Sealing the deal

Citation preview

Sealing the Deal A Sex Sells Story

By Kim Dare

Resplendence Publishing, LLC http://www.resplendencepublishing.com

Resplendence Publishing, LLC 2665 S Atlantic Avenue, #349 Daytona Beach, FL 32118 Sealing the Deal Copyright © 2011, Kim Dare Edited by Christine Allen-Riley and Jason Huffman Cover art by Les Byerley, www.les3photo8.com

Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-348-5

Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Electronic release: July 2011

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

To my parents, without whose love, support and encouragement I wouldn’t have published one story, let alone fifty!

Chapter One

“Garland, great work!” Toby Garland looked over his shoulder. A man he vaguely recognized as Thomas from accounting stood a few feet behind him. The guy grinned and clapped him on the back as if they were the best of friends. “I still can’t believe you got that damn contract through!” he bellowed into Toby’s ear. On the other side of the office, someone turned up the music yet another notch. A few of the other employees at SKIN advertising agency spotted the quiet little corner Toby had taken refuge in. They immediately rushed across the room to shake his hand, slap him on the back and nudge his shoulder in what seemed to Toby to be a very well-choreographed attempt to spill at least part of his drink down his favorite suit. Toby tried to listen. He tried to care what the people he’d been working with for the last three months said to him. Good manners demanded he nod and fix a polite smile to his lips, but he couldn’t actually bring himself to take in more than one or two words out of each dozen they babbled at him. “So, I guess this makes you unemployed,” someone joked. Toby offered him a vague nod. “Yes,” he agreed. “Something like that.” He looked past the guy’s shoulder and scanned the room, searching for a head of short blond hair that should have been visible several inches above the heads of everyone else in the room. “Anything else lined up?” the guy to Toby’s right asked. “Two weeks holiday, then I’ll be starting work on another contract negotiation for another company,” Toby answered, automatically.

It was nice that people asked, he told himself. Honestly, it was, but right then he didn’t even care if he had another job to go to, himself. The only thing that mattered was that his contract with this firm was finally, blessedly, over. “Anyone we know?” someone else asked. “Nothing’s been finalized yet,” Toby said, diplomatically. He turned his head a fraction to scope out the left hand side of the room. There! In the furthest corner of the room, Hudson Scott stood up. Well over six feet tall, he was wonderfully easy to find in a crowd once he got to his feet. Toby gave up even pretending to listen to his former colleagues as he tracked Hudson’s progress across the room. As one of the four founding members of an advertising company who’d just signed a contract securing their prosperity for the next five years, Hudson was quickly surrounded by people who no doubted wished to congratulate him, suck up to him, or ask him for a raise. Somehow continuing to answer the questions put to him on automatic pilot, Toby took full advantage of each moment when the crowd of office workers between him and his former boss moved in a way that allowed him to catch sight of the other man. Toby had become something of an expert at making the most of each brief glimpse of Hudson over the last few months. The slightly older man looked perfectly in command, entirely in control of the whole damn world. Toby swallowed and tried to work some moisture into his throat. His grip on his glass of Coke tightened as anxious energy bubbled inside him and desperately sought for some subtle form of release. Hudson had taken off his jacket. His tie had also been dispensed with at some point during the office party. With his shirt collar open and his sleeves rolled up, he presented the most informal image Toby had ever seen of him. Watching his every movement and every shift of muscle visible beneath the pale blue shirt, Toby followed Hudson’s leisurely steps toward the other end of the open plan office area. The other man didn’t even glance in Toby’s direction as he stepped into his private office, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him. Toby managed one last smile for the group of people still gathered around him, before he politely excused himself. Taking a deep breath, he made his way across the room as quickly as possible while still maintaining some modicum of discretion about his destination. Leaving his

glass of Coke on a desk just outside Hudson’s office door, Toby squared his shoulders and tapped on the glossy black surface. “Come in.” Toby nudged the door a little further open. Hudson stood on the opposite side of the room, looking out of the huge picture window that practically filled that wall of his office. He didn’t even glance over his shoulder to check who had joined him. Toby pulled the door closed behind him. The moment it clicked shut, the sounds filtering into Hudson’s office from the party became distant and muted. The rest of the world ceased to exist. There was a shiny silver key in the lock. Toby reached for it. The soft swish of a mechanism turning over, completely drowned out the blaring music. For several long seconds, Toby stared at the key. He never remembered seeing it left in the lock before. It hadn’t all been in his mind then… He turned to face his former employer with renewed confidence. “You did excellent work on the negotiations,” Hudson told the view over the river. “Thank you.” Hudson finally turned to face Toby, properly acknowledging his presence for the first time. “No false modesty?” he asked. “No,” Toby said, very simply. “I’m good at what I do. Your company paid me a very good wage for my services and they got their money’s worth out of me.” Hudson nodded once, accepting everything he’d said as fact, before his lips twisted into a half smile. “And now?” “Now, I don’t work for you anymore,” Toby said. “My contract with you ended the moment you signed the contract with Anderson Technologies.” And Toby had never been more grateful to see pen put to paper or to see a job come to an end in his life. “There’s another contract on my desk.” Toby hesitated, but only for a second. Quickly pulling himself together, he strode across to Hudson’s desk. Several sheets of paper had been placed neatly in the center of the black leather inlay. Toby held back a sigh. This really wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he locked the door. He could have cheerfully condemned every contract on the planet to hell right then but,

even knowing full well his business acumen always died the moment his brain dropped below his belt, Toby still ran his eyes over the first page, instinctively wanting to please Hudson. He read the first words, wondering if this would prove to be a test, or part of the game they were about to play together, or something else entirely. It wouldn’t be completely unexpected if it turned out the man he’d been watching every day for the last few months intended to make him jump through a few more hoops before they got to the more enjoyable part of the evening, but at the same time… A frown formed across Toby’s brow as the meaning of the words on that first page finally sunk in. “A slave contract,” he blurted out. “A submissive contract,” Hudson corrected, quite calmly. “The principle difference being?” Toby asked, reading the title page over once more in the hope of finding a punch line. It had to be a joke. It had to be… There wasn’t much to be gleaned from the cover page. It was barely more than a statement of whom the contract was to be between, and a definition on who would be referred to as the dominant party and the submissive party in the rest of the document—as if anyone could ever have been in any doubt about that. “The natural desire of any slave is emancipation and freedom,” Hudson informed him, leaning casually against the window on the other side of the room. “But any true submissive wants nothing more than to belong to a master—to freely give up control of himself and to offer everything he is to another man. I’m no slaver, Toby—I have no interest in an unwilling partner. However, a well-trained submissive—that is an entirely different matter.” Toby continued to stare down at the printed page. Hudson could call it whatever the hell he wanted, it was still a slave contract. Toby had seen enough of them to know. He’d drawn up enough of them for various local dominants to understand the drill. He took a deep breath and tried to think clearly as images of just what Hudson was offering him flooded his mind and swept all rational thought aside. Kneeling before his master wearing nothing but a leather collar. His hands in cuffs as he hung suspended from chains attached to the ceiling. Bowing down until his forehead rested on the floor at Hudson’s feet. Facing the wall as Hudson held him there, refusing him any bit of comfort, any fraction of free movement as he thrust into him.

Toby blinked. “You never mentioned that you were interested in anything this serious,” he said. His voice was perfectly level. No trace of emotion crept through to indicate just how freaked out he was. Hearing the fake calmness settled Toby’s nerves a fraction—but not nearly enough to stop his heart racing or his breaths from faltering behind his ribs. A damn slave contract… Hudson walked leisurely around his desk until he stood directly behind Toby. “I never mentioned I wanted anything at all from you, Toby,” he said. “But here you are, in my office, with the door locked, and a very obvious erection spoiling the line of your trousers.” Toby stared down at the paperwork on the desk, not really seeing it as Hudson stepped in very close behind him. The larger man’s body heat seeped through their clothes but Hudson stopped just a fraction of an inch short of actual body contact. Tensing every muscle he possessed, Toby fought against the instinct to lean back and press himself against his former employer’s larger frame. He’d only need to sway back a few inches, and he’d be able to use his whole body to assess the other man’s build. He’d know if Hudson’s physique was as fantastic as he’d always imagined it would be, once those expensive business suits were stripped away. As Toby stood perfectly still and silent in front of Hudson’s desk, he wanted nothing more than to turn around and discover how it would feel to be held close against the taller man’s body. The need to find out if he’d be allowed drag his fingers through Hudson’s short blond hair or if there would be rules in place that made him beg before he was even allowed to touch the other man, was like a physical pain. Maybe more than anything else, Toby desperately needed to know if leaning back just a fraction of an inch would confirm that Hudson was as hard as he was. Another moment spent wondering about it all, and he’d lose his mind. He no longer had that right. Toby closed his eyes, but he barely allowed himself a prolonged blink before he forced them back open. He couldn’t lean back. He couldn’t move at all—not without Hudson’s permission. He no longer had that right. With or without signing his name to a contract, Toby knew he’d given up any and all rights, barring any Hudson might chose to grant him, when he walked into his former employer’s

office and locked the door behind him. That knowledge dropped directly to his cock, making him swell further within the increasingly tight confines of his trousers. “Hudson,” he began, praying his voice would stay steady just a little while longer. “That’s not what you’ve been calling me inside your head, is it?” Toby trailed off. He licked his lips as nerves made his throat close up completely. “When was the last time you called me Hudson inside your head, Toby?” he whispered in his ear. The words slipped straight into Toby’s spine, sending another shot of arousal to his already aching shaft. Hudson’s tone hardened. “Answer me.” “First week,” Toby managed to stutter out. His voice cracked as Hudson shifted behind him, brushing their bodies together before retreating a fraction of an inch, to a place where Toby didn’t have permission to follow. “What have you been calling me inside your head since then,” Hudson asked. “Mr. Scott? Sir? Master? Something else?” “Sir,” Toby confessed. “I’ve been calling you sir.” “Then it’s about time you started using that title out loud, isn’t it?” Toby swallowed. “Yes, sir.” “Good boy,” Hudson said. Taking half a step back, he ran his fingertips very lightly down Toby’s spine. A shudder racked Toby’s body. His eyes dropped closed. It had been so long to wait. He’d spent so many hours imagining what might happen between them once his work for Hudson’s company came to an end. And now that the moment was here, Toby could hardly breathe well enough to enjoy it. His head spun, but he couldn’t even be sure if that was down to an inclination toward submission or a simple lack of oxygen. “The moment you put your name to this contract, you will call me sir whenever we are alone together—no exceptions. There will be punishments if you forget. In public, wherever and whenever the use of an honorific would draw attention, you may continue to call me Hudson.” “Yes, sir.”

Toby blinked his eyes open and looked down at the contract, at what the other man was offering him. His brain quickly gave up on the idea that anything like a rational thought process was going to happen and shut down completely. His body jerked into action, more than ready to take up the slack and make sure a stupid little thing like survival instinct didn’t make him pass up the most erotic opportunity that had ever come its way. Toby’s brain watched, detached and emotionless as his hand reached out and took up the pen resting to one side of the paperwork. His other hand turned over the loose pages until he reached the last one, where two signatures were required. His thumb pressed the button on the top of the pen. Submissive’s signature. The dotted line called out to him. Toby silently watched his hand patiently guide the pen to the right spot on the page. Without any warning, the slim, silver pen was jerked out of his hand. It rattled against the hardwood flooring as it slid across the dark stained boards and rolled to a stop underneath the table on the far side of the room. “What do you think you’re doing?” Hudson demanded.

Chapter Two

Toby stared at the glint of silver metal for several long seconds. “I thought…” He trailed off without adding any further words to the started sentence. A loud smacking sound filled the air as Hudson’s hand suddenly connected sharply with Toby’s left buttock. “Sir,” Toby rushed to add, in a voice several notes higher than it should have been. He cleared his throat and tried again a little more calmly. “I’m sorry, sir, I thought you wanted me to sign—” “Haven’t you ever signed a contract before?” Hudson demanded. Toby stared down at the dotted line. Yes. He’d put his signature to dozens, scores, probably even hundreds of contracts as a witness. Big, small and average—important contracts that changed hundreds of lives, insignificant ones that were only important to the people in the room at the time. Toby knew all about contracts. “No, sir,” he finally managed to say. “I haven’t. Not in…not in this context.” He’d never signed himself over to another man, never even wanted to before he stepped into the offices of SKIN designs. “You should still know better than to put your name to something you haven’t even read,” Hudson told him, just a little more gently. “Yes, sir,” Toby agreed. “Fetch the pen.” Toby hesitated for a moment, looking across the room to where the pen lay under the table, then glancing at all the other identical pens still occupying the holder on Hudson’s desk. “Yes, sir,” he finally agreed.

Hudson didn’t step back. Toby edged awkwardly from his place between his former employer’s body and the ebony desk. He made his way rapidly across the room, feeling Hudson’s gaze lingering on his body every inch of the way. Reaching the far table, he crouched down and fumbled beneath it. The moment his fingers closed around the pen, he made his way back to Hudson’s side and offered it to him. Hudson took it from him and calmly threw it back across the room. “Now do it properly.” Shocked into lifting his gaze, Toby looked straight into Hudson’s eyes for the first time in what felt like years. “You obviously know too much about submission to play ignorant, Toby. If I give you an order, I expect you to follow it to the best of your ability. I’ll train you to my own tastes over time, but pretending to forget everything you already know about submission doesn’t make you look like a novice, it just makes you look sloppy.” It was all said in Hudson’s usual deep, serious voice. There was nothing particularly cruel about his tone. Somehow the words still made Toby regret his mistake, all the way down to his core. Dropping his gaze, he took a step back and retracted his path to the other side of the room. Lowering himself to his knees, keeping every movement he made as neat and symmetrical as humanly possible, he reached under the desk and retrieved the pen once more. Acutely aware of every part of his body, Toby rose to his feet with all the grace he could muster and walked back to Hudson’s side. There, Toby lowered himself carefully to his knees at the other man’s feet and offered the pen to his master on two neatly raised palms. Hudson took it and placed it on the desk next to the contract. “Much better,” he acknowledged. “Resume your place.” “Thank you, sir,” Toby said, as he edged his way back into the narrow space. It was practically impossible to squeeze into the gap between Hudson and the desk without brushing against the other man’s body. As soon as he’d rubbed up against him once, Toby couldn’t resist the temptation to make the most of the opportunity and check that Hudson really was just as turned on as he was. A sharp smack on his backside quickly informed him that Hudson wasn’t the least bit fooled by his attempt to make the contact appear accidental.

“Yes, Toby, I’m hard.” Hudson leaned forward a fraction and pressed his erection against Toby’s arse in proof. “Yes, I want to bend you over my desk and bury my cock in your arse. And, yes, I want to make you scream and beg your master to let you come. But you’ve known that since the first time you stepped into my office, haven’t you?” “Yes, sir,” Toby whispered, as his eyes dropped closed. “Did you jack yourself off after that first meeting, Toby? Did you rush off to find a private little space where you could play with your cock, stroking and pumping away until you came into your hands while you thought of me?” Toby whimpered at the images that filled his brain. “Answer,” Hudson ordered. “Yes, sir.” “Where?” “In my car, sir. In the car park.” The older man chuckled. His breath brushed against Toby’s neck, sending a shiver down his spine. “How long did you last?” Toby hesitated, wondering where the conversation was going. “Speak up. Five minutes? Three? Less?” “Less, sir,” Toby admitted. Hell, as hard as he’d been as he rushed to his car, it was only a small mercy that he’d managed to shut the damn door before he came. Another little laugh tickled Toby’s ear. “We’ll have to work on that, won’t we? Teach you some stamina.” Toby swallowed, helplessly imagining all the ways the other man might do that, but there was no possibility of giving the man behind him any answer bar the obvious one. “Yes, sir.” “When was the last time you took a lover?” Toby shifted his weight forward, allowing an inch or two of empty air to come between them. His fingers clenched into fists as he fought for some subtle way to disperse the nervous energy boiling inside his muscles. “Sir,” he began. “That doesn’t sound like the start of a proper answer.”

Toby closed his eyes. Hudson had the right to ask him anything he wanted. Toby knew that. And he knew that the other man would probably demand more honesty and more embarrassing admissions from him by the end of it all, but the words still stuck in his throat. It was too soon. It was still too new a scene for him to throw his pride aside as if he didn’t give a damn about it. “I don’t enjoy repeating myself.” Hudson’s voice hardened further as he said each word. “Three months, two weeks, three days, sir,” Toby said, forcing each word past lips that didn’t want to cooperate. It had been over three months since he’d so much as looked at another man—more than three months since he walked into Hudson’s office and… “Good boy.” Toby kept his eyes closed as if that would wipe away the memory of all the men and women he’d seen Hudson speaking to over those months. True, he didn’t know for a fact that Hudson had screwed every damn one of them, but it had sure as hell felt like it from where Toby stood. “The contract negotiations took up all my time,” he blurted out. That was nothing more than a fact. Even if he’d been inclined to go out and screw some stranger in a club, even if he hadn’t in some stupid way felt like he belonged to Hudson since the first time he saw him across the boardroom table, Toby would have been hard pressed to find the time to go out and enjoy himself. Hudson’s hand landed on his backside again, a moment later, the other man’s left hand fell on his opposite buttock. Toby gasped. Hudson wasn’t holding back. These were real smacks not flirtatious little taps, and they were delivered by a man who evidently wasn’t slacking off in the gym. Heat flared through Toby’s buttocks and shot waves of adrenaline though his bloodstream. Pain quickly morphed into pleasure inside him, making him desperate to beg for a real spanking. The tiny bit of his brain that was still working jumped up and down in the back of his mind, waving a red flag. Sooner or later, he’d be allowed to come. Endorphins would fade away and it would be then that any punishment he received would be felt in earnest. It would be stupid to invite extra penalties for no reason, no matter how much he wanted it.

“Really?” Hudson asked. “And that’s the only reason why you haven’t let another man lay a hand on you in the last three months?” Toby mentally recited a long list of curses. If he’d just kept his mouth shut Hudson would probably have been satisfied with nothing more than the admissions he’d already made. He was too slow. The sound of a large hand connecting firmly against the seat of his trousers filled the air. “I belonged to you, sir,” Toby rushed out. The words slurred together in his haste. The sentence was little more than a garbled mess. “Pardon?” “I didn’t have sex with anyone else in the last three months because I knew I already belonged to you, sir,” Toby said, enunciating every word very clearly in the hopes it would be the last time he had to admit that out loud. “Are you ashamed to belong to me?” Hudson asked, in what sounded like the same careful tone. Toby looked down at the contract on the table—at a blurred white rectangle he couldn’t quite bring into focus. Right then, he knew he should be ashamed that he’d offered his fidelity to a man who’d never made any pretence of offering the same thing in return. It was obvious that Hudson had known full well how he felt about him, that he’d known Toby had been waiting on him for months and yet— “I want an answer,” Hudson pushed. “No, sir,” Toby said. It was only as he said them that he realized the words were actually the whole truth. “I’m not ashamed.” It simply wasn’t in him to be ashamed of what he instinctively wished to offer any man he gave his submission to. “Good boy,” Hudson’s hand trailed down Toby’s back and ran over his backside, caressing the soreness building in the tight muscles. “Read the contract.” Toby’s hands shook as he righted the pages, setting them back neatly in the middle of the leather inlay. The contract. It was just a contract. Toby repeated that mantra over and over inside his head. He had to focus. He had to think. The contact. He could do this. Toby understood contracts. Hell, he’d pretty much built his whole damn life around being good with contracts.

