Chapter Five
Michael blinked in confusion as he regarded first Javier, then Saul, then Javier again. It wasn’t lost on him that Javier kept darting his gaze back and forth between him and Saul, as well. At last, he fixed his eyes on Saul who, for some reason, had the nerve to begin chuckling.
Saul plucked his brandy glass from the sofa table then raised it as if giving both him and Javier a toast. He took a healthy swallow, rose from the couch then sauntered over to the bar cart where he set down the empty snifter.
“Well, I believe my work here is done.” He offered them a sincere smile. “I wish to have a meeting Monday morning with the three of us.” Saul turned to Javier. “At that time, we can go over the logistics of Michael’s lodgings now that you will undoubtedly need your boy with you in your room. We can also discuss Michael’s newly expanded role here at Hampton. Since I’ve decided that he will be working alongside you more closely as your assistant, I would prefer that he report directly to me.” Saul winked. “As his employer only, of course. In regards to everything else, he will be subject to your orders.”
Michael couldn’t stop opening and closing his mouth as if he were a fish out of water, yet he was unable to push out any sounds.
Saul stepped closer, then reached out and placed a gentle hand on his arm. “I hope you will stay here at Hampton Road after all, Michael. I’m getting older and the club takes up a lot of time and energy. I would much prefer to spend the majority of it on my boy, Kenneth. If you were to become more involved in the operations of the club”—he chuckled even harder—“alongside Javier, of course—then it would allow me the freedom to be with my beloved Kenneth more often.”
Michael swallowed hard. The atrocities that Kenneth had suffered at the hands of his previous Master had been devastating. The men of Hampton Road had all rallied around to help rescue him from the evil man who without a doubt would have eventually killed him. It would be selfish of him not to help Saul and Kenneth to enjoy more time together, to abandon them. Especially since Saul had been so good as to allow him to work at Hampton Road to begin with when he’d been a complete stranger and had no experience at all as a host.
But Javier…
So far, Javier hadn’t spoken a word, had merely stood gaping at them both. Saul might wish that Javier be his Master, but Javier had yet to chime in.
He called me his boy. Michael still held anger toward Javier, but he also still held more love for him than he knew what to do with. I could lavish it on him if he’d let me. He bowed his head, his chest tightening from the sensation that his heart was being crushed. If it was true that Javier wanted him to be his boy, there would need to be much more in the way of reassurances for him to simply allow such a thing. It would be up to Javier to explain his actions, to help Michael understand why he had pushed him away for so long.
Saul squeezed his arm then leaned in to whisper against his ear. “We all make mistakes, Masters or not. And love?” Saul sighed. “I’m afraid the biggest mistakes are made in the name of the heart.”
Michael glanced up at Saul. “Yes, sir.” He kept his voice quiet. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He bit his lip, tears burning his eyes. “Thank you for everything.”
Saul offered him a warm smile. “You’re more than welcome, boy.” He straightened. “I shall leave you two alone, then.”
Michael continued to gaze at the Oriental carpet filled with intricate floral designs in varying shades of deep red, vibrant blues along with hints of purple and gold. Saul closed the door softly behind him, but Michael still wouldn’t raise his head, wouldn’t allow himself to give in to the urge to fall to his knees for Javier, to plead with the Master to tell him the truth of his hurtful actions. He can decide if he wishes to confess or not.
“Michael?” Javier’s voice was quiet, tentative.
“Yes?” The admonishment for leaving off the honorific never came.
“Would you please allow me to explain? To state my case as to why I’ve behaved toward you the way I have?”
Michael sucked in a sharp breath. This is it. I choose what happens in this moment. I have the power to end our association forever or to consider his explanation. It wasn’t too difficult to decide. He couldn’t bear to turn from Javier, at least not until he’d heard why Javier had treated him the way he had. “I will.”
He lifted his head and held Javier’s gaze, his pained expression already telling Michael more than Javier’s words likely could.
