At His Throat, a Promise (59 page)

Develyn worked away on something, his pen scratching on the page and making Ellis cringe at the pressure exuded—it was almost enough to tear the page, and the metaphor was uncomfortable.

After almost twenty minutes, the pen was set down and Ellis could feel Develyn"s eyes on him. He knew better than to look up, though.

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“What"s this?” Develyn asked, snatching the letter and envelope from Ellis"s relaxed grip.

Ellis looked up, feeling cold right down to his fingertips. This was the moment; if Develyn noticed that the envelope was actually instructions not to have sex with Ellis, Ellis would be severely punished. If Develyn figured out
why
Ellis had done it, Ellis and Harte would both suffer brutally for it.

Develyn handled the envelope, but his eyes were on Ellis, appraising him. After a long moment, he turned back to the letter and cracked the seal. He tossed the envelope—William"s instructions—onto the desk without a second glance and stood.

There was a small hearth in the office and Develyn paced before it. Ellis lost himself in the dancing flames, forcing himself to relax. It was enough. The legal note from William was covered in Develyn"s fingerprints. To anyone who checked, it would appear that he had read it.

“Does it make you jealous to know that William has used you as a mule to traffic letters to the one he loves?” Ellis didn"t answer. He wasn"t supposed to know what was in the letter Develyn was reading, though he"d written it himself.

With a final sneer, Develyn tossed the letter into the fire. Ellis watched with glee as the flames consumed it, swallowing the evidence. Develyn watched also, the light reflecting in his watery eyes, dancing as promises of desire and fidelity were destroyed.

Develyn looked almost bored when he snapped his fingers and said, “Come, then,” leaving the room without fanfare.

Ellis rose quickly from his knees, stopping a moment before the hearth to ensure the letter had been burned in full. It had, and Ellis found Develyn walking down the hall and followed close behind.

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To his dismay, but not surprise, Ellis was led into a bedroom.

Like the rest of the house and Develyn himself, it was colourless and bland. Tan walls met beige carpet, accented by ecru bedding and pine furniture. It was all so light that Ellis was almost disappointed. Surely something like Jude"s black room would have been more appropriate, with dark curtains and hanging chains. The décor was deceitful for what was about to happen.

“Is Harte to meet me here, sir?” Ellis asked deferentially. He knew, of course, that no such thing would occur. He"d consider himself very lucky if he got to see Harte at all, and he knew that was what Develyn counted on: his obedience in return for the mere hope of seeing his friend. Perhaps not a fair trade, but nothing in this house was fair.

“On your hands and knees on the bed. I suppose your master fucked you before he let you come here, to claim you? You should be adequately stretched, in that case.”

“Sir, Master did not make use of me today.” Ellis saw no point in being damaged for his pride.

Develyn sighed as if put upon like Atlas himself and opened a drawer in the nightstand table. He tossed a small jar of lubricant to Ellis, who"d arranged himself as instructed on the tightly tucked bedspread.

“Just two fingers. I want to feel you.”

Nodding obediently, Ellis slicked his fingers and reached behind himself, a little awkward in that position. After a moment, Develyn approached and flicked his slave sheath up to bare his ass.

Ellis heard a belt unbuckle and trousers unzip, but he concentrated on the task at hand, scissoring his fingers as much as he dared, knowing it was the only consideration he"d get.

He wanted it to be William, of course. He hated that it wasn"t.

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William might not mind sharing with his friends and other slaves, but he very definitively did not want Ellis at the mercy of this man.

And yet it was
for
William that Ellis submitted; it was for Harte.

For all three of them, to be together again, to be whole. There was no limit to what he"d give, to how he"d lie, to how much he would bend in order to achieve that.

Develyn smacked his hand away and settled between Ellis"s knees. As he slid inside, Ellis thought about William. Not in a way that would arouse him; that was very far down on the list of things he wanted. No, he just wanted to picture William"s face in his mind, to imagine forgiveness, reunion, pride. Would William see why Ellis did it? Would the end justify the means? To Ellis, it already did, even as Develyn"s slender cock pierced him again and again.

