by Nero Seal
The reaper didn’t reply, so Talha said, “I’m going to ask again, Slater. Did you go to London that night?”
Slater peered up, but instantly dropped his chin, hiding his eyes behind long lashes. Squatting by his side, Talha fisted his hair, forcing eye contact.
“Answer me.”
Full lips pressed together before stretching in a razor-sharp smile. “Yes.”
“Why did you disobey me? Did someone tell you to come back?”
“No one told Slater.”
The question ‘Did you betray me?’ burned Talha’s tongue, but he swallowed it. No, Slater wouldn't… There’s nothing in the world anyone could offer to win his loyalty. Unable to find the reason for disobedience, he asked, “Why?”
“Because Slater wanted to.” The dry words washed Talha in the coppery smell of blood.
“Is that so…” Taking a deep breath, Talha straightened up and cracked his finger joints. “Then I shall punish you so you don’t repeat this mistake ever again.”
Pulling back, he crashed his fist down onto the handsome face of his assassin.
LYING ON HIS SIDE, Slater’s body shook, as poignant sensation flowed through his veins, making him high. The power his master emitted messed with his mind. He lifted his upper body wanting to see the liquid amber of Talha’s eyes, but another slap whipped his head to the side, infusing a new dose of metallic taste into his mouth.
“I didn’t say you could look up, did I?” The measured voice sent a shiver down Slater’s body.
“Master...”
“Shut up.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Slater saw a flicker of leather glinting under the soft light. Acute pain bloomed under his ribs as Talha’s shoe connected with his chest. Air left his lungs, folding him into a fetal position. Forearms pressed to the soft carpet, he clung to his shattered vision, attempting to stop it from failing.
“Speak only if I tell you to.”
Gasping for air, Slater grabbed Talha’s ankle with both hands, postponing the next strike. Breathing in and out, he tried to contain the pulsing pain in his ribs that slowly transferred to his pounding head. He scooted up wanting to get onto his knees, but a ringing blow to the middle of his back from above sent him to the floor. His cheek kissed the soft texture of the red and white carpet.
“I’ll stop when you tell me the truth.” The voice sank deep into his consciousness, demanded he answer. “Why did you go to London instead of returning to Istanbul, as I ordered?”
Licking his bloody lips, Slater smiled, then linked his eyes with the dilated pupils of his master.
Master is so beautiful, so cold. The heavy clouds of power Talha emitted, cocooned him, making Slater feel warm, protected, safe, so he confessed. “I wanted to see Master…”
“Why?” Talha pressed.
“I missed Master.” Slater brushed his cheek against Talha’s shin. Leaning toward his foot, he kissed his black shoe.
“Is that so…” Something odd lurked behind Master’s voice, something that clenched Slater’s stomach and stopped his heartbeat. Concentrating, he replayed the intonation in his head, but the meaning eluded him.
Is Master mad? Digging his fingernails into the carpet pile, Slater strained his ears and tried to remember the last time Talha was angry to compare the emotion but couldn’t. It’d been a while since Master raised his voice. Lately, no matter how hard Slater tried, he never managed to make Talha lose his self-control. That was frustrating. Even the punishments Master delivered had been measured, controlled, cold-blooded. The bruises Master gave him never stayed longer than a few days, often making Slater feel like it wasn’t enough.
“Look up.”
Slater slowly raised his chin, expecting another blow to come any moment. It didn’t.
“Master?” His voice trembled with a deep, primeval need. Slater hoped that Talha would understand and help him. Only Master could hush the pain in his chest and calm him down. And Master did.
“Strip…”
The air hitched in Slater’s lungs as the order wormed under his skin. Hands trembling, he peeled the hoodie off, and cast it aside. His fingers struggled with the belt, undid the button. He jumped to his feet, pushed his jeans down along with his underwear, and fell to his knees. A heavy wall of arousal rushed from his lower belly up to his chest. Flooding his head, it wiped all thoughts from his mind, leaving only desire behind.
Stealing a glance up, he saw Talha’s face softening with a hint of arousal.
