Nick blushed deeply, remembering the state he’d left it in. He’d been so anxious to see Damian lately that he hadn’t bothered to put anything away at all. “Uh, that’s okay.”
Damian laughed. “I’ve already seen the worst. If you wanted your laptop and a change of underwear….”
Nick turned redder. “I don’t think there is any clean underwear. But I could use my laptop.”
Damian kissed the silky curls. “Lie down and get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”
Nick slid down in the bed and snuggled against his pillow, feeling cared for. It was a nice feeling after being away from home for four years. He hoped… but then he pushed the thought away. Damian could never love him; he would just have to make do with what the photographer was willing to offer.
SUNDAY WAS a lazy day for both men. Nick slept most of the day and Damian kept tiptoeing to the doorway in his socks to watch him, not wanting to be caught. He told himself it was simply because the boy was so beautiful. The slight smile on Nick’s face as he hugged his pillow and restlessly moved his hips made Damian feel lonely somehow, no matter how he tried to talk himself out of it.
Whenever Nick sighed or turned in his sleep, Damian would run for it.
Between sightseeing excursions, he ran the washer, doing his own laundry and a pile of Nick’s that he’d gathered from every horizontal surface in the untidy apartment. He even folded it, smiling as he thought how the tables had been turned a bit. Here he was, the Top, doing chores for his sub.
When dusk’s shadows crept into the rooms Damian called for Chinese takeaway, ordering whatever he thought might tempt his boy.
MONDAY MORNING found Ashley tapping his foot impatiently, arms crossed as he leaned against the locked studio door.
When the lift doors opened, he started to drawl sarcastically, “So you finally decided to come to work. What’s wrong?”
Damian was walking slowly, his arm around Nick, who was still a bit stiff and limping. “Nick’s hip went out on him Saturday night, after we got back from dinner. He’s just a bit out of it. He had to take another pain pill this morning and I didn’t want to leave him alone.”
Ashley strode forward, holding his arms out. “I’ll take him; you open up.”
Damian grinned. “Nice try. Take the keys and unlock the door.”
Ashley grinned back. “It was worth a shot.”
Nick smiled groggily, not quite understanding the byplay between the two men. “Sorry, Ashley, I don’t think I can do much today.”
Ashley looked back over his shoulder. “Not a problem. We’ll work around you. Get some rest, lad.” By then he had the door open and the three men went inside, Damian leading Nick to his office. The blanket was still on the couch so he swept it back, settling the boy so he was on his side with a pillow under his head and another between his knees.
Damian bent to tuck the blanket around him. “Go to sleep, babe. Don’t worry about anything. We’ll be right outside if you need anything, okay?”
“Yeah,” Nick sighed, relaxing as his pill started to kick in again, once he’d stopped moving. He had hoped that perhaps Damian might want to fuck him again, but the older man had left him alone in the guest room last night after they had eaten dinner together.
After spending the solitary night tossing and turning, racking his brain to discover what he’d done wrong, or what he had left undone, Nick had finally awakened in the morning, twisted into an uncomfortable position with his hip sending warning signals to his brain.
Ashley watched as Damian ran his hand over the glossy curls. Nick’s eyes drooped shut and he fell asleep, obviously under the influence of whatever painkiller Damian had given him.
“Is he okay?” Ashley whispered.
Damian backed out, closing the door behind him. “He had some kind of accident, a few years ago. Had an operation and as far as I can tell, he’s mostly quite sound. I don’t know the whole story, but if he’s under stress or in the wrong position, apparently he has muscle spasms.”
“You need a nice spanking bench,” Ashley advised judiciously. “Padded surface, adjustable in height, sturdy ring bolts….”
Deciding attack was the best form of defense, Damian ignored this sage advice and asked, “How’re you getting on with Derek? Where is he?”
Ashley coughed and answered. “I sent him to the office for a few things. He’ll be here soon.”
“That wasn’t much of an answer,” Damian teased.
