it at Francis, and ice cold water sprayed all over his skin.
Francis screamed out of surprise and shock. If his arms weren't held up, he would have reflexively used them to shield himself but as it was he could only try to back off as far as he could in a futile efford.
Arthur laughed gleefully at his screams and whines. "That's what I like to hear. Don't worry, you'll get numb to it in a minute." He proceeded to wash Francis's body all over, particularly his privates and his arse. It did indeed get easier to bear rather quickly. This couldn't be the whole punishment.
It was soon over, even if it felt longer. Francis was shivering all over, his teeth clattering loudly.
"There you go. That wasn't too bad, was it?" Arthur dried Francis up with a towel, quickly but thoroughly. It warmed him up a little bit so he wasn't quite freezing anymore but he was still cold. Then his Dom turned to pick up the mysterious box he'd left next to the sink.
Still shivering, Francis stared curiously at the box as Arthur took his time, clearly enjoying stretching this out.
"Here," he proclaimed, "is your punishment. Can you guess what it is?"
"N-no, sir." Francis tried to think what could fit into such a small box. It could be a dildo but not one big enough to be called a "punishment". Probably some other sort of toy. He was really too cold to think of anything.
"No guesses at all? Oh well, I suppose I'll just show it then."
Arthur opened the box.
It was a penis cage.
"Oh," Francis said, things suddenly clicking in his head. "That's why the cold shower." He'd been pretty hard after the interrogation. The cage needed to be put on a flacid penis.
"Smart boy." Arthur took the object out carefully, lovingly. They hadn't used it since they'd bought it and tried it on once to see if it fit (in fact it fit both of them which was convenient). Francis had almost forgotten they had the thing. Apparently Arthur had been saving it.
Now he put it slowly on Francis, piece by piece. There was a little pressure but it was very gentle and comfortable. Francis doubted that would last. Finally Arthur locked the pieces together with a padlock. He took the small chain he'd brought with him to the bathroom, slipped the key to the padlock to it and fastened it around his own neck.
He stepped back to admire his work. "Looks good on you." Then he opened the thicker chain, letting Francis's hands free (though still handcuffed together). "Let's get back to bed."
Francis got out of the tub and practically flung himself into Arthur's arms for warmth. He started shivering again from the sheer contrast between his own coldness and Arthur's warm skin. Sadly the skin was still behind a layer of clothing.
Arthur led him back to the bed and had him slip under the covers. Francis protested when he didn't follow and tried to pull him into the bed by the hand. Arthur smiled. "Let go."
Francis did, unable to disobey. "Sir, I just wanted you to--"
"Silence. You are not allowed to grab me like that. Hold out your arms."
Again, Francis obeyed, wincing a little ahead of time, knowing what was coming.
Arthur gave his arms a sharp whack with the cane. "You should know better and be patient. Your Master won't leave you alone. I just need to get undressed first so I can use my body to warm you up."
"Sorry, Master," Francis murmured, sheepishly. "Thank you, Master." He watched happily as Arthur stripped down before joining him between the sheets.
For a while they just cuddled. Arthur rubbed him back to normal temperature. The key on its chain pressed against his skin: Arthur had kept it on. Erection gone and now warming up Francis started to get a little sleepy. Maybe the cold had got to him too. He didn't think he'd quite gotten hypothermia but maybe some symptoms were showing. He tried to stay awake, though, because he was sure his Master would want to play with him some more.
"Feeling better?" Arthur asked.
Francis hummed in a confirmative manner and nodded.
"What was that?"
"Yes, Master." He got a kiss, perhaps as a reward for being good.
"Good. You'll wear that cage for a month. Twenty four/seven. That's your punishment."
That woke him up. "A month!?"
"A month." Arthur smirked. "If you are good."
Francis let out a desperate whine. "You demon!" he accused, all submission forgotten.
Arthur kissed the side of his neck and murmured into his ear: "Don't worry. I'll make it easier for you. I've arranged a lot of free time for this month. And if you are really good, I might let you take it off during sex every once in a while."
He propped himself up a bit and reached for lube on the bedside table. Then he pushed the covers back, revealing their bodies, and sat up. "Spread your legs. Keep your hands above your head."