Yes, Master, yes... He held his breath, when a cold shoe sole pressed to his shoulder, slid down his chest, and rubbed his nipple, leaving behind a burning trail. Pain and pleasure tightened his spine, making him thrust his chest forward, embracing everything Talha was willing to give. Every cell in his body begged, falling apart with the overwhelming mix of sensations. Yes, look at me...
Talha’s foot slid down his belly, pressed to his lower abdomen, and inched down to his painfully hard cock.
“Arghhhh…” Squeezing his teeth together, Slater groaned, every muscle tensed, absorbing the pain. Small, rickety breaths pulsed from his mouth, and for a heartbeat, he was sure he’d cum. The room swam in front of his eyes. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead on Talha’s knee, drowning in the sensation. The pain intensified, crushing his balls, and he whimpered. Licking Talha’s black pants, he shot a glance up. His heart skipped a beat, then leaped forward, crashing against his ribs as his eyes connected with a gaze full of undisguised lust. The same maddening lust that made him lean forward and press his flat tongue against the bulge of Talha’s pants.
Yes, Master. No one but me…
“Turn around. Face to the ground, ass up.”
“Master…” His pathetic, needy moan resounded in his ears as he rushed to obey. His cheek pressed to the fluffy carpet then froze, waiting for Talha to continue.
TALHA’S HEAD SWIRLED, as he ogled the round globes that moved up and down, as the small of Slater’s back contracted with the primal need. With every sway, his ass provided Talha with a perfect view of the tight, pink hole, whitened cane scars, and clean-shaved balls, that drew up with a building orgasm.
Unable to resist the urge to touch Slater’s skin, Talha leaned forward.
SLAP. His palm connected with the right butt-cheek, making the younger man flinch, then moan.
“What was it that you wanted so bad that you came back, Slater? My cock?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Huh? So fucking needy…”
Cheek pressed to the carpet, Slater begged, placing his knees wide apart, giving Talha a better view. “Hurt me, Master.”
“Do you deserve it?”
Slater squirmed. His back, covered with thick whip scars, tensed. His ass lowered, and he admitted, “No?”
“Then why should I please you?” Talha groaned inwardly, knowing his voice betrayed his bluff.
“Slater would do anything for Master…” Even knowing that the reaper had said this because it worked last time, and he probably figured out that it was what Talha wanted to hear, he couldn’t help feeling happy.
“Really?” The tip of Talha’s shoe gently outlined Slater’s balls, before giving them a light kick. “Ass up.”
The spine arched as Slater sucked in air before letting out a shaky breath. “More, Master…”
“So needy…” Talha’s foot moved under Slater’s hips, rubbed the cock; when he drew back clear drops of arousal glistened all over the black leather. “I only teased you a little, and you’re already leaking.”
With a deliberate roughness, he wiped the precum off his shoe against Slater’s balls. The sole pressed to the taint. Smearing the liquid up, Talha rubbed the moisture into the twitching entrance; the harsh movement extracted a tiny noise from Slater’s chest. Reaching Talha’s ears, it messed with his self-control. Weak with arousal, his reaper proved irresistible.
Wanting to hear more, Talha pressed harder, watching the creased skin comply and stretch, adjusting. The scarred but
t shuddered, pushed back, and Talha withdrew. A groan of disappointment cut through the room.
“How much do you want to cum, Slater?” Mesmerized by the crisp, visual contrast of the black leather against olive skin, he glided his shoe up and down Slater’s inner thigh.
“Please, Master…”
“So, here is your punishment, Slater.” Shoulders tensed, the reaper turned his ear to Talha. “I’m going to enjoy your body, but you won’t cum tonight. If you do, I don’t want to see you ever again. No matter what I do, you aren’t allowed to fight me.”
“No, Master. Impossible…” The half-plea, half-cry, tearing out from Slater’s throat, brought a smile to Talha’s lips.
It’s going to be fun… he thought, but said something completely different. “Yes, Slater. If you want to stay with me, you have to follow my orders. Prove your loyalty or leave now. What would it be?”
