by Piper Scott
Walking back to the bar was hard when he wanted nothing more than to drop onto Marcus’ lap and let Marcus do whatever he wanted, but Lucian persevered. He joined Clarissa behind the bar in time to tackle an influx in business, and soon enough, Lucian was too busy measuring drinks and pouring shots to dream of betraying the secret he shared with Marcus.
But the intensity in Marcus’ eyes wouldn’t let him be, no matter how busy the night became.
Marcus waited as he always did, hidden in the shadows of the alley after The Shepherd had closed. Lucian darted in to join him, letting the darkness swallow him, but tonight the shadows didn’t feel the same. Tonight they were charged with an energy Lucian decoded almost right away.
The place they’d both once been happy to share was no longer enough. The importance of Lucian’s decision hung in the air, leaving it cramped and uncomfortable. Before Lucian could dispel the discomfort, he found himself pulled forward. His back hit the alley wall and the air was knocked from him in a sudden gush. He wasn’t hurt, just startled.
As he struggled to regain his breath, Marcus spoke. “You disobeyed me, fledgling.”
“I didn’t.” Lucian sounded timid only because he didn’t have the breath for anything more than a whisper. “I wouldn’t.”
“Then?” Marcus spoke into his ear, his voice rumbling with dominance even when he spoke quietly. It gave strength to the arousal Lucian had been fighting all night, and with a single push, it conquered him at last. Lucian squirmed. “Explain yourself.”
“I wanted to keep it for you, and only for you,” Lucian replied. He wanted to turn his head and kiss Marcus until he ached, but he knew better. For now, he had to wait. “And I thought there would be nowhere better to show you than in your car.”
The mood changed. Marcus didn’t release him, but Lucian sensed a shift in how he held himself. The variation in body language, as small as it was, told Lucian all he needed to know.
Marcus hadn’t expected him to agree to a ride home.
“You want me to drive you home, fledgling?” Marcus asked.
“No,” Lucian said. He made the decision he’d been putting off all night, trusting in his instincts and his heart. When he spoke, he spoke the truth. “I want to go home with you.”
19
Marcus
The words Lucian spoke didn’t quiver. They didn’t threaten to break or crumple beneath the pressure. What he said, he meant.
Marcus traced his fingers from the back of Lucian’s head downward. He’d cushioned his omega’s skull for impact when he’d pushed Lucian against the wall, but there was no need for that anymore. Tonight, the small, dark alley wouldn’t be where they committed their tryst.
Tonight, Lucian was his.
Marcus’ fingertips brushed against the small hairs on the back of Lucian’s neck. They found the collar of Lucian’s shirt and trailed along it thoughtfully, until Marcus’ hand found the line of Lucian’s jaw. He traced there, enjoying the short stubble he found.
It wouldn’t be long before he knew the rest of Lucian’s body just as intimately.
“If you agree to this, the second you step through my door, it means you will be mine,” Marcus told him. They’d danced around giving it a name before, but Marcus wouldn’t have it any longer. If Lucian wanted to do this, he had to know what Marcus wanted from him. “I will own your body and your mind.”
“I understand.” There was no hint of hesitation in Lucian’s voice. “I’m ready.”
“I am not cruel, Lucian.” Marcus granted him his name one last time. “I won’t ever hurt you unless you give me reason to. My goal is your pleasure. Your goal should be mine as well.”
A cloud broke overhead, allowing light into their hideaway. It fell across Lucian’s face, and Marcus saw how he’d closed his eyes. The sight was intoxicating, and Marcus stole close, allowing their noses to brush, but not for their lips to meet.
“I understand,” Lucian whispered again. “I want that, too.”
“When we are in private, you will call me Master.” Marcus’ lips twitched, and he waited a beat to force importance onto what he was to say next. “And I will call you whatever I wish to call you. Your name is my property, and it is my will.”
Lucian’s head tilted only enough so that the tip of his nose nuzzled against the side of Marcus’. Marcus heard the short, shallow breaths he took. Lucian was aroused.