Pushing aside both his nerves and his arousal as best he could, Toby began reading the first line. He read it over again, but the words just wouldn’t sink in. Toby shook his head, trying to clear the fog, but it didn’t do him any good. All he could think about was Hudson standing behind him and how much he wanted the other man to bend him over the desk and make everything between them as simple as a large cock and a tight hole. Hudson’s hand moved to rest between Toby’s shoulder blades. He pressed forward until Toby had no choice but to bend at the waist. Toby started to put his hands forward but he quickly corrected the unapproved action, waiting to see if permission to move would be granted. “Palms flat on the desk on either side of the paper. You can move your hands to turn the pages, but put them back as soon as you’re done.” Hudson actually expected him to read and understand words when he was half bent over the table like that? The larger man’s erection pressed up against Toby’s backside, tempting him with thoughts that had nothing to do with any kind of paperwork. In spite of the ache in his muscles, he still wanted to push back and rub himself against the other man’s cock, inviting his former employer to screw him right there and then. Hudson’s other hand settled at the back of Toby’s neck, tangling in the curls at his nape and holding him there, looking down at the page. “Read,” he demanded. Toby read. One word at a time he made his way down the first page—the same page that hadn’t told him anything the first time he scanned it. This time, reading it was different. Each word made sense. Toby understood every last one of them, but his brain wouldn’t cooperate in joining the words together into thoughts and ideas. They were just syllables without context, without meaning. His cock ached, Toby’s body screamed at him, begging him to push back against the other man’s crotch, to arch under his touch and feel the strength in the hold the other man had over him. Toby turned the page and went on reading one word at a time, following Hudson’s order, but not gaining any real knowledge of what terms the contract actually contained. He bit his lip and closed his eyes, unwilling to admit that he was incapable of reading and understanding even the simplest contract on the planet.

Eyes shut very tightly, Toby kept turning over the pages. Counting slowly to one hundred inside his head, his only objective was to ensure that Hudson never realized that he was too wrapped up in arousal and submission to obey his order. Finally Toby reached the last page. Blinking open his eyes, he saw the lines where signatures were required. Relief bubbled up inside him as he realized that the farce of pretending to read and comprehend was over. Toby closed his eyes again, and waited for another order. “Finished?” Hudson asked. “Yes, sir.” The larger man didn’t ease the grip that held him in place in the slightest. “Do you understand everything in the contract?” Toby opened his eyes. Heat rushed to his cheeks, but it was a slave contract. No doubt it contained exactly what he assumed it contained. “I understand the terms of the contract, sir.” Toby blinked as the word contract left his lips. There were forms that should be followed when faced with a contract—they suddenly came back to him. “On which points are there no room for negotiation, sir?” he asked on autopilot. That was always the best way to get the ball rolling. Find out what the client thought he wasn’t willing to negotiate on and— “There is no room for negotiation on any point,” Hudson said firmly. Toby swallowed. He’d heard a lot of men say those words before, but Hudson was the first man who actually made him believe they were the truth. A few hours to clear his head and he might have a chance. If he could just take the contract somewhere quiet out of Hudson’s presence for a little while, he’d at least be able to read it and make sense of it. If he could just get off, then his brain would almost certainly start to work again and it would be so easy. “Is there a… May I have some time to make my decision, sir?”

“No.” Hudson Scott studied Toby’s body language very carefully as he gave his answer. From the top of the disordered mop of chestnut curls all the way down to his wellpolished shoes, he was perfect. Right then, it was easy to believe no one had ever said no to

Toby. It was equally easy to see why so many people would be eager to indulge him. Apparently the only person who didn’t know how gorgeous Toby was, was the boy himself. Hudson took a deep breath and pushed forward regardless of any desire to indulge the other man. “If you don’t already know if this is what you want now, that’s not going to change with time.” Toby looked down for a moment, tugging at Hudson’s hold on his hair. “Sir…” “Finish your sentence,” Hudson ordered, damned if he’d allow the other man to keep anything back from him. “If you tell me your rules, I’ll follow them, sir,” Toby promised, ever so earnestly. “I don’t need to be put under a contract—I’ve never needed to have one in place to know who I belong to.” “That’s not your choice, Toby,” Hudson said. “If you want to belong to me, there will be no half measures between us. There will be none of the silly games men play with strangers in clubs. There will be a contract and you will belong to me—entirely, completely and permanently.” Toby wriggled within Hudson’s grip, seeming to get fractious with nerves. Hudson held him easily in place, strengthening his hold on Toby in an effort to reassure him he was perfectly safe. Toby’s body shook as he took a deep breath. “Please, sir.” The words were barely more than a whisper. “Tell me what you want,” Hudson ordered, still holding the smaller man effortlessly in place. “Let me up, sir?” Toby asked, something that sounded suspiciously like panic suddenly seeping into his voice. Hudson frowned down at the back of Toby’s head. Sliding his hand from the nape of the boy’s neck around until it rested in front of his throat, he cupped Toby’s windpipe and his jugular easily in the palm of his hand. Toby swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed against Hudson’s palm, making Hudson even more acutely aware of how thoroughly he held Toby’s life in his hand.

Gradually, Hudson eased the pressure he’d placed on the small of Toby’s back. He increased the upward force on his throat in sync with it. Under his guidance, Toby tentatively straightened up. “Hands by your sides, no fidgeting,” Hudson ordered. Toby immediately dropped his arms to hang idly to either side of his body. Hudson kept piloting the boy up until Toby stood straight, then further back again until the smaller man rested snugly against his body. He kept the hand on Toby’s throat, keeping the boy’s head pulled back against his shoulder, making sure he was offering the other man as much physical contact as was possible. “That’s better,” Hudson praised, careful to keep his voice calm and gentle. “I know you’ve never signed a contract like this before. I know the idea makes you nervous, but you’re safe with me. There’s no need to panic. Understand?” “Yes, sir,” Toby whispered very quietly, as if he wasn’t sure a louder answer would sneak under the hand on his throat. “Tell me what’s scaring you.” Toby closed his eyes. Hudson held his breath as he waited for the other man’s answer. After the last few months of fantasizing about what might happen that day, the idea that it would all suddenly slip away without him being able to realize a damn moment of it made him tense. There was no way he could hide that from Toby. “Sir, we’ve never even…” “Never what?” Hudson asked, when Toby failed to find any more words. “We’ve never had sex? Played out a scene? Met each other outside the office? Let our kinky sides come out to play with each other? Finish your sentence, Toby.” “All of the above, sir,” Toby whispered. Hudson smiled as relief rushed through him. Was that all Toby was worried about? “Do you want to try before you buy, pet? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” Toby swallowed. “What if we just don’t…what if the chemistry just isn’t there, sir?” Hudson chuckled, knowing now that there was nothing standing in his way. “I’m surprised this desk hasn’t got scorch marks on it, the chemistry that’s passed across it since you started sitting opposite me.”

Toby said nothing, but Hudson knew then that the submissive’s actual words weren’t that important. What he’d really been asking for was his master’s reassurance. If he didn’t have the right syllables to frame that request, that wasn’t important. “Give yourself to me for one hour, Toby,” Hudson whispered in his ear. “I’ll humor you, and I’ll prove that I am the only man you’ll ever want to kneel before for the rest of your life. No contract, just your word that for the next hour you’ll belong to me and I can do whatever I want with you.” Toby swallowed rapidly. He closed his eyes for a few moments, as if gathering up courage to give his answer. Hudson waited patiently, just as he’d bidden his time over the last three months. Finally the words he was waiting for came to Toby’s lips. “For the next hour, I belong to you, sir.”

Chapter Three

The only reason Hudson didn’t breathe a sigh of relief was because there would have been no way he could have hidden that sort of sign of weakness from Toby while they were still pressed so tightly together. Toby didn’t need weakness from him. “Give me your watch.” Hudson’s voice was still perfectly calm and steady. Suddenly, all the effort he’d put into learning how to control his emotions over a dozen years of business meetings and club scenes was worthwhile. Hudson didn’t release Toby from his hold. The boy’s head remained forced back against his shoulder, pinned down by the controlled pressure on his throat. Working blindly, Toby fumbled at the catch on his watch strap. It took him four attempts to take it off, but he didn’t give up. He kept at it and Hudson couldn’t have been more pleased with him. He swayed slightly away from Hudson as if he wanted to turn and kneel in order to offer it up with all due formality but Hudson refused to permit any such move. A moment’s hesitation and Toby simply held it out on his palm. Taking it off him, Hudson placed it face down on his desk. “I’ll tell you when your hour is up.” “Yes, sir.” “Now, let’s see what I’ve got to work with.” Hudson stepped back. Toby swayed as if his entire support system had suddenly disappeared. He looked around, instinctively searching for his, albeit temporary, master the moment they ceased to be in bodily contact.

Hudson smiled to himself. Toby was turning out to be everything he hoped for and more. “Stand in the middle of the room,” he ordered. Toby stepped carefully into the empty space in the center of the room. His legs didn’t seem to be incredibly steady beneath him. Hudson found himself tensing, ready to leap forward and catch him if he should stop merely wanting to kneel at his master’s feet and actually become physically incapable of doing anything else. Somehow, Toby kept his balance. Stepping forward, Hudson looked him over very slowly, taking in every detail. He’d allowed himself to steal more than a few glances over the last few months, but this was something in an entirely different league. This was nothing less than a master surveying his new piece of property, and it felt glorious. Toby stared straight ahead as Hudson circled him. Someone really had put a lot of effort into training him at some point. Jealousy rushed through Hudson. It took all his self-control to push it aside without letting Toby see it. Hudson stopped circling Toby and stood in front of him, feet set wide apart, arms folded across his chest. “Jacket off,” he ordered. Toby jumped as the command hit the air. A second later, the meaning in the words seemed to reach his brain. Scrambling out of his jacket, he held the garment uncertainly in his hand, awaiting another order. “Put it on the back of the chair. Move to stand by the bookcase,” Hudson said, nodding at the desk chair on the far side of the room, then to the bookcase on the opposite side of the window. Toby hung his jacket neatly on the chair and walked across to the bookcase. “Shoes in that corner. Stand by the desk,” Hudson said. Toby did as he was told. The moment he reached one location, Hudson made sure another order sent another item of clothing to another part of the room and Toby, himself, to bide his time in yet another apparently random spot. Tie—second draw of the filing cabinet. Stand by the window. Sock—on top of the nearest bookcase. Over to the door. Shirt—under Hudson’s desk. Stand next to the fax machine. Other sock—by the shredder.

As Toby made his way around the room, Hudson nodded his approval. Yes, he had a feeling this was going to work out very nicely indeed.

Toby’s head spun as he tried and failed to keep track of where various items of his clothing disappeared to. Hudson, standing stock still in the same spot in the center of the room while he choreographed the elaborate dance, quickly became Toby’s only solid point of reference, the only thing he could trust or look toward for guidance. The disorientating maze Hudson led him around soon had Toby short of breath, his pulse racing faster and faster as his body was slowly revealed to the other man. He hardly had time to worry about what the other man might think of the increasing amount of skin visible to his inspection. Hudson didn’t give him a chance. Clothing was for placing wherever Hudson wanted it stored. The fact that the various pieces of cloth had spent their time covering Toby’s body stopped being important. Buttons and flies weren’t for holding clothes together and ensuring his modesty, they were annoying bits of plastic and metal that slowed down his ability to follow his master’s orders. Then, without any warning, there was nothing. No further orders hit the air. Toby stood directly in front of his master, completely naked. As he fell still for the first time in what felt like hours, cool air settled against his flushed skin. A shiver ran through him, the only hint of movement in the otherwise still room. Silence stretched out between them until the sound of the party teased the very edges of the Toby’s senses. Dragging anther ragged breath into his lungs, he looked up, asking his master for instruction and leadership as tension built inside him, doubling over and over again until it threatened to break him. “Kneel.” A long time ago, Toby vaguely remembered another dominant man putting a lot of time and effort into making sure he knew how to rise and lower himself to his knees with perfect symmetry and grace. Now, his legs simply buckled at Hudson’s command. His knees hit the floor with a thud. Unexpected whiplash shot through his body, making him gasp.

Gathering his scattered brain cells, Toby quickly found his balance and faced front and center. Hudson was hard. The dominant’s erection pressed against the front of his trousers just a few feet from Toby’s face. “How many times have you imagined yourself kneeling for me, Toby?” Hudson asked, from somewhere above him. Toby tried to work some moisture into his mouth, but the words still came out as little more than a croak. “Every day, sir.” “Once a day?” his former employer pushed. Toby couldn’t take his eyes off Hudson’s tenting trousers as he shook his head. “Every time I saw you, sir.” “And did you imagine sucking my cock, Toby? Is that what you’ve been fantasizing about for the last three months? Is that the image that’s got you off every time you jacked your cock?” About to offer an automatic, ‘yes, sir’, Toby blinked and stopped himself short. “I…I thought of other things too, sir.” “Your master bending you over the table and thrusting into your arse? Did you think about me spanking you? Whipping you? Tying you up, pinning you down?” “Yes, sir.” Toby had fantasized about all those things, and about other, infinitely more embarrassing, things too. Just sitting at his master’s feet and being close to him. A strong hand stroking through his hair. A deep voice telling him that he was pleased with him. The security of belonging to one man, one master for the rest of his life. Toby had thought of a lot of different things over the last three months. “I’m not going to do any of those things,” Hudson announced. “Do you know why?” Toby looked up at his master, wondering if he could somehow have confessed those secret desires aloud without even realizing his lips had moved. “I’m not going to top you, because I have no intention of letting you come right now.” Toby dropped his gaze. Oh, those other things. Of course, that’s what Hudson had been talking about. His master was speaking about the things he’d said out loud himself, not the silly little things that filled his submissive’s mind.

“I couldn’t expect you not to come if I bent you over my desk today. I’ll teach you that sort of control over time, but for now, I’ll settle for you demonstrating that you are able to resist the temptation to come while I make full use of your mouth.” “Yes, sir,” Toby said, even though he wasn’t entirely sure what he was agreeing with. Yes, he’d suck his master’s cock? Yes, he could prove he was able to not come while he did that? Yes, on the general principle that absolutely anything that Hudson wanted to do with him was fine with him? Hudson stepped closer. Toby stared at the outline of the other man’s cock through the fabric of his trousers as if it was the most awe inspiring sight he had ever seen. Another step closer and Hudson’s left hand wound itself into his hair, holding Toby very tightly in place. “Undo my fly.” Toby fumbled it. His hands just wouldn’t work. Hudson stood above him, simply watching every clumsy move until Toby finally managed to get the zipper down. “Take out my cock.” He did that too, sliding his hand into his master’s boxers and freeing his erection from the tight cotton confines. He was beautiful, long, thick and uncut—and just as Toby had imagined he might be. Lost in his thought, Toby licked his lips. Above him, Hudson chuckled. A moment later, he pulled Toby’s head forward a little and let his cock brush across his lips, smearing them with pre-cum. Toby hastily lapped up the salty liquid, swallowing it down with enthusiasm too instinctive to be denied. Too late, he remembered that he didn’t have permission to do any such thing. He looked worriedly up at his master, wondering if an apology would be welcomed or considered to be speaking out of turn. Dominance shone brightly in the other man’s eyes, but there was no anger there. Hudson made no comment on Toby’s error. He shifted his weight forward and brushed the tip of his cock against his lips once more.

Toby opened his mouth, but Hudson didn’t accept the invitation. Not knowing what was expected of him, Toby stared up at him his lips still parted as he watched the other man’s face, hoping for any clue. He tried to moisten his lips as his nerves made it impossible for him to completely hide his anxiety. Toby’s tongue brushed across the tip of his master’s cock. Hudson didn’t move. Guided by instincts which were too new for him to fully understand or trust, Toby lapped at Hudson’s glans again. The dominant stared down at him, watching his every move. Toby swallowed down his doubts and swirled his tongue around the head, gathering up the taste of Hudson on his tongue. The other man allowed that too. Gaining more courage by the second, Toby tried to lean forward and take the tip of the other man’s cock into his mouth so he could feel the hard shaft against his lips as well as his tongue. The grip on his hair instantly tightened. Toby whimpered his frustration as he looked up at his master. Hudson merely smiled. Confused, Toby tugged at the hand restraining his hair as he sought for mental space. The other man’s grip didn’t waver. “Sir?” “I don’t have any room in my life for a man who has doubts about what he wants, Toby. If you want this, show me. If you want my cock in your mouth, fight for it.” Toby blinked. Fight. Not to get away. No, fight to serve, to submit. The moment that idea lodged itself in his brain, Toby leaned forward and tried to take Hudson’s cock into his mouth again, tugging at the hand in his hair. The other man didn’t let up an inch. Toby moaned his frustration as he struggled against Hudson’s hold on him. His hair caught around the other man’s fingers, pulling painfully at the roots but that wasn’t important. Time after time, Toby jerked at the hand in his hair, until desperation welled up inside him. All he wanted to do was obey his master—to serve and service his dominant. Someone wouldn’t let him. The fact it was Hudson’s own hand in his hair, that his master was the very man holding him back, ceased to make any difference. His need was greater than any application of logic could ever be.

