A Strong Hand (11 page)

Markie's hand cast a dark shadow over his chest while a pinpoint of light danced on the metal of the clamp.

"It's that moment, that exact moment when the sub knows who controls his body," Ashley gloated. "This is going to be the best catalog ever!" Gleefully, he slapped Markie's arse in congratulation, and the blond jumped and yelped, his stripes throbbing anew under the assault. Then Ashley grabbed Nick and hugged him. Nick squeaked as his clamped nipple was crushed to Ashley's chest.

"Sorry, lad," Ashley said, with a grin and an evil twinkle in his eye. "Forgot about that."

Nick noticed that Derek was gazing at him with awed respect, but he turned pleading eyes to Damian. How the fuck was he going to get this other one off? He couldn't do it in front of everyone, especially after they had all seen his reaction, captured forever on film.

100

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

Damian came to the rescue. "Come with me, Nick."

Nick heard a couple of snickers behind his back, but he was too desperate to get the damn thing taken off to care whether they were laughing at him. He hurried after Damian, praying that the older man wasn't going to send him home with this new torture device still affixed to him.

Damian led them to his office and closed the door. "Come here, Nick," he said kindly.

He turned Nick around and backed the boy up against his chest, clamping him with one arm around his waist, pinning both his arms to his side. "You know this will hurt."

Nick nodded. He arched and yipped when Damian released the second clamp, grateful for the other man's warmth against his back. Damian tossed the clamps onto his desk with a clatter and soothingly massaged both reddened nubs.

Nick relaxed against him, feeling a solid warmth nudging his buttocks. Had Damian been turned on by watching? His own cock was pulsing in time to the throb in his nipples, and he was beginning to enjoy the sensation of Damian's fingers rubbing him.

A husky whisper assured him. "We'll play later, babe. Have to get back to work now."

With one last caress, Damian pushed Nick gently away from him, chuckling quietly at the lust-glazed look on his face. "Pull yourself together and come out when you're ready.

We have one more shot for today."

He bent to swipe at one reddened nipple with his tongue before he walked out, and Nick's hand went right to his cock, rubbing himself through the leather trousers.

101

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

The door opened, and he jumped, snatching his hand away, fearful of being caught.

"Don't come until I permit you," Damian ordered, and he vanished.

* * * *

The studio was quiet at last. Nick sat at the table in the kitchen, feeling a bit limp. He'd worn the cage for more than twenty-four hours, which had kept him from having an erection, only to be followed by a day of heightened arousal and dread, where he'd been kept hard more or less continuously.

He was hungry. He was tired. And he was horny as fuck.

Damian came out of the office, glancing at his assistant.

"You look tired. Do you want to go home?"

"What are my choices?" Nick asked. "If I go home can I jerk off?"

Damian laughed. "If you like. Or I could do it for you."

Nick sat up, looking a bit more alert. "Would you?"

"Not right off the bat," Damian teased. "I'm hungry. Feel like Indian takeout?"

"Yeah," Nick agreed eagerly. "Want me to go round and collect it?"

"No, we'll have them deliver. I'd like to talk to you anyway." Damian turned and walked into his office. After a moment, he stuck his head out. "Well?"

"You didn't say to follow you," Nick pointed out, hurrying to join his boss.

102

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

Damian rolled his eyes. "Unless I call a scene, you can just act regular, Nick." He shuffled the menus in the drawer and pulled one out, picking up the phone to place his order. Then he leaned back, stretching both arms over his head. "What's bothering you?"

"You're—you're my boss," Nick said uneasily, "And also, my ... my ... what are you?"

Damian smiled compassionately. "I see your problem.

We've switched gears a little too fast. But I didn't want to just lay down a set of rules all at once. However, we'll have a few now. First of all, as your boss, I can ask you to go for coffee or takeaway, and that's reasonable. I can't tell you what to do with your body; that would be illegal. I won't force you into anything or to have sex with me. You're of age and you have the right to leave at any time, if you wish. You're also working for me as a model for a sex toy catalog. In that capacity I can direct you to strike a pose, but you still have the right to refuse to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

"It was a little close out there today," Nick muttered.

