Ricochet (28 page)

appalled. "It's a very sacred experience. I was

lucky enough to conceive Matt on my first visit -

some people have to return to the temple

repeatedly, but for me it was straightforward."

"We visit the temple every year on my

birthday to give thanks," Matt said. "And to leave a

donation."

"A small price to pay for a great blessing."

His mom gave him a fond smile, and Matt smiled

back.

"What a lovely story." Matt realized that Rick

had somehow charmed his mother, despite her best

attempts to dislike him. "So it was just the two of

you when you were growing up, Matt?"

"Yes. Just the two of us." Matt nodded.

"I brought Matt up to be mindful of the special

nature of his birth. I wanted him to appreciate the

gift of his life and not waste it," Elspeth told Rick.

"He's not just any child - he was temple born, and

he must try always to be the best he can be."

"Right. Sure. I understand." Rick glanced at

Matt thoughtfully. "Now, this has been great but I

should go. I know you two want some alone time."

Rick smiled at Elspeth, and Matt saw her

frostiness melt a little more. "See you at work next

week, Matt." He got up, and Matt got up with him.

"No need to see me out - I know the way."

Rick pulled him into a bear hug, deposited a

sloppy kiss on the side of his head, and goosed his

ass, making Matt squeak. "Does your mom know

my handprints are still warm on your ass?" he

whispered into Matt's ear.

Matt jammed his elbow into Rick's ribs in

retribution for that comment, but the words went

straight to his cock, making it twitch. "Shut up!" he

hissed, glancing at his mom, but she was

concentrating on nibbling a tidy bite of her meal

and didn't seem to have heard.

"Ow!"

Rick

mouthed,

doubling

over

dramatically in mock pain at the elbow jab, making

Matt roll his eyes.

Elspeth glanced up, and Matt sensed her

curious gaze on them. Rick straightened up and

shook Elspeth's hand. "It was lovely meeting such

a refined lady, Elspeth. I do hope we meet again."

He was twice her height and towered over her, and

as he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on her

cheek, Matt could see she was now definitely

charmed, despite herself.

Unfortunately, Rick being Rick, he had to go

and ruin it. "So long, folks," he said, waving at

them as he walked towards the door. "And Matty -

the tee shirt?" He pointed at the legend,
You want

to spank me, and you know it!
You're right. I

totally do!" Then he left.

"Well!" his mom said, shaking her head.

"That dom is quite a character!"

"Oh yeah." Matt chuckled. "He's got a big

heart though, Mom. You have to get to know Rick;

beneath all the silliness, he's one of the good

guys."

"Are you dating him?" Elspeth asked

suspiciously.

"No, I'm not dating Rick!" Matt protested.

"That would be ridiculous. He's just a friend."

"Hmm. I hope that's all he is." Elspeth gave

him a sharp look. "I know the naughty doms can be

very attractive to silly young subs, Matt, but you

aren't a silly young sub."

Matt rolled his eyes. "No, I'm probably the

most sensible twenty-five year old sub in

Hollywood."

"There's nothing wrong with having a good

head on young shoulders and both feet planted

firmly on the ground," his mother told him sharply.

"You don't want to have your head turned by that

kind of dom - he'll only lead you into trouble."

"How would you know?" Matt flung at her.

"You've never had a dom in your life, Mom. Not

once! You can tell people all that shit about how

you went to the temple to conceive me because you

wanted a special child, but the truth is you never

found a dom good enough for your impossibly high

standards. I don't want to be the same! I don't want

to wake up one day and find that life has passed

me by because I waited to find someone perfect

and nobody ever shaped up!"

His mother sat there, her mouth wide open,

and Matt felt immediately contrite.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean that," he said

quickly. "You know what my temper is like.

Sometimes I see red and say things I don't mean."

"Then you should work harder to control

yourself! It seems that that young dom has gotten

under your skin."

"No, you don't understand." Matt sighed.

"Look - I'm not dating Rick, and I don't want to

date Rick. It's just that he's a good friend, and I

don't like people putting him down. He's

misunderstood - that's all."

