Chapter 17: Mooi

                                    

                                          
A/N: two chapters at once, because I'm trying to keep them around 2500 words, so they're easy to read, even if I'm not always successful - this one had a good place for a split though.
                          
"I think you're ready for something more intense."
                          
River looked up at Master François levelly. He'd been expecting something like that for a few days. He'd been doing a lot of prescribed reading, and the Dom had been testing him on more non-sexual punishments, as well as discussing what he would expect to be punished for. River knew he wasn't always getting the answers right – and a lot of it did feel like getting pop quizzes in high school – but Ellis had reassured him he was doing great for being a beginner, and that Master François was happy with his development. 
                          
A suggestion like that made it seem like Ellis was probably right.
                          
Since his scene with Master Gray, River hadn't even seen any of the other Doms, though he and Ellis had gone bowling with Dae and Owen two days ago. It was slightly awkward, because Master François had introduced him to cock cages that day. Not that he was especially getting off on being around the other subs – no matter how much Dae slid across all of them equably, like a slinky kitten – but the constriction made him realize that he was a lot more low-level horny than he'd known. 
                          
It had helped even less when Master François had given him permission to remove the cage, but instructed him that he wasn't to touch himself sexually until further notice, identifying that as a possible control kink he should explore, or a possible punishment option, depending on his levels of hatred for it.
                          
So far, River had been really hating it, though he hadn't felt any need to safeword out. The fact that there was nothing stopping him from touching other than his own desire to do the best he could was a heady one. But he was frustrated, and sincerely hoping Master François' testing him that way was coming with something worthwhile. 
                          
"You suggested an amenity to multiple partners on your kink list. Would you like to scene that way? It will allow you to test out working around another sub and learning the relevant behaviors."
                          
River didn't pout – even if he'd been high-key hoping for two Doms – because he knew the idea that, at the moment, he had more to learn from other subs was a fair one.
                          
"I would like that, Sir."
                          
"Do you want to choose who?"
                          
River had no idea. He wasn't going to embarrass himself by asking if Master François and Ellis were an option – he was attracted, but he'd seen enough to know that, even though they were certainly more risqué than most couples he'd known, they wouldn't play with him like that. 
                          
Ellis had said something about it, too, early on; how he didn't want to see what it felt like when his Dom was sexual with someone who was similar to Ellis. It hadn't been a warning, he wasn't referring to River at all, but he'd read that as a not-so-subtle indicator that Ellis didn't want to see Master François playing with him, and he got it, no dramas.
                          
"Sir, I don't really know the other Doms to choose."
                          
"That's true. I could suggest Gray, but you've scened with him already and I think you'd like to spread your wings."
                          
Master François didn't wait for River's response, though in fact he'd have been perfectly happy to scene with Master Gray again – he trusted the man absolutely to make him feel safe. Suddenly the idea of giving himself up for someone else seemed a little nerve-wracking. He didn't say anything though, watching while Master François tapped a message out on his phone. He could wait and see. He was getting used to the concept that he could always say he wasn't comfortable when he found out if he felt the need.