Danilo's Bill - 1. Chapter 1

Of course it was all Danilo’s fault, but then it always is as it can’t possibly ever be mine. To be fair to him though I suppose on this occasion it was really the dog that caused it.

But then it was him who chose a corgi of all things! Who does he think he is – the Queen? Well, he is a queen I suppose you could say, with him prancing around in his ultra-tight sleeveless t-shirts and those skinny jeans that must take him ten minutes to get into every morning. And then there are his long, slim, fingers with the manicured and painted nails…… I could go on, but he’s such a sweet young man really and has fitted in so well as my houseboy.

When he first came to me I had an apartment in the city, but after a year or so I decided that it was time to move to the country and breathe fresh air. So we moved to this heavenly place that is in the middle of nowhere – it was so peaceful and I could get on with my writing undisturbed. After a while Danilo asked me if we could have a dog and I surprised myself by agreeing. It just seemed right for country life. Letting him go and choose it was a big mistake though. I fully expected him to come back with something appropriate for country life like a labrador or golden retriever, instead of which he appears with this corgi! I told him to take it back, but he said it had ‘spoken’ to him at the Rescue Centre and he just had to save it, so in the end I agreed he could keep it. I soon found out about the speaking though, as it seems to yap constantly whenever he isn’t around – so much for the peace of the countryside…...

So today I’d shut myself in my study as I needed to finish the manuscript of my latest novel. My publishers are chasing me for it and I have to admit it is a little overdue, but as I said out loud when I listened to the last phone message they left the other day – ‘greatness cannot be rushed’. You see I am a very successful author and this book will be the thirteenth in my series about the ruggedly handsome private detective, Nathan Child.

I’d been working solidly for most of the morning and honestly thought that I could catch a glimpse, somewhere on the horizon, of the surprise ending I wanted for the story, but I finally had to give in to the call of nature. As I came out of the study I simply didn’t see the damned dog lying there and tripped over it. I went flying and ended up winded on the floor while the dog started making noises as if I’d tried to kill it. Danilo came running from the kitchen when he heard the noise and blow me if he didn’t start making a fuss of the dog before attending to me! I suppose he did at least quieten the dog, but even so his priorities were all wrong; after all I’m the one who pays him. However, having attended to the dog he came and helped me to my feet and started to escort me to a nearby sofa where I could lie down and recover. As we were making our way there I heard a horrible crunching noise and on looking down I could just make out one of Danilo’s feet standing on my spectacles. That was all I needed – a pair of broken glasses when I am trying to not only finish the manuscript but have the idea in mind with which achieve that.

After I’d recovered I sent Danilo off into town to get me a pair of replacement spectacles. I’m sure my optician will have something available that will be suitable on a temporary basis until a new pair can be produced. Of course there will be a bill for them which will have to be paid and as I’m sure Danilo is aware that is not the only bill that will have to be settled.

Danilo is of Philippine descent. His parents came here about twenty five years ago and he was born three years after they arrived. He is such a looker with his slim body, olive skin and black hair which he wears in a little fringe coming down over his forehead. To look at you could easily think he was only seventeen or eighteen which is why I insist he always has his driver’s licence with him when he goes out in the car. I wouldn’t want my houseboy being arrested and put in a cell where goodness only knows what might happen to him.

I first met Danilo when he was performing at a club I frequented. There was just something about him that appealed to me in a way no other performer ever had. Often after he’d performed I’d invite him to join me at my table, buy him a drink and have the opportunity to run my hands over the sweaty skin of his arms and legs while we talked. I found out that he still lived at home, but wasn’t happy there. So one evening I took the plunge, gave him my card and told him to call me as I had a proposition for him.

I wasn’t sure he’d call, but a couple of days later he did and I invited him to come round to my apartment. He was understandably reluctant even when I told him I didn’t want sex, but I was considering offering him a job. I don’t think he really believed me, but he agreed to come. When he arrived I settled him down in a chair and told him about myself, what I did and the job I had in mind for him. Basically I wanted someone to keep the apartment clean, do the shopping, washing and some cooking, in return for which he would have a room of his own and a small wage.

Danilo accepted my offer and moved in a few days later. Having him there to attend to the mundane things of life enabled me to get on with my writing and the eleventh Nathan Child novel almost flew off my typewriter. About a month after he’d moved in we had a severe thunderstorm one night, during which a naked and shivering Danilo came into my room, slid under my duvet and clung tightly to me until the storm had passed. The next evening there was no thunderstorm, but there was a Danilo in my bed! And so our relationship went from that of employer and employee to lovers. Also, before you get totally the wrong idea, I should say that I am in my late thirties, with a full head of russet coloured hair, and, judging by the photo on the dust jacket of my twelfth Nathan Child novel, still quite good looking.

It was a couple of months into this new stage of our relationship that I accidentally discovered Danilo enjoys being spanked as part of our foreplay. Over a period this has evolved to the point where I keep a tally of things he has done wrong during the week and each Saturday present him with a bill. The bill specifies the number of spanks I am going to deliver to his olive coloured round mounds that night. Tonight, because he broke my spectacles the bill should be quite substantial. The problem I have though is that Danilo so enjoys being spanked it is no real punishment, so perhaps in order to truly punish him I should refrain from spanking him tonight? However, if I do that I will also be punishing myself, because the sex we have on a Saturday night is always the best of the week.

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