Twisted I Moon - Book 3 of the Black Moon series - Chapter 44: Learning Through Punishment

(Camden's POV - Sat.11 April 2015)

Waking up to someone teasing my nipples isn't something I am used to, but I found it rather pleasant last weekend. Waking up to someone sucking on my cock isn't something I am used to either, but it is definitely more than pleasant! So much so that I might as well already explode in that little creep's mouth right away, but thank God, I have enough self-control to withhold my building orgasm. The wet muscle that is teasing both ends of the piercing jewel that sticks out of the head of my cock eventually pulls me out of my awaking state and as I lift up the comforter from my naked body, I discover a giggling Noah between my parted legs, still teasing the tip of cock.

"Oh fuck! Noah!!" I growl as he takes more of my shaft into his mouth, bobbing his head up and down.

I push the comforter away to enjoy the sight as much as the sensations of his tongue swirling around my hard member, feeling it run along the swollen veins. Noah is getting really good at this and he now knows how I love the vibrations that his little groans send to my shaft. My hands naturally reach for his head, my fingers weaving through the locks of his hair, and I take control of the pace of his moves, slowing him down or accelerating the rhythm according to my orgasm's ascent.

"Fuck, you're so good, Baby Boy..." I praise him and, despite my grip on his head, he forces himself a little deeper around me, allowing me to feel the back of his throat and bringing me to climax in his mouth. I watch him swallow all the juices that my balls are willing to give him. His fingers wrap around the base of my shaft and squeeze it up and down to milk me dry. His cheeks suck up the last drops of semen before he slowly and sensually scoots up my body, trailing a wet path with his tongue along my abdomen, my chest, stopping by my nipples to tease them for a while, until his lips meet mine. My tongue dips inside his mouth to taste myself amidst his sweet saliva. Damn! I could really get used to that!

"Good morning, Daddy..." he whispers suavely against my lips.

"Good morning, Baby Boy. What was this show all about?" I ask, pulling him against my chest for a cuddle. I can feel his cock cage against my thigh and soon I am going to take care of this, but first, I would like to understand where this comes from. If he hopes to make me yield on his tests at the Black Diamond, he will be disappointed.

"Nothing..." he says, kissing the stubble on my jaw before he breaks free from my hold and gets up from the bed with a mischievous smile. I can see that his dick is filling its cage, but he still walks to the armchair in the corner of the room. I frown at him but he quickly grabs his pajama pants laying there and puts them on.

"Come here, little minx," I order, patting the space beside me on the bed. Noah just smiles widely and turns toward the door.

"I'm going to prepare breakfast," he says cheekily. "If you don't want to miss your first appointment, you'd better hurry up..." he then adds with a chuckle before he scurries out of the room.

I tilt my head to the side to look at my alarm clock and see that it is already almost 8am. Crap! I guess I didn't hear the alarm go off half an hour ago and my first appointment is at nine! With a grunt, I finally get up and hurry to the bathroom for a quick shower. Damn, I hate the idea of not returning Noah's favor, especially as he has tried to be on his best behavior since Thursday evening, working seriously. Besides, his training session last night went really well.

His patience, reactivity and stillness still need more work, but I am sure that he will get there and be ready by the end of next week. I didn't get home before 10pm yesterday, but exactly as I had asked him, he was waiting for me in the dining room, kneeling at display by the chair where I usually sit and stark naked. He had already had dinner, so I quickly put the chastity device back on, and checked on his homework while eating some leftovers. I had to tsk at him a few times when he would move, but all in all, it went well.

I had planned to use more accessories on Friday evening, like floggers, restraints and plugs. However, considering that he was punished and still with the cock cage on, I didn't want to push him too far, so I kept it simple with more positions and a bit more blowjob training. This time I held back my release for twenty minutes while I gave him tips on how to relax his throat and his jaw, how he should use his tongue and lips. I even made him keep my cock at his gagging point for a few seconds several times, getting him used for deepthroating, and he didn't complain once.

So, yeah, he has been really great and this morning's surprise proves his eagerness to please me. However, that doesn't erase his behavior of last Thursday all the same. Lies are probably the worst thing I can deal with and it certainly soiled the trust I had in him. I don't belittle that kind of misdeed like I might for an involuntary fault or maybe a lie by omission – though I'm not sure about that. In this case, it was a well-built lie, absolutely deliberate, and it had to be severely punished.