SITTING ON THE BED with his back resting against the pillows, Talha, engrossed in reading, flipped one page after another. Soft whimpers, coming from his left, grew needier and louder, throwing him off every now and then. When the vibration of the bed merged with the prolonged, high-pitched moans, he granted Slater his attention. Gagged, chained, blindfolded, the ripper lay on his side whimpering. His head tossed on the pillow spurting sweat about the bedsheets. Clinking metal further disturbed Talha’s peace as the linked wrist and ankle restraints Slater wore shook with pressure. Red skin on his chest glistened. Reflecting the light, it rose and fell with the rapid rhythm of his shallow breathing.
Short, fast, needy sounds from under the gag preceded a long, desperate groan, informed Talha of Slater’s inability to subdue the upcoming orgasm. Grabbing the remote, he switched the vibrating butt plug off for the third time tonight.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Talha murmured and licked his finger. Pressing his left palm to the mattress by Slater’s chest, he stretched out his other hand and brushed his finger over the tip of the drenched cock. The blade of his nail dug into the slit.
Slater shook his head, moaning and growling. His hips jolted, shuffled away in a weak attempt to escape the touch, and a half-cry broke free from his throat.
“Wanna cum?”
“Ungh…” A frantic headshake awakened a cruel desire in Talha to push the ripper further.
“I can’t understand you.” Leaning closer, Talha hovered over Slater’s cock, then blew a drop of precum off the tip. Shimmering, it dripped down, merging with the sticky mess pooling on the bedsheet.
Needy panting was music to Talha’s ears. Wanting to hear more, he pressed his fingers to the thick blue vein in the ripper’s groin and trailed upwards. Circling the navel, he outlined the rigid relief of his upper belly and chest, until he reached the reddened skin of Slater’s neck. A thumb, brushing against the silicone ball gag, wiped dripping saliva off the corner of Slater’s mouth. Catching the buckle, he removed the gag.
“No. No. No.” Again and again, Slater’s mouth repeated the word, as if saying it helped him to subdue his urges. Whipping his head from side to side, he gasped for air. Sweat, beading on his skin, painted the linens a darker gray. “Slater can do this. Slater will prove…”
“Are you sure? You look like you’re in pain.” Propping himself on an elbow, Talha pressed his palm to Slater’s chest, feeling for the chaotic drumming of his heart.
The raw smell of arousal and sweat screwed with Talha’s head. Messed up, flustered, on the edge of insanity, Slater was weak, powerless, and alluring. Gaze fixated on the parted lips, Talha brushed long fingers over his own mouth, reanimating the memory of the kiss. He already missed the taste of Slater’s lips and their softness. Shaking his head, he reached behind Slater’s head and unfastened the blindfold before he made even more mistakes tonight. “Better?”
Red, swollen eyes squinted under the soft light, scrutinizing him with an obscure, destitute look. Unable to resist the urge, Talha brushed the back of his index finger against a feverish eyelid; it trembled under his touch.
“No…” Dodging the contact, Slater whipped his head to the side, wiping his face against the pillow. “Slater can take everything. Slater is strong. Slater can do this,” he spat out fast words, clenching his teeth. “Master can’t win. Slater will stay… There is no escape, Master.”
Arrogant. Daring. Bold. Slater was everything Talha didn’t want him to be.
“Is that so?” Slater’s sobering words brought cruel notes to Talha’s tone. “Then, maybe I shouldn't hold back.”
An acute need to teach the reaper a lesson clogged his veins. Slater had to understand, had to learn to submit. Pushing the reaper to his back, Talha got to his knees and blew a long path from Slater’s neck down to his groin. The defiant look disappeared as Slater threw his head to the side and squeezed his eyes.
“No, no, no…” A half-groan, half-cry, tore out from Slater’s throat as he thrashed with his whole body. “Master is so cruel...”
“Am I? Are you complaining?” Talha smirked, but his mood changed, and he added in a serious voice, “Do you want me to be kind and gentle with you? Do you want me to make you cum?”
Teeth clashing in the air, Slater growled, rolling his head until his searing glare met Talha’s eyes. “No. Master can’t…”
Talha sighed.
“Slater, you have to understand that Master can do anything he wants.” Ignoring his own arousal, Talha licked his lips and clasped his mouth around the glistening pink head of Slater’s cock. Soft, slick, hot, it felt good on his tongue. Talha almost moaned as he squeezed it.