Francis did, obedient even as he was pouting at his Master. Arthur coated his fingers with the lubricant, adjusted his position a bit and reached for Francis's hole. Francis jolted at the feeling of the fingers inside of him, even to his own surprise,
"Oh my." Arthur watched him, grinning. "That was a big reaction from you."
Francis just moaned. Somehow he felt more sensitive than usual. Could it be the cage?
"This is better than I expected." Arthur took his time, just appreciating Francis's reactions. When Francis started to wriggle around he leaned in to hold him back with his weight and to use his other hand to explore the rest of his body.
Francis was between heaven and hell. It was... extremely frustrating. Even with all the pleasure he was unable to get hard. The pressure just build up but all it did was make his penis uncomfortably cramped and then flacid again. He cried out in anger. "Take it off! Please! Please!" He desperately grabbed the key around Arthur's neck.
Arthur stopped. "Hands off."
For once, Francis didn't follow the direct order. "No!"
Arthur took his wrist and pried his fingers off the key. He pinned Francis's hands down with one hand. It wasn't hard since they were still handcuffed.
"Bad boy," he said between his teeth.
Francis finally submitted again. "I'm sorry, Master." He averted his eyes.
"Do I need to tie you up again?"
Francis considered it. "... Yes, Master. Please, Master." He did need it. It had turned out more intense than he had expected. If he wasn't tied up he wouldn't be able to finish the scene.
"Fine. Don't resist now." Arthur opened one cuff and pulled Francis's hands through the slids between the elaborate bars of the headboard, then put the cuff back on. Francis let him, perfectly docile.
"Do you need more?"
Francis thought about it. "Could you gag me too, sir, please?"
"Alright." Arthur went to find a ball gag and put it on him. Then he looked Francis in the eye. "Can you reach the wall?"
Francis replied by knocking on the wall once. (Three or more for "stop", was the rule.)
"Good. Now, where were we? Oh yes, I almost forgot. You need some more punishment for killing the mood AND for taking something without permission AND for disobeying." Arthur picked up his cane again and looked for a good spot to use it on.
Whack! The cane hit his thighs.
Francis's cry was muffled by the gag.
Whack! Another hit to the chest.
"And one more."
Whack! A final blow to the soft skin of the stomach. This cry was louder but still muffled.
"There. Now we can continue. Open your legs."
Francis did, forcing himself to relax and enjoy the torture. And torture it was. Arthur started with gentle teasing this time, touching all his sensitive spots, caressing his genitals through the cage all too gently while holding Francis's hips firmly down. Then he coated his fingers with some more lube and went back in.
Francis moaned through the gag.
Still, it was easier now. He didn't have to hold himself back. He could struggle against the restraints and Arthur smiled happily at that.
"Is it tough, poppet? Yes, keep struggling. I love teasing you." He ran his free hand gently over Francis's belly. Meanwhile his fingers hit places inside Francis and made him jump.
Arthur laughed, but his voice was becoming strained with lust. "You have no idea how good this is for me." His hands were getting rougher now. "You are so sensitive like this... I can tell. And yet you can't come, you can't even get hard... I'll fuck you so hard and it'll be just me taking pleasure out of you. You won't be allowed even to have an erection because your duty is to please me. Do you like that, my little slave?"
Francis groaned in a mixture of pain, pleasure and massive arousal that couldn't become physical but that still burned him inside. It was torture, but as always with Arthur (well, almost always), it was such good torture. He pulled against the handcuffs almost without even realizing it, their firmness keeping him anchored.
Arthur let out another laugh and drew his fingers back, bending over Francis to just watch him with a predatory smile. "No use fighting. You're mine and I can use you however I like. Your pleasure doesn't matter, understand?" When Francis just whimpered at him, he repeated more sternly: "Understand?"
Francis nodded, tears in his eyes, utterly pathetic, all too aroused by this. Once he got rid of the cage he'd probably have to take a day off work just to masturbate furiously to this. Although, to be fair, Arthur would probably take care of that for him after releasing him. Probably. (The man WAS completely evil.)
"That's better." Arthur's breath came in huffs, he was clearly at the limits of his self-control. He took the lube again and coated his dick. "Now... flip over..."