Javier exhaled with what seemed like relief. “Thank you. Thank you, bo—” He cleared his throat. “Michael.” He indicated to the sofa that Saul had just vacated. “Would you please take a seat?”
Michael considered the couch, but opted for the wing chair instead. He didn’t want to chance that Javier would sit next to him. If he were to be within touching distance, to be close enough to sense his heat or inhale his masculine scent, it wouldn’t matter what Javier had to say. Michael would give himself to him regardless.
Michael stepped tentatively toward the chair, the trembling of his body becoming more pronounced as he drew closer. He let himself drop onto the cushion, clasping his hands tightly together as if he could force them to stop shaking. Javier sat across from him, perched on the edge of the sofa, the low table where Saul’s snifter had rested a fragile barrier between them.
“Do you remember that first day we met at the park?”
Michael furrowed his brow. “Of course I do.” He couldn’t imagine what their first time interacting each other with had to do with Javier treating him as if he didn’t matter.
“Let me tell you something I’ve never shared with you before.”
Michael barely held in a snort. “You’ve hardly shared anything with me.”
At the sound of Javier’s sigh, Michael lifted his gaze. The same hurt he’d witnessed in Javier’s expression remained on his features.
“You’re right, Michael.” Javier locked eyes with him. “Would you allow this to be the beginning of me sharing everything with you from now on?”
Michael tensed, his mouth suddenly too dry. “E-everything?”
Javier offered him the hint of a smile. “Yes, everything. All of me.”
Michael tightened the grip on his own hands so hard he thought his fingers might snap in two. All of him. It was what he’d always wanted. “I’d like that. Very much, Sir.”
Javier gasped as his eyebrows shot up. “I don’t expect… Not until…”
Michael had never witnessed Javier becoming flustered before. The disconcerting sensation it gave him wasn’t something he cared for. “Please, Sir. I want to. If you’re being truthful, if you’re going to share everything of yourself with me, then it’s only proper that I use the honorific. I want everything. And part of that is giving myself to you. Even if I really do end up in your…” Michael cleared his throat. “In your bed, I still need to belong to a…”
He bit his lip. Am I going too far? He shook his head absent-mindedly. No. It was all or nothing.
“To belong to a…?” Javier stared at him with hope shining from his eyes.
Michael took a deep breath. “A Master. I need to belong to a Master who cares for no other boy except for me.”
Javier fixed him with a heated gaze. “Then you have that, Michael. Right now, this instant, you have that. I swear it on my own life.”
Michael swallowed past a lump in his throat. “Then I’d like to hear about the first day we met.”
The smile on Javier’s lips came back wider this time as he nodded. “I was out taking my afternoon walk when I spotted you, your shoulders hunched, head bowed and hands clasped as you stared at the ground. I knew something weighed heavy on the shoulders of the young man before me.” Javier cleared his throat before continuing. “The urge to protect has always been an integral part of who I am, but I resisted that urge initially. I knew nothing about you, had no desire beyond trying to discover if there might be a way I could help. So, I took a chance when I asked if I could sit ne
xt to you.”
Michael’s heart stuttered the way it had the first time he’d seen Javier’s beautiful face. “I had an attraction to you as soon as our eyes met, but I knew it was hopeless. I assumed the way I always do that it wouldn’t be safe to express interest.” Michael shrugged. “Of course, I wouldn’t have dared regardless. It would’ve been too bold to presume someone as sophisticated as you would ever care to intermingle with someone like me.”
Javier let out a low growl. “Don’t ever talk badly of yourself. I’ve warned you before.”
Michael almost smiled. Not having Javier’s constant strict guidance had been unnerving. Javier’s admonishment was a comfort. “Forgive me, Sir. It was how I felt at the time.”
Javier narrowed his eyes. “Am I to be assured that you don’t feel that way now, though?”
Michael bit his lower lip. “I’m trying to be better.”