“Now come, fledgling,” Marcus prompted. “It’s a short drive home. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Lucian’s eyes opened, glossed with desire. They shimmered in the moonlight. When his lips parted again, the word dropped as clearly as morning dew from the end of a blade of grass. “Master.”
Lucian looked good on the passenger seat during the ride home, and he looked better yet standing within the doorframe of Marcus’ condo. Marcus closed the door behind him as he watched Lucian take in his surroundings, muted wonder on his face. A perfect pet astonished by the grandeur of his new home.
Marcus’ cock throbbed at the thought.
He stepped forward, crowding the space behind Lucian, and wrapped his arms around him. Lucian tilted his head back, resting it against Marcus’ shoulder, as Marcus freed the buttons of Lucian’s shirt from their buttonholes one by one. All the while, Lucian drew shallow, pretty breaths for him, submissive and subservient, eager to please.
“Inside my home, you have no need for clothes,” Marcus told him. The front of the shirt fell open, and he guided it from Lucian’s shoulders. “You will own nothing but the things I give you, and even then, you are not permitted to cover the body that belongs to me. You will not keep me from what I own. Is that understood?”
“Yes.”
The shirt fell. Marcus let his hands travel along Lucian’s ribs to his stomach, then dipped them downward to tug Lucian’s belt free. Lucian sucked in his narrow stomach, lengthening his spine in the process, as Marcus tightened the belt to free the prong from the hole it had been fed into. When the belt fell slack, Marcus guided it from Lucian’s belt loops and dropped it on the floor. The buckle clacked against hardwood. Marcus adored the sound.
He reached forward, lowering his head so he could kiss the crook of Lucian’s neck. The scent of omega drove him onward, and Marcus unbuttoned Lucian’s fly and let the zipper behind it fall. He guided Lucian’s slacks down his legs. They pooled on the floor, abandoned.
What was unveiled stole his breath away.
Lucian was wearing panties.
White, lacy panties.
Heart racing, Marcus let his hand trace along Lucian’s hip as he toyed with the elastic. Lucian hadn’t been lying—there would be no need for punishment tonight. Not when he’d gone out of his way to give his Master what he wanted.
“Look at this,” Marcus whispered. His fingers traced the lace, caressing it. “Do you like these, fledgling?”
“Yes,” Lucian whispered.
“I like them, too.” Marcus’ fingers slipped beneath the elastic band, stroking Lucian’s soft skin. The sight made his heart race, and the feel of them so snug against Lucian’s body woke lust in him he needed desperately to sate. “I like them more than I should. Do you have more?”
“No.”
“You will soon,” Marcus promised. His fingers traced from Lucian’s hips to his front, venturing near his cock, but not plunging low enough. From over Lucian’s shoulder, Marcus saw how his erection strained against the lace, glimpses of skin visible through the open fabric. He liked how it looked. “You’re going to keep my cock swaddled in them, just like it is now. You’re going to wear them every day, even if you think we won’t be seeing each other.”
Lucian drew in a breath. “Yes.”
It was enough. Marcus was pleased by what he saw, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be distracted by it. There was time to worship Lucian while wrapped in lace later. For now, Marcus had other plans.
“You will take off your panties, your socks, and your shoes,” Marcus demanded. He kissed the crook of
Lucian’s neck again, then drew away. “When you’re done, you’ll join me in the bathroom.”
“In the bathroom?” Lucian asked softly.
“Do not make me repeat myself.” Marcus’ hand ran down the outside of Lucian’s thigh, then drew back suddenly and found the flesh of his ass with an open palm. It was a swat, not a full-on spanking, but it drove the message home.
Lucian gasped.
“When I speak, you will listen. Every word I say, you will be able to repeat back to me. Is that clear?”
“It is.”
“Then you know where you will join me.” Marcus stepped away from his omega, trusting him to behave. “Do not make me wait long.”
He left Lucian where he stood, crossing the room and turning down the hall to approach the bathroom. As he walked, he shrugged off his suit jacket. It found its place on the hook on the back of the bathroom door, soon joined by Marcus’ shirt. He folded his pants carefully and left them on the closed lid of the toilet. His shoes and socks were left tucked against the wall, out of sight.