When I saw him walk on the pavement only a few hundred yards from the house, his backpack still on his back, I almost immediately knew that something was off. His embarrassed expression strengthened my doubts and I could have believed him when he said he was at the library, but why would he have sent me a text earlier and said he was home? That only worsened my fears and after checking his homework, I got the confirmation that Noah deliberately lied to me, only to find out that instead of working, he had spent his late afternoon at some sort of gaming place.

I gather that he needs some time off to relax and if he had told me, I woouldn't have been really happy about it, but I might have still allowed him to go there for a little while before he returned home to work. The thing is that he only has a few weeks to catch up and graduate. He knew that it would be intense in terms of schoolwork. However, it's only a matter of two small months and he should be able to deal with it. But damn! If he needed a little recreation time, he should have asked for it! And more importantly, he shouldn't have bred some lies!

Sometimes, I just wonder if he isn't too young to enter this lifestyle. Noah is still a teenager who has been deprived of his adolescence, and I completely understand that he needs to do stuff other than schoolwork. And yet, I'm certain that he has enough maturity to deal with BDSM rules; he just needs to adapt. We both need to adapt, actually. I guess I will have to suck it up and allow him to see his friend Sean outside of school once in a while at some point, because the goal is not to suffocate him. But that will have to be under certain conditions and with my permission. Not only when he decides and lies to me.

Our D/S relationship is mostly based on communication, honesty and trust. If I can't trust him on such little things, how can this work? What would have happened if I had gotten home even earlier and found the house empty? I would have worried like hell wondering where he could be and imagining the worst scenarios!

On the other side, if I had gotten home only ten minutes later, I would have never known anything about his lies - because I am pretty sure that he was ready with more lies about his homework not being done yet - and I don't like that any better. So I'm really glad that this patient canceled his appointment in the end and allowed me to get back home earlier. At least, now I know what Noah is capable of and I well intend to make him learn his lesson.

He took the paddle spanking really well, but this comes as no surprise considering how physical pain helps him. As a true masochist, I believe he also likes it naturally. I have gotten to understand better how his brain works; how his head gets painful when he is frustrated or upset really badly. Physical pain helps him to assuage his mental distress, so with that in mind, I had to involve a bit of corporal punishment and the paddle was more than welcome, I guess. It also allowed me to alleviate part of my anger, but I mostly didn't want Noah to fall into another of his spirals and do a stupid mistake. It doesn't mean that I won't stretch his limits in terms of mental strength in the future, because sadism does imply a part of psychological torture that I won't give up on, but I will take it progressively.

I pushed his discipline a little further with the cock cage that I had planned to make him try that evening, but it didn't seem to annoy him too much. It prevented him from enjoying the pleasurable sensations of a full erection, which is good because a punishment (whatever the type) is not meant to provide any pleasure. I could have used one of those plugs with an extra-large handle that prevents buttocks from clenching, but the chastity device sounded good enough and that's something I really like on a Sub. I love the idea to control their entire body, including their right to get hard.

Noah did really good with these parts of the punishment, but I can tell that my decision to postpone his tests at the club doesn't sit well with him. He was really eager to go back to the Black Diamond this weekend, not only to meet his new friends, but also to become an official member. The purpose of a punishment in the BDSM lifestyle is to cement the lesson learned by the Submissive. Lecturing is only the first step of the process and most of the time, the Sub will understand that he didn't behave properly from that stage, but the sanction is what allows him to fully comprehend how he went wrong. It is used to seal the lecture inside the Sub's head as a reminder not to do it again.

This is why I didn't use the soothing lotion on Noah's butt after the spanking for instance; even if it was a short spanking, he had to remember his punishment for a couple of days each time he would have to sit down. I should hope that he won't slack on his homework ever again. As for the postponing of his tests at the Black Diamond, since it was something he was strongly eager for, he should remember that I will not tolerate new lies in the future. Hopefully that part of the punishment will go well and he will understand. Not that I am going to leave him any choice anyway.

