Alexey and Mikhail ~ Chapter 2: An Apartment with a View

It had been nearly a week since Mikhail’s outburst in the dance studio and he'd been on his best behaviour at rehearsals ever since. He was quiet and attentive in dance class and Alexey Baranov, who had been watching over him surreptitiously, felt that he was rather subdued. The Mikhail Galayev he remembered from schooldays had always been full of energy and fun, his thick blonde hair falling into his eyes as he rocked with laughter at some joke or prank. Now his high cheekbones, which made his face so expressive, seemed unusually prominent and his ribs stood out clearly on his slim torso.

Mikhail had hesitantly approached Alexey to return the dancewear he had borrowed the night he had stayed over at Alexey’s apartment. It had all been meticulously laundered and folded. Mikhail was profuse in his thanks for the loan but nothing more was said about the circumstances which had made it necessary. Indeed, Mikhail seemed anxious to avoid the difficult and embarrassing subject altogether. Alexey suspected that Mikhail was still worrying about what had happened and he concluded that there was probably more to the incident than met the eye.

Alexey determined to find an opportunity to talk at more length with Mikhail than was possible during the short breaks at rehearsal. He waited until he found an opportunity to be alone in the dressing room with Mikhail and then he asked casually, “Would you like to come back to my apartment for dinner one evening? It would be good to hear news of your family and to talk about old times at school. Oh, and you can stay over to save the tram journey home late at night. You know I have a very comfortable bed made up in my spare room.”

Mikhail laughed. He had slept like a log in that warm, comfortable bed despite the fact that he had had to lie on his stomach to protect a very sore backside. His insolence to Victor Nikolaevich Pavel, the distinguished dance director of the Mariinsky Ballet Company, had earned him a caning and the marks were only just beginning to fade. Mikhail was still taking care to change with his back to the wall in the male dressing room and he had taken to using the very inadequate shower in the cold, grubby bathroom of his shared apartment instead of the communal showers at the theatre which he much preferred.

They agreed that Mikhail would come to dinner the very next evening and Alexey went off cheerfully to buy some best fillet of beef, determined to serve his guest a substantial and nourishing meal. Mikhail looked as though he could do with a hot, home cooked dinner like the ones his mother used to make. As a little boy he had always been slight but now he was so much taller he needed to build more muscle. His gaunt appearance brought out all Alexey’s protective instincts and he determined that he would get to the bottom of Mikhail’s current unhappiness.

That night Mikhail took care to pack all he needed for an overnight stay at Alexey’s apartment and enough dancewear to last through two days of dance classes and rehearsals. He acknowledged to himself that a night in the warmth and comfort of Alexey’s beautiful apartment would make a welcome change from his own spartan accommodation in a grim, soviet built tower block, but he felt a bit uncomfortable about spending an evening with Alexey.

Although there had been an invitation to reminisce about old times at the Kiev-Ukraine Ballet School, they had not spent much time together at school. Alexey had always been two years ahead of him and, with his dark good looks and commanding height, was a popular, handsome lad with a wide circle of friends. The two boys saw more of each other at home as their families were close and Alexey had been willing to spend time with Mikhail during the school holidays. During the long summer breaks they grew to enjoy one another’s company and shared interests but back in school Alexey had gravitated to the friends in his own year group and only seemed to notice Mikhail when his practical jokes or lunatic behaviour amused them all. He hadn’t been above laughing with his friends, though, when Mikhail’s antics got him into trouble with the school authorities.

Mikhail had watched in envy as Alexey gathered academic prizes and began to excel in his dancing. In his final year Alexey took the male lead in the final full scale ballet production of the academic year and his splendid performance was still being talked about after he left to join the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, to the great pride of all his teachers. It wasn’t until Alexey left the school that Mikhail realised how much he missed his strong presence and he began to put more effort into his dancing in an unconscious effort to emulate Alexey’s success. Nonetheless, it came as a surprise when the school principal suggested to Mikhail and his mother that he too should be ready, by the time he was eighteen, to audition for the Mariinsky Ballet, a company which could trace its proud history back to the days of the Imperial Russian Ballet.