Toby grabbed Hudson’s hips, jerking the other man closer to him. Opening his mouth wide, he wrapped his lips around the head of Hudson’s cock for the brief moment it came close enough for him to truly taste it. Hudson swayed away from him as he regained his balance. Toby lunged forward, scratching at Hudson’s flanks, as he scrabbled at the dominant’s trousers, and only succeeded in pushing the material away so it slid down Hudson’s legs. Clawing at bare skin, Toby shuffled forward on his knees, dragging himself closer to his master, sucking hard as he managed to close his mouth around his shaft again. The grip in Toby’s hair changed. It allowed him nearer for a moment. Gasping around Hudson’s erection, Toby worked him feverishly, tongue and lips swirling and caressing Hudson’s cock as quickly as he could. Pre-cum leaked onto his tongue and he rushed to swallow it down. Someone was making pleading, desperate noises in the back of his throat. It took Toby far too long to realize that they could only be coming from him. By then, it was both pointless and impossible to stop. His supplicating whimpers filled the office, drowning out the thumping thud of the music outside as some idiot turned up the volume yet again. Hudson tried to pull away. Toby clung to him, digging his nails into the other man’s hips to keep him within reach, but his master’s cock still slipped from between his lips. “No!” Toby pleaded. “Need. Please.” Hudson thrust forward, feeding his shaft past Toby’s lips as he hurriedly opened his mouth in welcome. Hudson pulled away again. Toby tugged against the grip that still restrained his hair. Part of him knew that Hudson was just moving to use his mouth to its best advantage, thrusting for the pleasure of friction, but a larger part of Toby didn’t care. Anything that pulled his master away from him, even for a moment, was a crime against all that was right in the world. Without any warning that Toby was able to register, Hudson came, hard and fast. Semen flooded into Toby’s mouth and he swallowed it all down, eager and greedy for anything his master would give him. One final thrust, then nothing but perfect stillness. Toby dragged deep breaths in through his nose, desperately trying to feed his oxygen starved brain while Hudson’s cock slowly softened in his mouth. Very happy where he was,

Toby sucked gently, contentedly, around the other man’s shaft. Eventually, Hudson nudged him away, forcing him to let his master’s cock slip from between his lips whether he wanted to or not. The hand in his hair pulled Toby close before his plea to be kept near had a chance to escape from his throat. Hudson guided him to lean forward and rest his forehead on his master’s hip. Toby frantically dragged yet more oxygen into his body, trying to fill his lungs and clear his head. The hand in his hair gentled. Hudson stroked his fingers across Toby’s scalp, smoothing down the ruffled chestnut strands. Toby happily rubbed his face against his master’s hip, desperate for any sort of contact with him. His hands slid against the other man’s skin, over his hips and round over the top curve of Hudson’s buttocks. His fingers splayed out, trying to touch as much of his master as possible, to ground himself in his master’s presence while he had the chance. Toby’s fingers brushed against the soft cotton of Hudson’s shirt as his hands wandered up the other man’s body. Toby squeezed his eyes shut very tight as he realized his hands probably shouldn’t be on his master’s skin at all. Permission for such liberties hadn’t been granted. It took every bit of control he could muster to force himself to give up the pleasure of his master’s skin and drop his hands to hang idly at his sides. Cold air filled his palms, mocking the loss of body heat against the sensitized skin. Somehow, Toby forced his hands not to form into fists, but to stay open, accepting anything his master should allow him to touch, accepting nothingness when he wasn’t offered anything else. “I’m sorr—“ “Hush.” Toby bit his lip as images of everything he’d just done flashed through his mind, bringing with them intense bursts of emotion. Desperation flooded through his body all over again, the kind of anxiety that he’d never felt with any other man—that he’d never even guessed existed until a few moments ago. And certainty. A degree of conviction that Toby had thought only existed in fantasies. He wanted Hudson. He wanted this. No matter what the cost, no matter what Hudson demanded of him in return, Toby knew right then that there was nothing he wouldn’t do if it earned him the right to remain kneeling at his master’s feet for the rest of his life.

If it meant offering the other man things he couldn’t demand in return, if it meant signing the contract, if it meant being a slave, none of that mattered. Hudson had opened up part of Toby’s mind and taken possession of a part of him that he’d barely recognized while he played foolish games with silly men in clubs. Hudson owned him. If he wanted to have that in writing, then it was nothing more or less than his right. “Do you…? Are you…? The contract, sir. If you still wish me to sign it…?” Toby stuttered out.

Chapter Four

Hudson’s fingers tightened in Toby’s hair as he tilted the boy’s head back and made him look up at his master. “I won’t let you come just because you sign,” he warned. Toby stared up at him, a strange expression flittered across his face, almost as if he was looking forward to the control Hudson was going to have over his orgasms just as much as Hudson was. “I understand that, sir,” Toby said, his voice hoarse with arousal. “Stand.” Toby dragged himself to his feet with obvious effort. He swayed slightly as if the small amount of blood that wasn’t pooling in his cock rushed to his head. Hudson studied him carefully, looking for any sign of hesitation or fear in the younger man’s face. Whenever Toby tried to lower his eyes or look away, Hudson forced him to meet his gaze again, determined to have as good a read on him as possible before they went any further. “Sir…” Toby whispered. “Any sentence you start must be finished.” Toby licked his lips and swallowed several times in quick succession. He closed his eyes. Hudson carefully tightened his grip on Toby’s hair until the boy opened his eyes again. “Finish,” he ordered again. Toby met his eyes and held Hudson’s gaze for several long seconds. “Please may I sign the contract, sir?” Hudson raised one eyebrow at him. “No more doubts about our chemistry?” he asked, amusement tinting his voice. A touch of color rose to Toby’s cheeks. “No, sir.” “No more doubts about anything?”

“No, sir,” he said again. Hudson stared down at his new submissive, and in that moment, he was sure neither of them had any doubt that was exactly what he was. Toby was Hudson’s submissive. Success rushed through Hudson as he let his gaze caress Toby’s body in a leisurely inspection while the other man stood still and silent before him, lacking permission to do anything else. Toby’s hands clenched into fists as he seemed to fight back some desire to move. His toes curled against the floorboards. “It’s just possible that you’re going to be even better than I imagined,” Hudson murmured. “Thank you, sir,” Toby said. Hudson’s lips twitched into a smile. Releasing his grip on Toby’s hair, he ran his hand down the boy’s back to palm his buttocks. Toby gasped as Hudson caressed the skin he’d spanked earlier. His eyes dropped closed for a second as if relishing the sensations his lover was creating inside him. Pride swelled inside Hudson’s chest. He always had been good at getting a quick read on a submissive. Chuckling, he gave Toby a playful tap on the bottom. “Later on, I just might give you the proper spanking you’ve been fantasizing about. Would you like that?” “Yes, sir.” “Over to the desk,” Hudson ordered. “Kneel on the floor to the left of the chair.” Toby raced into position. Hudson leisurely followed him across the room to sit in the chair above him. Taking the pen and the contract from the table, Hudson cast his eyes over the front page of it as if he wasn’t already fully aware of what the paperwork contained, as if he hadn’t written and rewritten the damn thing a dozen times in an effort to get it just right. “Do you understand the terms?” he asked. “Yes, sir.” Toby said. He dropped his gaze as if trying to hide his emotions, but he looked up again when Hudson offered him both the pen and the contract. “If this is what you want, sign it.” Toby’s hands were shaking as he reached up and took the contract from him. The paper rustled in his grip. It seemed to be more luck than judgment that he kept hold of the pen.

Hudson didn’t offer him anything to rest the papers on. Leaning forward, Toby placed them on the floor between his soon-to-be master’s feet and turned to the last page. It only took him a few seconds to signal his desire to belong to Hudson for the rest of his life. Toby stared down at his signature for a long time. Hudson sat above him, but he didn’t try to rush him along, he was just as in awe of the moment as the other man. For several minutes, Hudson let him simply kneel at his feet in silence. Finally, Toby found the strength to look up. “On your feet,” Hudson ordered. “Hand me the contract.” Toby stood with visibly trembling limbs and offered him the papers. Hudson took them from him and quickly scrawled his signature on the dotted line that waited for a master’s signature. As simply as that, it was done. Hudson turned over the pages until the front page was once more on top and he placed the papers neatly on his desk. Turning back to Toby, he studied each part of his body in turn, until his eyes finally settled on his erection. “When was the last time you came?” “This morning, sir.” “Tell me what you did, in detail.” Toby closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to fight for each word. “I woke up hard, sir. I jacked myself off before I got out of bed.” Hudson raised an eyebrow at the younger man. “Apparently, we have a very different idea of what constitutes detail.” Toby glanced up at him through his lashes. “Your position?” Hudson prompted. “In bed,” Toby said. When it became obvious his master wanted more, he seemed to scramble for any detail he could think of. “On my back, sir?” Hudson just kept staring at him. Panic appeared in Toby’s eyes. “If that’s all you can think of to say, you’d best show me instead,” Hudson decided, when it became obvious his new submissive needed a more gentle introduction to one of his new master’s favorite games. “Perhaps narrating what you’re doing will give you more inspiration.” Toby stared blankly back at him. “Fetch the cushion from that chair.”

Having a simple order to follow seemed to help the submissive regain some sort of mental balance. Toby fetched the cushion Hudson had pointed out and brought it back to the desk. Kneeling down, he offered it to his master, but Hudson shook his head. “Put it on the floor. Lie down with your head on it. Arrange yourself exactly as you laid in bed this morning.” Toby peered blankly at the floor at Hudson’s feet for several long seconds before finally placing the cushion at the base of one of the desk pedestals. He laid down with his feet pointing toward the bookcase behind the desk. Hudson waited patiently until Toby was completely settled before he spoke up. “Turn around so your feet are toward me.” He didn’t verbalize any of the other orders that were inside his head. Live in the moment. Don’t try to predict anything. Just do as I say. Leave it all to me. Just trust your new master. There was no need to say any of those things out loud. They would be obeyed regardless, if Hudson was half as good at what he was doing as he believed himself to be. Toby lifted himself back onto his knees, repositioned the cushion and lay down again without a word of complaint. “Was that the exact position you woke up in?” Hudson asked. Toby nodded against the pillow. “Yes, sir.” “Close your eyes. Tell me what you were dreaming about just before you woke up.” “In a club,” he said. “Go on,” Hudson prompted. “In a leather club,” Toby whispered. “Dark, crowded, you’re there. I’m already wearing your collar, but I’m dancing with another man. You’re furious when you see someone else’s hands on me. You turn me over your knee and spank me right there in the middle of the dance floor. Everyone’s watching. I come over your lap in the middle of it, but you don’t stop, you don’t even seem to notice.” Hudson could easily believe the dream version of him had been furious. Even sitting there in his office, he was ready to strangle any other dominant who tried to lay a hand on Toby. So long as the boy didn’t start thinking that was a good way to get his attention, he was more than willing to let Toby enjoy seeing his jealous side come out to play. Shifting positions to

sit more comfortably in his chair, Hudson mentally made a note to investigate that idea further in the future. “Was that the dream that made you wake up hard?” he asked. Eyes still closed, Toby nodded. “Was your hand already on your cock when you woke up?” Toby bit his lip and nodded again. “Show me.” Toby lifted his hand from the floor at his side and wrapped it loosely around his cock. His hips immediately left the floor as he thrust up against his palm. Gasping at the pleasure his own touch gave him, Toby pressed his head back against the cushion and arched his back in pure bliss. Hudson raised an eyebrow.

Something hard and cold suddenly pressed down against the back of Toby’s hand, forcing it down against his cock. Flinging open his eyes and stared down his body. Hudson’s shoe rested on his knuckles. Toby froze, staring up at his master as his breath stalled in his chest. “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Hudson said. “When I want you to move, I’ll tell you to.” “Yes, sir.” “And I didn’t give you permission to open your eyes, did I?” “No, sir.” Toby closed his eyes again. Hudson’s foot disappeared. “It’s first thing this morning, you’ve just woken up from your dream. Your hand is wrapped around your cock. Tell me what you do next.” Toby swallowed and tried to push a full breath of air into his lungs. “I jacked myself off, sir,” he managed to say. Hudson tutted under his breath. “Details, Toby, I won’t remind you again.” “Sorry, sir.” “Don’t apologize to me. I won’t be the one who loses any chance he has of coming if he forgets again. This isn’t about you anymore, Toby. Whatever happens in your sex life from now on, your only focus can be on following your master’s orders, on doing whatever will bring me pleasure.” Toby swallowed.

“This morning was all about you,” Hudson went on. “That’s only to be expected. But this moment marks the point where you start to understand that this morning was the last time your orgasm will ever be about you. Even if I do occasionally allow you to touch yourself, you’ll have to learn to think only about what it will please your master to watch you do.” “Yes, sir,” Toby whispered very softly, as every word the other man said rushed straight to his cock. “Show me what you did the last time you ever masturbated yourself for your own pleasure—exactly what you did. And speak up, I want to hear you tell me every detail.” Toby frowned, trying to remember what he’d done that morning as accurately as possible. He licked his lips, trying to work some moisture into his mouth. “I…” He had to stop to clear his throat. “I started to stroke myself. Slow, light, trying to make it last.” He began to very slowly move his hand as he whispered the words. Toby bit his lip, already scrabbling for control. Without thinking about it, he felt his fingers stop at the top to tease the tip of his cock, just as they had hours earlier, back when he still hadn’t been sure if anything would ever actually happen between him and Hudson. “I…” Toby couldn’t make words work. He whimpered and wrapped his fingers around his cock again. “What were you thinking about?” Hudson prompted. “You, sir,” Toby whispered. He turned his face to the side on the cushion as he felt himself blush to admit it. Rubbing his cheek against the soft material as if that would ease his discomfort, he dragged a ragged breath into his body. “What did you think about?” “I imagined that you were telling me what to do,” he whispered, so softly he wasn’t even sure if his master would be able to hear him. He’d imagined he was right where he was, doing exactly what he was doing, but he’d never guess how intense it would actually feel to be under the other man’s control. His head was spinning with it. Hudson chuckled. “And did your little fantasy version of me let you come?” he asked. “Yes, sir,” he whispered. His hand tightened around his shaft as more pre-cum leaked onto his fingers and slicked his palm’s increasingly rapid movements. “Stop.”

Toby froze, his hand still wrapped tightly around his erection. “Open your eyes.” Toby squinted up at his master. The room seemed insanely bright after the darkness behind his lids. He blinked and tried to focus in on reality, to get a clearer view of Hudson’s expression so he’d have a better chance at guessing how to please him. “The moment you look away from my eyes, you lose any chance of coming this evening. Now, finish yourself off, your master wants to watch you come.” Toby barely dared to blink, let alone shift his gaze. His hand didn’t bother to wait for any instruction from his addled brain. It began to move, fast and frantic over his cock while his brain devoted any and all available cells to keeping his gaze locked with his master’s. Hudson stared back at him, his eyes dark and hot with dominance. Toby wanted to look away so badly. It felt like he was staring his master down, as if he was refusing to submit. His hand began to work even faster so he was sure that his hand would only be a blur if he did fail and look down at it. “Come.” Toby had no choice but to do exactly as he was told. He came into his hand, his gaze dropped the moment he felt his semen land on his stomach. He could no more have kept his eyes open than he could have stopped himself coming once he tipped over that blissful point of no return. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed through him. Closing his eyes very tightly as the last ebb and flow of bliss caressed his brain, Toby let his hand fall idle against his thigh. As soon as clear thoughts were possible, he tried to work out which had occurred first, if he had closed his eyes a second after he came, or if he had come a moment after he closed his eyes. Hudson would know. Toby had no doubt about that. His master knew everything. As his breathing evened out and his pleasure turned to nothing more than stickiness in his hand, Toby’s brain finally started to whirl back into something that approached regular service. Hudson was a good, strong, intelligent man. He was a natural dominant and hot as hell, too. But he wasn’t omniscient or all powerful. He didn’t know everything. Hudson didn’t… Toby opened his eyes and looked up at his new master. His gaze flickered across to the contract lying on Hudson’s desk and he looked back to the man who now owned him.

Toby quickly lowered his eyes. He stared at the floor by Hudson’s feet as the last of his arousal drained from his brain and made room for something that resembled a legitimate thought process to take place. Suddenly the contract, and what signing it meant for his future, was crystal clear in the front of Toby’s mind. He closed his eyes for one brief moment, but he quickly forced himself to open his eyes again. Hiding from what he’d just done wouldn’t change anything.

Chapter Five

“Stand up.” Toby pulled himself to his feet and faced his new master with every scrap of composure at his disposal, but that wasn’t much. “Go and clean yourself up. Come back to me when you’re done.” Hudson nodded toward the small bathroom attached to his office. Toby didn’t need to be invited twice. He hurried into the little room and closed the door behind him. He automatically turned the lock, only to hesitate with his fingers still on the little silver catch. It was such an unimportant little thing, but as he stared at it, Toby realized he no longer had the right to lock a door, to demand even that minute bit of privacy. His fingers shook as he dutifully undid the lock before turning to the sink and cleaning himself up as best he could. One stray glance into the mirror above the sink and he didn’t make that mistake a second time. Toby kept his eyes down, unable to look himself in the eye. If only he’d actually read some of that contract before he put his name to it. If he had some idea of what Hudson expected of him then… Toby shook his head at himself. Stupid. Hudson was right. He knew better than to sign something without reading it properly. He knew better than to let his cock do the thinking while he was negotiating a contract. Toby leaned against the sink and tried to wrap his mind around what he had just done, everything he had just given up. For a moment, he considered asking to be released from the contract. A bitter taste rose into the back of his throat at the thought. As Toby splashed cold water over his face, he tried to work out some sort of a to do list in his head. He had a whole life that had to be shut down and closed up. He had a future he had prepared for and those preparations would have to be cancelled now.

That future didn’t exist now. Slaves didn’t have futures. Toby’s cock couldn’t rise at the idea, but Toby had no doubt it would have if he hadn’t just come. He shook his head at himself, but there was no time to waste wishing his brain was wired differently. Squaring his shoulders as best he could when it felt like everything familiar about his world was crashing down around him, Toby stepped back into Hudson’s office and made his way back to his place at his master’s side. Slaves don’t look their betters in the eye. He’d heard that said in the clubs, too. He kept his gaze lowered, as befitted his new station, but that only meant his eyes went naturally to the contract still lying on the desk in front of the dominant. “Second thoughts?” Hudson asked. Toby stared at the piece of paper. Hudson waited with far more patience than Toby would ever have believed any master would favor a slave with. The question grew in his mind until he felt that everything in existence would come crashing down around him if he got the answer wrong. He stood naked before his master, knowing that he had given up everything he could have ever had, just for the right to belong to Hudson. If he could have gone back, if he could have just had that hour in Hudson’s office back then… Toby looked away from the contract. God help him, but he knew he’d have signed it again, right then. Even with the panic racing through him at what his future might contain, even without arousal clouding his brain, he’d still have begged Hudson to let him belong to him if the matter wasn’t already finalized. His lust for the other man might have faded away after he came, but it was no longer possible for Toby to pretend that was all he felt for the other man. The last three months had brought with them something that felt suspiciously like love. There was nothing Toby could do to fight that. “No, sir,” he said, very softly. “No second thoughts.” “Good.” His master left him standing there in silence for a long time. A touch to his hip bone made Toby jump. Hudson ran his knuckles up Toby’s skin until they brushed across his nipple, then back down over his hip bone to his thigh. He took the same path back up and down again. It

was an idle, absentminded gesture. Toby knew it didn’t mean anything, but every trace of contact went straight to his cock, straight to his heart. Hudson smiled when he seemed to notice that Toby was already starting to very slowly stiffen for his master again. More silence, until Hudson finally spoke again. “Is there anything you want to ask me?” Toby cleared his throat. That was his cue, maybe his one chance to make this work as best he could. “May I have some time to put my affairs in order before the contract comes fully into force, sir?” “The contact came into force the moment you signed it,” Hudson said. There was no room for negotiation in his tone. “You belong to me.” There was nothing for Toby to say to that. Suddenly, Hudson stood up. He stepped closer to Toby, until their bodies almost touched. He tucked a knuckle under Toby’s chin and tilted his head back. Toby tried to keep his eyes lowered for as long as he could, wondering if it was some sort of test of whether he knew his place or not. Eventually he couldn’t escape the fact that Hudson was telling him to look him in the eye Hudson studied his expression for a long time. “You belong to me,” he repeated. “Yes, sir,” Toby whispered. “Do you have any doubts about that fact?” “No, sir.” “Good, because nothing short of your safe word will change it now.” “Safe word?” Toby repeated blankly.