It was easy to think about other things. Develyn was not a cruel lover, not like Jude. There was no pinching or twisting or unrealistic demands. There was a detached objectification that could destroy a slave, given time. Ellis was just a hole, just a body, not a person, not real. It would be all too easy to slip away into nothing, to let the way he was treated become the way he was.

Ellis hoped Harte hadn"t fallen victim to that mentality yet.

Ellis was occasionally brought back to the moment by Develyn"s squeezing hands on his hips or a subdued grunt that made him wonder why Develyn would do this at all when it didn"t seem like he was enjoying himself very much.

Absorbing the impact as best he could, Ellis shuddered when Develyn came, but the movement was lost in the moment of the act. Once finished, Develyn pushed Ellis onto the bed, and Ellis went, hiding his face. He felt sick, ashamed. He"d used his body like a tool and it made him feel less human.

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“Wait here. You"ll have five minutes with my slave until you have to leave.”

Before Ellis even had a chance to pull his sheath back over his bare, leaking ass, Harte was in the room. Develyn reiterated the time limit and left, leaving the door open.

Harte stood, slim and weighted-down, in the centre of the room. His eyes were on Ellis, taking in everything. Even the condition of his asshole, doubling Ellis"s shame. He quickly covered himself and approached Harte. When Harte didn"t flinch or turn away, Ellis embraced him.

“I"ve missed you. William misses you.”

“I miss you both, too,” Harte said. His voice was strange, hollow. But when Ellis pulled back, his familiar blue eyes were cognizant and aware.

“Are you all right? I mean, I know this is horrible, but… is he hurting you?”

Harte rubbed his arms. “No, it"s okay. I don"t get punished a lot.”

“I"m going to try to—”

“Don"t,” Harte interrupted. He was looking at the space behind Ellis"s head, his eyes almost meeting Ellis"s but not, and that distance felt like a mile rather than a few inches. “Just… move on.”

Wanting to laugh at how absurd that statement was, Ellis just let the suggestion pass. Harte couldn"t know the plan, anyway. It was better that way.

“William loves you, okay? Remember that, no matter what.

And I"m… Well, you know I"m crazy about you.” Ellis laughed, hating how empty it sounded. “No. I love you. I love you, Harte, and maybe it"s too late or not enough, but it"s the truest thing I 514

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

ever said.”

Harte"s eyes finally settled on his. Though he"d seemed drawn into himself, now he stood a little taller, though it was mainly illusive. “For someone so smart, you can be
so
dumb.” Harte smiled and rolled his eyes. “Of course you love me. You did from the very start, just like you did William. Just like we did you.” The words hit Ellis like a physical blow, and he sucked in a breath. Could they? Could they love him as he did them? Was such a thing even possible? Ellis had thought himself an anomaly, loving two people, but Harte was saying he did as well, and William, too. Were they all strange, different from the rest of the world? Or were they just lucky?

Did it even matter?

“Bend, okay?” Ellis whispered urgently. “Never break.” To his surprise, Harte winked at him. “Never.” Then a presence at the door shut Harte down again. His features went slack, his posture submissive. There was nothing of the old Harte, except in his eyes. Harte never could mask his feelings very well.

“Tell him,” Harte whispered, letting Develyn take his arm.

Tell William you love him
. Ellis knew that was what Harte meant. He nodded once, tears lining his lower lids. Watching Harte get ushered from the room was harder than he"d ever imagined.

He"d had him, right there in his hands, so close. Couldn"t he have snatched Harte and run? Previs was waiting with the car running, Ellis was sure. Had he done everything?

Did his plan even have a hope of working?

“See? Good as new. Make sure to tell your master,” Develyn sneered when he returned without Harte. He took Ellis"s arm in the same possessive manner, and Ellis fought not to shake it off. He let 515

AT HIS THROAT, A PROMISE

the master lead him to the front door where he grinned cruelly.

“Tell your master that both his slaves fuck the same way—like they"ve never been properly used in their lives. Pathetic.” With that, Ellis was shoved through the door before it slammed in his face. He heard Previs open the car door, and Ellis turned.