Arriving as a gauche newcomer to the company, Mikhail had hung back from reestablishing his friendship with Alexey, who seemed subtly changed since his days in the Ukraine. He wore his dark hair longer and there was an unmistakable air of confidence and cosmopolitan charm about him. He seemed to have a host of friends and was at ease in the city which was still rather awe inspiring to Mikhail. At rehearsals Mikhail found his eyes drawn irresistibly to Alexey’s splendid physique. Watching him dance he noticed that Alexey’s height was now balanced by added muscle across his shoulders and chest and the strength in his back and thighs meant that he could pull off the most demanding lifts with ease.

Mikhail felt there was an awkwardness about his arrival at the Mariinsky. He feared that Alexey was less than pleased to discover that the youngster from his old school had followed in his footsteps. He feared he had overstepped some unseen boundary and that Alexey did not believe he had the talent expected from members of the corps de ballet at the Mariinsky, let alone from principal dancers. In reality Alexey had said and done nothing to give such an impression but Mikhail’s own insecurities frequently led him to presume that others were critical or disapproving of him.

But he was now being forced to reassess his initial assumptions about Alexey. If Alexey had indeed been less than welcoming on his arrival, nothing could surpass the tact and care he had shown after witnessing Mikhail’s humiliating punishment. He had held him until his tears had subsided, comforted him with hugs and soft words, brought him home, wordlessly provided a cushion for him to sit on while he ate and then tucked him up in bed. In fact, Mikhail was rather embarrassed as he recalled the time spent in Alexey’s apartment; he had flung his arms round Alexey’s neck at one point and the memory of that now caused him to squirm. Before he fell asleep on the narrow bed in his rented room that night he resolved to be more restrained and better behaved on his second visit. It was a comfort to know that Alexey had promised never to speak again about the caning he had received from Victor.

Sitting in the warmth of Alexey’s spacious kitchen the following evening, watching his unhurried preparations for dinner, Mikhail began to relax as he sipped the wine which had been put beside him on the kitchen table. They were exchanging news of their families although thoughts of mama and home reminded Mikhail how hard he was finding life in a cramped, shared apartment on the outskirts of the city. But it was all he could afford as dancers at the Mariinsky were not well paid. Without being too direct he began to ask Alexey about his lovely old apartment with its breathtaking view across the Neva River.

“This apartment has always belonged in the family, going back three or four generations,” Alexey explained. “In soviet times Uncle Yuri was allowed to retain it because he was a party member and when I won a place in the Kirov Ballet — as his side of the family still insist on calling it — they offered me the use of the apartment at a very low rent. I can walk to the theatre from here in fifteen minutes and, of course, it is so convenient for night life in the city. The rooms were run down and dirty when I moved in although I loved the high ceilings and splendid views from the first moment I saw it. I’ve done most of the redecoration myself. Do you like it?”

“Like it? I’ve never seen anything so big and stylish in my life. You know how tiny our apartment is back home. I’ve always had to share a bedroom with grandpa. Although,” he added wistfully,” I’d give anything to be still sleeping there now.”

“Why is that?” Alexey inquired in a neutral tone.

“Well it’s pretty grim in the apartment block I’m sharing with four other guys. I do have a room to myself but it’s tiny and not very warm. It’s so depressing to get back there after a hard day at the theatre and have to pick my way through all the stuff on my floor.”

As Alexey looked at him with an expression Mikhail couldn’t quite interpret but which reminded him of the look he sometimes got from his mother, he added hastily, “The room is just too small to keep tidy.”

Alexey turned his attention back to cooking the beef stroganov which he knew had always been a favourite of Mikhail’s back home. He asked Mikhail a few more innocuous questions about his apartment block, enabling him to gather enough information to make a fairly accurate assessment of Mikhail’s current living arrangements. He now had some insight into one cause of his fellow dancer’s unhappiness and he was willing to wager that poor eating habits were damaging his physical fitness which was so essential in their profession.