Hudson’s eyes narrowed as he stared down at Toby. Without any warning, an ice cold fist wrapped around his heart and squeezed. “Tell me what your safe word is, Toby,” he ordered. “I…” “It won’t mean that you’re asking to be released from your contract if you repeat the word back to me when I specifically order you to do so,” Hudson promised, as he scrambled desperately to think of any reason why Toby would refuse to follow such a simple order. “Just tell me what the word is.”

Toby stared up at Hudson in return, eyes opened very wide and screaming his confusion. He was obviously unable to say a word he didn’t know. Hudson took a step back, breaking all contact between them as he frantically tried to work out what the hell was going on. The safe word had been clearly stated in the contract. There was no way in hell that anyone who’d read it wouldn’t know what it was. He stepped back again, seeking mental space as much as physical distance. Toby reached out and put his hand on Hudson’s arm, as if to stop his retreat. “Sir?” This couldn’t be happening. Hudson stared coldly at the hold Toby had on his arm, until the boy dropped both his grip and his gaze. Thoughts raced through Hudson’s mind, almost quicker than he could process them, but there was only one explanation that made any sense. “How much of the contract did you actually read?” Hudson asked, as calmly as he could. Toby swallowed rapidly. “All of it, sir.” “I won’t tolerate lies,” Hudson snapped, all attempts at calmness deserting him in one fell swoop. Toby flinched as if he’d been physically struck. “I tried to read it all, sir,” he whispered. “I just…” He closed his eyes, as if hiding from the truth. “Finish the sentence you started,” Hudson demanded. “It just wouldn’t sink in, sir,” Toby mumbled, closing his eyes even tighter. Hudson stared down at the submissive for what felt like several consecutive eternities. He hadn’t read it… The scene that had just played out between them rolled through Hudson’s mind, but it was all so different to how he remembered it being now. Any warmth or emotion drained away as Hudson viewed it through the other man’s uninformed gaze. Suddenly, Toby turned away. Without stopping to think, Hudson caught hold of his wrist and spun the younger man back around to face him. Toby tugged at his grip, but Hudson held him easily in place as he glared down at him. Toby took half a step back and pulled at Hudson’s grasp again, but he didn’t tug hard enough that there was actually any chance he might slip out of Hudson’s hold on him. It felt more like the younger man just needing to feel the grip tighten in response, to know that Hudson wanted to keep hold of him.

As suddenly as he had tried to run, Toby fell still. “I’m sorry, sir.” Apologies were of no use to Hudson. “Did it ever occur to tell me you can’t understand a contract?” “I’m not stupid, sir, I can understand a contract!” Toby protested. “Yes, you’ve built a very good reputation on understanding contracts, haven’t you?” Hudson said, more to himself than to Toby. He saw the blush on the younger man’s cheeks, but it was nothing like the color that had rushed to his face when Hudson had teased him earlier. There was no pleasure or arousal in Toby’s eyes now. There was no teasing game at work between them anymore. Hudson sighed softly. The poor little bugger looked heartbroken at having to make that particular admission. “I know you can usually understand contracts, but this is different,” Hudson said more gently. “You’re not a contract negotiator at the moment, Toby, you’re a submissive.” “That doesn’t mean I have to be stupid,” Toby snapped, each word damn near dripping with pain. “It doesn’t mean you can forget your manners either,” Hudson shot back. Toby hesitated, glancing up at Hudson. He shuffled his bare feet against the floor for a moment. “Sir,” he finished, very softly. “If you didn’t understand the contract, or if you weren’t in any condition to understand at that time, you should have told me that.” Toby said nothing. He stayed silent, simply staring at a button on Hudson’s shirt as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever set eyes on in his entire life. “Toby,” Hudson prompted. “What should I have said, sir?” Toby asked, audibly trying to keep his tone of voice appropriately polite but failing completely. “There’s no chance I can think clearly until I get off, so…” He finally found the ability to look up and meet Hudson’s gaze. His eyes were so full of emotion, it was all Hudson could do not to pull him into a huge bear hug and comfort him without the slightest thought for the need for discipline as well as compassion. “Yes, you should have said that.”

Toby tried to pull away again. Hudson’s grip around his wrist tightened, and the relief in Toby’s eyes made him sure that he had been right to prevent his lover’s retreat. “And what would you have said, sir?” Toby asked, staring down at Hudson’s fist wrapped around his wrist. “Submissives don’t demand to come whenever they want to.” “You’re right about that, at least,” Hudson allowed. “Of course I wouldn’t have let you come. But I would have realized it was pointless to push you to think through your arousal if you’ve never been taught how to do that. I could have backed off and given you enough space to think more clearly.” His hold on Toby’s wrist didn’t waver, but Hudson turned his gaze away once more seeking mental space to work out what his next move should be. “I told you before that I have no interest in a slave—in any unwilling man,” Hudson finally said. “That’s what signing a contract you had no knowledge of made you.” Toby glanced at the contract still lying on the table. Suddenly the required course of action was obvious. Hudson dropped the boy’s wrist and stepped away from him. Picking up the papers, he sat down at his desk, somehow forcing himself to sound all brisk and business like. “Kneel,” he ordered. The moment Toby was on his knees, Hudson handed him the contract. “Read it out loud.” Toby peered at the sheets of paper as if he had never seen a page of print before. Hudson gazed down at his bowed head, his stomach clenching into knots at the prospect of hearing the contract read back to him but knowing it had to be done. Clearing his throat, Toby began to read from the first page. As he turned it over, the dry definitions and formally worded statements ended abruptly. Toby began to read the real content of the deal Hudson had offered him.

Chapter Six

“The signing of this contract binds Tobias Andrew Garland to Hudson Scott for life.” Toby looked up at his master, confusion filling his eyes. Hudson raised an eyebrow at him, ordering him to continue without actually interrupting his speech. Toby lowered his eyes to the contact once more. A few paragraphs slipped by. “For the duration of the contract, each man will be answerable to the other regarding his conduct with any and all other men…” Toby glanced up but couldn’t hold his master’s gaze this time. “Each man agrees that he will not have sex with or engage in any sort of BDSM play with any other man.” Toby made his way down the first page and turned over. Saying it out loud made him focus on each word and, more importantly, to form those words into sentences and ideas that made them more than mere groups of letters on the page. Reading it after he’d come, allowed him to make his brain work. “The safe word is—” Toby cut himself short and skipped the word that might still bring everything to an end. “If the safe word is spoken by either man, all play will stop. Each man loses the right to in any way dominate or submit to the other until a new form of consent is put in place. If, after a period of one month, no new form of consent can be found, each man has the right to ask that the contract come to an end.” Toby turned over another page. His voice grew hoarse with emotion, but he couldn’t stop reading. The words pulled him forward, demanding he finish what he’d started. “After being in effect one month, each man is responsible for attaching a list of hard limits, which the other will agree to respect in all particulars, to this contract.”

Very slowly, Toby read his way through all the things Hudson was offering him and promising him. Another page passed under his eyes, then another. Hudson sat above him in silence, listening to his own words being quoted back at him without any visible trace of emotion. And there was no doubt in Toby’s mind that the words he spoke were Hudson’s own words. This was no standard slave contract. It had been written with absolute care and attention as to what each man could expect and hope for from his lover. Finally, Toby reached the last page. “With respect and love for their differences as well as their equality, the signing of this contract binds Tobias Andrew Garland to Hudson Scott for life.” Toby’s voice trailed off. He adjusted the papers so the front page was back on top and they were brought neatly into line. “Toby?” Hudson prompted. “It’s beautiful, sir,” Toby whispered. There was no other word for it. He risked a nervous glance up to his master. Hudson stared back into his eyes. For the first time, Toby wondered if he might be able to see some sign of the love that was spoken of in the contract reflected in the other man’s gaze. The respect that flooded through every line of the contract was certainly there. “Beautiful,” Toby whispered under his breath again. It was exactly what he’d have hoped for, if it had ever occurred to him that hoping for a contract like that would have done him any good. “Shred it.” Toby blinked up at his master and tried to make sense of an order that didn’t make any sense at all. “Sir?” “Take the contract across to the shredder and put it through the machine,” Hudson said, nodding his head toward the other side of the room. Toby shook his head. “Sir…” “I gave you an order, Toby. You signed a contract. Now, do as you are told.” “But—” “There are no buts,” Hudson snapped. “You signed a slave contract. When you put pen to paper you gave up any right to question my orders or refuse to obey them.”

That wasn’t the contract he’d signed. Toby looked down at the papers in his hands. He hadn’t signed anything that asked him to give up any right to a say in his own life or any opinion on the things that truly mattered to him. As he stared up at his master, Toby realized far too late that by not reading it, he had signed away any chance at having what the contract he held in his hands had actually offered him. Hudson might care more for him than Toby ever imagined, but he was still a dominant— with a dominant’s pride, with a dominant’s right to expect due respect shown to any offer he made a submissive. Toby looked down at the contract, there was no doubt about the time and care the other man must have put into it. As much as he wished things were different, it wasn’t in Toby’s make up to insult the other man further by failing to obey his order. His legs shook as he stood up. He walked across to the shredder, sure his legs would give out on every step, but somehow he made it across the room. One of his socks rested next to the shredder, where Hudson had ordered him to place it a whole life time ago. Even with his arousal long gone, Toby’s mind was too full of other emotions to think clearly. It took him three attempts to make the damn machine whirr into life. Even after he had worked it out, Toby hesitated. He lined the pages up to the machine, but he couldn’t bring himself to actually put them through the gap and destroy them. “Do it.” His master’s words went straight to his fingertips. The pages disappeared into the shredder. In seconds the blades had obliterated any chance he had of achieving the sort of submission had he always been too embarrassed to admit he wanted, under the protection of the sort of master he had always dreamed of. As he looked at the confetti his one chance of perfect submission had become, Toby realized that even more than that, he’d just lost the chance of spending the rest of his life with the man he loved. Love. Toby closed his eyes. Of all the days to fully admit to himself that he’d fallen in love with someone… “Come here, Toby. I won’t repeat myself a third time.”

Toby looked over his shoulder, only then realizing that Hudson had said anything at all. He retraced his steps to his master’s side, but once there, he had no idea what to do with himself. He looked at the floor wondering if he should kneel, but he didn’t suppose he had any right to do that anymore. “Look at me.” Toby dragged his gaze up to his master’s face. Hudson studied him for a long time, deadly serious and obviously still angry as hell. Abruptly, the older man turned away from him and stared out of the window, evidently not even able to look at him for another second. Not about to blame his master for not being inclined to provide him with anything, even a formal dismissal, Toby looked around the room. He stared blankly at those pieces of his clothes that were visible from where he stood, knowing he had to gather up his belongings and leave, but still hoping he was missing some tiny clue that would allow him to do something, anything, other than that. No other course of action occurred to him as the silence stretched out, but even if the most appropriate thing to do was to leave without bothering his momentary master with anything he might wish to say, Toby couldn’t do it. He lowered himself to the floor and knelt by the side of Hudson’s chair, eyes down cast and prepared to wait for Hudson to indicate that he was willing to acknowledge his existence, no matter how long that might take. What felt like hours later, Hudson’s swivel chair turned back toward Toby. It was just a fraction of an inch, but it was something. “May I have permission to apologize before I leave—” Toby only just managed to stop himself short of calling the other man sir. He flinched as he realized he didn’t have the right to do that either. “Mr. Scott?” he finally managed to finish. Hudson was quiet for a long time. Toby knelt there and forced himself to stay perfectly still, waiting upon the other man’s pleasure. “If you had that permission, what would you say?” Hudson asked. “That I’m sorry for the disrespect that I showed you and the contract you offered me, Mr. Scott,” Toby whispered. “That I know how much I’ve lost by my error and—” Stopping short, he had to clear his throat before he could continue. “And that I understand that I deserve to lose your offer. You deserve better.”

Toby closed his eyes as if that would somehow change the truth in his own words, but there was no hiding from the fact that any man who could have put all that into a contract deserved so much more than what he’d offered Hudson in return. Without any warning, the older man reached out and stroked his fingers down Toby’s cheek. Remaining perfectly still, Toby didn’t even dare breathe in case that might ruin everything. Tucking his knuckle under Toby’s chin, Hudson tilted back his head so he could study his face. Forcing his eyes open, Toby held nothing back. There wasn’t a lot he could offer Hudson. His heartfelt emotions were the only thing of any value that he had left to give. Hudson studied him for a long time. “Do you want a contract with me, Toby? The truth.” Toby glanced across at the shredder. It was one of those that cut in both directions rather than just slicing the paper into thin strips. It would be impossible to put it back together. Honesty, though. Hudson deserved that. “Yes,” Toby whispered. “But I also understand why you are no longer interested in that, Mr. Scott. I just… I know I have to leave now, I just wanted you to know that I do understand what I’ve lost.” Hudson turned Toby back to face him. “I haven’t given you permission to leave.” Toby glanced down. “If there is any way I can serve you, sir. I mean, Mr. Scott,” he corrected quickly, mentally cursing himself for not even being able to get that right. “Sir is fine,” Hudson said. Toby breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir.” “You’re right that the old contract is gone. If there is to be any sort of arrangement between us, a new contract will have to be written out from scratch.” Toby closed his eyes and nodded. “I’ll take whatever I can get, sir,” he whispered, sudden and unexpected hope bubbling inside him. “Not a punishment contract, just a new one.” Toby nodded. “Whatever you want, sir.” “Do you want a new contract?” Hudson prompted. “Yes, sir,” Toby said so quickly the words blurred together.

Hudson stared down at him for a long time. “You have to be sure, Toby. I don’t offer a man any sort of contract, let alone one that is very likely to be permanent, lightly. Don’t just say what you think I want to hear.” Toby bit his lip. He couldn’t blame Hudson for not trusting his first answer. He scrambled to come up with a better response, one that might somehow make Hudson more inclined to believe him to be genuine. He looked down when he realized what he had to say. “Earlier, you asked what I thought about when I thought about you, sir?” “Yes.” “And I just said that I thought about other things as well as going down on you, sir,” Toby recounted to the floor at his master’s feet. A glance up at Hudson discovered that his master was waiting with apparent patience to see what else he had to say. Toby took a deep breath. “I didn’t say anything more than that because I was too embarrassed,” he said, feeling the heat rush to his cheeks as he committed himself to saying all those awkward things out loud. Hudson let the silence drag on until Toby finally found the words to fill it. “I thought about sex and bondage and all the usual things too,” Toby qualified, just in case Hudson got the wrong idea. “But I thought about other things, about quiet, silly little things.” His master still didn’t speak up to help him out. Toby pushed on. “I thought about just sitting at your feet in the evening. I thought about being allowed to curl up close to my master as he slept. I imagined what it would feel like to please you, how good it would feel to know my master was pleased with me.” Toby paused for a moment as his courage faltered, but stopping then was simply too big a risk. “I didn’t just imagine the things I told you about, sir. I imagined the whole life, twentyfour hours a day, seven days a week. It just never occurred to me that you would want anything like that with me, that it could be the sort of thing any man would be willing to put into a contract he offered me.”

Toby closed his eyes, trying not to pay too much attention to the fact he was listing all the things that it would hurt him most to lose from the life Hudson might yet let him have some part of. “It never occurred to you that I might actually care about you?” Hudson asked, his voice surprisingly gentle. “I didn’t even really notice that I…that I care for you,” Toby whispered, still not quite able to risk saying he felt far more than simple ‘caring’ for the man he was in love with. “I thought it would just be sex—for both of us.” The room was silent for a long time as Hudson seemed to think over everything Toby said very carefully. Toby closed his eyes and quietly prayed he’d said enough.

Chapter Seven

The scenes Toby described sprang into Hudson’s mind as perfect, fully formed images. Each one was so vivid, so flawless it was almost impossible for him to believe that he wasn’t actually remembering things that had already happened between them. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week… As Hudson stared down at Toby, his own ideas about how they might pass the hours and days they spent together wound through Toby’s descriptions, weaving the two futures together, each finishing the other off magnificently. A dominant had the right to expect any submissive to treat an offer with respect. That was true enough. Hudson took a deep breath. A dominant also had the right to get over himself, grow up and not throw a temper tantrum just because everything didn’t go to plan and the man he wanted to own turned out to be just as human and just as fallible as any other guy. “Very well,” Hudson said. Toby’s entire body shook as he let out a breath he had apparently been holding for a very long time. “But before a new contract can be written, we need to deal with what just happened,” Hudson added. Toby nodded so quickly, chestnut curls bounced around his head. “Do you understand what you did wrong?” Toby nodded again. “Tell me,” Hudson prompted, leaning forward in his chair and bringing his elbows to rest on his knees.

“I should have told you I wasn’t able to properly negotiate the contract at that time. I shouldn’t have signed it without understanding it, sir,” Toby recited. Hudson nodded, still studying the boy very carefully, more determined than ever to develop a damn near perfect read on him at the earliest possible opportunity. “What do you think should happen now?” he asked. Toby stared past Hudson’s shoulder for a moment, as if he was staring into the future. “Please, may I be punished for my mistake, sir?” Hudson smiled slightly. At least he knew where Toby thought the conversation was heading now. “Would that make you feel better?” Toby opened his mouth then quickly closed it. Whatever he’d been about to say, he had obviously thought better of it. “It would let you know that I regret what I did, sir,” Toby finally said. “I can see that already.” He briefly stroked Toby’s cheek before he leaned back in his chair. “You might have a good poker face while you’re negotiating on behalf of someone else, but outside your work you have incredibly expressive eyes.” They’d been the first of Toby’s features Hudson had fallen for, but now really wasn’t the time to give in to such soppiness. Hudson cleared his throat. “A true punishment should only ever be administered to serve a specific purpose.” “Yes, sir.” “Punishing you for doing something when no one had ever taught you how to do anything else would be pointless,” Hudson said. “Punishments are for those times when you choose to disobey even though you know better than to act in a certain way.” Toby stayed silent, but that didn’t stop a frown gathering on his brow. “I’ve never told you to hide your opinions from me,” Hudson reminded him. “Punishing me will make me learn, sir,” he whispered. “Teaching a man enables him to learn, not a whipping,” Hudson corrected. “The only thing an unjust punishment can instill in a man is fear and resentment.” “I wouldn’t, sir,” Toby promised. “I—” Hudson pushed the younger man’s curls back from his face. “Seeing that you are trying to learn how to be the submissive I want you to be, will show me that you intend to do your very

best not to repeat your earlier mistake far more effectively than accepting any punishment could.” Toby stared up at him and Hudson knew that the boy didn’t have a clue what he was trying to tell him. It would have been so easy to simply leap in and rescue Toby from his confusion without waiting for the submissive to say a single word, but Hudson held himself back. Finally, Toby opened his mouth. “Sir?” “You’re right to ask me to explain anything when you don’t understand something,” Hudson said. He waited for that to sink in for a moment before he went on. “I don’t want a submissive who agrees with everything I say every time he gets a hard on. Over time, I’m going to teach you how to submit to me and think at the same time. Understand?” Toby nodded his apparently complete approval of that plan. Hudson echoed the gesture as he reached a decision. Suddenly it was obvious what needed to happen next. “We’ll start the first lesson right now. By the end of the scene we’ll have signed a new contract, understand?” Toby nodded eagerly. “Yes, sir.” Hudson smiled and stroked his knuckles down Toby’s cheek once more. “Do you like being spanked?” Toby licked his lips a little nervously before he gave that particular answer. “Yes, sir.” Hudson arranged himself a little more comfortably in his desk chair as he pushed it away from the desk and gave himself more room to work. “Up on my lap. Turn yourself over my knee.”