The smell of coffee and warm toasts hits my nose when I climb down the stairs and as I walk into the kitchen, I see that Noah has prepared everything; he even managed to spread butter on the toasts with the back of a spoon. Depending on his mental state, I might release the knives from the safe at some point, but I need to make sure that he won't use them against himself again. I guess I should have a serious conversation with him about that now that he knows he can count on our lifestyle to provide him with what he needs in terms of physical pain, but not now because I really need to hurry up and drive to Chicago.

"Thanks for the amazing blowjob, Baby Boy," I whisper against his lips after a deep and passionate kiss.

"It was my pleasure, Daddy," he replies with a light blush.

"Stand up against the counter, I'm going to remove the cage now," I order as I pull the small key out of my pocket and Noah complies immediately. "I want you to shave at some point today and that will be easier without the metal..." I explain while I take off the device. "And by the way, I got you the lotion that Liam mentioned to soothe itching sensations. It's in the cupboard of my bathroom."

"Thank you, Daddy!"

Once done with the cock cage, I pull his pants back up and we then both take a seat at the counter and start eating our toasts.

"I'll think of a way to give you a mind-blowing orgasm tonight to reward you for waking me up in such a delightful way," I promise, making him grin with anticipation. "Make sure you do as much as possible of the work I have left you while I am away and I shall pleasure you tonight..." I add wickedly, witnessing the lust fill his eyes.

"Sounds good..." he breathes out.

His lower lip gets stuck between his perfectly white teeth and I hurry to finish my coffee before my libido takes over my self-control and I fuck him senseless on the tiled floor. Once done, I quickly go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready in the entrance hall, grabbing the keys of my car since it is raining today. I am just about to head back to the kitchen to kiss my sweet boy goodbye when he appears by the staircase, sexy as ever with his slim bare chest and the little buds of his nipples erected in temptation. Fuck! I should make it a rule that he doesn't hang out half naked in the house when I don't have enough time to use his body. He rises to his toes to circle his arms around my neck and I lean down to kiss him while my hands reach for his backside to grope his butt cheeks.

"Be a good boy till I get home, Baby," I command him, leaning up and trying to part from him, but he tightens his grip on my neck.

"Daddy... I was wondering... If I behave really well..." he says hesitantly, causing me to arch my eyebrows. "I was thinking... maybe we could still go to the club to take my test and..." he says, wearing a very luscious expression.

"I already said no, Noah," I reply firmly enough with a sigh. I should hope that all this show this morning was not in the expectation of me cancelling his punishment.

"Please!! Try to think about it..." he insists. He should know that puppy dog eyes don't work with me!

"Go get to your work, Baby Boy, I'll see you later this afternoon," I reply, easily pulling his arms down. I give him another tender kiss and head to the garage to get my car.

On my way to the city, I think back to Noah's scheme. If he believes that he can influence my decision for a sanction this way, he is completely mistaken. I made my mind on this one specifically and I am not going to take it down. I know that Dominants sometimes lift a punishment - or at least shorten it - when they see that the Submissive has really understood his lesson or behaved perfectly. I might do that too in the future on rare occasions, but certainly not on his first time being punished. For one, he needs to understand that I am not so flexible; the first time a Sub gets disciplined is really important. The Dom cannot afford to back down; he must show how he is capable to get down to the bottom of things without yielding; otherwise, there is no point to discipline.

It's a bit like with kids. If your child makes a mistake and you tell him that he won't get the candy he had been promised after dinner, you just can't end up giving it to him after he has finished his meal properly and because he behaved for an hour. The kid will know that no matter how wrong he behaves, he will get what he wants just by keeping quiet for a little while. And that's pretty much the same in our lifestyle. If I tell Noah that we won't go to the club this weekend as a punishment and end up going there just because he behaved better for a couple of days, he will think that he can get me to change my mind too easily. This is not how it works. Unless he proves me wrong, I shall not bend a punishment.

Ethan and Sarah took their weekend off so I am alone in the practice. The appointments run pretty nicely this morning; stiff necks, sprung muscles, painful back; just the usual and happy patients who feel a little better when they leave. I have a quick half hour break at one in the afternoon and I take the opportunity to call Noah. His enthusiastic tone reassures me on his mood and he just says that he has worked a lot already. It is just after 4pm when I walk out my last patient and after a brief tidy-up of my office, I get out to my car and head back home. I am half way there when my phone goes off.