The latter suspicion was confirmed as Mikhail’s hearty dinner and eager acceptance of second helpings showed just how hungry he had been. Colour returned to his cheeks and some of his remembered vivacity returned as he reminded Alexey of the time he had wrapped a teacher’s car up totally in newspaper. They both laughed as they recalled Mr Sharykin’s consternation when initially he thought his car had been stolen and his irritation after it had dawned on him to investigate more closely the vast, gift wrapped parcel in the school car park.

Eventually, relaxed and feeling they couldn’t eat another mouthful, the two young men moved from the table in the kitchen to the sofa in the living room to drink their coffee and Alexey decided the time was right to broach the question of Mikhail’s outburst the previous week. At once Mikhail’s head reared up, his face growing red with embarrassment and also with anger that Alexey had brought up a subject he didn’t want to have to think about.

“You promised you wouldn’t ever mention that again,” he said sullenly.

“I promised I wouldn’t bring up the subject of your punishment again,” Alexey explained calmly. “That was entirely between you and Victor and it was only because I decided to stay late and put in a little extra work on my own that I witnessed it. I am sorry that I walked in on you but I’m not sorry that I was there to help you when you clearly needed some support.”

Memory of Alexey’s kindness that day calmed Mikhail a little but he remained suspicious of Alexey’s motives.

“So what‘s all this about then?”

“Well, I think it would be helpful for us to discuss what caused you to get so angry and upset last week. You’re still worrying about it, aren’t you, and maybe if you face up to what went wrong you’ll feel better.”

“Fuck that! I don’t need you quizzing me about my motives.”

“Remember you are guest in my home.” Alexey said with a hard look at Mikhail. “I don’t expect to be spoken to like that.”

Mikhail had the grace to look ashamed. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

“Thank you. Now tell me what went wrong that morning.”

Mikhail considered refusing to co-operate with Alexey’s questioning but he suspected he would have to walk out of the apartment to avoid the relentless inquisition and it was too late now to catch a tram back to his own rented room. Instead he responded in as off hand a manner as he dared.

“Oh, I just got up late, took my time getting ready and then missed a tram. They don’t run that often from the outskirts of the city and I realised I was going to be late for class. The traffic was dreadful that morning and I was already in a state by the time I got to the theatre.”

When Alexey said nothing, Mikhail went on more aggressively, “What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to tell me the whole truth. You’ve been late before and you’ve managed to settle down and work hard at rehearsals. This time you weren’t concentrating and then we had that outburst directed at Victor and at your colleagues. Tell me what was going on, Mikhail.”

“You know damn well what was going on! You were laughing at me because I bloody well looked like Prince Charming.”

Ignoring the foul language for the moment, Alexey focused on Mikhail’s extraordinary claim.

“What on earth do you mean? I wasn’t laughing at you! What were you wearing anyway? I don’t remember you in anything out of the ordinary.”

This was said with such calm conviction that Mikhail’s angry gaze faltered but he still said with ill concealed sarcasm, “You mean you don’t remember that I was wearing the new white tights I’ve got for the opening night. Don’t try and tell me you weren’t angry at seeing me dressed up like a principal dancer!”

“I never gave your dancewear a second glance. The only reason we all tend to wear black or dark blue for rehearsal is that the floor of the practice studio is often dirty. No-one would have thought anything of you wearing white tights. Was that really why you were so upset?”

Convinced at last that he had misinterpreted Alexey’s response, Mikhail was suddenly embarrassed at his own stupidity. He just nodded his head in answer to the question.

“If you didn’t want to wear white tights, why on earth didn’t you bring a pair that you did like?”

The answer to that question was going to be equally damning but Mikhail couldn’t see how to evade the truth.

“I thought I had packed black tights but I didn’t have time to check my bag in the morning. I had to run out of the apartment because I was late and I didn’t discover my mistake until I got to the theatre.”

“It sounds to me as if you’re not starting your days very well,” Alexey observed thoughtfully. “Tell me what you usually have for breakfast.”