As soon as the order passed Hudson’s lips, Toby felt part of his brain descend straight to his cock. Cursing himself, he rose from his knees and turned himself over Hudson’s lap with practiced ease, but he had to fight harder to keep his brain working with every second that passed. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, half in anticipation and half in trepidation. Punishment spanking or not, the idea that Hudson would just give him a tap on the bottom and leave it at that was ludicrous. It would be a real spanking, Toby had no doubt about that. Hell,

he’d only had a couple of little taps on his buttocks that night, and he’d felt them more strongly than he had entire nights worth of play with any other man. Toby was right. Hudson’s hand came down hard on his left buttock the moment Toby was in position. All the air rushed out of his lungs. Before Toby had fully registered the sparks of pain that shot through him, morphing into pleasure as they went, they spread to the other cheek when Hudson’s hand fell there, too. The dominant’s cupped palm landed again, before the sharp pain from the previous spank had any time to dissipate properly into pleasure. Another smack landed, another followed it in quick succession, setting fire to the skin it struck. Gasping for breath, Toby squirmed over Hudson’s lap. Blood rushed to his head as he tried to put his hands on the floor on the far side of his master’s chair and balance himself. His wriggling did nothing to put Hudson off his rhythm. The other man’s hand still fell too quickly. Frustration doubled inside Toby every time the pleasure each smack could have offered him was halted in its tracks, unable to be properly felt and unable to be really appreciated, before another sensory overload swept through his body. His master kept a firm hold of him, his left arm resting snugly across the small of Toby’s back as his right hand did its work. A weak noise of protest escaped from Toby’s throat, not at the spanking as such, but at Hudson purposely preventing him from enjoying it properly. It wasn’t fair! The noise, however pathetic it sounded, wasn’t a loud clear no, and it wasn’t their safe word either. Hudson took no notice of it. He kept going, meticulously covering every inch of Toby’s backside with the same deep layer of frustration before extending the heat down the back of his thighs. Toby’s cock ached more and more as each spank shifted him over Hudson’s lap, rocking a little closer to coming over Hudson’s leg with every movement. Toby closed his eyes and, in that moment, something in his mind finally gave up. He stopped caring if Hudson was trying to make him frustrated rather than happy, he stopped wondering what he could do to best please his master. Toby’s world condensed down into two very simple sensations—the hand on his arse and the friction against his cock. That was all that existed. The past and the future stopped being part of Toby’s mind. There was just now, just the sensations that flowed through his body. There was no control to be

had, no decisions to be made. All Toby had to do was exist and accept, and his universe had never been so wonderful. As suddenly as the first spank had landed, everything stopped. Silence echoed through the room, interrupted only by the sound of Toby’s ragged breaths. Very slowly, his ears began to register other noises—the fuzzy distant sound of the office party continuing on the other side of the door, the thump of the music, his master’s slower, steadier breaths. Keeping his eyes closed, Toby lay over his master’s lap as Hudson’s hand trailed slowly over his pulsating backside. He palmed the muscle, gently squeezing his buttocks as if testing the heat and soreness in the flesh to see if the spanking had been sufficient for his purpose, or if his hand would need to be applied there again. Toby helplessly arched his back, pressing his bottom against Hudson’s hand, hoping that Hudson would decide more would be warranted. “So you’re a true masochist then?” Hudson said as he squeezed Toby’s buttock again. Automatically trying to bite back a gasp and hide just how much he enjoyed Hudson’s touch, Toby couldn’t help but push himself against his master’s lap and squirm a little. “You don’t need to lie to me about what you enjoy,” Hudson corrected. “I told you this wasn’t a punishment. I have no objection to you taking what pleasure you can from it.” “Thank you, sir,” Toby whispered. “If I want to punish you, I’ll do that by denying you the privilege of a sound spanking, Toby, not by giving you one. Hurting someone who can take no pleasure from their pain isn’t my idea of a good time.” Toby heard the smile in the other man’s voice as the knowledge of exactly how to best discipline his submissive settled into the other man’s mind. He bit his lip to stop himself from moaning his frustration out loud at the prospect. Hudson gave him a final light tap on the fullest part of the muscle. “Up you get.” The older man steadied Toby as he clumsily turned himself over, before guiding him to place his sore arse back on his master’s lap. Toby gasped as his buttocks rubbed against the suddenly rough material in Hudson’s trousers. He glanced up and met the other man’s gaze, trying to work out what was expected of him. Hudson stroked his fingertips down Toby’s cheek. His hand was just as hot as Toby’s arse was, but his touch was gentle now—just as tender as the care Hudson had put into the contract.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Toby whispered once more. His emotions bubbled freely to the surface as his brain devoted itself to trying to process the sensations from the spanking. He turned his face into his master’s hand. Hudson seemed to understand what he was apologizing for without needing any further explanation. “What do you regret most?” Before Toby could answer, Hudson’s hand traced a scorching hot line down his body and wrapped around his cock. The dominant began to stroke him, very lightly, letting the heat from his palm seep slowly into his shaft as he leisurely jacked his erection. “My lack of respect, sir,” Toby said, taking great care with each syllable as he fought against the instinct to let his brain slip into neutral. “Meaning?” Hudson pushed. Toby tried to think, but he couldn’t make sense of the thoughts inside his own head, let alone put how he felt into words and sentences that someone else might understand. He closed his eyes and brawled against the arousal pulsing through his body, the hand stroking his cock and the fire burning in his buttocks. “Hush now,” Hudson whispered to him, as his other hand stroked through Toby’s hair and gentled him down from his panic. “There’s no rush. I don’t want Shakespeare. Just tell me the truth. Tell me what’s in your head and let me worry about everything else.” “Signing the contract without reading it was disrespectful, sir,” Toby whispered, helplessly leaning into his touch. Hudson’s right hand kept stroking his cock with the same maddeningly slow rhythm. His other hand guided Toby to rest his head against his master’s shoulder. “You’re going to have to learn how to take better care of yourself,” Hudson ordered. “To be more particular about who you hand yourself over to. Do you have any idea what could have happened if you’d signed a different contract with another sort of man?” Toby began to shake his head, but he stopped himself at the last moment. “Yes, sir.” “No. It’s more important that you tell me the truth than that you agree with me right now.” Toby took a deep breath. He stayed silent for several moments, biting his bottom lip and fighting for each thought he managed to push through his brain and form into words.

“If signing it hurt me then that was my own fault. I would have made a mistake and I would have been punished for it. But it was so beautiful, and I didn’t even know that. I just…” Toby cleared his throat. “I signed it as if it was nothing. And it wasn’t nothing, sir.” He closed his eyes very tight, biting his lip once more, but for a very different reason. It was just residual pain from the spanking combined with the frustration of the slow masturbation that was doing it, that was all. Knowing that didn’t make it any the less embarrassing to feel tears build in his eyes. “I’m sorry, sir,” Toby managed to whisper yet again. Hudson turned Toby’s face toward him and kissed him gently on the lips. “Good boy.” “I was right, sir?” Toby asked, his voice thick with confusion. “You were honest,” Hudson said, a little warmth creeping into his eyes. “That’s good enough for now. We’ll work on you being right another day.” Toby nodded, satisfied that his master seemed pleased with him and not in the mood to care about anything else. “You can have another minute to rest,” Hudson offered. “Thank you, sir.” Toby turned his face into Hudson’s neck and tried to push his mind into something that might pass for logical thought, even as Hudson’s touch coaxed him to stay in a stupor of arousal and frustration. All too soon, his master straightened slightly in his chair. Toby rubbed his cheek against his master’s shoulder in silent plea to be allowed to rest for a little longer. Hudson smiled and stroked his other cheek with his knuckles, but didn’t relent in the slightest. “There’s blank paper in that cabinet. Fetch five sheets and bring them to me.” Hudson released Toby’s cock, allowing him to walk across the room to follow his order. The cool air of the room swirled more teasingly around Toby’s body with every step he took, caressing both his shaft and his arse with every movement he made. Halfway across the room, Toby stopped for a second and closed his eyes, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t actually going to come from nothing more than the air brushing against his sensitized skin. Finally, he made it across the room, found the paper and retraced his steps to what he was already thinking of as his spot by his master’s side. Dropping his gaze, he knelt to offer his master the paper with all due formality. Hudson nodded his acceptance of the gesture, but immediately held out a hand to pull Toby back onto his feet. “Now, you’re going to use that to make out our new contract.”

“Me?” Toby blurted out. Hudson waited. “Sir,” Toby finished. He looked from his master to the paper. “Sir, I can’t, I…” “You can and you will.” “It would be far quicker for you to—” Toby began. “Since you’re going to ride my cock while you do it, I’ll hardly get bored however long it takes you.” Toby just blinked at the other man. He couldn’t mean it. Even as he told himself that, Toby’s eyes dropped to Hudson’s trousers. His fly was once more disturbed by the line of a flourishing erection. Hudson undid his fly as Toby watched. Freeing his cock from the tangle of material he stroked the hard length, just as he had fondled Toby’s cock a few minutes before. He ran his palm up and down the shaft in a soft caressing touch. Watching fascinated, Toby couldn’t help but lick his lips and wish he had permission to kneel and taste his master again. He swallowed rapidly, imagining the feel of his master in his throat, remembering the way Hudson’s hand as pulled at his hair while he lapped at his shaft. “What are you thinking about?” “Sucking your cock, sir,” Toby said without hesitation. “Don’t you like anal?” Toby nodded. “Yes, sir.” “But you’re not thinking about that?” There was no demand in Hudson’s tone of voice, but it still seemed to be able to pull answers out of Toby with remarkable ease. “I might come if I think about that too much, sir.” “Completely untouched, just from imagining my cock in your arse?” Hudson asked. Toby nodded, never taking his eyes off Hudson’s hand as it moved increasingly rapidly over his erection, getting it ready for Toby to ride. The other man chuckled. “You’re lucky I have more faith in your ability to hold back than you do.” Toby closed his eyes as he sought for a way to explain to his master that there really was no way he could stop himself from coming if Hudson pushed him too far. “Sir,” he began, heat rushing to his cheeks.

“Look me in the eye.” Toby somehow managed to follow the order. “A lesson’s not a test. If I refuse you permission to come, then it’s my responsibility to make sure you’re not pushed over an edge you can’t avoid. As long as I can see that you’re trying your best to follow my orders, that’s all I expect.” Toby nodded, but his pulse didn’t slow down at all. His palms were still covered in a sheen of nervous sweat. “I don’t set men up to fail.” “Yes, sir,” Toby agreed, his voice barely a whisper. “Bend over the desk.” Toby moved into position without waiting for any further details on what his master wanted from him. He knew enough to make a start, and that was all he needed. Bending over the desk, Toby spread his legs and arched his back, presenting himself to his master in the best way he knew how. “You’re going to sit nice and snugly on my cock,” Hudson informed him as he stroked slicked fingers across Toby’s hole and began to prepare him for his upcoming ride. “And, while you do that, you’re going to write out a new contract for us.” Toby nodded, in spite of the fact he was pretty sure his master was asking for the impossible. His cheek rubbed against the desktop with the motion. The leather was cool and comforting against his skin. As Hudson’s fingers moved inside him and stretched him open, his cock rubbed against the table too, adding another layer of frustration inside him, making it all the more likely that he was going to let his master down. Toby bit his lip hard and tried not to moan his appreciation too loudly, but he couldn’t help but wish his master had slightly less faith in his ability not to come. Hudson sought out his prostate and quickly pushed him to the edge as his fingers caressed inside him, stretching him further open as he added another well slicked digit. “This is something else you are allowed to enjoy as much as you can,” Hudson said. Standing up, he loomed over Toby. While the fingers of Hudson’s right hand continued to work away inside him, the left stroked Toby’s cheek. The caress of his knuckles made Toby pry open his eyes and look over his shoulder at the other man.

“Don’t hide your responses from me.” “Yes, sir,” Toby whispered. The word trailed off into a pleasure filled groan as Hudson rubbed firmly against his prostate again. Suddenly, both the dominant’s hands disappeared, leaving Toby empty and desperate over the desk. He heard clothing rustle and a condom packet tear, then there was nothing but the faint hum of the music from the party in the office outside. Toby’s heart skipped a beat and fell into rhythm with it. “Stand up.” He stood up very gradually, having no choice but to steady himself against the desk or slump back over it. Hudson’s hands came to rest on his flanks. They guided him back onto his lap until Toby felt the blunt pressure of his master’s cock press against his hole. Inch by inch, Hudson coaxed him down onto his shaft, giving Toby time to adjust to the full, stretched sensation but always keeping him moving, settling a little further down onto his cock with every second that passed. Finally, Toby was sitting snugly on his master’s lap with Hudson buried in him to the hilt and his own buttocks glorying in the pleasure of spanked skin against skin contact. “That’s right, just relax. Take a second. You’ve earned it.” Hudson reached around Toby and splayed his hands across his torso, encouraging him to lean back against his lover’s body. He stroked across his stomach and his chest, soothing him down, encouraging him to relax. “Remember to breathe, Toby,” his master ordered. “Yes, sir,” Toby managed to whisper back. “Good, you’re doing fine,” Hudson whispered in his ear. “Now pick up the pen.”

Chapter Eight

Toby just about managed to catch hold of the pen as his fingers fumbled across the leather inlay on the desk. Even the slightest movement caused him to move around his master’s shaft and rub the thick length against his prostate. “Write our names at the top of the page, say whom the contract will be between,” Hudson ordered. Toby tried to follow his master’s instruction. A few moments later, he frowned at the page, wondering why nothing was happening. “Press the button on the top of the pen and try again,” Hudson encouraged, his hands settling reassuringly on Toby’s sides. Toby dutifully clicked the button to push down the pen nib. Very slowly, he wrote what his master asked him to write at the top of the page, each letter appearing before him in a slightly shaky script. That task completed he closed his eyes while he waited for another order. “That’s good,” Hudson whispered to him. “Now, write what you want to be in our contract.” Panic instantly spiked inside Toby as he desperately tried to remember what Hudson had written in the original version. “No,” Hudson corrected as he rocked his hips and buried his shaft just a little deeper inside Toby’s arse. “Write down what you want—in your own words. Just keep it honest and simple, that’s all you need to do.”

Toby could just about remember the main points through the haze of ecstasy. Very carefully, he began to repeat them on the paper. Monogamy. Trust. Safe word. Honesty. He noted them all down in the fractured sentences he was only barely capable of forming. Seeing his messy scrawl fill the page, Toby closed his eyes, heat rushing to his cheeks. Hudson deserved so much more than that, so much more than he was able to give him… “You’re doing fine,” Hudson whispered in his ear. “I want you to add in one more point. Anything you want, but it can’t be anything you read in the old contract. Put something of you into it. Tell me what’s important to you.” Toby’s mind was a complete blank. “I… I can’t, sir.” “Yes, you can.” Toby shook his head. “Close your eyes,” Hudson ordered. “Picture what you want. Remember all those things you told me you’ve been daydreaming out. Pick out whatever feels important when you look at those pictures. It doesn’t have to be something earth shattering, Toby, but I want it to be something that makes a difference to you.” Toby listened to his master’s instructions as image after image flickered through his mind. All they did was add to his frustration and make it impossible for him not to squirm in his master’s lap, clenching his muscles more tightly around the other man’s cock. Nothing in the pictures helped him. All he could think about was how much he wanted to come. His orgasm was the only thing that felt important. “Deep breath, Toby. Hold it for a second. Breathe out. Take your time.” Toby swallowed down the remainder of his panic. In his mind’s eye, he saw a picture of himself kneeling at his master’s feet. It was so clear, Toby could almost believe that if he reached out, the figures would be solid and real beneath his fingertips. He swallowed again. The image of the submissive at Hudson’s feet swallowed in time with him. As Toby’s Adam’s apple bobbed, a collar shifted around the image’s throat. He opened his eyes, relief pouring through him. “Do you know what you want to write?” his master asked. Toby stared down at the contract, at all the things Hudson had thought were important enough to put in their agreement. “It’s… What I thought of, it’s not important enough, sir,” he whispered.

“Write it down,” Hudson said. “Let me decide what’s important.” Toby pushed his doubts aside and did his best to put his faith in his master’s judgment. He added another few words to the contract. The submissive will wear a collar to show that he belongs to his master. “Good boy,” Hudson said, reaching around Toby’s body to wrap his hand around his cock and give him a few strokes, as if he thought there was any chance that he’d actually begin to soften in his current position. Toby whimpered as his grip around the pen turned white knuckled. “Now finish it off,” his master said. Toby stared at the sheet of paper. “Just write down our names and what we’re going to be to each other,” Hudson prompted, his own voice now hoarse with arousal, his hips rocking slightly. Toby shook his head. “I want what you said, sir.” “Your own words,” Hudson reminded him. “Please?” Toby asked, not holding back any of the desperation he felt. It was too important. Even if he couldn’t remember the right words, he could remember how right they’d felt when he read them out—he could remember how much he wanted to have those words forever. He needed the right words. Hudson stroked Toby’s hair with his free hand, tugging slightly at the strands in the process. After due consideration, he nodded and spoke slowly, dictating the words to Toby one by one. “With respect and love for their differences as well as their equality, the signing of this contract binds Tobias Andrew Garland to Hudson Scott for life.” Each word somehow appeared on the page, although Toby was sure they didn’t truly pass through his brain on the way to his right hand. They took another route, one that took in more of his heart and his soul than Toby would ever have believed possible. Hudson rocked his hips again. Toby gasped. The pen dropped from his fingers. Hudson reached past him. Picking up the pen he put it back in Toby’s hand. “Make your decision. Is this contract what you want?” Toby nodded quickly, his whole body seeming to sway with the gesture. “Put your name to it then. Right here, where you drew out the dotted line.”

