The ruby was so big he needed two hands to hold it and extraordinary balance to maneuver it through all of the wire traps that would've taken off his hands at the slightest touch. He managed it with relative ease but still breathed a slight sigh of relief when it was done, although that was more due to the fact that now he could quit standing on the tips of his toes. He was starting to give serious thought to inventing some sort of portable step stool for jobs like this.

He took a moment to admire the gem, how the candlelight glinted off of it, the weight of the stone in his hands; it was a thing of beauty. "Hail to the king, baby," he said quietly with no small amount of satisfaction. Tucking the ruby into his tunic, he turned to leave the room -- and froze mid-step.

The overwhelming theme of pinks and golds in the room was surprisingly not a total contrast against the black leather and silver jewelry. And Autolycus realized what a completely ridiculous thing that was to be thinking in a situation like this, with Strife standing there, hands on his hips, glaring. He really needed to come up with something intelligent to say here.

"Hey, you know, I really think pink would be a good color for you."

That wasn't it.

Strife's expression didn't change but he did stick a hand out, palm upturned.

Autolycus didn't pretend to misunderstand, yanking the ruby out of his vest and shoving it into Strife's hand. "You're almost as bad as Hercules," he said, crossing his arms petulantly. The ruby disappeared and he didn't have to look to know that it was back up in the wall sconce and all his hard work had been for nothing.

"So what am I supposed to do with you?" Strife asked, although it had the tone of a rhetorical question so Autolycus just glared at him, a fair imitation of Strife's own expression. "First my temple and now Aphrodite's. You're just being a bad boy, aren't you, Autolycus?" And Strife's expression changed, becoming calculating, assessing, and Autolycus felt the sudden urge to run. Strife was standing between him and the door though and he really didn't think he had much of a chance at escape anyway.

A wave of long, pale fingers and a chair appeared behind Strife. The chair, a straight-backed design of nearly black wood, seemed a far sharper contrast to their surroundings than Strife himself. With a sigh that sounded almost exaggerated, Strife sat down -- although that was a plain description for such a graceful act. Strife melted down into the chair, slouching a bit, long legs spread out. It was a mesmerizing sight and Autolycus wasn't immune to it, admiring the languid sprawl with more than a touch of envy, and maybe a little more than that.

"C'mere, Autolycus." Strife beckoned him forward with a slight motion of his fingers.

Hesitant but knowing he really didn't have a choice, Autolycus moved forward until he stood just out of Strife's immediate reach. Strife looked up at him, meeting his eyes for a moment before letting his gaze slide downward. By the time Strife's gaze made it back up to Autolycus' face, that glare was gone entirely, replaced by an anticipatory smirk -- and Autolycus was fighting the need to adjust himself.

"Pull down your pants." Since when did Strife purr?

Autolycus decided he'd ask later, right now visions of that smart mouth wrapped around his cock were prompting him to unlace his pants in record time. He was completely hard by the time he had his pants pulled down to his knees and there was no way Strife couldn't not notice, but he didn't say anything, just beckoned Autolycus closer.

Smirking himself now, Autolycus stepped forward, eager to feel that sharp tongue liking its way up his -- in his ever so humble opinion -- impressive length. The hand on his arm didn't surprise him and he liked the feel of those lovely, long fingers curling around his wrist, making him wonder how they'd feel elsewhere, but his musings were interrupted when that grip tightened suddenly and he was yanked down.

"Hey!" He would've protested further but the breath was knocked out of him when he landed across Strife's lap.

Strife didn't give him a chance to recover, gripping the back of his vest and pulling him sideways so that his hips were centered on Strife's lap and he had to hold onto the chair legs for balance.

"Good, stay just like that," Strife ordered, and damn him, it shouldn't have been possible to purr like that, but Strife was doing it! Then Strife's legs shifted, closing just enough to trap Autolycus' cock and that made him freeze like nothing else could've.

The first slap wasn't really a surprise given the position he was in but at the same time it really was simply because no one had ever done this to him before. The sudden, sharp pain made him jerk and the burning sensation it left behind was unpleasant, but not so much that it distracted from the way his reaction had caused his cock to rub against leather-covered thighs. That wasn't at all unpleasant. The next slap caused the same reaction, both ways and Autolycus realized it was involuntary on his part, a reaction to being struck, but the knowledge didn't stop him from jerking again and again with each successive blow and every time his cock rubbed against leather.

Strife didn't slap him in the same spot, instead switching from cheek to cheek, using slightly different force in different places and Autolycus realized his hands were sweating as he gripped the chair legs and the leather on his cock was starting to feel slick from sweat and pre-come. Hades take him, Autolycus didn't like pain; he didn't! But he couldn't not like the way that leather felt on his too hard cock with every movement -- but that did nothing to explain why every slap seemed to be leaving a strange tingling sensation behind, one that seemed to make his cock throb.

Then Strife shifted, sliding down a bit more but using his grip on Autolycus' vest to keep him from following. Autolycus gasped, the sound catching in his throat as he felt Strife hard against his hip. He was almost distracted by the feel of Strife's hand sliding over his bare ass, fingers gliding over skin that burned from pain and something that didn't quite feel like pain anymore. Autolycus caught himself before a whimper could escape him -- and realized that he was pushing up against Strife's hand, searching for more than that gentle touch.

"You bastard," he whispered without anger, hearing the acceptance and need in his voice. That seemed to be what Strife had been waiting for.

This time the blows came down harder, faster, the sound of Strife's hand connecting with his heated flesh eventually dragging harsh groans from Autolycus as he pushed up into each slap. Every time he moved he dragged his cock against cool leather, rapidly heating it with friction, and with the shift in position sometimes he felt the cold, hard edge of metal rings against him and the contrast sent shivers through him. Shivers that he could feel Strife echoing. His movements were rocking him against Strife's cock, a steady, hard pressure and even as Strife continued to spank him, Autolycus could hear stifled moans from above him.

It was almost a rhythm now, stinging, painful, wonderful open handed blows that had Autolycus thrusting between Strife's thighs, rocking into Strife's cock. But when Strife stepped up the pace, smacking harder and harder, Autolycus didn't think he could take anymore because it hurt too much and he still couldn't stop pushing into it but it was all too much. He opened his mouth to beg Strife to stop -- and just screamed. Thrusting uncontrollably, coming all over the floor, the chair, Strife's thighs, he was vaguely aware of Strife arching up against him, the blows coming to an abrupt halt, but Autolycus' mind was too far gone into his own pleasure to be too aware of that.

When he finally went completely limp over Strife's lap, he could hear harsh breathing above him, mingling with his own gasps for air. Strife's hand was still on his ass, resting there now, fingers tracing nonsensical patterns over the stinging flesh.

"You know, Auto," Strife's voice was breathless and drawling as his fingers stroked, "pink is definitely your color."

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