“Well, there is usually some rye bread left in the kitchen and I may cut a slice if it hasn’t gone too hard. But I’m quite happy just to have a cup of coffee. It saves time in the mornings.”

“It may save time but it doesn’t give you the energy you need for the strenuous work we do as dancers. I don’t like what I’m hearing about your lifestyle, Mikhail. You’ve been late to work, you’re disorganised, you’re not eating well, your rented room doesn’t sound very homely and you have a long journey to the theatre and back each day.”

As Mikhail started to respond, Alexey stopped him with a raised hand.

“Listen, I’m not going to lecture you. Instead, I want to make a suggestion. Hear me out and don’t respond at once. You will need to think carefully about what I’m about to offer.

“This is a big apartment for one person and, as you know, I have a spare room. It would be so much better for you to live here, close to the theatre, and I would enjoy your company. Remember how well we used to get on together in the school holidays back home!

“And before you start worrying about money, I’ve already told you that this is a family owned apartment and I pay a reduced rent. We can work something out which will be within your budget. In fact, you should be better off without the cost of travelling to work every day.

“But if you decide to move in here, it will be on my terms. I haven’t made this offer because I’m looking for a flat mate. I want to look after you, make sure you don’t make some of the mistakes I made when I first came to St Petersburg. I want to help you keep your life and career on track which means that there would have to be changes to your lifestyle, Mikhail.”

Mikhail had experienced a jolt of excitement at the prospect of living in such a fabulous apartment. He couldn’t deny either that the opportunity to move in with his childhood friend, who had now become such a confident and sophisticated mentor, was an attraction in itself. The mention of changes to his lifestyle unsettled him though.

“What do you mean? I’m happy with my lifestyle. How would I have to change?”

“I’m not suggesting anything that I think you would be unhappy with but I would expect you to organise yourself better so we have no repeat of the dreadful day we had last week. I’ve told you that I worked hard to refurbish this flat and I would expect you to do your part to keep it clean and tidy. And I would expect us to share the shopping and the cooking too.”

“Oh, I don’t bother much with cooking. I’m happy to buy the odd thing when I’m hungry.”

“But I’m not happy with you doing that. If you move in here we will prepare proper meals and eat together. That’s what l mean by looking after you. It also means that you let me know where you’re going and if you plan to be late and I will do the same for you. It’s all about respect for one another. And while we’re talking about respect, that means no shouting, no swearing, and no telling lies. How do you feel about all this? I’m not asking for a yes or a no just yet.”

“But I want to say yes. I’d love to share this apartment with you, if I can afford it. I’ve got no problem with your ‘terms’ as you call them although I must warn you that I haven’t got much experience of cooking.”

“I’d be happy to teach you, just as I’m happy to help you keep your life on track. But you must understand that there would be sanctions if you fail to respect our agreement.”

“What do you mean ‘sanctions’?” asked Mikhail nervously. He wasn’t at all sure what Alexey was proposing but it made him feel distinctly apprehensive. “And what would count as failure?” he added in a subdued tone.

“Think of it like this. How do you think I would feel if I cooked dinner for us both and you failed to turn up.”

“Pretty angry, I suppose.”

“And what do you think I would do about it?”

“Shout at me when I finally showed up, perhaps. And then throw my dinner in the bin,” Mikhail added with an attempt at humour.

“But I’ve already said we don’t shout at one another.”

“So what would you do?” Mikhail was beginning to get irritated with the direction of this conversation.

“In a case like that I would probably ground you for a number of days. You would have to come straight home from the theatre and you wouldn’t be allowed to go out in the evening at all.”

Mikhail didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “And if I just went out anyway?”

“Then I’d spank you.”

“What!” Mikhail couldn’t take in what he had just been told.

“Then I’d spank you and that would be the end of the matter. It would be dealt with and nothing more would need to be said. That’s the deal, Mikhail. I want you to come and live here but you need to accept that there will be consequences if you break the rules. Now I’m going to clear up in the kitchen and make us another cup of coffee. You sit here and think about my offer. There may be questions you want to ask when I come back.”