Toby signed, his signature a shaky replica of the usual thing. Hudson took the pen from him and quickly added his name to the document with a flourish of rapid, easy strokes of ink against paper. Relief flooded through Toby’s body. His head dropped forward. His eyes fell closed. The world stopped turning for a little while. It was done. He’d done it. His master had somehow made it possible for him to follow the order, and now— “This doesn’t mean you’re allowed to come,” Hudson said behind him. Toby’s lips twisted into a strange little smile. “Yes, sir.” “But your master is most certainly allowed to,” the other man added. “Like this, sir?” Toby asked. “No. Turn around. I want to watch you ride me properly.” Not entirely steady on his feet, Toby lifted himself up far enough that Hudson’s cock slid out of him for a moment. The other man immediately guided Toby to turn around and face him. Keeping his gaze down, Toby straddled his master and lowered himself back onto his lover’s erection as Hudson steadied the shaft for him. The moment he was in place, Hudson’s hands slid into Toby’s hair cradling his head as he guided him forward for a kiss—their first real, deep kiss. Toby parted his lips in eager welcome. Whimpering and unthinkingly sliding his hands into his master’s hair in return, he pulled Hudson closer, pleading with him to deepen the kiss further still. At the same time, other instincts took over. Toby began to raise and lower himself over the other man’s lap, riding Hudson’s cock as well as his coordination allowed. Perfect or not, the movements he managed were good enough. Hudson soon bucked underneath him as he came, breaking the kiss as he threw back his head. Biting his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, Toby somehow managed not to follow Hudson’s example. He didn’t come as he watched pleasure flash across his master’s face. Keeping his eyes open and relishing every second, Toby felt the breath rush out of his body at the sheer beauty in his master’s expression as he arched in pleasure. Gradually, Hudson stilled, taking a long series of deep, calming breaths. For the first time, Toby realized he’d slid his fingers into his master’s hair without permission and left them there all that time. He pulled his hands away. “I’m so—“

“If it bothered me, I’d have told you not to,” Hudson cut in, his voice suddenly gruff and sleepy with satisfaction. “If I have an order, I’ll say it out loud; you don’t have to read my mind.” Toby nodded. “Thank you, sir.” “I’m your master,” Hudson said, obviously enjoying the way the words sounded as they fell from his lips. Toby nodded. “Yes, sir.” “You belong to me.” “Yes, sir.” Hudson smiled and stroked his cheek with his knuckles in what Toby was already thinking of as his master’s favorite habit. “I…” Toby looked down, not sure if he should trust what he saw in his master’s eyes or not. “I still expect you to finish whatever sentences you start,” Hudson drawled, stretching in his chair like a lethargic big cat and rubbing his crotch against Toby’s spanked skin in the process. “From a master’s point of view, sir, would it really piss you off if someone who belonged to you fell in love with you…” Toby swallowed. The contract demanded complete honesty from him. “Would it really bother you if he’s pretty sure he was already in love with you before you gave him a contract or kissed him, or pretty much mentioned that you even knew he was alive?” Hudson’s lips twisted into one of those rare full smiles that Toby loved so much. “I don’t think it would bother me at all.” Toby nodded and even went so far as to offer his master a small smile in return. Hudson didn’t see the smile. His eyes were already fixed lower down Toby’s body. He trailed his fingertips over Toby’s aching erection. “If you are good and do as your master says, you’ll be allowed to come again tonight,” he mentioned, quite casually. Toby nodded, dropping his own gaze and wondering what the hell he’d expected Hudson to say in response to his declaration. “If you are very good,” Hudson added, still stroking. “Then your master might tell you about the specific moment he realized he was in love with you, too.” Toby looked up and met his eyes. “Sir?”

“Up you get,” Hudson ordered, suddenly brisk and seemingly reluctant to continue the softly spoken conversation. “Retrieve your clothes. Put them on.” The older man leaned back in his chair and watched him wander around the room collecting his clothes, in between standing vacantly in the middle of the room, trying to remember where the hell Hudson had told him to put them all. Occasionally, his master would give him hints as to where some item had been placed, but mostly he just sat comfortably and admired the view with apparent satisfaction. As Toby walked past him on his journeys around the room, Hudson trailed his fingers over whatever parts of Toby’s skin were still exposed, confusing him even more and slowing down the process ten-fold. Finally, Toby was as dressed as he could ever remember being. He stopped in front of his master’s desk waiting for a new order. Hudson looked him over, as if checking if Toby had missed anything in his confusion. Seemingly satisfied, he stood up, picked up his own jacket from the back of his chair, put it on, and walked toward the door. Toby stared at the empty desktop. “Toby?” Hudson called across. “The contract, sir. It was on your desk.” And now it was gone—just like the other contract. Toby looked across to the shredder as if the contract could have somehow grown legs and walked over there on its own. “Yes, it was on my desk. And now it’s in my jacket pocket. Come on. It’s time to go home.” “Yes, sir.” Toby walked across to him. The moment Hudson opened the door, the real world hit Toby full in the face. The faint thud of the music became a deafening roar. Toby took half a step back. Hudson’s hand on the small of his back stopped his retreat. “It’s okay.” “I know that, sir,” Toby said. He wasn’t a child who was scared of crowds or a fool who needed his master’s reassurance over something so petty. He was a perfectly competent grown man who had worked in that office for over three months. He could walk through a room full of his former colleagues without hyperventilating. Really, he could.

Toby took a deep breath, trying to switch into a mental place where he could deal with other people—with people who weren’t his master. Hudson’s hand stayed on the small of his back as they stepped out of his office.

It seemed to Hudson that everyone had been waiting right outside his door, ready to jump on them the moment they reemerged from their private little sanctuary. Toby immediately took a step closer to him. Hudson let his hand linger on the small of the submissive’s back, reassuring him that he was safe, that it didn’t matter if he wasn’t quite back up to full mental speed, his master was there and would see to it that everything was okay. “I still can’t believe he sealed that deal!” someone yelled to Hudson over the music. Hudson smiled down at Toby as the younger man looked up at him, his eyes wide with shock. In that moment he seemed to have forgotten all about the hard work he’d put into another contract. “It was touch and go there for a minute or two,” Hudson agreed. Toby looked down, but not quickly enough to hide the uncertainty in his eyes. “But it’s done now,” Hudson said, briskly. “That’s what matters in the end.” “That’s what matters,” Toby echoed. The moment the last syllable left his mouth, the submissive bit down on his bottom lip, as if that were the only way he could keep an honorific back. Hudson grinned as he turned away from the advertising staff that surrounded them and began to deftly maneuver them both through a sea of congratulations and calls to join the party until they eventually made it out into the corridor leading to the elevators. As the mirrored doors began to slide closed and seal them into the small space together, Hudson turned to Toby, not above making the most of the ride down to the basement car park now that he no longer had to worry about SKIN’s rules on employer-employee relationships. The doors were only an inch apart when a hand appeared between them. The silver panels instantly retreated to show two men standing on the other side of them—Miles Kavanagh, one of Hudson’s fellow co-owners of SKIN designs and head of their creative design team, and one of the junior advertising executives. Both men stepped inside as soon as the gap between the doors was wide enough.

No, Hudson mentally corrected as he managed to drag his attention away from his lover for a moment and take in a few more details. Miles walked in, the other man half stumbled and was half carried in. “Apparently, the cocktails they’re serving in there are a lot stronger than they look,” Miles said, his tone as full of amusement with the world as it usually was. Hudson glanced at the man on Miles’ arm. The guy was just Miles’ type—all lean muscle and moody blue eyes. Even Hudson might have had to admit the boy was very pretty, not to mention hot as hell, if all his attention hadn’t been firmly fixed on Toby. And Miles had been single for rather a long time… “I trust that I don’t have to remind you that we have a strict non-fraternization policy at this company,” Hudson murmured. Miles grinned, apparently entirely unconcerned with the none too subtle nature of Hudson’s warning. “Pot, kettle, black. Ring any bells?” he said, propping his young companion against the elevator wall and casually steadying him with one hand as he raised an eyebrow at Hudson. “Toby doesn’t work here anymore,” Hudson shot back. “I know.” Miles’ grin didn’t fade in the slightest as he turned toward Toby. “I was just thinking that it’s lucky you got the contract through today, because I’m not sure either of you could have stuck to staring at each other for much longer.” “Miles…” Hudson warned. The other man just laughed. “In case he didn’t mention it, Toby, you might be interested to know that it was actually Hudson who insisted on putting the damn non-fraternization policy in place to begin with.” “It’s a good policy,” Toby said. Hudson glanced across at him. Standing there with his business suit all neatly buttoned up, no one would think that he’d spent the last hour and more stark naked and thoroughly enjoying celebrating the moment when that policy stopped applying to them. It was only when a man took the time to stare into his eyes that Toby looked subtly different. “Especially, when it was only ever going to apply to you on a temporary basis?” Miles asked with another chuckle.

“I’m not the one who’s made a habit of playing where he works,” Hudson reminded his friend. Miles held both his hands up in surrender, then promptly leapt back to catch the boy in his care when the beauty started to slide down the elevator wall. The moment Miles’ arms wrapped around the boy, his companion nuzzled into his neck. “Don’t worry,” Miles chided as he met Hudson’s eyes over the other guy’s shoulder. “I’m just driving him home. Promise.” The elevator dinged as it finally reached the basement car park. The fourth occupant of the lift seemed to have fallen asleep against Miles. Chuckling his amusement, Miles picked the guy up and carried him across the car park without the slightest hint of strain. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you two,” he called over his shoulder. Hudson watched him go until they were completely out of sight. Tonight was about him and Toby and he didn’t want any distractions hanging around them. “Did you drive here today?” he asked, when the sound of Miles annoyingly cheerful laughter finally faded away. Toby shook his head. Hudson smiled. The boy had obviously hoped that he wouldn’t need his car. “Good.” Hudson strode forward. The overhead lights cast long shadows in front of them as they walked. He kept a careful eye on Toby’s shadow, making sure the boy never fell more than a pace behind him as he led the way to his car. No orders, no verbal invitation. The sooner his new submissive learned that he was always welcome at his master’s side the better. Undoing the central locking on his car with the click of a button, Hudson slid behind the driver’s seat. He looked through the windscreen just in time to see Toby rush around to the other side of the car. He slid into the passenger seat without a word. Hudson could feel the other man’s eyes on him, studying him for any reaction or hint at what his next move should be. Turning toward him, Hudson smiled slightly, nodding his approval. Toby grinned back at him as if he had been given the entire world on a silver platter. When Hudson started the car, Toby leaned back into the soft leather upholstery and closed his eyes. Such perfect submission…

He was obviously happy to trust Hudson behind the wheel, figuratively as well as literally. It wasn’t until the boy reopened his eyes several minutes later and realized that they weren’t driving along the roads he expected them to take, that the atmosphere in the car changed. All the mellow peace vanished abruptly. Hudson could damn near feel the nerves pouring off the boy as his car came to a halt outside what he imagined had to look like a disused old factory to the uninitiated eye.

Chapter Nine

As they stood outside the rust-stained metal door at the far end of the dilapidated old building, Hudson frowned slightly, wondering why Toby was suddenly so unwilling to look up and meet his eyes. The boy’s attention was firmly fixed on the top button of Hudson’s jacket and… No. Hudson’s lips quirked into a small smile as he realized his mistake. Toby’s eyes were firmly fixed on the material covering his jacket’s inside pocket—the pocket that contained the contract. Hudson raised a hand and hammered on the door again. The noise vibrated through the metal loud enough to wake the dead—and possibly even loud enough to wake the building’s occupant. All Hudson could do was hope the guy wasn’t involved in a particularly special scene, or there would be no chance of gaining admittance. Leaning one shoulder against the wall next to the door, Hudson stared across at Toby. The boy was still apparently trying to make out the outline of the folded paper through his jacket. As if sensing that he was being watched, Toby suddenly lifted his eyes up to meet Hudson’s gaze for a brief moment. Hudson didn’t even blink. “I’m sorry, sir,” Toby whispered, turning his attention to an old chocolate wrapper being blown along by gutter by the breeze. “It will be easier for you tomorrow,” Hudson promised. “Yes, sir,” Toby said. He only seemed to stop and think after he had given his answer. He glanced at Hudson, looking for some sort of explanation, and received one raised eyebrow for his trouble.

Yes, Hudson knew full well that Toby didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. It was about time the boy learned that and that he had no intention of telling him anything until he asked. Toby cleared his throat. “Tomorrow, sir?” “Once you have your collar around your neck to remind you who you belong to, you won’t need to focus on the contract so much.” Toby immediately lifted his hand to his throat. For once, Hudson wasn’t inclined to chide his lover for fidgeting. Toby dropped his gaze again. “You don’t need to do that, sir. It’s not important, I just—” “It’s in the contract,” Hudson cut in, stepping forward and brushing Toby’s hand out of the way so that he could run his own fingers along the line where the collar would soon lay. “It’s part of the deal, isn’t it?” Toby swallowed as Hudson’s fingers caressed the strip of soon to be hidden skin. “Every time you swallow, every time you take a breath, you’ll feel it move against your throat,” Hudson said. Toby took half a step forward, bringing them almost toe to toe. The boy’s arms were still folded across his chest. He shuffled his feet, coming very close to kicking his master as he worked up his nerve to say whatever it was that was on his mind. “Sir?” he began, cautiously. Hudson parted his lips to answer. With perfect timing, the door leading into the old factory jerked open. A huge, musclebound man wearing nothing but a pair of black jeans, army boots and a very pissed off expression appeared in the light from the bare bulb swinging from the ceiling just inside the door. “I should have known it would be one of you guys,” the man muttered, his frown turning deeper than ever. “Don’t suppose it ever occurred to you that I have better things to do than be at your beck and sodding call?” Hudson glanced in Toby’s direction just in time to see his new submissive turn big, surprised eyes toward him. He couldn’t have looked more freaked out if the devil himself had opened the door to them.

Hudson managed not to laugh out loud at either of them. “Toby Garland, meet Peter Ingram. Peter, Toby.” Neither man said a word. “Yes,” Hudson said to Toby, “Peter is always this grumpy. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” He turned to Peter. “Be nice, as nice as you are capable of, I mean.” Peter glowered at Hudson for a moment before turning his attention to Toby and running his eyes over him in what was a quick, but Hudson had no doubt thorough, inspection. “You’re the contract boy, right?” Toby nodded. Peter rolled his eyes heavenward before casting a long suffering look at Hudson. Hudson merely smiled in return, not about to let SKIN design’s silent partner think he could intimidate him as easily as he would any of the submissives who seemed to flock around Peter’s wellpolished boots. “I guess three months is long enough for any guy to wait,” Peter muttered. “You know where everything is. Do whatever it is that can’t wait until morning and lock up after you when you go.” He strode away without another word. Hudson watched Toby’s eyes follow Peter’s progress as he stomped out of sight. “That’s pretty much a royal welcome as far as Pete goes,” Hudson informed him. Toby nodded slowly, apparently slightly shell-shocked. “Yes, sir.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sure he’s very nice once you get to know him…” Hudson ruffled the submissive’s hair as he stepped past him. He didn’t sound sure of it at all. Ushering Toby inside, Hudson closed the door behind them, dropping down a heavy bar to seal the opening shut. The younger man jumped as it clanged into place, sounding impressively like the jail cells from an old American film. There were a lot of good reasons why there was a waiting list to get into the place, and that sort of attention to detail was one of them. Hudson strode forward, leaving Toby to follow in his wake. Every so often a bare lightbulb swung eerily overhead, not so much illuminating anything as creating an extra depth to the shadows that filled the corners and doorways leading off to either side of the central corridor.

The whole place reeked of leather and sex. Hudson took a deep breath, savoring the energy that pumped through his veins as his inner dominant lifted his head higher than ever and realized that it might be about to have some fun. “Sir?” Toby asked from behind him. Hudson stopped and turned to face him. “Yes?” Toby looked both ways down the corridor. Hudson tracked his line of sight, curious to see what Toby would make of his surroundings. Through one door, a medical scene was set up, just waiting for someone to come and play doctors and nurses—or doctor and enthusiastic patient, of course. Hudson ran an experienced eye over a tray full of serious looking medical equipment before turning and looking through the door on the other side of the corridor. It was harder to spot the details in that shadowy space, but Hudson was able to make out the bars of a cage fastened closed by a heavy padlock. He looked back to Toby. “I thought we were going to your house, sir.” Toby looked down for a moment. “I don’t mind where we are or why but…” “But you’d like to know what the hell is going on?” Hudson finished for him. Toby took a deep breath and nodded. “If you don’t mind, sir.” “I told you that you’d have a collar by tomorrow, didn’t I?” Hudson asked, stepping closer to the other man. Toby tilted his head back to keep their eyes locked. “Yes, sir.” “Peter might be a miserable git, but there’s one thing you can guarantee, and that’s there’s no such thing as a toy or a mark that he hasn’t got somewhere under the roof of his club.” Toby blinked at him as the dots finally joined up inside his head. “We’re getting the collar now, sir?” Hudson dipped his head and pressed an amused kiss to his lover’s temple. He was reasonably sure he should feel embarrassed to consider submission inspired dopiness sweet, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe Toby’s inability to think while under his protection an entirely bad thing right then. Stepping forward, he caught hold of Toby’s hand and maintained a tight grip on him as he strode forward again. Protective wasn’t a big enough word for the way he felt about the submissive in those moments.

Finally, they reached the back of the club and Peter’s labyrinth of storerooms. The air turned chilly around them as they reached that part of the building where people weren’t supposed to spend all their time half naked and ready for sex. Hudson ran his eyes over Toby, but the boy didn’t appear to be too cold. The collars were all stored together and if Hudson remembered right they were behind the fourth door on the left. Unbolting the heavy wooden door, Hudson fumbled around on the wall just inside until he finally found a light switch. Mood lighting was apparently strictly for the clientele. There was nothing dramatic or sinister about the bright florescent light that poured down around them. Hudson blinked at the sudden brightness as he released Toby’s hand and stepped forward to inspect the labels on the various metal drawers that filled almost an entire wall of the room. Leather. Stainless Steel. Two inch. Three inch. Posture collars. Spikes. Large. Small. Discreet. Classic. Engraved. Hudson ran his fingertips over a dozen and more category tags before he finally found one that caught his interest. “Silver,” Hudson murmured. Pulling open the drawer he looked down on row upon row of black boxes, each one neatly arranged by size and thickness of link. Hudson shook his head, wondering what the submissive who’d been assigned to sort out the system had done to piss Peter off. It must have taken the poor bugger years! The sound of feet being shuffled nervously against the bare concrete floor brought Hudson’s attention back to one particular submissive. He smiled slightly to himself. There were far more interesting things to do with a submissive than set them to work on filing systems.

“Come here.” In a way that he couldn’t define, that one simple order suddenly made everything so much better in Toby’s world. The moment it hit the air, he felt something relax inside him. Hudson was giving the orders now. All he had to do was obey them to the best of his ability. There was something so very wonderful about that. He quickly obeyed, hurrying across to his master’s side, eager to find out what he might be able to do to please the other man. “Kneel.” Hudson didn’t look away from the drawer he was so fascinated by as he said it.