Francis almost didn't obey just because his brain was turning into muss. After being slapped by Arthur ("obey me, slave!"), he tried. But his body was shaking too much and Arthur ended up having to flip him himself.
"Spread your legs, now!" The Dom was getting impatient. He didn't even wait for Francis to comply before forcing his legs open with his own hands. And then he plunged into Francis with a single stroke.
Francis cried out in surprise even though it didn't really hurt that much. Arthur groaned and paused for a bit, his hands roaming harshly all over Francis's body and his mouth biting Francis's neck, his heavy breath right in Francis's ears.
Francis wanted so badly to be able to get hard, then. He was hurting all over, his arms were twisted uncomfortably and his arse was throbbing from the slowly fading pain. And he was so incredibly aroused while at the same time... not. And if not for the cage, he thought he might have come right then and there.
Then Arthur started to fuck him, slowly at first, then harder, then slowly again, forcing the pace down with difficulty. Francis knew he was trying not to come too quickly. It didn't really matter to Francis, though, who had completely lost the sense of time by now. Finally Arthur let himself go back to pounding into him hard and fast and he came almost right away but kept thrusting as long as he still had juice left. Then he collapsed on top of Francis, groaning contently.
"Fuck... I need to practice that", he muttered into Francis's shoulder, panting. "'Oh my god, that was too good. Need to last longer next time."
Francis whimpered pitifully.
Arthur sighed, got up on his hands and knees and flipped Francis back on his back. "Shh... Good boy... you're a good boy. Thanks for letting me play with you." He kissed Francis's cheek. Then he reached behind his head and took of the gag, only to cover Francis's mouth with his own. He kissed him deeply and possessively, petting his hair. Francis responded rather sloppily, still too out of it to be himself.
Arthur smiled, warmly this time. "There, there. I'll make you better. Just relax. Would you like a bath? A nice warm bath after I've checked your injuries?"
Francis was quiet as he thought about it. Then he nodded.
~~~
"So, how was it?" asked Arthur as they cuddled in Francis's bed after the bath.
Francis felt warm, pleasantly sore and languid. "You. Are fucking evil."
Arthur grinned at him. "That's the point. Sadist, remember? But how was it for you?"
"Traumatizing."
He rolled his eyes. "Of course. But be serious now."
Francis sighed. "It was... intense. I don't know whether I liked it or not. Not yet, at least. It was both really good and really horrible at the same time. I'm still a little frustrated because I didn't get to come." He pouted. "And a month like this is just pure evil."
"I know you'll manage. And imagine how good it'll feel when I'll finally let take it off."
Francis imagined. It did sound amazing.
"Think about it", Arthur continued. "When was the last time you went for a full month without coming once?"
That made Francis stop and really think. "I... I have no idea." The wars? No, he'd had plenty of time for masturbation in all of those. The revolutions? No, he didn't like to think about some parts of that era but he was pretty sure there had been sex. Disturbing sex, perhaps, but still sex. The plague maybe? Could that really be the most recent?
"See? Take it as an experiment. Besides, you're always the more patient one when it comes to sex." Arthur kissed him casually. "Now I'm going to tell you how amazing it was for me. Because it was amazing. You have no idea. Such perfect domination. Getting to use your body completely selfishly, not even letting you have your pleasure. And you wanting me so badly, wanting to come but not being able to. Wanting to enjoy being fucked but being forced to be just a toy for my pleasure. It was a sadist's dream." His eyes twinkled. "And I can't wait for tomorrow, going about my business knowing that you are safely locked up, just for me. It will be unbearably hot, I know it will. But I'll endure until the evening and then I'll fuck you like this again."
Francis moaned loudly and squirmed in Arthur's arms. It sounded so good, despite everything. "You know, I will do the same to you some day", he said, his threat somewhat dampened by his shaking voice. "If I make it through this, I'm expecting you to pay me back with equal suffering."
"I accept." Arthur still grinned. "Use that thought if you need it during this month. But this month is all for me. And I know you like it. My little masochist."
Another kiss. Arthur was being really affectionate today. And possessive. Francis couldn't really complain about that. He just melted against his Dom and relaxed. He would make it through, he decided. It would be worth it.