If Alexey had not walked out of the room at that point Mikhail would probably have told him what he could do with his offer.

‘No way’ he fumed. ‘I’m an adult and there’s no way I’m going to be punished like a kid. What right does he have to tell me what to do anyway?’

He squared his shoulders, folded his arms and his expression set in an obstinate frown. But his posturing was all wasted as Alexey deliberately remained in the kitchen, giving Mikhail the time to work through his emotions on his own.

As Mikhail’s body gradually relaxed and he slipped back into the comfort of the sofa, he remembered his initial excitement on being invited to move into Alexey's beautiful apartment. He looked more closely at the tasteful furnishings in the living room and tried to imagine himself living there. It would be like a dream come true for a boy from the provinces who had only ever experienced the tiny, overcrowded apartments in soviet built accommodation for the workers.

Most importantly, the invitation had come from Alexey, his childhood friend whom he had always trusted. True, the Alexey he'd encountered in St Petersburg was subtly changed from the Alexey he grew up with. The young man who had left the Kiev-Ukraine Ballet School at the age of eighteen had matured physically and developed into an assured and sophisticated man during his years in St Petersburg. Mikhail found himself forming a mental image of the powerful physique which characterised the fully mature Alexey and he swiftly dismissed a yearning which he wasn’t yet ready to acknowledge.

He was flattered too that the confident and popular Alexey had issued the invitation. Initially Alexey had taken no notice of him when he joined the Mariinsky Ballet but Mikhail was now beginning to think that he had misinterpreted Alexey’s intentions. When he really needed help, Alexey had been there for him, the same caring and supportive friend that he had always been. Except that there was a greater authority about him these days, something which gave Mikhail pause but also instilled a great deal of trust and confidence.

Mikhail was not given to weighing up the pros and cons of a situation before taking action. He was a creature of instinct and his instincts were telling him to put his trust in Alexey. The only sticking point was the question of physical punishment. How bad could that be? Mikhail knew himself well enough to realise that it would only be a matter of time before he found himself on the receiving end of Alexey’s discipline. The worry would be waiting for that first occasion and not knowing what to expect. But perhaps, Mikhail thought, there might be a way of dealing with that worry immediately and a plan began to take shape in his mind. Would he have the courage, though, to take a spanking that evening? As he pondered the question he realised that the decision to accept Alexey’s offer had already taken root in his mind.

There was an innate honesty in Mikhail which forced him, once he let go of his anger, to accept the truth of what Alexey had been saying to him. Life hadn’t been much fun for him recently. He was lonely and dispirited in his rented room and he hadn’t been taking care of himself properly. After the excitement of joining the Mariinsky Ballet, he feared he wouldn’t make the grade and would have to go back to the Ukraine as a failure. He felt that Victor Pavel was disappointed in him and he bitterly regretted the occasions when he had been late to class or inattentive. In fact, his failures and mistakes were giving him sleepless nights and were making it even harder for him to perform well during the day. There really was only one possible answer to Alexey’s offer and, in his heart of hearts, Mikhail knew that he needed someone to take him in hand and to put some incentives in place to get his life back on track.

When Alexey returned, carrying two cups of coffee, Mikhail was ready with a question which he asked quickly before his nerve failed him.

“If I moved in here, what would you do if I swore at you?”

“Well, I would take into account the circumstances but I think it very likely that I would spank you.”

“So what are you going to do about tonight?”

“We don’t backdate punishments,” responded Alexey with a laugh. “If you decide to accept my offer we’ll sit down together and work out the terms of our new partnership. Then we can start afresh.”

“But we’re bound to include something about always telling you the truth, aren’t we? And about not getting aggressive and rude when you talk to me about what I’ve done wrong.”

“Well, yes, I think so, don’t you? What are you getting at Misha?”