"Hey Mark, how are you?" I say as I pick up the call through the Bluetooth device.

"Hi Cam, I'm good and you? Nothing new since yesterday?" my friend asks. I spoke with him very briefly yesterday morning after he sent me a text to confirm if Noah and I would be at the Diamond tonight. Apparently, Shannon and Alex were very eager to see Noah again. When I told him about what happened on Thursday evening and he playfully congratulated me on my decisions, although he would have to face his boys' disappointment.

"Nothing, I'm on my way back home from a short day at work. How did your guys react?" I ask.

"Oh they were a bit upset yesterday evening, but I told them that they'd see Noah next week..." he replies with a bit of concern in his voice.

"Something wrong?" I then ask.

"Not really, but I just overheard a conversation between Shan and Alex and I thought you would like to know about it. But that's only if you promise not to take it harder on your boy..." he replies carefully. What the hell has he done again?

"Go ahead..." I encourage him. I hear a long sigh before he continues.

"From what I understood – and I didn't hear everything – Noah called Shannon yesterday during his lunch break to ask him if he ever managed to make me cancel a punishment; he needed some advice obviously," Mark chuckles. "Just a few minutes ago, I heard Shan tell Alex that Noah called back this morning to say that it hasn't worked yet - his words, not mine. Unfortunately, I didn't hear what Shannon suggested but Alex said that he should have advised Noah to be waiting for you, kneeling naked in the living room..." I just laugh out at the information.

"That's surprising of quiet Alex... I would have rather imagined him suggesting to work even harder," I reply.

"Yeah, well he's been a bit cranky for the past few days and more into a rebellious mode..." he sighs.

"Shannon's rubbing off on him," I tease him.

"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, that's all I got from their conversation apart from a few Argh, Master Camden is so strict!" he laughs, mocking his boys' high-pitched squeaks.

"Oh that I am! But don't worry, I won't blame Noah for trying. He just needs to learn and I can't yield on his first punishment as I told you yesterday," I reassure him.

"I agree with you!" he exclaims.

"Thanks Mark for telling me though, and hopefully I will see you next week!"

"You're welcome, have a good weekend!"

Once I have hung up with Mark, I shake my head at what I have just heard. That little creep is learning fast the ropes of the lifestyle, or at least some of them. He has totally gotten how to get some help from other Subs and I am not angry at him for trying. After all, that's part of the game and the purpose of bonding with other Subs is not only to share support, but also to seek their help and advice. I believe they all do that, just like all of us Doms share the information we get to help each other out. It goes both ways.

When I get home, I almost expect Noah to be kneeling in the living room, but I find him at the dining room table working on his Math exercises.

"Hi Baby Boy, how is it going?" I ask after I have placed a kiss on the top of his head.

"Quite good, I believe. Look at all I've done!!" he replies cheerfully, showing me the dozen pages filled with his writing. I take a seat next to him and start verifying all the exercises while he finishes one more. After a full hour correcting very few mistakes and giving him more explanations about what he did wrong in his calculations, I congratulate him on his hard work. I know how he hates Math but he seems to understand things better and I should hope for a better grade than a C at next week's tests.

"Perfect, that one's completely right!" I say after I have checked the last exercise.

"Cool! I think I got it now!" he replies proudly, as he gets up from his chair and settles down on me, straddling my thighs. Noah wraps his arms around my neck and I pull him closer to my chest, resting my hands on his butt. Our lips meet for a gentle kiss but Noah breaks it rather quickly, slightly pulling back from me. Oh fuck! I know what that mischievous expression means. "Am I gonna get my reward?"

"I guess so... but that will be after we have continued your training," I reply with a warm smile.

"What about we go and train at the Black Diamond?" he then suggests in a very sensual tone but that only makes me tense because I know he won't like my answer.

"What about you stop insisting and start understanding that I'm not coming back on my decision?" I reply seriously. As expected, his face falls and disappointment replaces the lust in his eyes.

"Please... See how I have worked hard to please you??" he begs.

"I said no, Noah. You need to learn your lesson through the punishment." His hands leave my shoulders and he pulls himself a little more away from me, as far as the table in his back will let him, folding his arms across his chest.

"I thought you would change your mind if I behaved better..." he grumbles bitterly, his eyes sending daggers at me.