"I know. I shouldn't have done that to you, and I apologize. From now on, I'll let you experience whatever it is and let you make the call on whether you're willing to do it on film."

"You're sorry?" Nick breathed, his eyes wide.

"Yeah. What?" Damian asked, bewildered.

"Are you supposed to say you're sorry when you're a ... a

... master?"

"I prefer Top, and certainly I'm supposed to if I've done something wrong." Damian laughed at the ludicrous look of 103

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

surprise on Nick's face. "Look, remember the other day when you suggested the slave and Ashley's arm when Markie was over the bench?"

"Yeah."

"We were working together then, creating a shot that was not only beautiful, but it showed the products off while evoking a specific mood. It did the job it was supposed to do.

It was both of us collaborating to create one special image."

"You're saying we're in this together," Nick said slowly.

"Exactly. You want to get spanked, I like to spank. Without you, I have no cute little ass wriggling around on my lap.

We're making a deal here. I want you to get what you're looking for, and I certainly wouldn't do it to you if I didn't like it."

"You like spanking me?"

Damian almost laughed again at the amazed expression on Nick's face. "I like it very much, Nick, and I hope you do too.

I was hoping that you might wish to stay late tonight so that I could show you something else."

Feeling suddenly energized again, Nick said, "
Yes,
sir!"

* * * *

After a companionable dinner, where Damian talked over his ideas for Ashley's catalog, Nick washed up while Damian dried and put away. Nick wondered why he'd always found Damian so stern and unapproachable, while Damian was surprised by his young assistant's creativity and sense of fun.

It wasn't often in Damian's experience that a young man so beautiful was also willing to be silly.

104

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

"Go into the office. Wait for me there, pet."

Nick no longer needed Damian to call him pet to tell when their relationship shifted; the slow commanding drawl was enough to alert him to the change. He went to the office and then worried about whether he should kneel or stand or just what he should be doing. He was frowning when Damian came in, making the other man's lips twitch.

"What's wrong, pet?"

"Am I supposed to be kneeling or what?"

"Does it calm you when you know what to expect from me?"

"Sir, I want to please you," Nick said simply.

Damian was surprised at how much that touched him. "If you wish to please me...."

"Yes, sir?"

"Take everything off."

Damian watched as Nick stripped with shaking fingers. He appreciated every movement; the boy was unusually graceful in the awkward moments, getting his trousers off without hopping or tangling himself in the legs. At last he stood, submissive in front of Damian, completely exposed.

Damian stroked the aureole of one nipple and caught the shuddering breath. "Are they sore?"

"Not really, sir, just ... a little ... tingly."

"Did you like it when I had you tied to that bar, restrained for my pleasure?"

Nick gulped and managed to answer, "Yes, sir."

"I liked it too, and yet, if I wished to restrain you just with my voice, would you obey?"

105

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

Nick nodded, mesmerized by the deep blue eyes.

Damian circled behind Nick, noticing the slight stiffening of his spine. He turned off the overhead light, so that the room was lit only by the desk lamp, casting a warm glow over the naked boy. He pulled the leather couch slightly away from the wall and picked up a blindfold. He said, "Turn to face me."

Nick did so, his breath coming quicker. Damian could see the thump of his heart fluttering the golden skin of his chest.

"I'm going to blindfold you. And then I'm going to touch you however I wish. You are mine until I release you. Are you mine?"

Nick nodded slowly.

Damian blindfolded Nick, making sure that the young man couldn't peek. He took him by the arm and led him to the couch. "Kneel on the couch for me, pet. Hands on the back."

He guided Nick to kneel on the cushion, pushing him to bend over so that his hands were resting on the back.

Slowly Damian ran his hand down the length of Nick's spine, noticing the slight shudder as he neared the swell of the boy's ass. He positioned himself so that his left hand rested on Nick's back, leaving his right free to roam.

