(two weeks later)

Caleb no longer fought.

He didn't resist when they towed him down to breakfast in the morning, bundled him into the shower every evening, or wanted him to come sit in their office like a pet while they worked. 

He'd been punished for the first time this morning. He'd cursed at Griffin under his breath when the man tried to send him off to do chores. 

Griffin's punishment had been immediate and brutal. Caleb was still in pain. 

~~~

"Asshole," Caleb muttered, turning away.

A hard smack to his cheek made him gasp, but before he could do anything, another followed. He fell to the floor and tried to crawl away, but Griffin grabbed his ankle and yanked him backwards. "Excuse me?" Griffin growled, pinning Caleb down. "You don't talk to me like that." He undid his belt buckle and yanked his belt off, holding it by the soft end. 

"Please-- I'm sorry--" Caleb tried to squirm away, but it was no use. Griffin bent down and fought Caleb, wrestling his shirt over his arms and head. "I'm sorry--" Caleb continued to cry.

"You will be." Griffin growled, flipping Caleb and planting his foot in the middle of his back, the heel of his dress shoe digging in. The belt cracked down and Caleb screamed, writhing out from under the man. Another crack, then another, then another. Caleb's cries died out as the blows continued, until he was seeing stars. His body gave out and he lay limp on the bedroom floor, feeling the blood trickle down his sides.

"There." Griffin's voice floated somewhere above him. "Seven licks, one for each letter in the word 'asshole'."

Caleb groaned, trying to pull himself away, but he couldn't move. He felt a gentle touch on his back and whimpered, the welts stinging like nothing he'd ever felt before. Griffin was wiping the blood with a cloth. 

"Are you going to curse at me again?" Griffin asked, dabbing at the lashes on Caleb's back.

"'No, sir," Caleb managed to croak out. He flinched away when the cloth touched an open lash.

"Good boy." Griffin continued to clean him while Caleb regained what consciousness had fled him. Griffin helped him sit up, and grabbed the shirt that lay on the ground nearby. 

"No-- it hurts--" Caleb started to protest, but quickly cut himself off when he saw the warning in Griffin's eye. He winced and hissed in pain while Griffin gingerly manipulated his arms back into the shirt, the fabric catching painfully on the drying blood. Tears leaked from his eyes and he bowed his head, trying to hide them from Griffin. 

"There's no use in crying, Caleb." Griffin said as he stood, holding out his hand. "You did something wrong, and you were punished. You should be thankful for the correction."

~~~

Caleb was now sitting on the soft red carpet on the dais between their desks, picking at his fingernails. The pain in his back stung like crazy, but he didn't dare complain. Not even Oliver had offered him any kind of reassurance; he'd only given Griffin a scolding look when he and Caleb had come into the room. 

"Come here," 

Griffin's deep voice cut through Caleb's wandering thoughts. Caleb had a hard time pushing himself up, but he was able to get himself over to Griffin. He stood with his head bowed and hands fidgeting nervously in front of him. Was he in trouble again?

Griffin rolled his chair back from his desk, spinning it to face Caleb. He tented his fingertips in his lap. "You know why I had to punish you, right?"

Caleb nodded. 

"Good. Come here." Griffin patted his lap. 

Caleb hesitated, but moved to obey before Griffin would get angry with him. He tried to sit facing away, but Griffin stopped him. He turned him, gently guiding him by the hips, until Caleb was straddling his lap. Griffin told him to lean against him and he obeyed. 

Caleb whimpered when he felt his shirt being lifted; the blood had seeped into the fabric and dried, gluing the cloth and wounds to each other. Griffin hushed him and continued to work the cloth away, not responding to Caleb's sounds of pain.

When the shirt was finally free and off, Griffin opened a desk drawer. He pulled out a small plastic canister and unscrewed the top, dipping a few fingers into the white cream. He gently applied it to Caleb's back, rubbing it in in slow, soothing circles. 

Caleb moaned at the relief that melted into his back. He let his head fall onto the back of Griffin's chair and only focused on the coolness that chased away the pain of the gashes. All too soon, Griffin was finished. Caleb was left shirtless, draped over Griffin's shoulder like a sleepy child. 

"Stay here," Griffin commanded when Caleb shifted, ready to get down. 

Caleb stilled himself, turning his head so he could gaze out the big windows. Griffin returned to working on his computer, and Caleb glanced over to Oliver's desk just in time to see him also return to his work. He'd been watching the whole time. 

"Caleb," Griffin's voice again pulled Caleb's attention. "Are you truly sorry for your disrespect earlier?"

Caleb nodded against his shoulder. He wasn't sure if he was sorry he'd cursed or sorry he'd been beaten with a belt buckle, but he figured it was just about the same thing. 

"Good. I'm hoping you won't repeat your mistake. Because if you do, I'll have to punish you again. And I don't want to do that, Caleb."

                  Part 20 Coming Soon