COMPLETED | Take Me Down The Rabbit Hole (BDSM | 18+)

XL (A/N at the end!)

Aspen suddenly remembered his glass of water and took a sip. "It's—"
There was a twinkle in Leo's eyes. "Go ahead. Ask. I'm happy for any opportunity to answer questions, the lord knows my clients don't ask me enough of them."
Aspen sputtered. "No?"
Leo grinned at him, but there wasn't any malice in the expression. "No. Most of them think my word is the law. I'd love to say I'm able to appreciate that, but," his brows furrowed a little bit. "I can't say I do."
Aspen pressed his lips into a thin line. "I— Uh—"
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before he said, "You don't really give people the impression that you can handle having your word challenged without labeling your submissive as a brat."
"Depends on the tone my submissives use." Leo shrugged his shoulders. "You surely understand that I have to sell my services somehow and—"
Leo was interrupted by persistent ringing, and he pulled his phone from his pocket, answering it. "Thea?"
Silence for a moment, and then, Leo just nodded. "That's a shame. Alright. Does he—? No? Alright. Yes. Okay. Bye now."
Leo pursed his lips, sliding the phone back into his pocket. "Your Master's sick. The dinner appointment for tomorrow night is canceled."
"Oh. What a shame."
"Such is life. Anyway, what was I saying?"
He smacked his lips together. "I have to sell my services. Strictness sells better in my experience. It's what my clients want. As I already said, I'm not some mythological monster like ... Krampus, who will pop into your living room with a satchel full of impact toys to teach you a lesson. I'm just a dominant who enjoys High Protocol relationships, and my clients get what they come for."
He smiled at Aspen. "You have been looking positively spooked ever since you've gotten here."
"It's just ... a lot. I don't know. I'm not used to understanding things enough for my brain to start questioning things. At least not when it comes to this whole BDSM thing."
"It is easy to take things at face value. I understand that," Leo agreed. "But the fact that you are asking questions tells me Alan made the right choice with putting you on his legal team. It means you care. And from what Thea tells me, this also reflects in your behavior as a submissive."
Another compliment. Aspen exhaled. "I try. Last night, I failed."
"Bah," Leo muttered. "Curiosity is natural. Was Thea disappointed with you?"
"No. She seemed very happy that I was disappointed with myself, though. And Alan said that was normal."
"Alan speaks from experience. I made sure that he would be upset with himself when he did something that would warrant it. It's a better teacher than other people's disappointment."
"Why?"
"I'm not a psychologist."
"But ... Psyche plays a big part in all of this."
"Yes, it does," Leo agreed, "I understand the fact that it does, and I've learned to be manipulative in just the right way to be able to use that to my advantage but... I'm not a professional in all things."
He cracked a smile and leaned back in his armchair again.
Aspen could feel Leo's eyes roaming over his body before they once again came to rest on his face.
"How did you come to be a professional in ... kink?"
"How did you become a professional in law?" Leo shot back, and Aspen could tell that question didn't call for an answer. "You went to school for it. Many years, I assume."
Aspen only nodded.
But there wasn't anything like this for BDSM, was there?
"And are Alan and Thea not teaching you about kink? Am I not answering your question from a position of being more knowledgeable than you are?"
Aspen inhaled sharply, and Leo's smile only grew.
"When Alan came along, I had just decided I was done with being schooled on kink. At first, my relationship with him was ... a bit of a risk. I know very little of how he felt about it, but I remember I was very worried about," he interrupted himself and shrugged his shoulders, "everything." He chuckled. "Thea says I tinkered with Alan's moral compass like a mad scientist, but she only says it now that I have ... grown."
Again, Aspen watched Leo's eyes roam around, almost uneasily, before he continued. "The truth is, you never stop learning. As a professional, it is my job to ensure I don't. I wouldn't know if there are big differences in the things people do in their bedrooms compared to what I do with people here. I just know that I take pride in getting to know my clients and cater to what they need. Even as a sadist, their needs come first for me."
Again, he stood up unprompted and rifled through another set of manilla folders.
While he was busy looking, Aspen looked around the office. It was just that: An office.
Smaller than Thea's — Aspen assumed that was because Leo spent way less time in it — and aside from the armchairs, it housed a cluttered writing desk, a giant swivel office chair, and a wall entirely dominated by books. Huh. Aspen had to ask about those, too.
"Do you have time for a bit of a deep dive, Aspen?" Leo asked, holding out a stack of paper.
Aspen looked up at Leopold, hesitantly reaching for it.
"Maybe?" he whispered, gulping.
He knew he had come to see Leo for a reason.
This was the reason.
The man seemed to have an infinite amount of knowledge.
Or maybe it was just the pinstripe suit, the gold cufflinks, and the leather armchairs in this dark but sophisticated and — strangely enough — cozy office working their spell on him.
It was an intoxicating mix that made Aspen feel like he was about to sign his soul away in a Faustian bargain, compelling him to stay seated and accept the papers.
"I mean— I do."

*

Hello!

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈HAPPY PRIDE MONTH🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

This is a reminder for my readers that all my characters are part of the LGBTQ+ community, and I support my siblings of any sexuality and gender identity. If you disagree with that, please leave.
Anyway, this is chapter 40, so we are about halfway through Aspen's storyline! Yay! I am aware that the chapters have all been very plot-heavy recently, but worry not. More smut will be coming soon.
To celebrate pride month and because I am still — oh wonder — ahead of schedule with my writing, TMDTRH will update every week this month! Yay! So come around this time next week for some more of Leopold's ancient wisDOM (See what I did there?).

Thank you for reading!
x villainfuckery