Nick wondered what Damian would do next. He had said he would touch him however and wherever he wished, and there were parts of Nick that no one had ever touched. He felt vulnerable and uncertain, and his blood was pounding with the thrill of it all.

He felt calloused fingertips pinch a nipple and his cock surged in response. It made him think of the clamps Damian had used on him earlier.

106

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

He felt something tickle his ear and Damian said, "Don't come until I permit it."

"Yes, sir," Nick said hoarsely.

He felt a palm cupping his arse, rubbing slowly over the curve, and then a slap. It stung and heat rushed to the site, but it didn't really hurt. Nick had to control himself when he pictured how this must look, him kneeling with his naked bum hanging out, accessible to the other man's explorations while Damian was completely dressed, touching him as he pleased.

He jumped when he felt teeth nibbling at the nape of his neck. Damian's hand left his back, leaving Nick disoriented and alone in the dark. The next touch was to the inside of his thigh, nails lightly scratching up from his knee to just next to his balls. He shivered and moved his legs together.

"Shall I get the spreaders?" Damian observed the flush that spread over Nick's backside in response to his words.

Slowly he pried the boy's legs apart and held them. "Perhaps I will. I like how you look in them, helpless and vulnerable."

Nick listened to his footsteps fade and return. This time he was prepared for the chill of the ankle cuffs as Damian locked his feet to the bar.

"Try it, pet. You will not be able to close your legs. The bar is keeping you spread open for me."

Nick shifted but he couldn't close his legs. He was very aware of the cool rush of air on his balls, swinging slightly with his movements.

"Keep those hands right where they are. I would prefer not to restrain you fully. Why will you leave your hands there?"

"Because you told me to, sir," Nick answered.

107

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

"Very good," Damian said. Nick's body was incredibly beautiful bent over compliantly, glowing in the dim light with a light sheen of sweat.

He ran a hand down the back of one thigh and then threaded his fingers through Nick's curls, pulling his head back as Markie had done earlier. He saw the tendons stand out in the boy's neck as he held him in place. Finally Damian bent to claim the beautiful mouth, biting the lower lip gently before driving his tongue inside. He explored the sweet mouth thoroughly, mapping the teeth and lips, meeting Nick's tongue and conquering it, establishing his dominance. Finally he released the boy's lips, and took the tiny moan of desire as his tribute.

He let Nick go and the curly head dropped forward to rest on the back of the couch while the young man panted softly, trying to recover his breath.

Nick arched up and howled when he felt warm lips close around one of his nipples. Teeth tugged on the delicate flesh while Damian's tongue moved rapidly, stimulating the nipple to a sharp peak. He had taken care not to touch Nick in any other way, so that when he released him, the young man was disoriented, not knowing where to expect the next touch.

Damian stood up to prowl around the beautiful boy again, aiming four swift smacks at the defenseless ass. He was delighted to see Nick raise his bottom to meet each slap after the first one.

"Arch your back. Lift up your ass to me, pet," Damian whispered, his quiet voice a contrast to the crisp blows.

108

A Strong Hand

by Catt Ford

Nick did so and felt Damian's hands slide along the curve of his ribs, spanning his waist.

"So slender and beautiful. I could break you. But I won't.

I'd rather keep you for a while," Damian mused. "Am I making you hard?"

"God, yes, sir," Nick groaned. His neglected cock was standing up to his belly and his balls were quivering with sensory overload. Both of Damian's hands were sliding over his skin, sending little electrical jolts of pleasure through him.

He hadn't realized that every part of him was an erogenous zone, but the tender caresses, sharp pinches, sudden smacks, and the occasional warm softness of Damian's lips or tongue had him completely aroused, and yet the man hadn't even touched his cock or balls yet.

Damian nipped at the back of Nick's arm and felt the muscle tremble, as if it could no longer hold the boy in position.

He slid his hand over the curve of Nick's buttock and asked, "Shall I spank you? Perhaps I shall, just because I can.