Marcus ran the water in the shower, letting it heat while he waited for his company to join him.
The game stirred excitement in him that he’d long forgotten was possible. There had been other submissives in his life, other orders given, and other scenarios that had played out much like this one, but with Lucian, nothing about their scene was stale. He’d woken a part of Marcus that no one else had before. Tonight, Marcus wasn’t only Master—he was protector. He would iron the hurt from Lucian’s soul with stern guidance. He would show Lucian that he was worth so much more than his old Dom had led him to believe.
Warm water cascaded from the suspended showerhead, circling the drain. Marcus set his hand on the sliding shower door and was prepared to shut it when the sound of soft, bare footsteps across tiled floor marked the presence of another.
His omega had found him.
“Step beneath the shower,” Marcus instructed without turning. “Let the water rinse away the man you once were.”
“Yes,” Lucian said softly. He stepped past Marcus to stand beneath the stream, and Marcus followed, drawing the shower door shut. The space was tight for two, but Marcus didn’t mind it. Lucian’s body was his, and he’d be as close to it as he wanted to be.
He would see it cleaned and prepared.
There were soaps on the recessed bathroom shelf, and Marcus helped himself to one of them as Lucian stood, awaiting instruction. He opened the cap and poured some onto a clean washcloth, guiding the fabric over Lucian’s shoulders and down his chest. Marcus circled his navel, watching the suds catch in the shallow dip before they were rinsed down Lucian’s abdomen and parted to either side around the base of his cock.
“How old are you, fledgling?” Marcus asked as he brought the washcloth to cleanse Lucian’s back.
“I just turned twenty-one before starting at the bar,” Lucian murmured, the sound barely louder than the impact of the water on the shower floor.
Marcus closed his eyes, his hand momentarily paused. Twenty-one. A baby. It hurt him to think that someone had done Lucian wrong at such a young age.
“Are you enrolled in college courses?”
“No.”
Lucian’s skin turned pink beneath the water, his clear skin susceptible to heat. Marcus brought the washcloth down, cleaning each modest globe of Lucian’s ass before letting the fabric dip into the valley between them. Lucian made a strained noise and squirmed. Marcus wouldn’t put up with that. His free hand swept around Lucian’s body to grasp the rigid length of his cock. He pumped slowly, almost absentmindedly, and Lucian whimpered for him.
“I want to change that.” Marcus worked his length, keeping his grip firm, but his motions slow. He wanted Lucian to hear what he had to say. “I want all parts of me to be educated and successful. I lead a lifestyle that demands perfection, fledgling. I want you to maintain that for me.”
Lucian swallowed. He hung his head in bliss as a strained, “Yes,” broke from his throat.
“That is something we’ll work on in time,” Marcus promised. He let the washcloth slip down, past Lucian’s tight hole to the stretch of skin between his entrance and his balls. Marcus cleaned him thoroughly. “For tonight, what you have is enough. Do you feel like you’re clean, fledgling?”
Marcus worked Lucian’s cock, water easing the passage of his hand. The washcloth made its way back from beneath Lucian’s balls and to his hole, and Marcus applied slight pressure meant to arouse, not to penetrate.
Lucian jerked forward into his hand just as he thought he would.
“I’m clean,” Lucian promised, his voice vibrating with arousal.
“I didn’t hear you,” Marcus remarked. He pushed a little harder, feeling Lucian start to part for him. He would allow Lucian leeway on his first night, but there came a point where he couldn’t ignore Lucian’s misbehavior anymore. “Are you clean, fledgling?”
“I’m clean, Master! I promise.”
Master. One word that set everything right. Marcus grinned, dipping his head forward to press a kiss to the back of Lucian’s head. “Good boy. Let me dry you off.”
Marcus left Lucian standing in the shower. He took a towel for himself, patting his face dry and running a cursory pass of the towel over his arms and torso before wrapping it around his waist. When he was done, he selected a second towel from the rack by the shower, shaking it out before he turned to face Lucian. Lucian watched him from beneath the shower spray, eyelids heavy with lust.
“Turn off the shower and come here,” Marcus demanded.
Lucian did as he said.