Javier swiped a hand across his forehead. “You’re more than forgiven as it occurs to me that I’ve only added to your insecurities by my abysmal behavior. Even if my treatment of you could be misconstrued as not believing you’re worthy of my unwavering focus and affection, that was not the case at all. Let me continue.”
Michael nodded. “Yes, Sir. Please.”
Javier’s shoulders relaxed as if all his tension had been released. “From the moment you first spoke to me, I was enraptured by you. I had begun to wonder if I could ever have someone to keep, to love as I’d always dreamed of. But as you told me the horrors of your upbringing, and what you’d suffered through, I realized I was being selfish. You needed a job, a safe place to live. My desires were secondary.
“You see, I come from a similar background as yours, and Saul rescued me in much the same way. But he never had designs on me as a lover or submissive. What he did was from the kindness of his heart and nothing more. I was ashamed that the only interest I might have was one that was purely for my benefit. I took a chance by discussing the club, since I wasn’t entirely sure if you were a lover of men, but since I hadn’t told you yet where it was located, I decided to reveal its nature.”
Michael had to chuckle. “Yes, I’d wondered about you as well. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to hear you talk about such a place, even if I didn’t understand the sadomasochistic part of it at the time.” Heat filled his cheeks and he lowered his head. “Or how badly I needed to serve and belong to another man.”
“Oh, Michael.” Javier’s voice had cracked. “Please, accept my apology. I swear, with all my heart and soul, I’ve only ever wanted the best for you. I beg you to give me another chance to prove myself.”
Michael raised his eyes. “Beg? You?” He hadn’t been able to keep the mirth from his voice.
Javier’s eyes glittered, his gaze never wavering. “Yes, Michael. I’ll beg. You deserve that and more.”
Michael swallowed hard. “You really mean it. Everything you’re telling me, it’s true.” Michael no longer needed to ask. He knew. Javier loved him as much as he loved Javier.
Javier leaned so far forward, Michael wondered if he might topple over. It was as if he were being pulled toward Michael. “Everything, Michael.”
Michael shifted on his chair, the nervous energy thrumming under his skin preventing him from keeping still. He was being pulled toward Javier as well. “So, I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t reveal your feelings for me.” Michael scrunched his brow, the hurt from Javier’s disregard still sharp. “Why you never invited me to your bed, never even…” Michael inhaled a shuddering breath. “Never even kissed me.”
“I swear to you, Michael. It was agony holding myself back.” Javier dropped his head in his hands, clutching at his slicked-back hair as if in frustration. At last, he lifted his eyes. “I was ashamed at my weakness. Here I am, the Master, a mentor for someone who has suffered a harsh beginning similar to my own, and yet all I can think of is my cock, my need for you.” Javier’s eyes shone. “Even after I fell in love with you, I couldn’t let myself give in. I didn’t want you to pay the price if Saul were to discover we were dallying and deem our association a liability to the club.”
“But you spoke with him, right?” Michael couldn’t completely erase all of Javier’s actions, even with his declaration of love. “You were ready to give me away to a stranger.”
Michael let out a startled gasp as Javier shoved the table between them out of the way then fell to his knees. He gathered up Michael’s hands in his own, clutching them desperately. “It was all a horrible, horrible mistake. My God, I know you so well. How could you be without a Master after we’d worked together for so long? I couldn’t leave you all alone. I wanted you to have love, affection, the things I wrongly believed I couldn’t give you.”
Javier reached up to cradle Michael’s cheek, his brow furrowed. “I had no idea what Saul’s plans were, or who those men were. Once I saw them, I knew I could never let you go. I came up here to prevent those awful men from taking my boy away from me. I had already decided to give Saul my resignation if he wouldn’t allow us to stay here together.”
Javier never let his eyes waver from him the entire time as he spoke. The enormity of all that Javier had shared sunk in. Michael had what he’d always wanted and he didn’t want to waste one more moment by wallowing in regret.
Michael slid off the chair and onto Javier’s lap. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around a visibly startled Javier’s neck.
“Then kiss me, Sir.”