“We’re talking,” Ashley answered slowly. “Apparently Nick told him that he hadn’t given me much of a chance to explain myself. That he’d hurt my feelings by not trusting me to take things slowly.”
Damian was very amused. “Nick? Giving advice to Derek?”
“Well, whatever you’ve been doing to him, and I do still want details,” Ashley said, salaciously licking his lips, “it seems you at least have won his trust. I just hope you’re worthy of it.”
Damian turned away, pretending to inspect the display of whips. I hope so too, he thought.
Chapter 10
NICK WOULD have been quite happy to take his pile of clean, folded laundry and gone home at the end of a day during which he’d napped almost constantly. He had drifted out of the office once to observe the shoot, dismayed to see that Mistress Bettie was working her wiles on Damian again. He turned so pale that Derek and Ashley had both exclaimed at him and Damian had sternly ordered him back to the couch.
Feeling limp and weak, he went without bothering to protest. He didn’t protest later either when Damian took him to his flat. He was hoping that perhaps he would be invited to Damian’s bed, but instead he was dropped off in front of his apartment block and told to get some rest.
Damian was polite and considerate; he hadn’t given a single order since Saturday night and Nick felt that he had become extremely remote. He had no idea how he had offended the photographer and no idea how to regain the ground that they’d lost.
Nick had classes the next day so he wasn’t rostered for work at the studio. He’d hoped Damian would call his cell but it remained silent all day, except for one text from his sister. That night, alone in his small, cold, uncomfortable apartment, with the spring that poked through the mattress sticking him in the ribs, he cried himself to sleep.
MEANWHILE, THINGS were on the up for Ashley. He’d driven Derek home from the restaurant on Saturday night, recognizing the younger man’s efforts to keep the conversation going. When Derek invited him in for coffee he’d accepted, and they had managed to get along rather nicely.
Ashley’s mood was one of hopeful optimism when he arrived at the studio the next morning. Therefore he was a bit dismayed to see that Nick had reverted to his antagonistic, surly manner while Damian was remote and snappy.
After the promising atmosphere of Saturday night and the tenderness with which Damian had tended to the boy when he was hurt, Ashley couldn’t imagine what had gone wrong. It was absolutely none of his business whatsoever, and therefore he fully intended to pry and poke until he had the full story. Then he would set it to rights. Top he might be, but he was also the CEO of a large and successful company and this was merely an example of employee discord. Or nearly so, he thought with a grin. All analogies were imperfect.
He decided to tackle Nick first; the boy was inexperienced and obviously confused, and therefore an easier mark than Damian. Ashley wasn’t his Dom, but he had no doubt that he could bring the boy to his knees. Literally.
After watching Nick shrug and snarl at Derek, Ashley had an even more potent reason for stepping in. No one dissed his boy. Even though Derek technically hadn’t agreed to anything yet, Ashley had hopes in that arena.
Waiting for Damian to be otherwise occupied on the set, Ashley meandered into the kitchen area. Damian had nixed all his suggestions for using Nick in any shots that day, and therefore the boy had been demoted once again to assistant. Privately Ashley thought perhaps it was because they were shooting short shorts and Damian didn’t want Nick
’s arse on display, but whatever the reason, the boy was drooping about over his task, aimlessly wiping the countertops free of crumbs from morning coffee.
“Hello, Nicholas. How is your hip today?” Ashley asked kindly.
“Fine,” was the terse, one-word answer. Nick didn’t even look up.
That would have to be remedied; the boy wasn’t his sub, but he was a sub, and Ashley was a Top. Time for the boy to learn that there were manners in this world!
“Boy!” Ashley said crisply, in a voice that snapped with power.
Nick looked up, his eyes wide with apprehension. Ashley pointed to the floor and automatically, without thinking, Nick went to his knees and clasped his hands behind him, wondering what had compelled his obedience.
“Better,” Ashley said. “Boy, I am a Dom. I may not be your Dom, but I require respect. If you behave like that again, I’ll put you on your knees no matter who else is in the room. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Nick responded miserably. There was no sexual charge for him in obeying Ashley but his position on his knees reminded him of how much he’d lost. He looked down at the floor, blinking to keep his tears from spilling over.