Water beaded on his skin, some of the fatter droplets running tracks down his chest or arms. Lucian was slender, but his build was impressive. A tight, toned stomach suggested that he worked to maintain his appearance. Marcus didn’t linger on that thought. He focused on patting down Lucian’s arms to test their firmness and absorbing the water from his body instead. When he arrived low on Lucian’s stomach, Marcus’ touch became more thorough. He ran the towel along Lucian’s shaft, gripping him through the fabric to push him just a little further.
“You will always keep my cock clean,” Marcus instructed as he gripped Lucian, drying him. “You will always have my hole prepared, in case I want to use it.”
“I will,” Lucian promised, his voice small, but sharp with excitement.
“My bedroom is across the hall.” Marcus released Lucian’s shaft, moving the towel down his thighs to collect what water remained there. His hair was already starting to dry. “You will wait on the bed for me, face in the pillows, arms folded on the mattress, ass in the air. That is how I deserve to be greeted when I come to bed. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
Marcus took a small step back. Face stern, he gauged the look in Lucian’s eyes to make sure he wasn’t taking things too far too soon. Certain clues, like the way Lucian had performed for him the first night they were intimate in the alley, led Marcus to believe that he wasn’t inexperienced in being a sub, but that didn’t mean that lines couldn’t be crossed. Marcus cared for Lucian. He refused to see him hurt. If Lucian began to suffer, the game would end.
But Lucian wasn’t suffering. His lips were loose and his eyes were lidded and dewy. The same shine Marcus had seen in his complexion during Lucian’s heat had returned, a hallmark of his arousal. Lucian’s body wanted Marcus as much as his mind did, and seeing it manifest in his features was more powerful than any utterance of “Master” could be.
“Go now,” Marcus told him. “Wait for me.”
Lucian did.
Once Marcus was alone, the bathroom door shut and Lucian well on his way to the bedroom, Marcus took his phone from the back pocket of his pants and sent a simple message to a dear friend.
I’ll be bringing a +1 to the wedding.
Marcus reread the message and smiled.
Lucian belonged to him, but Marcus’ heart was Lucian’s through and through.
20
Lucian
The pillows were freshly laundered. The floral notes of fabric softener masked Marcus’ scent, and Lucian hated it. Horny, hot, and needing Marcus more than he’d needed anyone before, he wanted to breathe in his alpha and forget that anything else existed apart from the two of them. That need ached inside of him, pushing him to disobey and seek Marcus’ scent elsewhere on the bed.
Before Lucian broke Marcus’ trust, the bed shifted as new weight was introduced. Lucian lifted his ass a little higher, his legs spread so Marcus could see the way his balls hung and how his cock bobbed. Marcus’ firm body pushed against him from beneath, and Lucian bit into the pillow to keep from pleading with Marcus to put it inside of him.
He’d never wanted someone so much in his life.
“Lift your head only slightly,” Marcus instructed.
Lucian did as he was told. His face parted from the pillow, and for a second he could see the crisp black pillowcase and the minuscule weave of its fibers—but only for a second. In the next moment, his sight was stolen from him. Silk stretched across the bridge of his nose and caressed the sides of his face at the same longitude as his eyes. It secured itself firmly behind his head, and Lucian felt as a knot tightened there to hold it in place. He’d been blindfolded.
“Everything about you is mine.” Marcus’ voice was clearer than it had ever been, and although it was not unkind, it offered no room for discussion. “Your body. Your mind. Your sight.”
Lucian shuddered. The words rendered him helpless, his cock aching and neglected as his body longed for more. The things Marcus said turned him on as much as his touch did.
“If I decide you shouldn’t see, you won’t see.” Marcus’ hand met the back of Lucian’s head, and gentle pressure pushed Lucian’s face back to the pillows. “If I decide you shouldn’t speak, you won’t speak. And if I decide to let you free…” It wasn’t Marcus’ hands that found Lucian’s wrists, but something much coarser and unforgiving—rope. It wound tightly, and Lucian’s hands brushed against the wooden frame of the headboard as he was secured to it. His heart raced. “… I’ll let you free. Until then, you will serve me as I want you to serve me.”