Toby silently lowered himself to his knees at the other man’s side. Staring up at him, he watched a familiar frown of concentration appear on Hudson’s forehead. After months of careful study, he knew that Hudson only ever adopted that expression when he was thinking about something that was very important to him. Toby felt his throat go dry as the importance of the moment jumped from the dominant to him, only growing in intensity as it snapped and crackled through the air like forked lightning. Hudson turned and looked down at him. The seconds stretched out, but Hudson didn’t say a word. He didn’t look Toby in the eye. Hudson’s attention was all on his neck. Toby couldn’t help but swallow rapidly as nerves rose even further inside him. The older man turned back to the drawer. It was too high for Toby to see into. A lifetime seemed to pass before Hudson took out a flat black box about six inches square. Hudson opened it and studied the contents. Toby stared up at the base of the box, unable to gain the slightest hint what might be inside. Finally, Hudson nodded what appeared to be his approval. Light glinted off silver metal as the other man took the thick length of chain from the box. Where the clip fastening would normally be, was what looked like a solid silver disc. As Toby tilted his head back, Hudson took what appeared to be a small silver screw driver from the box too. A few turns of the driver and the ends of the chain fell away from the disc. Toby stared up at Hudson, completely fascinated by the process. Not one word was said as Hudson draped the chain neatly around Toby’s neck. The dominant didn’t ask him for his opinion. The decision had already been made and Toby couldn’t have been happier about that. The screwdriver passed briefly into Toby’s view as Hudson offered up the disc to the ends of the chain. The tip of the driver was a complicated shape. No normal screwdriver would ever undo anything designed to be opened with that particular key. Toby barely held back a whimper at the thought of the collar being locked so firmly around his neck. He was sure he knew who would be holding onto the little mechanism. Within seconds, it was done. Just as Toby expected, the key quickly disappeared into Hudson’s jacket pocket, tucked away safely alongside the contract. Their eyes met for a moment. Hudson didn’t smile. His

expression remained perfectly serious as he studied the collar and checked the fit. Toby didn’t say a word as he knelt perfectly still on the cold concrete and stared up at his master. Silence still surrounded them as Hudson opened the top button of Toby’s shirt and slipped the chain behind his shirt collar. The metal was both cold and surprisingly heavy against Toby’s bare skin, but it felt good. In a way that Toby didn’t really know how to explain, even inside his own head, it felt like the biggest bear hug, the deepest kiss and the kinkiest sex he’d ever had, all rolled into one. And now, it was locked in place around his neck. It was probably only the memory of his master refusing him permission to orgasm that stopped him coming in his boxers right there in the storeroom. “Perfect.” Their eyes met as Toby looked up. For several long moments, he stared up at the other man, glorying in the approval he saw in the dominant’s expression. A quick caress along Toby’s jawline and Hudson turned his attention back to his shirt. Button refastened and tie straightened, Hudson studied Toby for what felt like a very long time before he nodded again. Toby had never felt such approval shower down over him in his life. Droplets of it seeped through his clothes and clung to his skin. Reaching out to him once more, Hudson slid his finger passed his top button, looped the digit around his collar and tugged him to his feet. The links in the chain moved against Toby’s skin. The collar was strong, it wasn’t going to break easily—it wasn’t going to break at all. A smile came to Toby’s lips. “Feel better?” Hudson asked. “Yes, thank you, sir,” Toby whispered. Hudson didn’t let go of the collar as he dipped his head and brought their lips together. There was nothing quick or chaste about the kiss. Without quite noticing either of them moving, Toby suddenly found himself pushed back against a filing cabinet. The drawers rattled as Hudson pressed against him from shoulder to knee, holding him in place with his entire frame. Toby couldn’t keep his hands hanging idly at his sides a moment longer. He reached out and caught hold of the other man’s suit jacket. He was pinned so firmly, he didn’t need to worry about keeping himself on his feet. He just needed to hold onto his master. He needed to feel the other man’s muscles moving under his hands, feel the strength in his lover.

Toby needed… He wasn’t really sure what it was he needed. All he really knew was that whatever it was, Hudson would be able to provide it. He clung to the other man, trying to touch as much of him as he could as he practically attempted to climb up his lover’s torso. “Not here.” Toby wasn’t sure what he whimpered a protest about—that the order delayed things until they reached a different location, or the fact that Hudson broke the kiss in order to issue it. His fists tightened their hold on the other man, as if that would ever change anything that happened between them. Toby looked around them, not sure what Hudson was objecting to. There was no one else there. It was perfectly private. True it was a little chilly, and the floor wasn’t exactly soft, but Toby wasn’t about to worry about such details. “One of the rooms we passed on the way here, sir?” he asked. That would be perfect. In Toby’s mind, anything that was close was ideal. His heart started to race a little faster as he tried to guess which one his master would choose to lead him into. “No.” Toby’s imagination ground to a halt. “You belong to me, not Pete. We’re spending tonight in my house not his.” Toby nodded his understanding. “Yours, sir.” He barely had time to worry that it was a stupid thing to say before his thoughts disintegrated under another soul searing kiss. The moment Hudson pulled back, he caught hold of Toby’s wrist. Before Toby knew what was happening, the dominant was striding out of the storeroom, back through the main hallway of the club. Toby hurried along behind him, hardly able to move his feet quickly enough to keep up with his lover. Outside the club, he tumbled into the passenger seat of the car, feeling lightheaded and silly. It wasn’t just that his brain had taken a little holiday when all the blood rushed to his cock. The collar around his neck seemed to have brought some sort of imaginary invincibility shield with it. Nothing could go wrong now. The whole bloody world was perfect. Toby grinned like a fool as he watched Hudson lock up the club in their wake.

The other man seemed far calmer as he took his place behind the wheel. As Toby watched, Hudson took a deep breath, stilled for a moment, then started the engine. They were back in his car, his domain now, home territory. The club belonged to Peter Ingram, and Hudson obviously hadn’t wanted him in there a moment longer than necessary. Toby turned his head and watched the other man drive. He was willing to bet that Hudson wouldn’t have taken him there at all if it hadn’t been for the fact he’d added a collar to the contract at the last moment. Reaching up, Toby hooked his fingers over his shirt collar so the tips of the digits could brush against the silver around his neck. “It looks good on you.” Toby blinked. There was no way in hell it was visible past his shirt. Hudson wasn’t actually superhuman. He didn’t have x-ray vision. Toby repeated that fact over inside his head, but he didn’t have any more luck convincing himself of it. Toby blinked rapidly at the view whizzing past the car window. His master wanted him to work on not going brain dead as soon as he felt submissive or turned on. If he wanted his master to be pleased with him, he’d have to remember that. The car soon came to a stop again, outside a large deco style house. The engine had barely purred to a stop before Hudson was out of the car and opening the front door. Toby was right on his heels. The moment the door swung closed behind them, he fully expected to be pinned to the wall, or stripped naked, whipped, screwed, something. Nothing. Hudson walked calmly across the white marble tiles and dropped his keys into a small black bowl on the hall table as if he were merely returning home after a normal day at the office. Toby stood just inside the door and watched with a frown, once more completely unable to work out what the hell was going on. Blowing hot and cold was one thing, but Hudson had never struck him as the type not to give his submissive a clear lead to follow. “This is where I’m going to live now, there’s nothing strange about coming home to this house. You don’t want anything artificial, sir!” Toby blurted out. He was so pleased at working it out, it never occurred to him how stupid he’d sound until the words were already out there, hanging in the air between them, looking all immature and silly in the intensely elegant monochrome surroundings.

Hudson turned to lean his shoulder against the heavy ebony banister at the base of the staircase. His lips quirked into a smile. “Well done. You’re learning already. Do you have any questions?” Toby stopped looking around the hall and waiting for an Agatha Christie character to step out from behind a retro corner at any moment. He brought his gaze quickly back to his master and focused all his attention on the other man. “No, sir.” “Let me rephrase,” Hudson said. “You do have questions. If you haven’t got any in your head already, I want you to put your mind to it and think of some now.” “Yes, sir,” Toby said, without any hesitation. He thought for a few seconds. He had lots of questions, but he was pretty sure they weren’t the kind of queries Hudson had in mind. “You have three seconds to ask your first question,” Hudson suddenly announced. “One, two—” “Where will I sleep, sir?” It was quite possibly the worst question he could have stuttered out. Suddenly, that was obvious to Toby. It wasn’t the kind of thing a submissive should ask. It was rude and bratty and— “Follow me.” Reciting mental curses with every step, Toby helplessly followed in his new master’s wake as Hudson strode up the curving staircase and along the landing.

Chapter Ten

“Sir, I didn’t really mean,” Toby began, as Hudson opened a bedroom door at the end of the walkway and stepped inside. “I told you to ask a question—specifically, the first one that appeared in your head. You did as you were told,” Hudson said as he stepped into the room and held the door open for Toby to follow. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to apologize for.” Toby looked around the bedroom as if the answer might be hanging on one of the stark black pieces of furniture that decorated the jagged, masculine space. “If I was about to hand a large proportion of my life choices over to another man, I’d want to know where he intended me to sleep,” Hudson added. Toby looked up at him. Somehow things that made no sense inside his head made perfect sense when Hudson said them aloud. “Here with you, in your room, sir?” he checked. “That’s right,” Hudson said as he walked across the room. Discarding his jacket onto a chair near the bed, he placed the contract and the key to Toby’s collar neatly on the nightstand. Toby nodded again. He opened his mouth but closed it before saying anything else. The possibility of him suddenly acquiring his master’s habit of making sense was too much of a long shot to risk. Hudson sat down on the edge of the bed and tapped the mattress between his legs in invitation. “Come here.” Toby rushed forward to kneel at his feet. Hudson’s fingers immediately tangled in his hair and guided him to rest his temple against the inside of his master’s knee. “You want me to be pleased with you, right?” Hudson asked.

Toby nodded, taking the opportunity to rub his head against the other man’s leg at the same time. Damn but even that felt good right then. “Tonight, the best way for you to please me is to ask me all the questions you can think of. Big, small, there’s no such thing as a stupid question this evening. Understand.” Toby nodded again. “Show me how you’re doing on keeping your brain working while you submit,” Hudson invited. Another nod was all Toby managed. “You’re going to have to speak at some point,” Hudson said, as he ruffled his hair. “You can start with the question you stopped yourself from asking a few moments ago.” Not having to meet Hudson’s eyes made it easier somehow. “Sometimes I need to work slightly weird hours, sir. Maybe on those days it would be better for me to—” “It will be best for you to sleep exactly where you belong, in your master’s bed, the same as always.” Toby glanced up at the other man for a moment. “I have no objection to being woken up when my submissive joins me late or leaves the bed early. I’m sure you could find a pleasant way to do that, couldn’t you?” Toby nodded quickly. His tongue snuck out to lick his lips in readiness. “You’ll work the hours you need to work,” Hudson told him. “As someone not too far away told me not so long ago, you’re good at your job. Anyone who contracts your services pays you a good wage, and they get their money’s worth.” Toby stared up at him. It sounded suspiciously like the other man approved of the statement. “I’ve never found false modesty an attractive quality in a submissive,” Hudson confirmed, rubbing his fingers through Toby’s hair. “I guess I’ve got a lot to learn, sir,” Toby admitted, dropping his gaze. He had a lot of work to do on making his brain work while his cock enjoyed the way his master’s fingers worked over his scalp too. “We both do.” Toby hesitated, not sure how he was supposed to respond, not sure what the punch line was going to be or even if he’d be allowed to laugh along while it came.

“I left a great many particulars out of the contract specifically because I have a lot to learn about you and the kind of mastery you need in order to flourish,” Hudson said. He whispered it like it was a secret that he’d never share with anyone but Toby. Toby stared down at his hands. It was only then that he realized he was drawing patterns on his lover’s trouser leg, fondling the material in a way that would drive any reasonable man around the bend with annoyance. Hudson made no mention of it. “I have a great deal of respect for the work you do.” Hudson tightened his hold on Toby’s hair, making him look up at the other man whether he wanted to or not. “But there are times when signing a contract and getting a deal through is the easy bit.” It was like a physical slap to the face. Toby would have pulled back if Hudson’s grip on him had allowed it. “The real work starts now.” Hudson leaned toward the head of the bed and picked up the contract with his other hand. Toby stared at the piece of paper as if it sparkled with fairy dust and magic. “Keeping to a contract, honoring a contract like this, that’s where the real task lies,” Hudson said in that same intimate tone. Toby tugged at his own hair as he tried to nod, half in an instinctive desire to agree with his master, half because Hudson moved the contract as he spoke and Toby’s eyes were glued to it. “Speak.” “Yes, sir.” “Six times seven?” Toby opened his mouth, about to agree again. Then, he blinked. “Sir?” “Six times seven is…” Hudson prompted. “Forty-two, sir?” Toby hazarded. “If you start saying ‘yes, sir’, without actually listening to the question, you’re going to find that I’ll ask you an ever increasing number of questions that can’t be answered on automatic pilot.” Toby swallowed rapidly. “Yes, sir—” He cleared his throat. “I mean, I understand, sir.” Hudson smiled.

Tucking two fingers beneath Toby’s shirt collar, Hudson easily found the silver metal and hooked the digits over it. A quick jerk and Toby was no longer sitting back on his ankles, the heels of his shoes digging into his spanked buttocks. He was up as high as his knees would take him and his lips were well within kissing range of the seated dominant. Hudson took complete advantage of the way Toby’s lips parted as he gasped out his shock, and Toby couldn’t have been more thrilled by that. The kiss was hard, deep and perfect, his tongue taking instant possession of Toby’s mouth. Toby’s hands came up and grasped hold of Hudson’s shoulders as he instinctively tried to steady himself, but there was no need. The hand on the back of his head held him at exactly the angle Hudson desired. Eyes closed, Toby didn’t even try to keep up or ask for anything from his master. He merely took what was offered and gloried in it. “Isn’t it nice when you do things that please your master?” Hudson whispered against his lips. Toby nodded, simultaneously trying to tilt his head back, looking for more. “Ask me a question.” Toby’s cock was hardening again. His body didn’t need another orgasm. His shaft was sore from the sudden influx of attention that had been showered upon it that day, but not reacting to his master’s kiss wasn’t an option. He moaned his frustration as he dropped his head to rest on the other man’s shoulder. Toby’s mind was a complete blank. Hudson chuckled and ruffled his hair, but he didn’t rush him to look up. “Do you have family, sir?” Such a simple question, but it took everything Toby had to arrange the words and get them out of his mouth in the right order. “My parents live down on the coast. My little sister, Sarah, lives near here though. You’ll like her. She’s completely crazy, but in a good way. She consults with us on designs sometimes.” Toby made a fumbling attempt to file all that information away for future reference, but he had little faith in his success. “What about you?” Hudson asked. Toby swallowed and licked his lips. Finally managed to get his words out. “Parents. Older brother. Nice people. They know I’m gay. They don’t mind, sir.” “That’s good. And it was a good question too.” Toby quickly turned his face up for another kiss.

Hudson grinned, but he didn’t brush their lips together again. He shuffled back on the bed instead, pulling Toby up with him as he went. That was good too. Toby hurried to follow the other man’s lead. If nothing else, it was unlikely that Hudson would want to sleep in his clothes. There was a chance of naked skin. Toby looked hopefully at the buttons of the other man’s shirt. A body that good should never be covered up. There was something very, very wrong about him belonging to a man he’d never seen out of his shirt. “Question,” Hudson prompted, as he moved up toward the top of the bed. Leaning a pillow against the headboard, he stretched out. Toby could never remember ever seeing a man look so relaxed and at ease with the world. At the office, Hudson was always all momentum and energy, always pushing the whole business forward, driving on the rest of the team. There were no smiles for the other people who worked for SKIN designs—not like the one Hudson was bestowing on him. This part of his master was all Toby’s. He looked down as he thought about that. “Focus, pet. You’re supposed to be trying to think of a question to ask me, remember?” “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable out of your clothes, sir?” Toby blurted out. Hudson tossed back his head and laughed. He leaned forward slightly and caught hold of Toby’s wrist. One moment Toby was kneeling on the bed next to Hudson’s knees, the next he had tumbled forward and was laying half on top of the other man. “Are you volunteering to help me with that?” Hudson whispered into his ear. Toby quickly nodded his complete willingness to do just that. Hudson smiled again—Toby had made him smile. That fact sent a rush of pleasure through Toby’s veins as he stared up at the other man. “Your clothes first,” Hudson ordered. “I want you naked except for your collar. Now.” “Yes, sir.” Toby scrambled back up onto his knees, taking great care not to put any elbows where Hudson really wouldn’t want them. “You don’t have permission to leave the bed.” Toby stopped himself short with one foot just inches from the floor. Twisting around, he hurriedly moved away from the edge of the bed to sit near the center of it, by Hudson’s feet.

Scrambling out of his clothes as quickly as he could, Toby tossed them all over the side of the mattress without a thought to how much of a mess he’d be bound to look when he put them back on in the morning. Hudson watched it all with something that looked suspiciously like an indulgent air. Finally, when Toby knelt naked and breathless at his feet, Hudson spoke. “What’s the capital of France?” Toby took a few seconds to catch up. “Paris, sir.” “Good boy. Start with my shoes.” Toby reached for his master’s left foot and carefully undid the laces. There was no rushing and forcing Hudson’s shoes off. His master deserved better than that. And he expected Toby to do his best—he’d been very clear about that. No sloppiness. Toby had to remember what he had already been taught by other men, and his times tables and, apparently, all the capital cities of wherever Hudson cared to think of. He glanced up at his master. It would have been a hell of a lot easier to do all those things if Hudson wasn’t staring down at him like a sex-god who’d descended to earth specifically to be worshiped by him.

Chapter Eleven

Moving as quickly as his lethargic thought process would allow, Toby set one of his master’s shoes neatly on the floor by the side of the bed and turned his attention to the other. Hudson wriggled his toes when they were all freed from the shoes, as if relishing relaxing them after a hard day on his feet. Without really thinking if he should or not, Toby caught hold of the other man’s foot and carefully worked his thumbs against the sole in an impromptu massage. Hudson made no complaint about Toby acting outside his orders. He even let out a contented little sigh as he slid down a little in the bed. “Capital of Japan?” Toby looked up. Hudson’s eyes were half closed, as if he was happily drifting off into dreamland as Toby worked on his feet, but his words were as strong and confident as ever. “Tokyo, sir,” Toby whispered. “Very good. Your turn to ask a question.” “Are you always this relaxed at home, sir?” Hudson took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No.” Toby glanced up at him again. “I can never relax when I’m here on my own. But I never have been able to stand having a man who I have no real interest in cluttering up the place either—that’s even worse. I learned a long time ago not to bring home men I’m not serious about.” Their eyes met. Toby quickly dropped his gaze, not sure how much emotion the other man might see in his expression. His attention landed on his cock. He was still hard, curving back toward his stomach as if he hadn’t come for a week.

“My shirt next.” The order made Toby look up so quickly he damn near gave himself whiplash. The way Hudson chuckled told Toby that his reaction had been very predictable. Well aware that a blush had rushed to his cheeks, Toby nevertheless shuffled forward on his knees, carefully making his way up the bed and to his master’s side. One by one, Toby undid the buttons on his lover’s shirt, gradually revealing a little more of Hudson’s body with each bit of plastic that slid through the cotton. A gentle tug coaxed the material out from the waist of Hudson’s trousers. The other man sat up, allowing Toby to push the material off his shoulders and completely remove it. The build Toby revealed was gorgeous. Bronzed and sculpted, without so much as the tiniest scar or the faintest tan line to mar the perfection. Toby trailed his fingers over Hudson’s shoulders as the other man lay down once more. From there, the digits wandered as if they had a mind of their own, all over the other man’s chest, tracing each line of muscle. “Question,” Hudson ordered. “How often do you work out, sir?” Toby said. It was the first question in his head. He only tensed for a moment as it hit the air. Hudson had said there was no such thing as a bad question to ask that night. All he could do now was hope like hell that his master had meant it. “Every morning before work,” Hudson said. “There’s a gym at the back of the house. You’ll be joining me every day, unless you’ve already left for work by then.” “Yes, sir.” “And Toby?” Toby ran his fingers over Hudson’s left pec and circled his nipple. The little bud of nerve endings tightened under his touch. He was far too mesmerized to look up. “Yes, sir?” “I’ll know if you start going to work early just to avoid that part of the day.” “I work out!” Toby protested as he looked up and met the other man’s eyes. He saw the teasing light there and allowed himself a small smile. “Not as much as you do, obviously, sir, but I do work out.” He looked back to Hudson’s bare chest. He was casually fondling his master. Worse, he was casually fondling his master without Hudson’s permission. Toby tried to snatch his fingers away from the other man’s skin, but suddenly Hudson’s hands covered them, holding them against his chest. As Hudson pressed down, Toby felt the

dominant’s heartbeat beneath his ribs. Strong, steady, perfectly calm and nothing like his own racing pulse.