"Is that the only reason why you've been so serious and devoted since yesterday?" I reply with the same bitterness but he doesn't answer and keeps staring at me in anger for a while.

"That's so unfair..." he seethes after a long minute of silence, lowering his eyes.

"It's not unfair, Baby Boy. You fucked up and got punished. You will learn your lesson through it so that next time, you will think twice before you misbehave. There is no point punishing you if I don't keep it up," I try to explain as softly as I can, but I feel the anger rising in my veins in front of his own irritation.

"So I did all this for nothing!" he exclaims, standing up and moving away from me. He had better calm down very quickly before he gets an additional punishment. I really need to make him understand how wrong he is about that because he certainly didn't work for nothing.

"You do all that for yourself, Noah, not for me!" I scold him as I also stand up to face him. "All this hard work you provide is for your own good! Of course, it does please me, because I believe in you, but the most important is that you do it for your own good. All this work is what's going to make you graduate in a month and a half and for the rest, this is how you learn submission. None of them is easy, but I truly believe that you can succeed in both!"

"But I already understood my lesson!!! I swear I'm never going to lie again!! I'm not fucking stupid!" he screams.

"I never said you were stupid, Noah! And I'd rather you watch your tone! Don't push me too far!" I shout louder than him. He seems to understand that he is going a bit overboard and starts packing up his stuff on the table.

"I guess I won't get my reward..." he mumbles bitterly.

"You guess pretty right. Consider yourself lucky that I don't add a punishment actually! Now go shower and get ready to train," I order him.

"What are we going to do?"

"I believe that training your patience is in due course, so you'll practice the positions; with the cock cage on. At least you shouldn't be tempted to get too much pleasure."

Without another word, he walks out of the kitchen and I grab little Jess to walk him out with hope to ease off my nerves as well. I have a feeling that the rest of the weekend won't be too much fun.

* * *

"How about you take a break and join me for a walk with Jess?" I propose to Noah who is working on an essay in History. He has been on his lessons since half past eight this morning and stopped for barely half an hour to munch on a sandwich at noon. Jess is already at my feet, whimpering for me to hurry up. Say Jess and walk in the same sentence and be sure that he understands what it means. That puppy learns some things faster than others; a bit like his master.

"No thank you. I have too much work to prepare my tests," he replies in an all too sarcastic tone.

"Up to you..." I reply, and before he starts irritating me again, I go get the puppy's leash, attach it to his collar and walk out.

Once outside I take a deep breath of air and start pacing away from the house. Noah has been more or less sulking since yesterday evening when he eventually understood that I wouldn't change my mind about going to the club. After his shower, we spent two hours in my bedroom training on his submission. I restrained his privates in the chastity device and taught him various tied positions, using some ropes or leather restraints and even a spreader bar.

I left him in these positions for at least ten minutes each to try his patience and I have to admit that he did really well despite his gloomy spirits. However, once the session was over, his mood worsened and he decided to play it as a brat. He barely touched his food at dinner and went straight to bed afterwards, pleading a headache. Not willing to leave him alone, I also went to bed early and tried to make him talk, but he just flipped to his other side so I only held him from behind. Weirdly enough, he dozed off rather quickly and I spent like four full hours watching him sleep before my eyes decided to shut and my conscience decided to drift away.

I woke up before him this morning but he joined me in the kitchen soon after. Once again, he didn't eat much of his breakfast and immediately set to work. I took care of the usual Sunday chores, then spent most of the day finishing the painting of the chest of drawers in the guest room. I kept checking up on him every once in a while to offer my help. Each time he deigned answering me, it was with a bitter tone or sarcastic words. So yeah, that kind of irritates me even I can understand his own disappointment. I get it that he really wanted to go last night and that my inflexibility annoyed him, but his mood is starting to piss me off greatly. He knows how things work. If he wants to become a Submissive, and more particularly my Submissive, he has to bear with the rules and learn to respect them. There is no way that I am going to slack on his discipline so he had better accept this; and rather sooner than later.

I never had the intention to cancel that punishment anyway. On Friday morning, I had called Aaron first thing to have his thoughts on what happened. Not that I needed advice on how I should handle the situation - because no matter what he would have told me, I wouldn't have gone back on my decision - but I was curious to know how he would have proceeded. I simply told him what Noah did on Thursday evening and surprisingly, Aaron told me that he would have given the boy some corner time, then flogged him and grounded him. As an afterthought, he added that he would have made the boy blow him twice a day without returning him the favor.