Chapter Six
Javier held his gaze for a moment before crushing his mouth to Michael’s, almost knocking him backward with the force. Michael opened up to Javier, eagerly accepting the desperate kiss as Javier kept control the way he always had. To finally have Javier claiming him as his lover—instead of only his boy—was a thrill he had given up on ever having.
He’s mine.
As Javier plunged into his mouth again and again, he used his hands to knead and squeeze Michael through the stiff fabric of his uniform. Michael let himself go. He let Javier have his way with him, but he also seized the opportunity to explore Javier with his hands and tongue as well. He wondered if Javier was as anxious as he was to get rid of the damnable barrier of clothing between them.
Javier broke their connection but didn’t stop tasting him. He clutched at Michael, grabbed his carefully slicked-back hair then yanking his head to the side before kissing and licking his way up his neck, then all over his face before capturing his lips again. Michael reveled in the attention, Javier’s need for him clearer than if he’d voiced it.
Javier dragged his teeth along Michael’s bottom lip before ending the kiss. Michael’s skin burned from the scrape of Javier’s late-day stubble, and he ached for more—more of the sting and pain that Javier would always gift him with so well.
Javier gazed at him through hooded eyes, his cheeks flushed, just as out of breath as Michael was. “Will you come with me to my room?” Javier swallowed. “Or more precisely, what I hope will be our room?”
Michael held in a gasp. He’d only dared to dream that he would be allowed in Javier’s bed. For Javier to ask him to be a part of his life the way Saul had suggested was almost too much to believe.
“I’d like that very much, Sir.” Michael tried to leave it at that, but he had to be sure he wasn’t being toyed with. “Did you mean it?”
Javier caressed Michael’s face, staring at him as if in wonder. “Mean what?”
“That you want it to be our room?” He fought back the urge to cringe. Stop it. I have a right to be there with him.
“My God, Michael. Of course I do.” A smile tugged at the corner of Javier’s mouth as he leaned in for a chaste kiss. “I said everything, didn’t I?”
Michael grinned. “Yes, Sir. You did.”
“Come along then, boy.”
Michael audibly sighed as he climbed off Javier’s lap to give him room to rise. To hear Javier refer to him as his ‘boy’ again brought him back to a place of comfort. With all that Javier ha
d revealed, it also left him with a sense of safety. Javier would care for him, protect him, but Michael would also take care of Javier the way his Master needed.
Master.
As he stood then followed Javier to the room Michael knew all too well, he trembled. Would Javier give him a collar? Would he be allowed to wear it all the time while they were in the club? If he had to take it off to leave the mansion, he thought he might never venture outside again.
Right as they reached the door, Javier turned and pulled Michael to him by his nape. He pushed his tongue past Michael’s lips with such urgency it was if they hadn’t just been kissing. Michael answered back with the same desperate need. He’d thought that he’d never be allowed to taste Javier, so now that he could? Michael wanted as much as Javier would give him.
Javier broke for air, but remained close, his sweet, warm breath wafting over Michael’s skin. “I want to make love to you the way I’ve always wished for, but never dared to act on until now—as two men eager to share the love we feel for each other.”
Michael’s eyes burned from tears, a surge of emotion flowing through him. He’d wished too. “Yes,” Michael whispered the word, too overwhelmed from all that had happened between them that day to say anything more. His morning had begun in agony, but his night was ending in rapture.
Javier led him by his hand across the threshold of the room, the simple connection between them almost more intimate than the explicit moments they had previously shared. Once they reached the side of Javier’s four-poster bed, Javier pulled Michael into his arms so that he faced him, pushing him against the edge of the mattress until the backs of his knees were pressed against it.
Javier continued to stare at him the way he had since declaring his love—with wonder and need. He slipped his hands under Michael’s fitted jacket, then swept them over his shoulders, pushing it down his arms. Michael shrugged the garment the rest of the way off then reached for it so he could fold it carefully the way he always did when he and Javier were alone in his room.
A Master For Michael Page 5