A Strong Hand (8 page)

"Yes, sir."

Damian kept his eyes on the beautiful face. Nick clasped his hands behind his back, kneeling with his torso naked, his pants pulled down to his knees, and his face upturned to watch.

It didn't take long; Damian stroked himself to a quick release, anxious to see his cream on Nick's body. When he came in three long spurts, the white fluid covered the boy's chest, glistening on his smooth skin. Nick gasped at the heat of Damian's release, leaving a burning trail as it slid down his chest.

"Very good, pet. Stay there for a moment." Damian went to the bathroom and wet a small towel, using it to mop himself off. He put himself back together and went back to Nick, wiping his body clean.

"Okay, baby, stand up," he said, pulling Nick to his feet.

Now that the excitement that carried him was spent, Nick staggered. His knees hurt, and he'd stiffened up while on the floor.

Damian led him to the desk and pushed him down so his chest was flat against the surface. Nick knew his arse was exposed to Damian's view, and he trembled nervously. One hand on the small of his back held him in place.

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"Nice and hot," Damian observed, placing his hand on Nick's flaming bottom. Suddenly Nick felt sure his face was equally red.

"There is much you need to learn about submission,"

Damian said. He took his hand away and said, "Stay right where I put you, pet."

Nick remained in position and relaxed.

"You like that, don't you? When I give you an order?"

Damian asked. He picked up a tube of cooling gel and squeezed some onto his hand. Nick jumped at the chill when Damian smoothed it over his arse.

"Yes, sir," Nick admitted humbly.

"Do you know why?"

"Because you're so hot?" came the naïve answer.

It startled Damian into laughter. "Well, that isn't quite what I was thinking of, but thank you. You may stand up now."

Nick stood and his hands went to his pants, but he looked at Damian questioningly.

"Go ahead, get dressed," Damian encouraged him. "So was it what you hoped for?"

"I didn't like the spanking while it was happening; it hurt,"

Nick said. "But I liked how it felt afterwards. And I like when you tell me what to do."

"Have a seat, if you like. Not that one," Damian said, hastily moving the straight chair. "Preferably something more cushioned."

Nick sat on the couch and bounced up again. "I think I'll stand."

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"We need to talk, Nicholas," Damian said. "If you got all you wanted and satisfied your curiosity, say so, and we'll never speak of this again." He waited but Nick slowly shook his head, while a satisfied smile spread over his face.

"I don't think so," Nick said. "I want more."

"Then we need to have some rules. We'll set them up together as we go along, and see how they work for us, okay?" Damian sat behind his desk. "I like to play. All those toys of Ashley's out there, I've worn every one of them, used every one of them, had them used on me. I'll want to take you deeper into this, and I hope you'll start to want more when I show you different things.

"Right now, some of those implements scare you. We'll be trying them all, and if you truly don't enjoy something, we won't do it again. Just because other people like something doesn't mean you will. Understand?"

Nick nodded. "Yes, sir."

"You can stop calling me sir. I only require that when we're in a scene. Do you want to continue working for me?"

"Well, yeah, sir, Damian, I mean," Nick answered in honest bewilderment. "I still have to work my way through school."

"Very well. I won't embarrass you in front of clients or the other models, but I'm probably going to surprise you; that's a part of this. And I may require your submission in places and at times that you're not expecting. If I push you too hard, your safe word is...."

"London," Nick said promptly.

"Good. I think we'll get along just fine," Damian said, privately wondering where this was going to lead. "Now you'd 72

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better get off home. We have a full day of shooting tomorrow, and I have work to do yet."

"Yes, sir," Nick said submissively. "And thank you."

"You're very welcome," Damian said kindly. He waited until he heard the outer door close and went to lock it. He turned off the light in his office so Nick wouldn't see him if he looked up, and then he waited.

The younger man did look up, and Damian took a quick step backward, not wanting to be seen. Nick turned and started to jog to the tube station. Suddenly he gave an exuberant leap, jumping up to tap a hanging sign in triumph.

Then his hands went to his rump, giving himself a comforting rub.

Damian laughed softly. Ashley's little trick that afternoon had alerted him to the fact that he was going to have to be very careful. His own fierce possessiveness when the blond model had grabbed Nick and pulled him close told him that some part of him had already laid claim to Nick, probably right at the moment of that first swat he'd aimed at the boy to keep him still. Something had sparked a fire deep inside, when for so long Damian had remained resistant to arousal, and now he wanted to keep the young man by him always.

He sighed. It was unlikely that Nick could ever love an old fart like him, even though he was only in his early thirties; Nick was young, he had his whole life ahead of him. He was curious and wanted to experiment. Damian reminded himself to keep his heart under wraps; this could be a very nice liaison for a while, and then when Nick had learned all he 73

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needed to know about himself, he would move on and Damian would no doubt be in for another dry spell.

Driving home, Damian found himself wondering what Nick was studying and why he'd never asked before. He'd have to find out.

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Nick was exhausted emotionally and physically when he arrived at his flat. He brushed his teeth hastily and fell into bed, wincing as his arse made contact with the lumpy mattress. He turned onto his stomach.

For the first time in a week, he was deeply asleep in seconds, never waking until the alarm went off the next morning.

He balanced precariously on the edge of the tub, trying to see what his arse looked like in the medicine-cabinet mirror.

Despite what Damian said, he was afraid that it would still be as red as a signpost and everyone would know. He wished that he'd thought to look at it the previous evening, but he'd just been so tired.

Damian was right: not a mark. His skin was the same shade as usual. Nick was almost disappointed when he took his cold shower. Experimentally he aimed his bath brush at his arse, giving himself a swat. "Ow!"