Hearing the name he hadn’t heard on Alexey’s lips since childhood, Mikhail gathered the courage to say, with a touching attempt at formality, “I’m delighted that you've asked me to move into your apartment and I want to accept. I understand that we will have a very special relationship and I think that will be good for me too. But I want to start off with a clean slate and I am feeling awful about how I’ve behaved this evening. Please, Alesha, can you deal with that now.”

Alexey realised that Mikhail was struggling to cope with his feelings of guilt. Although he hadn’t planned for the evening to end like this he suddenly felt it might be the kindest thing to give Mikhail the spanking he thought he deserved and to get it over with quickly.

“Stand up then kid,” he said kindly, guiding Mikhail into position in front of him.

Mikhail’s head drooped in embarrassment and Alexey made things easy for him by undoing his trousers for him and letting them fall over his slim hips to the floor. He then pulled Mikhail down across his lap, lifting him until his torso was resting firmly on the sofa and only the tips of his toes were touching the ground. He noticed with sympathy that Mikhail buried his blonde head in his folded arms as his briefs were gently lowered to his knees and his shirt pushed up his back.

“What’s this spanking for, Mikhail?” he asked, wanting Mikhail to be very clear about what kind of behaviour would be unacceptable in their relationship.

“For being rude to you,” came the muffled response.

“And?”

“For swearing at you.”

“And why did you shout and swear at me?”

“Because I didn’t want to tell you the truth and I was angry with you.”

Mikhail was surprised at how simple it was to acknowledge the straightforward truth about his conduct now there was no chance of avoiding his punishment. He was acutely conscious of Alexey’s strong thighs beneath his body and of his warm hand resting lightly on his back. His body began to respond involuntarily to Alexey’s closeness and he hoped that Alexey hadn’t noticed.

Alexey had indeed noticed and was wryly acknowledging to himself that this graceful young man, bent half naked over his knee, was making his own blood race. He firmly put such thoughts aside as he slowly ran his hand over the well muscled bottom to assess the extent of the damage from Victor’s cane. The marks were fading and Mikhail did not flinch at all from his touch so he felt that a sound spanking would not have any lasting ill effects.

Mikhail’s gasp when the first smack landed was testimony to the shock as much as the pain which rapidly overrode all other sensation. Alexey spanked rapidly and soon the handprints on Mikhail’s bottom had merged into a uniform redness. Mikhail’s determination to keep still gave way to urgent squirming and Alexey stopped briefly at one point to lift him back into position and to grasp his wrist firmly and hold it in the small of his back.

Mikhail began rapidly to reassess the consequences of breaking the rules in this new relationship. He had not foreseen how seriously painful the sanctions would be! In particular, he would never have guessed that a simple hand spanking could hurt so much.

As Alexey slowly circled his bottom and upper thighs with stinging slaps the pain grew in intensity until Mikhail’s breaths started coming in rapid gasps. Involuntary groans escaped him as that hard hand revisted the sorest spots. His eyes were blurred with tears and his face was wet with them. He had no idea how long Alexey intended to continue the spanking and he was beginning to think he couldn’t take much more. However, he resisted asking for his punishment to stop and, although he couldn’t prevent his body jumping as each slap made contact with his sensitised skin, he made a serious effort not to shift again on Alexey’s knees.

When the spanking finally ceased Mikhail hardly registered the fact. He was slumped in totally misery over Alexey’s lap and it was just the comforting rub of Alexey’s hand on his back that brought him back to awareness of his surroundings. Alexey slid strong arms under his chest and lifted him up, twisting him round to sit as comfortably as possible on his lap. Mikhail hung his head and Alexey just wrapped his arms around him in a warm hug, pulling his shivering body against his own.

“I’m sorry, Alesha. I’m so sorry,” whispered Mikhail.

“I know, Misha. And it’s all over with and forgotten now.”

The two men sat together for some time with Alexey gently rocking Mikhail until he calmed down. Mikhail eventually signalled his recovery by looking up to smile shyly into the older man’s eyes.

“I guess we’ve sealed our agreement tonight,” he said rather shakily.