Fuck! He's not my friend for nothing!

When I told him about my decisions, he burst out laughing and told me that he was really impressed by my self-control. He was expecting me to be much harder on Noah. I reminded him that one, Noah is a novice in the lifestyle, two, it was his first punishment, and three, I somehow didn't find it in me to behave as the more extreme Sadist I am with Noah. That boy is doing things to me that I just can't explain...

Whatever, Aaron was really happy about how things are turning and we simply rescheduled the test for Friday evening next week. I hope to compensate yesterday's absence with two evenings at the club next weekend, but trust me that the little minx had better change his behavior by then. In the end, the additional week of training won't be too much as his behavior proves to need more practice than what I had initially planned. Anyway, I doubt that things will always go smoothly with him and in a way, he reminds me a lot of Shannon; and even Liam; more so Shannon actually, because he tends to show his rebellious character more openly whereas Liam plays more in the shadows, trying to show off the perfect little Sub that he is, but I know for sure that he likes to prove Joshua's nerves quite often.

This long walk in the fresh air on this late Sunday afternoon has done me a lot of good and I feel more relaxed when I get back home, carrying a tired little puppy. Noah is no longer at the dining table but I find him in his bedroom, sprawled on his bed and reading a book. He doesn't acknowledge my presence, not even when I straddle his backside to kiss the top of his head. I guess he is still in his sulking mood so I leave him alone and go to the other guest room to tidy up the mess I left while painting.

I'm glad that the guy Joshua advised me to do the works in the room is already available. I wouldn't be surprised that my friend promised him a generous tip in reward of a quick response. At least, we will soon be able to play here and I should receive the things I ordered from Aaron's website sometime next week, so all is good.

Once the room is clean enough, I go back downstairs and set to cook dinner. Seeing how rather cold it is tonight - and I am not talking about the tension between Noah and me, though... that too - a good soup sounds like the ideal meal. Once the vegetables have been cooked and mixed, I set the table and walk to the bottom of the staircase to call for Noah.

"Baby Boy! Dinner's ready!" I shout in a gentle tone.

"I'm not hungry!" he shouts back in a not-so-gentle tone.

"Get that ass downstairs to eat!" I insist with a more authoritative voice this time. He needs to stop that attitude! There is a loud thud, some feet hammering on the floor, a door being flung open and a second later, an angry Noah appears at the round corner of the staircase.

"I told you I'm not hungry!" he sighs bitterly. If he thinks that his scowl impresses me, he gets it all wrong. His behavior is really wearing on my nerves now and it takes all I have in me not to lose my temper. I have recently discovered that my patience has a larger extent than what I thought, but it has its limits and right now, they are running thin.

"Don't make me come up and get you, Noah. You are having dinner. Now!" I order in a growl that leaves no place to doubt about my annoyance.

And I think he gets it this time. I see him slightly shiver before he finally climbs down the remaining stairs. My eyes never leave his face and I am sure that he can feel my glare burning his skin, especially as he passes in front of me before he scurries to the kitchen. I follow suit and join him at the table. Once we are both served, I immediately start eating, adding a bit of bread and pepper in my bowl. After about ten minutes of tense silence - except for Noah's spoon that keeps stirring and scraping against the edges of his bowl - and a couple of reminders that he should eat while it is warm, I have had more than enough of this shitty attitude. I had hoped to end up the weekend with a good session of sex, but that will have to wait for another day.

Willing myself to calm down, I take a deep breath and put my spoon on the table before I rest my right hand on Noah's left arm. Despite the tension reigning in my body, my voice remains leveled but with the rightful dry tone to pass an ultimate message.

"I get it that you're upset about the postponement of your test at the club, Noah, but as I already told you, I am not going back on such decisions. You fucked up and you need to learn your lesson. It's as simple as that. You know the rules and if you can't take the consequences of your acts, then things won't work out properly. Not going to the club may have been annoying to you, but you're not the only one penalized. I would have liked to go too, spend a bit of time with my friends, watch a show with you over my lap and enjoy a nice session in the playroom. But you see, I didn't.

