The Beast Enslaved

Catherina

After Aram's breakdown, we brought him back to Elliott's place, all being as gentle with him as possible, as not to trigger an unwanted flashback. Once we were back in the privacy of Elliott's and Joanna's home, we all took a seat on the couch, Elliott on Aram's left, I on his right. Joanna curled up against Elliott's side, lending silent support.

Aram was quiet as we sat there, his face tired, his eyes red rimmed. The only indication that he was still internally working things out were his clenched fists and white knuckles.

We sat there for a while until Joanna finally got up and headed towards the kitchen.

"Would you two like some time alone?" El asked softly, careful not to raise his voice around Aram.

His gaze rested on Aram, but he didn't seem to have heard the question. Instead, I jumped in, nodding before trying to urge Aram towards our room. Without any resistance he let me pull him up and guide him there, his eyes still staring into nothing. I closed the door behind us and gently pushed him onto the bed so that I could kneel in front of him and pull off his shoes and socks. It was weird, doing this for him.

Usually, Aram was the one who took care of me. One of his favorite things to do after a long day was take off my shoes and gently massage my feet until I felt like all the tension had left my body through the soles of my feet - and then proceed to fuck my senseless. Of course, none of that was going to happen now, it was my turn to take care of him. In a way our situation kind of reminded my of how it was at the beginning - except this time I wasn't scared of him, I was scared for him.

Judging from the vacant look on his face, he was headed down a downward spiral and I had no idea how to stop it or how to help him. What I had noticed over my time with him, though, was that whenever emotions got too heavy to put into words, Aram relied on body contact. Sure, he loved to call me Pet, or to make me say my answers to his questions out loud, but when things got stressful or overwhelming, it was touch that seemed to calm both him and me. So, although it wasn't easy due to the size difference between us, I undressed him down to his underwear, folding the clothes neatly on the chair in the corner before maneuvering him to a laying down position and slipping into bed next to him. I placed his head on my chest and ran one hand through his hair and the other over his shoulders. As we lay there, I lost all sense of time, the only thing telling me it was still passing was Aram's steady heartbeat and breaths that were slowly becoming more shallow as he began to drift off. His skin was warm and firm under mine, reminding me that he was alive and that he was here with me.

Sometime later, it was already dusk outside our window (although granted dusk came early in New York around this time of year), Aram started tensing up, small shivers wracking his body while his eyes flitted left and right under his closed eyelids. A nightmare, no doubt. Part of me wanted to wake him up and pull him from his mind's prison, but I also knew that he needed sleep and waking him up now would mean he probably wouldn't sleep for at least a couple hours. Sighing, I closed my own eyes, brows scrunching up as I tried to make the right decision. Maybe I could sooth him without waking him up. Carefully, I crawled out from under him, placing his head on a pillow and kneeling next to him.

"Aram, sweetie, you're safe," I whispered, "you're here with me, remember? They can't get to you here."

His handsome face tightened, cheekbones and eyebrows becoming more pronounced as he seemed to register my words on some level.

"I've got you, baby, I'm right here and I've got you."

I reached out, fully aware that touching him now could possibly get me hurt, and gently smoothed out the lines between his brows with my thumb. When I got no other reaction other than his face loosening a little, I began to feel more courageous. I carefully cupped his face in my hands, letting my thumbs run across his cheeks, under his eyes and over his eyebrows. Again he relaxed a little, his breathing evening out again a little at a time. I let my eyes travel down his body to the smooth expanse of his chest and his defined abs before my hands took on a mind of their own and followed the route my eyes had. The palms of my hands glided over his skin, petting him. Against my initial intentions I could feel him waking up slowly, his brown eyes blinking drowsily up at me. Unlike the first time I had woken him from a nightmare, he seemed calm and relaxed, sleepy even.

"Don't stop," he murmured, his voice gruff with sleep.

Love for him made my heart beat wild.

"Turn on your stomach, babe," I told him, a command slipping into my voice easily.

Had I been paying attention it would have shocked me, but in that moment the only thing on my mind was Aram. Tiredly he flopped over, his hair tousled on the back of his head. Smiling to myself I reached out and ran my fingers through it, my fingernails lightly scraping his scalp eliciting a soft moan. Spurred on by the reaction I got, I let my fingernails trail down the back of his neck, over his shoulders and all the was down his spine until I hit the waistband of his boxer briefs. He shuddered underneath me, and unlike in the very beginning, it was exhilarating to have him in my power for once, to be the one to care for him and to love on him and to make him forget all his sorrows. When I slipped my fingers under the fabric and stroked my fingertips along the crease that formed between the bubble of his butt and his muscular thighs, he tensed, hamstrings jumping.

"Relax, baby, I'm not going to hurt you."

He huffed, his chest rising once then falling, before relaxing into the mattress, basically melting beneath my fingers. Once he was settled, I began massaging him, my fingers digging into his soft skin and hard muscles. Starting at his butt and then moving all the way up his back to his shoulders. As I concentrated on my task, Aram began drifting off again, his breaths becoming more shallow, only periodically interrupted by a soft sigh or a moan.

Even though I knew about halfway though he had to be asleep I kept up the massage reveling in the feel of him under my hands and his small unconscious reactions when I hit a spot that apparently felt especially good. As I was kneeling there, my mind began to wander. Part of me was beginning to understand Carmen's desire for a larger man's submission. I had always wondered about it, never quite understanding the thrill, but now with the man I loved like putty in my hands, I couldn't help but think that she may have been on to something. Never before had I felt the desire to be the dominant one in a relationship, but maybe, just maybe, every once in a while it would do me some good. Not that I intended on Aram having more mental breakdowns or otherwise becoming this vulnerable again. Maybe, when he was feeling better, we could experiment a bit at the club. Aram never said he was against playing with another sub - he only didn't want to share me with another Dom. The more I kneeled there next to him, the more my thoughts wandered until eventually there were no thoughts left and I was just watching him sleep. His chest was rising and falling gently, his face was more relaxed than I had ever seen it.