Turned his back on Harte. It
hurt
.

“Previs,” Ellis said, walking forward and feeling sticky seed leak from his body and down his leg. “We need to get Master and go to the police.”

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After Ellis left Develyn"s house, everything happened very quickly. Previs tried to drag the story from him, got frustrated, and called William from his cell phone. William was furious that something had happened and Ellis wouldn"t say what. He demanded that Previs drive unconscionably fast, but Previs didn"t, being the good driver that he was.

Previs barely even stopped the car once they arrived at William"s; he didn"t need to. William was standing in the driveway, his face mutinous. He got into the backseat beside Ellis and demanded that Ellis tell him what had happened.

“Is Harte all right?” was his first question.

“Yes, he"s okay, Master. Not beaten or starved. He"s lost a 517

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little weight and he seems to be a little… detached. But he"ll be okay once we get him back.”

“When we get him back?”

Ellis nodded, looking up at William. What Harte had said was true. He loved William. It was foolish and pointless to deny it, and what would he gain from keeping it to himself? William was sure to be horribly angry with him; Ellis wanted to have this, this moment where he said something and William just… let him. Let him love him.

So he said it. “I love you.”

William"s eyes grew wide. Surprise was not a look Ellis had seen on his face very often, but he didn"t feel like smiling.

“Ellis… are
you
all right?”

Ellis did laugh at that. “I"m fine. Everything"s going to be fine.

Just remember… that if you"re angry later, I love you.” Previs was driving again; he"d mentioned on the phone to William that Ellis had requested to be taken to the police, so it seemed they were on their way now. Being honest with himself, Ellis knew that he hadn"t exactly planned for events beyond getting out of Develyn"s house. He hadn"t let himself believe he would get away with his plan, and now that he had, he didn"t quite know what to do.

He had to act as if what had happened hadn"t been orchestrated by him in any way. He couldn"t tell William the truth about his plan and the execution of it because the less William knew, the less he could get in trouble for. So if Ellis had done as he"d been told, had given Develyn the instructions
not
to use Ellis, and then Develyn had gone ahead and fucked him anyway, the first thing Ellis would do would be…

Tell William.

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Turning to his master, Ellis said, “Develyn used me.” Rage bloomed over William"s face so quickly that Ellis shivered. He soldiered on, blocking out the part of himself that roiled against the mistruths he was about to give. “I saw him open and read your note. Then he laughed. He took me to a room and fucked me, and then I saw Harte.”

William looked like there were a million things he was desperate to say and none of them would satisfy his fury. “Are you all right?” he demanded, grabbing Ellis"s upper arm and yanking him across the seat. Ellis cringed as his sore ass slid over the leather—he didn"t dare look, but he was certain there would be come on the seat.

“I"m fine,” Ellis said. It wasn"t a lie. He felt elated, giddy, even. He wished William knew everything so he could leap into his arms and declare victory. “He didn"t hurt me.”

“He
used
you,” William growled, his eyes dangerous. Ellis was glad they were in the confines of a moving vehicle, or else collateral damage might be a real concern.

“Yes, but don"t you see?” Ellis waited a moment to see if William"s anger subsided enough to let his mind work like a lawyer"s instead of a lover"s. He didn"t seem capable.

Ellis whispered, “Chapter Three, Codicil Eleven.” He searched William"s eyes.

For a few moments, there was only blankness. Then anger and hope began to battle in his suddenly expressive face.

Ellis knew that William
wanted
to be excited, but he was still upset over Ellis being used. Feeling flattered but needing to hear for sure that Harte would be returned, Ellis reassured him, “I"m really fine, Master. He didn"t hurt me. If anything, he bored me.”

“Ellis… ” William"s arms were unyielding as they pulled Ellis 519

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still closer. “My Ellis.”

Then they were kissing. Though Ellis"s mouth hadn"t come into any contact with Develyn, he still had his
flavour
somehow on his tongue, and he used William to wash that away, to cleanse him, to be his salvation.