“No-o,” Slater cried out. His mouth froze open in a painful grimace, and his head snapped forward. A violent jolt shot through his body, tensing every muscle. Hot, salty-bitterness gushed out of his cock into Talha’s mouth.
“Oops,” Talha grinned. Swallowing, he gave Slater’s cock a few long licks, before pulling back. “My bad.”
Red spots dotted Slater’s shoulders and stomach, his pale eyes fixed on some invisible point. Disbelief twisted his features. His brows knitted together, as he shook his head and grounded out a single, “No.”
Talha froze, drinking in Slater’s emotions. This was the first time he’d seen Slater show an expression except contempt covered with a wicked smile, raw hunger, or mocking curiosity. Incapable of deep emotions, Slater was an uncontrollable knot of desires, stripped of guilt, remorse, and empathy. He took and took, never giving anything back.
Then why?
Wanting to see more, Talha said, “You came, Slater. What will you do now?”
In slow motion, Slater linked his watery eyes with Talha’s. His lips parted, trembled, and liquid words slithered out. “Master is cruel.”
His glare hardened, glinted with boiling frenzy. Slater jerked, trying to break the restraints. He rolled to his side, panting and growling, then jerked again. A strained voice full of hurt and disdain chilled the air as he spoke, “It means nothing. Even if Master doesn’t want Slater anymore, Slater won’t leave. There’s no escape, Master.”
A myriad of contradictory emotions prickled in Talha’s chest. Rolling to his throat, they closed his air passage, making it hard to breathe. Watching Slater’s face contort in desperation, he thought that if he pushed a little more, Slater would definitely cry. The darkest part of his soul burned with a need to see Slater’s face drenched with tears. However, instead of correcting Slater’s behavior, he whispered, “I don't want to escape.”
Slater squinted, calming down. Using the moment, Talha trapped his elbow, tugging the younger man into his arms. “Come, let me take you.”
LYING ON HIS BACK on the cold, moist sheets, Talha lazily stroked Slater’s flank with his fingertips. His chest still hurt from the blinding orgasm as he stared up at a ceiling drowning in darkness.
“Slater… Are you mad at me?” he whispered in the night. The younger man didn’t move, but his skin prickled with goosebumps under Talha’s touch. “Can we talk? Can you concentrate?”
The minutes stretched,
but Slater said nothing. Talha heaved a sigh.
“About that woman–” He wasn’t sure why he tried to explain himself. They weren’t lovers; they weren’t friends. Talha didn’t carry illusions about Slater harboring feelings for him, except for his need for this weird, symbiotic relationship, but he still finished the line. “–It wasn’t for pleasure. It was business.”
Slater didn’t move. His breathing remained soft and deep, barely audible. Talha wondered if he was indeed sleeping. Rolling to his side so he was face to face with Slater, Talha brushed the back of a finger against the swollen, fresh bruise at the corner of Slater’s mouth. Hot and red, it pulsed under his touch. “You know, sometimes, I wish you were a little more normal. Sometimes, I want…” He cut his thought, smirked, then sucked in a deep breath. “Never mind… I guess, if you sleep with the Devil, you can’t expect to get out of Hell.”
The thin, blue vein rhythmically trembled on Slater’s temple. Unable to resist, Talha pressed his mouth to it, then skimmed down and brushed his lips against Slater’s in a featherweight kiss.
“Sleep.”
Rolling to the edge of the bed, Talha got up and left the room.
SLATER’S EYES FLEW OPEN. Master’s words instilled uncertainty into his mind. With the uncertainty, a worm of a doubt awoke in his chest, pushing him upright.
“Master is weird…” His fingers brushed over his lips, remembering the gentleness of Talha’s mouth. “Master kissed me.”
A smile stretched his lips as a pang of frost shot through his chest. Throwing the heavy blanket off, he placed his feet on the floor. Warm carpet bounced under his naked weight as he stood up.
“Interesting…”
SEARCHING ONE ROOM AFTER ANOTHER, Slater ghosted through the house, looking for his master. His body still ached from the rough sex and Master’s fists, turning his gait slow and clumsy. The whispers of the night, coming from every direction, messed with his dulled, exhausted senses. Every now and then he had to stop and listen.