“Remind me what I told you at the office,” Hudson ordered as he pressed down even more firmly on his new submissive’s hands. For several seconds, Toby merely stared at him blankly. Hudson held the boy’s gaze and waited him out. There was a thought process going on in there, he was sure of it. It wasn’t a rapid process, it might not even be an entirely logical process, but that couldn’t really be expected on the first day Toby belonged to him. Finally, the boy stumbled on the phrase Hudson had sent him searching his memories for. “You don’t expect me to read your mind, sir. If I’m doing something you dislike, you’ll tell me.” “That’s right. Did I tell you I have any objection to you touching me?” Toby shook his head. Hudson dropped his hands back to his sides to rest idly on the mattress. Very slowly, Toby stroked his hands over his lover’s chest again, taking full, if rather tentative, advantage of the permission. Toby was stunning when he relaxed and really put his trust in someone else. As Hudson watched his new submissive remove the rest of his clothing and explore his master’s body, he saw all the tension and worry leave Toby’s muscles. It was such a beautiful sight, Hudson was content to merely watch and enjoy the view until Toby had him completely naked. The boy’s eyes never stopped moving over his body. It almost seemed like he was afraid he’d never get the chance to see his master naked again. “Time for another question,” Hudson finally ordered. “Have I been good, sir?” Hudson studied him carefully for a moment, wondering what sort of worries were rattling around behind the other man’s outwardly calm demeanor. Toby dropped his gaze. “You said if I was good, you might tell me when you realized you cared about me in return,” he whispered as he absentmindedly caressed the sensitive strip of skin over Hudson’s hipbone and in toward his cock.

“You’ve been very good,” Hudson allowed. “I also told you that I might give you permission to come if you were good. Make your choice, which do you want.” Toby looked down at his own erection, his expression almost apologetic, as if he knew some parts of his body weren’t going to like his answer. “The story, please, sir.” Reaching up to stroke his fingers through the younger man’s hair, Hudson applied light pressure to the back of his head, giving his lover silent permission to go down on him while he heard the tale. Toby needed no further encouragement than that. He immediately bowed his head over Hudson’s crotch and lapped gently at his shaft. Apparently already capable of reading his master’s mood well enough to service him in the way most likely to please him, Toby ran his tongue along the length in slow, languid lines. There didn’t seem to be any desire to rush, or even to get his master off. It felt more like Toby was simply learning his way around his master’s body, just as they were slowly beginning to map their ways around each other’s minds and lives. “That’s right,” Hudson murmured. Toby glanced up at him through his lashes as he pressed a kiss against the head of his cock. It was a bloody beautiful sight. “The first time I set eyes on you, I wanted to screw you,” Hudson informed his submissive. His hand stayed on the back of Toby’s head, letting him know he wasn’t required to lift his head and waste his time answering when his lips could just as easily continue providing his love with pleasure where they were. “But the first time I knew I wanted more than that, that I wanted to own you completely…” Hudson mused. “That was about a week later.” Toby’s lips parted. He wrapped them around the tip of Hudson’s shaft. His tongue teased his foreskin, sliding underneath it to caress the sensitive head. “You were in one of the offices on your own. I came to the door, but you didn’t hear me. You were talking to yourself, working out the contract, trying to make everyone happy, trying to balance out everyone’s desires and make sure the contract went through without a hitch.” Toby pulled back a little, and began to lap at the short hairs covering Hudson’s ball sac. Little fireworks of pleasure went off through Hudson’s body, but he didn’t let them distract him completely.

“You damn near screamed your submission. You were running your hands through your hair as if you might start tearing it out at the roots any second, and all I wanted to do was push your hand aside, put mine in its place and hold you still to be kissed.” Toby ran his lips all the way up Hudson’s shaft, nuzzling at him as he caressed him with his mouth and tongue. “You looked so much like you needed one man to focus on, rather than trying to please dozens of people. And I needed to be that man, to make sure you ended up submitting to someone who would look after you and make sure you had everything you needed, too. I’d never felt that way about any man before.” Toby whimpered, but he didn’t even try to lift his head. “That was the moment I realized I was in love with you,” Hudson whispered. Toby dropped his head forward, resting his temple on Hudson’s stomach, just above his stiffened cock. With everything he’d said hovering in the front of his mind, Hudson knew that Toby’s mouth wasn’t going to be enough for him. The desire to possess him rushed through Hudson’s veins just as quickly as it had that day in the office. He needed to be properly inside his lover. Being ridden at his desk was all well and good, but it had only sated his physical need. There had been little to satisfy the possessive side of him, little to pacify that part of him that had wanted nothing more than to hold Toby still and screw him deep into the mattress of his own bed. “Up here,” he ordered. Hudson caught hold of Toby’s wrist and pulled him up the bed. “There’s lube and condoms in the nightstand. Find them.” Toby turned his back on Hudson for a moment, pulled open the drawer and scrambled through the contents. His movements only became more clumsy as Hudson slid his hand up the inside of the younger man’s thigh and stroked his fingers across his hole. Passing the supplies over his shoulder, Toby kept his back to his master, apparently unwilling to do anything that might dislodge Hudson’s teasing touch. Hudson squeezed the lube over his caressing fingers and the other man’s hole at the same time, before he quickly pushed his fingers into Toby’s body. Pressing back against him from the very first touch, for the second time that night, Toby soon seemed to be more than ready for anything his master could offer him.

Hudson quickly sheathed his cock and tugged Toby closer. But he only pressed the tip of his erection against the younger man’s hole, just teasing him with the prospect. Toby whimpered and squirmed, but he made no actual effort to take control of anything that happened between them. That deserved a reward. Thrusting forward, Hudson let the head of his cock force its way inside his lover’s body. Little by little, making Toby wait for every inch, he fed his cock into the other man’s arse. He stilled then, just relishing the tight cocoon of flesh surrounding his erection. Toby murmured his pleasure as he rested his temple on the pillow. He seemed to relax into an almost Zen-like state as his master slowly moved inside him. Hudson pushed into Toby again and again, his movements slow and lethargic. It was less about need now, and more about want. He wanted to be buried deep inside the other man’s arse, with his arm wrapped tightly around his torso. He didn’t need to come, he merely wanted to, and hold the other man close, to be with him, inside him, surrounded by him. Rocking his hips, Hudson thrust into his lover once more, pulling a contented little moan from Toby’s lips. “You’re going to be sore tomorrow,” Hudson whispered. He had no doubt that even if he hadn’t been spanked, Toby would still have been reminded of their time together every time he sat down. Toby nodded his agreement, but he didn’t seem overly bothered by that fact. He arched his back, offering himself even more readily to Hudson as if he loved it. Hudson smiled against the ruffled chestnut strands of hair. “Damn, but you feel good.” He had no idea if Toby knew that he was talking about far more than basic physical sensations. Toby merely made a pleased murmuring sound in the back of his throat. He didn’t seem even vaguely capable of words. He was lost in sensations and submission and sex. Just for a little while, Hudson let him float mindlessly in his pleasure. Again and again, he thrust into the younger man’s body, claiming his lover a little more completely with each movement he made. As he looked over Toby’s shoulder he saw the other man’s hand clenching and unclenching around the blanket in time with his strokes but Toby didn’t even try to reach for his cock.

Hudson growled his approval at such an instinctive and complete display of submission. Toby purred in response, pressing his arse back more firmly against his master’s cock and tightening his most intimate muscles around him. It was the final piece of the puzzle Hudson needed. He came, thrusting deeply into his lover several times as pleasure not only ricocheted through his body, but also seeped deep into his mind. Without a single touch to his cock, Toby was apparently unable to do the same, not when he’d have been heading for his second orgasm of the night anyway. As Hudson watched, the submissive rocked his hips thrusting his erection into the empty air, helplessly seeking a touch he wasn’t destined to receive that night. Toby made no complaint as Hudson pulled away, dispensed with the condom and cleaned them both up without allowing him his own pleasure. It was only, when Hudson encouraged him to roll over and face his master, he saw the questions in Toby’s eyes. Did I please you? Are you satisfied? Should I have done something differently?

“Eight times four?” A burst of surprised laughter escaped from Toby, as his mind slowly forced itself to resume the kind of thought process that could make sense of the question. He shook his head slightly. “Thirty-two, sir.” Hudson ran his knuckles up under Toby’s chin to tilt his head back and make his lips available for a kiss. He didn’t look mad at him for laughing. He seemed to understand anything and everything in the whole damn world. “If you’re good, you’ll be allowed to come in the morning,” his master promised. “Yes, sir.” “But right now, I want you to get some sleep.” Hudson pulled him closer as he said it, encouraging Toby to press his body against his side and let his master feel his untended erection rub against his skin. Toby closed his eyes for a second, pushing down a wave of desire. “You are mine now, sweetheart,” Hudson whispered into another kiss.

“Yes, sir,” Toby whispered back against his lips. His eyes dropped closed as his master allowed their mouths to linger together. Ecstasy far deeper than any that could be found in a simple orgasm poured through him. He was entirely and completely Hudson’s. Toby smiled as he caught sight of the folded up paper on the bedside table over Hudson’s shoulder. There could be no doubt about it. It was in the contract. It was part of the deal.

About the Author

27 years old, from Wales, UK, Kim writes about kink, love and happy endings. If a story doesn’t have those three things, it's not going to be written—at least not by this writer! Apart from that, Kim likes to write a little bit of everything. So far that list includes Male/Male, Male/Female, a few different varies of ménage, shifters, vampires, fairytales, time-travel and ghosts. It’s anyone’s guess what will come next… A firm believer that there is no “One True Way” for people to kink, Kim likes to let the characters in each book pick their own ways to dominate and submit to each other. As long as they stay safe, sane and consensual—Kim’s happy to let them live their lifestyle 24/7, or just open the toy box on weekends—whatever’s right for them. Published since 2008, Kim also writes BDSM erotic romances for Total-e-bound. Kim loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.kimdare.com.

Kim Dare’s Rawlings Men Series, Now Available at Resplendence Publishing

Handcuffs and Leather All Constable Hadley wants to do is put the last few weeks behind him. As if being taken hostage wasn’t bad enough, he’s had to deal with all the stupid publicity that’s surrounded him ever since. And the fact that he hasn’t slept since that night isn’t helping him feel any better about the world, either. The last thing Hadley needs is a shrink wandering around inside his head trying to dig up all his dirty little secrets. When he finds out he’s being sent to Dr. Rawlings—the man he’s had a crush on for months—Hadley knows his life has finally hit rock bottom. The only thing that could make things worse for Hadley would be Dr. Rawlings finding out how he feels about him. But fate wouldn’t be that cruel to him—would it?

Handcuffs and Glory Holes Police Sergeant Conrad Rawlings likes glory holes. As a dominant who’s never learned how to feel casual about even the most fleeting hook up, he’s learned to cherish the complete anonymity they provide. Still, when he hears a cubicle door open as he leaves the back room of a club, he can’t quite help looking over his shoulder. Submissive Willis Evans doesn’t know why his master ordered him to make sure the stranger from the glory hole sees his face before he leaves the club, but he knows the price for disobedience. Willis does as he’s told. The moment their eyes meet, he can’t help but hope he’ll be allowed to see the other man again. They are going to meet again, but it won’t be under conditions either of them could predict. Willis’ master has a plan—one which could easily break them both.

Handcuffs and Headlocks Undercover police officer Ed Rawlings isn’t just good at his job—he’s bloody fantastic at it. But there is such a thing as being too good at playing pretend. When reality refuses to come back, even when he’s off duty, something has to change for the hyperactive submissive. Could a no nonsense master be exactly who he needs to help him make those changes? Derby FitzGerald doesn’t do pretend. Losing track of reality when you’re teaching martial arts

would be bound to get very painful, very quickly. But maybe there’s such a thing as taking life too seriously too. Could a confused cop be precisely the right person to remind him of that?

Handcuffs and Trouble As the newest constable in the station, Trent Rawlings isn’t entirely surprised to find himself being hazed by the other cops. Determined not to make any more of a fool of himself than is absolutely necessary, he’s merely biding his time and going through the motions until he gets to the punch line. It has to be a hazing. If it’s not, he’s in real trouble. Kieran Osmond doesn’t know what the hell the little fool thinks he’s doing, stumbling into the middle of an undercover operation. All Kieran knows is that he has to rescue the younger man before he gets them both killed. Luckily for them both, Trent seems to be good at obeying orders and following a more dominant man’s lead. He may even be too good at it for Kieran’s peace of mind. Maybe Trent isn’t the only man who’s in trouble...

Handcuffs and Spreader Bars Harland Rawlings might have chosen to be a scene of crime officer rather than a “proper” policeman like so many of the men in his family, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hold his own with any cop who comes his way. Any evidence belongs to him until he says otherwise, and if a sergeant manages to roll around in evidence while tackling a suspect, then that man belongs to him until Harland has finished with him. Detective Sergeant Alasdair Grant doesn’t have good luck with men. He resigned himself to that fact after his ex turned out to be the worst kind of sadist, so he’s not best pleased when being processed by Harland gets him hot and hard and he has no way to hide it. When Harland offers to fetch a spreader bar if he doesn’t stop wriggling, he knows the other man is merely laughing at his expense. There’s no way the scene of crime officer could know how much Alasdair liked the idea. Harland can’t work out why Alasdair keeps blowing hot and cold, flirting one minute and running away the next. All he knows is that for some reason, even after the other man stopped being evidence, Harland can’t stop thinking of Alasdair as belonging to him…

Handcuffs and Ball Gags Police constable Andrew Rawlings is used to getting heckled while trying to maintain law and order at environmental protests. He’s not so keen on the guy shouting the insults being his flatmate, Ben. A protest is no place for a well-mannered school teacher, even if the guy is built like an ox. That’s why Andrew expressly forbade Ben from attending it, and Andrew isn’t used to his commands being disobeyed.

Ben has had enough of being bossed around by his best friend. He’s a grown man. If he wants to protest against the new motorway, he will. And, if Andy Rawlings doesn’t like it, well, he’ll just have to step up to the plate and start playing the dominant role full time, not just whenever it suits him. Nudity, spanking and ball gags—the punishment for civil disobedience has never been so much fun.

Handcuffs and Megabytes Mike Shane’s an old fashioned kind of cop. To his mind, police work should be all about pounding the pavements, interrogating suspects and following leads. It should not involve hours spent sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen. When he’s seconded to a computer crimes task force, he’s dreading spending all his time surrounded by computers and computer geeks. Carl Rawlings is no geek. With a body full of tattoos and piercings, along with a new found interest in anything and everything kinky, he’s not your average cop—or your average computer expert either. Immediately drawn to the other man’s old school style of dominance, he quickly decides that teaching Mike all about the new program he’s developed won’t be so bad after all, but who knows what Mike may teach him in return?

Handcuffs and Pretty Things Almost every man in the Rawlings family is a cop. Almost. Dane Rawlings likes the finer things in life. As a successful antiques dealer, imposing law and order upon society isn’t one of his main concerns. But that doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate the appeal of a man with handcuffs. Ross O’Sullivan has worked with lots of Rawlings men, none of them prepared him for Dane. When he’s asked to babysit a Rawlings outside a suspected arson attack, he expects his charge to be tall, dark and handsome. A petite, delicate and pretty Rawlings comes as a shock, and it’s not the only shock Dane has in store for him.

Also Available from

Resplendence Publishing

Duck! by Kim Dare Raised among humans, Ori Jones only discovered he was an avian shifter six months ago. Unable to complete a full shift until he reaches his avian maturity, he still can’t be sure of his exact species. But with species comes rank, and rank is everything to the avians. When a partial shift allows the elders to announce that they believe Ori to be a rather ugly little duckling, he drops straight to the bottom rung of their hierarchy. Life isn’t easy for Ori until he comes to the attention of a high ranking hawk shifter. Then the only question is, is Ori really a duck—and what will his new master think when the truth eventually comes out?

In the Shadow of a Hero by Anna Mayle A cop dies in the city, life goes on. For one little boy, though, it changed everything. Haunted by his past, Maxwell Thomas has grown up homeless and friendless, trapped by his guilt. Prowling the city, the small man guards the Church District like a vigilante, trying to make up for his crime. When he rescues the wrong rent boy, he is pulled back into the madness that destroyed him as a child. And now, another cop's life is on the line... Nick Kenna is a beat cop with dreams of being a detective. When he stumbles across a murder and the very unusual suspect, he finds himself caught, not only by the mystery of the vagrant he's apprehended, but something deeper that sparks between them. Will Nick be able to save Maxwell, from his past and himself? Or will love be lost as the broken man fades into the shadow of his hero?

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Jones never wanted to go back to Texas. He left at eighteen for many reasons, but his career is more important than the demons of his past. Always a professional, he meets his match in the tempting Brian. The line between business and pleasure vanishes when their mutual love of sex, rope and power play takes over.

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Ryland’s Sacrifice by Kim Dare Principles don’t pay tuition fees. When Ryland’s math scholarship disappears overnight, he has two choices. He can borrow money from fellow student Jason Burrows, who has very interesting ways of collecting debts. Or, he can volunteer to be thrown to the werelions. One night spent playing the part of a willing human sacrifice will give him enough money to finish his PhD. It seems like a good deal-right up until the moment he finds himself naked, blindfolded, bound and surrounded by lions.

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into the consequences of a plot he cannot even remember, accused of stealing his own life. Confused, angry, and frightened beyond reason, Daniel tries to escape from Leinad, but there is something pulling them together. Revenge and passion are two very similar things. Blood sings, lust and tempers rise, and before they know it, neither is quite sure who the real monster is anymore. Or if it will even matter in the end.

Tropical Hedonism by Dakota Rebel After a boating accident, Sean Harris wakes up staring into the eyes of a handsome doctor. Even when he discovers that he is on an island within the Bermuda Triangle, and there is no way for him to get back to his old life, he can’t be too disappointed if it means being stuck with the doctor. Dr. Wesley Carpenter cannot believe that the younger Sean Harris would want anything to do with him. After half-heartedly turning down the advances of his patient, he realizes that resistance is futile. The men find themselves falling for each other quickly, but ghosts from their pasts and outside influences try to get in the way of their happiness. Sean and Wesley may be on the island forever, but neither is sure if that guarantees they’ll be able to continue their Tropical Hedonism.

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