Deliver Us (20 page)

“I’d stay the hell away from Ben for a while,” Gabriel warns. “He wants to cut off your dick and nail it to the wall.”

“I’m not surprised,” Darrek sighs. “I
am
surprised that you took the flower....”

“Yeah, well... like I said. I’m an idiot. No one’s ever given me a flower before,” he confesses almost soundlessly.

“Look, I have issues with your job, Gabe. I didn’t realize it until you took off earlier to go be with some other guy. I know that you wouldn’t do anything with them, but it... it bothers me. And if we’re being honest here, then you need to hear that.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t want to lose you. I’m... well, I’m really fucking shocked that you care this much. I had no idea. I thought it was me holding on again to something that wasn’t meant to be. Maybe we
are
meant to be. Could you ever forgive me for Kyle?”

“I don’t care about the kiss. It was one stupid kiss. And we never said we’re in some monogamous relationship or anything,” Gabriel says. “It’s more that you were ready to throw everything away at the drop of a hat, throw
me
away, and go be with
him
instead. Kyle is really good at manipulating people. He’s really good at getting what he wants. And he might think I’m some kind of heartless bastard, but he doesn’t
know me
, Darrek. Not like you do. I’m sure he does love you. I don’t doubt that. But you need to ask yourself who you want to be with. This is the only chance you get. This is the only one I can give you.”

Darrek lets him go and backs away. Gabriel turns and blinks confusedly up at him.

“Wait here, okay? Give me one second,” Darrek says before dashing through the garage door.

He returns a second later. Jogging back over to Gabriel, he pulls from behind his back a perfect, unspoiled purple daisy.

Holding it out to Gabriel, Darrek says, “Um... I’m falling in love with you, Gabriel Hunter. I’m sorry for letting that scare me so bad, for doubting you and being the biggest douchebag in the world.
Please
let me have another chance?”

“Second biggest douchebag,” Gabriel murmurs, taking the flower and holding it gently between his fingers. “Or maybe the fourth biggest, but you’re definitely top five.”

Darrek smiles and hugs Gabriel close.

“Agreed,” he nods.

“I don’t know what to tell you about the job thing, though,” Gabriel tells him. “I can see why it would bother you, but it’s my
job
. I can’t just quit. It’s kind of my whole life. Can you give me time to figure it out? Or we can figure it out together?”

“I’d like that,” Darrek grins. “Want to come inside? I’ll fix you something to eat. You hungry?”

“A little. I didn’t really eat anything since I left here this afternoon.”

“Then come in,” Darrek urges, tugging on Gabriel’s hand and leading him to the door. “And you can stay over if you want. It’s pretty late.”

“Well, it
was
kind of fun to wake up next to you today,” Gabriel allows.

“Likewise,” Darrek laughs, clicking off the garage light and guiding Gabriel to the door of the house. As it opens, Sierra bounds eagerly through it, sniffing frantically at Gabriel, who just scratches behind her ears and smiles as she licks at his hand. Satisfied, Sierra sneaks past them and off into the yard, snapping at the fireflies hovering in the calm springtime air as the two men pass through the doorway and the lights suddenly begin to glow warmly from inside the home’s curtained windows.

They don’t even discuss it. It just happens naturally.

Darrek washes his hands thoroughly at the sink and then cooks Gabriel a simple dinner of pasta and steamed vegetables.

He sets it out for him at the table; the purple flower placed in a small vase filled with water and set above the plate of food.

Gabriel takes his seat and Darrek falls to his knees again by Gabriel’s left side.

He stays there as Gabriel eats, sitting on his heels, head bowed once more, fingers twined loosely together behind him. Once in a while Gabriel feeds him small scraps of food from his right hand which Darrek takes gratefully, carefully taking each morsel between his teeth and kissing Gabriel’s fingers clean.

Every now and then Gabriel rests his left hand on Darrek’s shoulder or gently touches his hair. Whenever it happens, Darrek’s heart swells with pride and utter contentment.

They don’t speak. They don’t need to. It’s all been said.

When Gabriel is finished with dinner, he wipes his mouth with a napkin and, without looking over, says, “Upstairs. Clothes off. I’ll meet you there.”

“Yes, Master. Thank you,” Darrek whispers happily.

When he moves to stand, Gabriel stops him, his strong hand clamping down on Darrek’s shoulder and tells him with a shake of his head, clearly enunciating each word, “No.
Crawl
.”

A tingling shiver runs through Darrek’s body, spiraling outward from his gut, and a surge of blood rushes to his cock, making it swell and press painfully against his jeans.

“Yes, sir,” he nods, and obeys as a blush heats his face.

Gabriel watches him carefully as he goes. Biting thoughtfully at the pad of his thumb, he takes in the sight of the sweat- and dirt-covered muscles of Darrek’s back, arms, and chest working as he slowly crawls up the steps on his hands and knees, his hair fallen forward and obscuring his face.

As he concocts Darrek’s punishment, Gabriel’s lips curl up at the ends, small dimples denting his cheeks. Once he hears Darrek move into the bedroom, Gabriel pivots on his heel and walks purposefully out through the back door in the direction of the garage and the plentiful bounty of tools and supplies waiting there for him.

He knows he is
really
going to enjoy this.

