The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled-Chapter 126: The Breaking Point

"Ethan... please... turn it off... I’m begging you, turn it off..." Julian whimpered, his body twisting and writhing against the cold marble vanity. The friction of the moving toy was driving him to the brink of insanity: "How... how am I supposed to sleep like this...?"

"You will be just fine, sweetheart." Ethan continued to soothe him, leaning down to press a firm, lingering kiss against Julian’s swollen, bitten lips: "Think of this as a small reminder of your behavior earlier tonight. You were a very naughty boy, weren’t you? I suppose it won’t hurt you, but if I don’t give you a proper penalty, my little darling will never learn his lesson. Now, be a good boy. If you just go to sleep, you won’t even notice it’s there."

Without another word, Ethan wrapped a large, plush towel around Julian’s shivering form and hoisted him up. He carried the boy out of the bathroom and straight toward their master bedroom.

The room had been tidied during their time in the bath, or at least, the evidence of their earlier struggle had been removed. The silk sheets, previously a chaotic mess of fluids and discarded clothing, had been replaced with fresh, cool linens. Ethan laid Julian down onto the soft mattress and pulled the heavy duvet over both of them.

Ethan settled in with an air of absolute relaxation, looking for all the world like a man ready for a peaceful night’s rest after a long evening. But Julian was incapable of such ease. Beneath the covers, he curled into a tight ball, looking like a discarded prawn. Inside him, the pink toy continued its tireless, rhythmic work.

The vibrations radiated from his lower abdomen, sending phantom shivers throughout his entire nervous system. Every time Julian felt himself drifting off, the toy would shift slightly, grazing a sensitive nerve and jolting him back to a state of hazy, agonizing awareness. Each time, a small, involuntary moan would escape his lips.

"Hức... you bastard..." Julian hissed, burying his face deep into the pillow to muffle his voice, cursing the man lying so calmly beside him.

Ethan didn’t respond with words. Instead, he reached out and pulled Julian flush against his body, draping a heavy leg over Julian’s own to prevent the boy from trying to reach down and extract the source of his misery in the middle of the night.

"Sleep." Ethan commanded softly, his hand beginning to pat Julian’s back in a slow, hypnotic rhythm: "If you are a good boy and get some rest, I will take it out for you in the morning."

"But it’s shaking... I can’t stand it... Ethan... Mmm..."

"Then focus on me instead, Jules. Stop thinking about the toy and focus on the sound of my breathing."

It was a ridiculous request. Julian was caught in a torturous limbo between the external warmth of Ethan’s embrace and the internal, vibrating chill of the silicone intruder. The feeling of being overstuffed and constantly stimulated kept him in a state of semi-consciousness, a fever dream of discomfort.

Despite his exhaustion, the persistent vibration began to coax a traitorous response from his body. His internal walls began to weep more lubricant, and as his breathing became more labored, the toy began to slide minutely in and out with every rise and fall of his chest. The wet, squelching sounds of the silicone moving against his slick interior were audible in the quiet room, filling Julian with a profound sense of shame.

He bit his lip so hard he drew blood, desperate to keep any loud cries of frustration from escaping. The unfairness of it all finally broke him. Tears of silent resentment began to soak into the pillowcase.

Ethan, lying close enough to feel every tremor, noticed the way Julian’s shoulders began to shake uncontrollably. He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow to look at the boy, and saw that Julian’s face was a mask of silent, streaming tears.

The sight of Julian’s genuine distress hit Ethan like a physical blow. The mask of the cold, controlling dominator shattered instantly, replaced by a surge of panicked regret. He reached under the covers, his movements hurried and clumsy as he found the toy and pulled it out, tossing it carelessly onto the floor.

"Jules... baby... my love..." Ethan pulled Julian into a crushing hug, rubbing his back with frantic, soothing strokes: "I’m sorry. I went too far. I’m so sorry. I’ve thrown it away, see? Please, don’t cry anymore."

But Julian didn’t answer. He didn’t scream, and he didn’t pull away. It was this heavy, hollow silence that terrified Ethan more than any verbal lashing ever could. He tried to tilt Julian’s chin up to look at him, but the boy buried his face even deeper into Ethan’s chest, refusing to be seen.

The intimate contact allowed Ethan to feel the warmth of Julian’s tears soaking through his thin undershirt. After several minutes of kissing Julian’s hair and whispering soft apologies, Ethan finally managed to lift the boy’s tear-stained face.

Julian continued to bite his lip, his eyes red-rimmed and brimming with fresh tears. He looked utterly defeated, a picture of wounded pride and physical exhaustion.

"I... I was wrong! Please, don’t cry anymore, my darling." Ethan pleaded, his voice cracking with genuine desperation. He wiped the tears away with his thumbs, but they seemed to be an endless spring.

Finally, through a series of ragged, choked-up hiccups, Julian managed to grate out a few words: "You... hic... you’re a monster..."

"Yes, I am. I’m a monster, and I was wrong. Please, just stop crying. You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep sobbing like this."

Ethan spent the next hour meticulously drying Julian’s eyes and rubbing his back to ease the hiccups. He whispered a steady stream of apologies into the dark, his heart heavy with the realization of how close he had come to truly breaking the trust between them.

"I’m sorry, I was overbearing. I promise I won’t do it again, alright?"

"I let my temper get the better of me. Can my little darling forgive me?"

"Jules? Sweetheart?"

Eventually, the hiccups slowed, and the frantic tension in Julian’s body began to fade under the steady cadence of Ethan’s voice. A long time passed in silence, until Ethan realized the boy’s breathing had finally evened out into the deep, rhythmic pattern of sleep.

He looked down, seeing that Julian had finally drifted off. Even in sleep, the boy’s plush, pink lips were turned down in a slight pout, as if he were still harboring his grievances in his dreams.

"Sleep well, my love." Ethan whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of Julian’s head before pulling him closer, tucking Julian’s head securely under his chin.

As he lay there in the quiet of the early morning, Ethan reflected on the night’s events. He realized he had been too aggressive. The games they played in the bathroom and before the mirror had been intense, but perhaps they should have ended there.

The truth was, Ethan Caldwell and Julian Sterling were more alike than they cared to admit. Both were men of immense power, used to being the masters of their own domains. Their inherent desire for dominance and their refusal to yield meant that neither was willing to truly back down. This competitive streak, while useful in the boardroom, was a dangerous element to bring into a marriage.

This kind of power struggle had no place in their bed.

Ethan decided then that they would need to have a serious, adult conversation about their boundaries once they were both rested. If they were to make this marriage work for a lifetime, these issues of control and respect needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.

But for now, the most pressing issue was how he was going to make it up to Julian in the morning. He had a feeling it was going to take a lot more than a simple apology to win back the favor of his stubborn, beautiful husband.

Ethan closed his eyes, his last thought being a silent vow to be the man Julian deserved, rather than the monster he had been tonight. The cold silicone toy lay forgotten on the floor, a discarded remnant of a lesson that Ethan himself had ended up learning the hard way.