He'd forgotten that it hurt and didn't do a thing for him to swat himself. "Why the fuck do I want to do this again?" he grumbled, and then he hoped desperately that he hadn't left a mark on his own. He checked and relaxed when he found only a faintly pink area, knowing that it would fade by the time he got to work.

Hitting himself didn't work at all. He thought it must be something connected to Damian. When his handsome boss gave an order, it sent a thrill throughout Nick's body, and he 75

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hastened to obey. There was something unbelievably exciting about being on his knees in front of Damian. He would have to ask why it was.

* * * *

Ashley looked forward to coaxing details out of Damian but first he hovered in the doorway of the makeup room, wanting to see Nick's reaction to the decorations he had left on Markie's arse last night before fucking him to their mutual satisfaction.

Gabe seemed to catch on to what Ashley was up to, and he turned the makeup chair Nick sat in to give him a good view when Markie dropped his pants. Nick paled when he saw the six evenly spaced stripes of a purplish hue.

Markie looked back over his shoulder and wiggled his arse.

"Ask me if I got lucky last night?" he said provocatively.

"I don't need to ask, you lucky dog," Gabe said. "You look like a happy man."

"I am." Markie sighed, and he winced as he sat on a towel in the other chair.

Ashley walked away, laughing quietly to himself.

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Damian was in the studio waiting for the models to be readied when Ashley came in still chuckling. "What did you do now, Ash?"

"Nothing at all. I just ... er, watched when Markie dropped his drawers and gave Nick an eyeful," he laughed.

"How many?" Damian asked with a wry smile.

"Six of the best. How many did you give Nick?" Ashley asked irrepressibly.

"If I had, I wouldn't tell you, and if I hadn't, I would lie,"

Damian said.

"You are so frustrating," Ashley complained. "I tell you about all my conquests, while you've bored me to tears these last five years. At last you get—"

"Shut it!" Damian ordered. Ashley swung around to see Nick come in, clutching a towel around his waist, following Markie, who was naked and strutting proudly, showing off his marked bottom to the shocked young man.

Ashley busied himself dressing Markie in a mask and ball gag. He led the blond to a spanking bench, securing his ankles and bending him over to cuff his hands to the front legs.

He found a pair of tight, low-cut leather pants and handed them to Nick. "Put those on, pet, will you?" His practiced eyes saw the little flinch Nick gave, and he smirked with satisfaction.

Damian called out, "You weren't very even with your spacing, Ashley. One of the stripes is a little too close."

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His pride stung, Ashley turned around, sulking. "Markie jumped at the last minute. It wasn't my fault." He came to stand by Damian's shoulder, behind the camera.

"I'm warning you, Ashley: no tricks," Damian said with quiet menace.

Ashley shivered, remembering that Damian, for all he was a bit shorter, was by far still the more powerful, and he could force Ashley to submit if he made him angry.

"I didn't do anything."

"You called him pet. You don't call boys 'pet'; you were fishing. Stop it. I won't have him scared or embarrassed,"

Damian said firmly but quietly. "If you do that again, I won't shoot your catalog."

Ashley squirmed but he knew Damian was right, and he honestly liked Nick. He didn't really want to humiliate or hurt him. Besides, all that could safely be left to Damian if he was already taking Nick in hand.

"Just tell me this: are you claiming him?" Ashley asked seriously.

Damian drew in a huge breath. "Yes," he said, realizing he was committing himself.

"Good," Ashley said. "I really don't want to see him get hurt. Well, you know what I mean."

"I know," Damian said with a slight smile.

Ashley smiled in relief. "I won't tease your boy, but
you
are fair game."

"Just not when he's around. Deal?"

"Deal."

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Nick emerged from the bathroom, the light reflecting off the tight leather pants creating a burnished gleam on his thighs as he walked. He looked at Damian. "Is this okay?"

"Very okay," Damian answered, catching his breath. "Ever handle a cane before?"

"No, I've never touched one," Nick said, stretching his hand out to touch it with anxious fascination.

"Look here, Nicholas, I need you to hold this cane and be standing here in the shot," Ashley said. "I want it to look like you've just laid these stripes on Markie's arse and you're giving him a right hiding."

Nick took the cane awkwardly, handling it as if it were a snake that might bite him.

"Nicholas!" Damian said. "You're supposed to look as if you're a Dom, so straighten up and think about the power you wield over this man who is bigger than you, but is bent over begging for you to punish him. It's like acting. You don't have to actually hit him. In fact, I'm quite sure that everyone here would vastly prefer that you didn't. Just pretend he's made you angry or betrayed you, and you're quite justified in punishing him."

"I'll do my best." Nick dragged in a deep breath and took up a commanding stance. When Ashley had showed him how to hold the cane, he said, "I'm ready."

Damian snapped some shots, but he wasn't satisfied. He was shooting digital, instead of Polaroids, trying to get his idea to work, but something wasn't gelling. Ashley remained silent. He would have been satisfied with the first shot, but he respected Damian's expertise. That's why he collected 79

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Damian's work: when it was right, it wasn't merely a beautiful picture; the image sent a visceral charge through viewers, and that intensity was what Ashley was after for this catalog.

"This isn't working," Damian said. He was scowling at the monitor.

"Can I see it?" Nick said.

"Sure, knock yourself out," Damian said in surprise. Nick rarely spoke up like that during a shoot and he wondered if their little encounter had made him feel a bit more sure of himself.

Nick walked to the monitor, and Damian growled softly as he noticed Markie watching the roll of his buttocks in the tight leather pants, although the young man was completely oblivious of both he and Ashley.

"So what do you think?" Damian asked when Nick had studied the image.

"Well, if you don't mind my saying so.... "Nick hesitated.

"I wouldn't have asked if I did," Damian said sardonically.