while Kelly and I unfastened everything, and I let him. After a scene like that, he was bound to be wrung out, so he was always allowed to lean when we were done.
While Kelly undid the spreader bar, I wrapped my arms around Aaron and kissed his sweaty forehead. “You did amazing, baby.”
He mumbled something that sounded like, “Thank you.”
I smiled and kept stroking his damp hair.
Kelly put the spreader bar aside and looked over Aaron. “I think that’s everything. Did we miss anything?”
I drew back a little, and I couldn’t see anything aside from a strip of bondage tape still on Aaron’s wrist. After I’d tugged that free, Kelly and I helped Aaron to his feet, across the room, and into the middle of the bed. We both stripped down to our boxers, and I lay beside Aaron. He rolled on his side, lazily draping his arm over me.
Kelly checked over everywhere he’d left welts or scratches, and he carefully put some lotion in a few places. I let him do all of that, less because I was the Dom and more because this part of aftercare was as soothing to him as it was to Aaron. It helped him come back to earth as much as it helped Aaron, which I understood—it had a similar effect on me whenever Aaron and I played one-on-one. Whatever he needed to help stave off sub drop, just like I was mindful to avoid top drop.
When he was done, he lay behind Aaron opposite me, and he ran a hand up and down Aaron’s arm.
“You doing okay?” I asked him.
“Yeah.” He watched his fingers running through Aaron’s sweat-dampened hair, and though he looked a little tired, he grinned. “That was hot.”
“It really was. I know we’re still moving slowly, working up to the really intense pain, but it’ll pay off.”
“Oh, I know. And I’m having fun with what we’re doing, so I have no complaints.” His eyes flicked toward Aaron. “What about him? I mean, is it frustrating him that we’re going slow?”
I glanced down at Aaron, who had, as he often did, drifted off. “I’m sure he’d like to move faster, but he also knows why we’re going as slow as we are.” I thought about it, then added, “I think just knowing we have someone involved who’s willing to do it is going a long way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, before, we didn’t have a solution.” I smoothed Aaron’s sweaty hair. “Now we do. Just knowing the solution is there and we’re working up to it goes a long way.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
I watched Aaron doze between us, then met Kelly’s eyes again. “You seem like you were in a better frame of mind tonight, too. Compared to when we were at your place.”
“I was, yeah. You were right about the other night. I was…” He shook his head. “That wouldn’t have been a good time to do anything like this.”
“No, but it seemed like we all enjoyed ourselves anyway. Aaron and I certainly did.”
He smiled. “Oh, I definitely did too. And, um, thanks again. For everything you said about my art. I think I needed that more than anything else that night.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s a crime that no one has said anything like that to you before.”
“Still. I appreciate it.” He rolled his shoulders and exhaled. “And I hope the house didn’t look like too much of a disaster. It’s still a work-in-progress.”
“Not at all.” I watched him as I stroked Aaron’s hair. “A house that huge—that sounds like one hell of a project.”
“It is. Especially since my dad wasn’t exactly someone you could call a minimalist.”
“A lot of stuff?”
“So much stuff. My siblings are going to help with some of it, but for most of it, I’m on my own.”
“Do you need help?”
“Well, yeah.” He shrugged. “But they’re hundreds of miles away with lives and careers, so I’m kind of SOL.”
“I meant, can I help?”
Kelly’s eyebrows rose. “You… You’d want to?”
“If you’ve got a big project that would be easier with two sets of hands?” I shrugged. “Why not?”
“You’d… Really?”
“Sure.” I glanced down at Aaron. “He’s working tomorrow, but I can duck out pretty easily.”
“Oh. Um. Wow. And you don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
He held my gaze as if he expected me to withdraw the offer or tell him I wasn‘t serious. When I didn’t, he quietly said, “That would be awesome. It would really help me out.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “Just tell me what time you want to