“I guess we have. And now you’re going to get ready for bed.”

Mikhail didn’t think of arguing with what was clearly an order. He got up rather stiffly and headed for the spare bedroom to unpack his pyjamas and toiletries and then went into the bathroom to undress and wash. Running his hands gingerly over his bottom he was surprised to find that the pain was rapidly wearing off. Twisting round to survey the damage, his buttocks seemed pinker than usual which meant, as Mikhail noted with wry amusement, that the marks of Victor’s cane were effectively masked.

Hearing the door of the bathroom open, Alexey got up to go and wish Mikhail goodnight. He found him sitting on the edge of the guest bed apparently deep in thought. With his hands clasped between his pyjama clad knees, and his freshly brushed blonde hair falling over his eyes, he looked so young and vulnerable. Alexey was swept with a rush of emotion as he thought how this young man had committed himself to their partnership with total trust that evening.

Alexey had intended to give their new relationship time to develop slowly. In truth, he hadn’t been absolutely sure about the nature of his own feelings towards Mikhail before this evening. But now he recognised that the attraction he felt towards the younger man went way beyond a desire to look after him and make sure he was happy. Heedless of the consequences, he walked forward holding out his arms to Mikhail who stood up and, smiling uncertainly, gave himself up to a crushing kiss. After that there was no leaving Mikhail alone in the spare bedroom. Hand in hand they walked into the master bedroom and Alexey turned down the covers invitingly on the double bed.

Mikhail climbed between the cool sheets and lay watching with growing desire as Alexey undressed. Despite his strong musculature, Alexey possessed the graceful body of a dancer and his skin still carried the golden glow of summer. Once naked he joined Mikhail in bed and the two men lay entwined, gazing into one another’s eyes and acknowledging for the first time the intense feelings they had for one another. Finally Alexey took the initiative and began to ease Mikhail out of his pyjamas. Slowly they began to explore one another’s bodies with hands and lips, until Mikhail slid down the bed placing gentle kisses on Alexey’s nipples and tracing the hair line below his navel as he reached to take Alexey’s hardening penis into his mouth.

Alexey pulled the duvet out of the way and let it fall to the floor so that he could watch his glistening erection slide in and out of Mikhail’s mouth. Eventually, however, he pulled back, unwilling to let things go too far. Mikhail looked up at him provocatively and his partner responded by turning him onto his back and lifting his legs to bring his sore bottom up off the bed. Before moving to kneel between Mikhail’s legs, Alexey reached over to the bedside table to grab the lube and then rubbed a well slicked finger down the cleft of Mikhail’s buttocks before gently working it inside him. A second finger caused fleeting discomfort until Mikhail’s body relaxed ready to take Alexey’s straining penis.

In this position, the two men remained face to face and Alexey watched Mikhail with careful attention to his responses as he gently eased into him and began to thrust. Mikhail groaned with pleasure as he felt himself being filled and his hand reached down for his own erection which lay taut against his belly. As he quickened the pace of his stroking hand he felt his balls tighten and he fountained his release across his smooth, hairless chest. His spasms finished off Alexey who came with a single cry seconds later.

Some time later, as they lay spooned together in a state of exhausted satisfaction, Alexey wrapped his arm protectively round Mikhail’s shoulder in a gesture which proudly proclaimed possession.

“Are you still awake?” Alexey whispered in the darkness.

“Mmm.”

“Feeling OK?”

“Mmm.”

Alexey slipped a hand between their naked bodies and ran a cupped palm around the smooth curve of Mikhail’s bottom. He was reassured as Mikhail snuggled closer to him with no sign of remaining discomfort from the spanking.

“You’re mine, Misha. You’re all mine now.”

Mikhail pulled himself back from the brink of slumber recognising that his partner’s words were spoken with a quiet intensity.

“I wish I had taken more care of you when you first arrived in St Petersburg,” Alexey continued quietly, “but I’m going to make up for that now. You belong to me.”

“I belong to you,” Mikhail echoed sleepily but with deep satisfaction.


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