“What happened between you and Damian?” Ashley said in a kinder voice. “Things seemed to be going so well, both of you mooning about with stars in your eyes and a sting in your bottom, no doubt, and then suddenly Damian is surly as a bear and you’re acting the brat again.”
Nick suppressed a sob, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and merely shook his head speechlessly.
He felt long fingers cupping his jaw, and his head was tilted back. “Look at me, boy,” Ashley instructed, his voice still gentle. “What happened after your hip went out?”
Nick gulped nervously. “Damian took me home; he took care of me.”
“And?”
“He… uh… he….” Nick struggled, not knowing quite how to put this into words.
“He took you?” Ashley helped.
“Yeah,” Nick nodded miserably, not meeting Ashley’s eyes. “And then, he just… um… he never… he only… uh….”
“Ah, I see,” Ashley said, as comprehension flooded over him. “He was kind to you.”
“Yes. No… he’s always kind… he just…,” Nick floundered.
“He’s treating you like you’re made of glass and you might break.”
“I guess,” Nick agreed miserably.
“Have you talked to him? Asked him why?”
“I couldn’t!”
“You could, and you’d better learn to make your needs known, Nick, or you won’t learn how to get what you want. However, I think in this case perhaps you’d better leave this to Uncle Ashley,” the older man said. “Do you need a hand up?”
“No, I’m fine,” Nick quavered.
“Up you get then, lad,” Ashley said, “Go and dry your pretty eyes. You don’t want Damian to know you were crying on my shoulder.”
Nick rose seamlessly and Ashley marveled at his grace; truly a natural sub.
“I wasn’t anywhere near your shoulder,” Nick said, looking up at Ashley from under his lashes. “Sir.”
Damn, the boy was dangerous and he hadn’t the least idea of his own provocative allure. “Get off with you, boy. And you might locate Derek for me. He should have been back an hour ago.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Nick ducked into the bathroom, wiping at the tear that threatened to spill from his left eye. That one always teared up first.
In fact, Derek had returned, and he’d witnessed only the two men’s positions. He couldn’t overhear what had been said, but he was feeling oddly jealous to find Nick on his knees in front of Ashley.
And he had not been the only witness. Ashley wandered out into the studio, to find Damian had sent all of the models off for a change and was slamming sandbags around at the back, behind some unused flats. He chuckled to himself; he’d hoped that Damian would see him command Nick to his knees. Jealousy was an emotion he could work with.
“Damian, I was just thinking—” Ashley began, his voice innocent and unconcerned, as if he hadn’t been caught.
Damian turned and swept Ashley up against the wall, trying to brace his forearm across Ashley’s throat, but the larger man was prepared. He allowed Damian to commit his weight and followed the sweep of his momentum, turning them so that Damian ended up with his back against the wall with Ashley pressing his weight against him to keep him motionless.
“Get off me,” Damian demanded, struggling against the larger man.
In spite of himself, Ashley felt his cock stir when he felt the fine body pinned under his, writhing fruitlessly. “What’s the matter, Damian? Since when can’t you throw me off?” Ashley taunted.
Damian’s face darkened and he doubled his efforts but Ashley kept him pinned. No matter what tricks he tried, it seemed Ashley was one step ahead of him and all Damian managed to do was wear himself out.
“What’re you trying to pull, Ashley? I thought you were supposed to be my friend!” Damian hissed.
“I’m doing this because I am your friend,” Ashley grinned, his teeth white and gleaming. Damian was almost afraid. Almost.
“You’re acting like a complete git. I asked if you were claiming Nick and you said you were. You put your mark on him in a public place and then you abandoned him. How do you think he’s feeling right now?”
Damian struggled weakly and subsided, Ashley’s words echoing in his brain. “He’ll be all right. He’s better off.”
“How do you know? Did you ask him what he wanted? Or did you just decide that it would be dangerous to let this go any further?”