The span of time between when Gabriel orders Darrek to crawl upstairs, and when Gabriel finally appears in the bedroom’s doorway is long enough that Darrek’s initial purely-lustful anticipation has turned a corner and, after pondering the circumstances he finds himself in, has become instead a nerve-rattling, stomach-clenching, chilled acquiescence.

After setting down an armful of supplies outside the door’s frame, out of Darrek’s line of sight, Gabriel looks down his nose at his naked, guilt-ridden lover, kneeling and ready before him.

“You know what this is, right?” Gabriel asks, the amusement long-fled from his voice as well. “This is punishment. It’s not play and it’s not intended to be in any way pleasurable for you. In fact, I’m going to make sure you’re
not
enjoying it, and if I find that you
are
, I will immediately change tactics and do something even less appealing. If you want out, say so now, and I’ll leave. We can break things off right here. It will be hard for both of us, but I need you to be a perfectly clear and willing part of this. This isn’t something I’m going to make you do or force you into. But if you take this punishment, and are truly sorry for what you’ve done wrong today, then I
will
forgive you. I’ll forgive you completely and we will never have to speak of it again. You’ll never have to apologize after this. It will be completely resolved; we can move on and start fresh.”

Darrek swallows thickly and Gabriel watches his face. He glances up hesitantly, unsure whether he’s allowed to look.

“Go ahead. You may speak,” Gabriel tells him.

“I’ll do it. I’ll take my penance. I want to make things right between us, and I would do
anything
to earn your forgiveness.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes. I want to earn your trust again. I want to be good for you and obedient. I want to deserve you.
Please
, Master.”

“And you understand that this will be unpleasant? You have a fairly high tolerance for pain, Dare. I’m a little shocked at how vast your limits are. Hell, you enjoyed the ginger root even though you seem to have a keen sensitivity to it. Some people don’t even feel much of a burn, but you did. You were in real pain and you not only bore it, but were highly aroused by it. So I’m going to have to think outside the box right now, especially since I have no supplies of my own here. We may have to change that. Maybe... maybe I’ll bring some of my things over here... if I’m going to be here so often, and if you
are
interested in making this commitment to me. Do you want that?”

“Yes!” Darrek says eagerly. “Please. Let me prove myself to you. I’m ready. I promise.”

“Okay,” he nods, and strangely, seems simultaneously both sad and contented.

It makes Darrek afraid.

“Crawl to the bathroom, kneel in the tub and we’ll get started.”

Darrek doesn’t know what he’s so afraid of. The only things Gabriel has brought into the room and piled by the door are: a length of rope; a small, approximately twelve-inch length of a pine two-by-four; a small piece of a plastic tarp; two bottles of water; and a few odds and ends. None of these things alone is much cause for trepidation, but perhaps the sum of them, the grinding pain of his knees against the porcelain tub, the sorrow in Gabriel’s eyes and turn of his mouth is what does it.

“Drink these,” Gabriel says, handing him the water.

Unable to meet his Master’s eyes, his heart hammering in his chest, Darrek finds his breathing sounds overly loud in the small room. Gabriel is standing beside the tub, an arm across his chest, one finger of his right hand tracing the outline of his lips, his expression thoughtful and far away.

Darrek finishes the first bottle and sets it aside, taking up the second. He has no idea where this is going, or what Gabriel could possibly have planned for him, and he doesn’t even realize how far his panic has ratcheted up until he swallows down a large gulp from the second water bottle and makes a low whine in the back of his throat. The sound of it surprises him, and he tries to cover it up, to turn it into a cough. Gabriel sees right through it though.

“Are you afraid?” he asks quietly.

Eyes darting around, he turns the bottle in his hands as he nods and murmurs, “Yeah. Yes... sir. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s good that you are afraid. It shows that you’re taking this seriously. And honestly, Darrek, I don’t want to do this to you. I’m not enjoying this either, but I have hope that things will be better, afterward, for both of us. We can both put what happened today behind us, and it won’t drag us down or spoil the relationship we could have, given time. I see this as a healthy way to resolve the problem of your sense of guilt, and my hurt over your betrayal, but believe me when I say that I want nothing more than for this to be the last time I ever have to punish you for something.”

Darrek nods in absolute agreement with Gabriel’s words and resumes drinking. He wants to ask why he’s being made to drink water. His mind won’t even supply him with suggestions, but he thinks that perhaps it’s better that way. It may be better not to know.

“The reason that I am punishing you tonight, slave,” Gabriel begins to say in a disturbingly authoritative voice, “is for your actions this afternoon. In the interest of most effectively correcting this behavior, and penalizing you for it, you will be punished right here and now, and you will apologize to me. Today you kissed another man and expressed an interest in doing much more with him, all without my knowledge or approval. Do you deny this?”

“No, Master. I did it. I admit to it.”

“You don’t deny that you would have gone ahead and been
intimate
with Kyle Roth, if given the chance?”

“I don’t deny it. I’m so sorry, Gabriel. I deserve this. I hate myself for what I’ve done to you. There’s nothing worse than someone who betrays the people they love. I know how much it hurts to find out that someone you care about has done something behind your back and cheated on you. Please believe me that I
never
wanted to turn into that kind of monster. I was thoughtless and weak and cruel. I accept my punishment, whatever it is, completely. I trust you, Master.”

“You can’t use your safeword to get out of this, slave. I’m telling you that ahead of time. This is over when I say it is. But when it’s over, it’s
over
and is something we will never need to discuss again. It will be
done
. Understood?”