We could have taken the better of the weekend though. We could have spent more time together and done more things. Being punished from the club didn't mean having no fun at all. However, you preferred sulking the whole time, as if you were a five-year-old brat and that's fine with me, if that's what you want rather than cuddles and some nice sex to finish the weekend; but you will learn that things don't work like that. The more you'll keep that attitude of yours, the more I will have to postpone your certification, because I will certainly NOT present an immature Sub for testing at the club."

I take a brief pause to let the information sink into his head. Noah has kept his eyes lowered on his bowl of soup during the whole time I was speaking, wincing every once in a while at the truths I was saying. And I can tell that his brain is running at top speed right now. That boy is much smarter than he thinks himself and I am pretty sure that he will get the message very clearly.

"Now you may sulk all you want. You've been warned of the consequences though, and I'd better not hear you complain about any further delay in your certification. However, the one thing I am not going to tolerate is that you starve yourself on your frustration and you're not going to leave this table until that bowl is empty. Jess has been fed and walked, so you'll excuse me, but I have a very early start tomorrow morning and I'll go to sleep now."

With a light squeeze on his forearm, I get up from my chair and bring my dishes to the dishwasher and the leftovers to the fridge before I head upstairs. The warm shower I take somehow manages to relax my muscles and wash off a bit of the tension in my body. I really hope that Noah will think over what I just told him but I guess that I will soon find out, when he joins me in bed. For the second night in a row, I put on some pajama pants instead of sleeping naked as I love it, but I am more than determined to decline any form of sex in my state of tension at the moment.

Once done in the bathroom, I go to lie down in bed, on my back and with my hands tuck underneath my pillow. I only left Noah's bedside lamp switched on but I close my eyes despite the still early hour. I can't believe that I am already in bed at 9:30 pm but at the same time, I am so tired and tomorrow, I need to wake up at five to make sure I am on time for my appointment with Ethan and Sarah at that guy's office for our transfer of practice to another building. I can hear some ruffling in the kitchen downstairs and Noah talking to Jess. I suddenly startle wondering if I put away all the knives in the safe, but then I remember that I did.

Soon enough, I hear Jess's little nails clicking on the stairs and then in the corridor, followed by Noah's light footsteps. Without opening my eyes, I follow all his moves in the bathroom while he empties his bladder and flushes the toilets, the ruffle of clothes being thrown in the hamper, the water running from the shower, the wiping of the towel on his slender body, the brushing of teeth and more water running in the sink, and finally, light steps on the wooden floor of the bedroom before the mattress slightly dips on the other side of the bed. The little light that was filtering through my eyelids eventually disappears with the little click of the switch button.

For a good five minutes, I feel him lie on his side of the bed. I can tell that he is lying on his right side and rather close to me because I can feel the air he breathes out through his nose on my bent elbow. However, I don't move an inch or try to pull him closer to me. If he has thought over things in a smart way, he will know that he should be the one reaching out for me. And smart he is! I can feel him snuggle little by little closer to my body until his head gets to rest between my shoulder and the top of my arm and a small hand shyly lays on my chest. We are getting there...

"Daddy...?" he murmurs in a barely audible voice.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry... I apologize for being so bad over the weekend. This was completely stupid and now I realize that... it didn't really serve me well... I'm so sorry for ruining your weekend... Please forgive me..." he croaks, his voice saturated with sincere remorse, and I just roll to my side to wrap him tightly in my arms, rubbing his back while he keeps repeating how sorry he is. Well I guess his neurons have started working again and that he has understood this lesson well.

"You're forgiven, Baby Boy. Sleep now."

Published on 22 June 2017

As you had guessed, Camden didn't yield and hopefully, Noah has learned his lesson well! That's actually the title of the next chapter. In this next one, Noah will finally get certified, so there will (finally) be a bit of Aaron, and Shannon too, but you will also meet a character that you heard about before (though you might have forgotten about him) and who is Camden's mentor.

As a heads up, I will only update twice next week. One reason is that a certain crossover is getting near and Fhanth and I would like to publish those chapters at the same time. But the main reason is that I am using my sick leave to write a lot more of Jeremy's story. Inspiration is working so well that I would like to spend more time on writing than on editing. So, just for next week, Twisted Moon will update on Tuesday and Friday.