“I didn’t—I didn’t ask,” Damian admitted.
Ashley shook him. “You’re a complete twat. How long have you been playing?”
“Twelve years.”
“And you still haven’t learned that the bottom is the one with all the power?” Ashley shook him again. “What are you thinking?”
“Thinking with my dick, I guess,” Damian laughed.
“Believe me, your dick doesn’t even come into it. If your dick had been doing any thinking whatsoever, Nick wouldn’t be moping around here as if his pet dog died and you would have had me on my back on the floor, instead of sucking air with my knee in your gut,” Ashley claimed, disgusted. He let Damian go and cuffed him lightly on the back of the head. “You’re suffering from Top Drop.”
“I am not! I’ve never—”
“Yes you are. You’re questioning your own instincts. Trust yourself.”
“What if I hurt him?”
“You’re an experienced and attentive Top. Are you trying to make me believe that you would ignore Nick’s reactions and cause him an injury?”
Impotently, Damian clenched his fists, glaring at Ashley. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly,” Ashley said. “You’re afraid that you’re the one who’s going to get hurt. And there’s no evidence for that. The boy adores you.”
“He’s too young,” Damian muttered.
“No, he’s not.” Ashley paused, studying the other man. “I think you’ve found the one you’ve been looking for all your life and it scares you to death.”
“You’re right about that last part at least,” Damian said, trying to pin Ashley to the wall in his turn. “So your advice is for me to claim him?”
“You already did that,” Ashley said, disengaging with ease. “Listen, you’re the only Top who would play with that sub who had lost his leg. Everyone else was afraid of hurting him and wouldn’t touch him. You had the patience to go slow with him and discover his limits. When you two parted, he felt like a man again.”
Damian seemed startled. “You think I’m insulting Nick’s manhood?”
“Just because he’s a sub doesn’t mean he’s not a man,” Ashley said gently. “He may enjoy submitting to you, but he’s still your equal in this. It’s not like you to forget that, Ian. Now that you know he has a liability, work with it.”
&nb
sp; “Fuck me,” Damian murmured.
“Oh, believe me, I would like to, but I’ve blown my only chance out of the goodness of my heart,” Ashley mourned. “Now that you’ve regained your sanity, I’ll never be able to overpower you again. You’re a Top’s Top, and I’m merely a kinky bastard with a cane.” He reached over and gave Damian’s bottom a squeeze. “Mmm, I’m a fool, passing up my chances to do the lad a favor. But I’m a sucker for a boy with beautiful eyes.”
“He asked you to talk to me?” Damian asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
Ashley rolled his eyes. “Damian, I had to force a few stammered ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ out of him. Is it likely that he came to me for confessional?”
Remembering Nick’s largely inarticulate and tentative responses, Damian chuckled. “No, I guess not. How did you put him on his knees?”
“Pointed at the floor. You’ve trained him well,” Ashley said smugly. “He’s missing you badly, or I doubt very much it would have worked. And take my word for it; the AW 2001 is the spanking bench for you. It would provide ample support under his chest; no chance of his hip going out on you or an awkward position leading to an injury. I’d be happy to give you a good price on a demo. Nick would look simply delicious bent over one with his pink little arse raised at just the right height for fucking.”
Damian shook his head, smiling ruefully. “And I suppose you’d like to watch.”
“If only. That would be payment enough for me,” Ashley said, a glazed look of lust coming over him. “And perhaps you’ll bring him round to the clubs. I’ve never seen you in action and now that you’re playing again—”
“No, no, I’m over all that,” Damian said hastily. “Though perhaps we might come round one day to watch you raising cane.”
Ashley laughed at the double entendre. “My competitive days are over. I only do demonstrations now, usually at conferences. But you never know.”
“Things looking up with Derek?” Damian asked slyly.
Ashley snorted with laughter. “Some things, yes. We’re talking. I don’t think he quite understands the call of all this kinky stuff yet, but he’s trying to keep an open mind.”
Dreamspinner Press Year Three Greatest Hits Page 14