"What did he mean by his comment about

the… message on your tee shirt. " She looked

down her nose at it.

"Nothing. He's just messing around. He's like

that; you have to get to know him."

"I'm not sure I want to, but if you say he's a

good person then I believe you. I just don't want

you lured into an unsuitable liaison out of a

misplaced desire for the attention of that kind of

dom. It'll end in tears, believe me. You want to

find someone sensible, calm, and settled - not a

wild dom like Richard O'Shea."

"I know!" Matt snapped, feeling his temper

rise again. She was only saying what he'd said to

himself earlier in the evening, but somehow he

found it infuriating coming from her.

"He's unpredictable, untrustworthy… and

he… he… takes up too much space!" his mother

exclaimed, waving her hand at the spot on the sofa

that Rick had occupied. Matt knew what she meant;

it wasn't just that Rick was such a big physical

presence - it was also that his equally big

personality seemed to take up just as much space

as his body.

"I said I know! And I agree, so stop worrying.

I'm not thinking of Rick as a potential dom - I

wouldn't trust him to put a collar anywhere near

my neck even if he wanted to, which, trust me, he

doesn't! He's just a friend - nothing more!"

He was now thoroughly irritable, and he

pointed at the remains of their meal.

"Let's finish this," he said, sitting down again.

They were silent for a minute or so, and Matt was

aware of his mom shooting him little glances.

"This is nice, isn't it?" she said at last. "Just

us two." She gave him a hopeful little smile. That

had been their catchphrase when he was growing

up.
Just us two
. It had always been the two of them

against the world. She'd worked her fingers to the

bone to provide for them both and had never

stopped telling him how special he was because he

was temple born.

"Just us two," Matt told her softly, smiling

back, but he couldn't help thinking how big and

empty the room felt without Rick in it.

Rick spent the weekend working out in the

state-of-the-art gym in his house and going for a

long run in the hills with his personal trainer, an

ex-military dom called Hannah. She always

worked him like a dog, and she loved telling him

about the many subs she'd seduced recently like

they were in some kind of competition, which they

weren't anymore because Rick hadn't had a new

sub in weeks.

Rick used to love regaling Hannah with

stories about his sexual adventures, but he didn't

tell her about Matt and their daily spanking

sessions even though the story would have amused

her. He wasn't sure why - he just didn't want to

share the details of their time together with anyone.

At least Hannah's strenuous workouts took the

edge off his sexual appetite. That was a good thing

because every time he closed his eyes he could see

Matt gazing up at him from under his tousled blond

hair, blue eyes teasing, wriggling his butt as he

tried to squirm his way out of the spanking he was

clearly loving.

Rick was relieved when Monday morning

came, and he roared off to work excitedly on his

Harley, looking forward to his regular session

with his spank buddy. Matt was always waiting for

him on his trailer steps, and Rick eagerly ran

there… only to find them empty. His stomach did

an anxious flip, and he dumped his stuff in his

trailer and then jogged over to Matt's trailer and

knocked on the door.

"You okay, buddy?" he asked when Matt

opened it. "You weren't waiting for me. Did you

change your mind about our deal?"

"I'm fine. Sorry… I should have texted. I don't

feel in the mood for…" Matt waved his hand

vaguely in the direction of his own ass.

"That's fine. What's up?" Rick frowned; Matt

looked upset and ruffled. "Is it about what

happened with your mom? I gotta apologize - I

shouldn't have barged in on you guys like that on

Friday night."

"It wasn't your fault - I asked you in. I know

she was weird with you, but she's a really good

person. She does tons of work for charity, and

she's a great mom. She's just got these hang-ups

and…" Matt trailed off with a shrug.

"This isn't about your mom, is it? It's

something else. Can I come in?"

Matt opened the door, and Rick went in and

plunked himself down on the couch while Matt

leaned against the wall, arms wrapped around his

body, looking preoccupied.

"Matt? C'mon - it's me. What's the problem?"

Rick asked gently.

"Did you read the script for the next

episode?" Matt blurted.

"Uh… kind of." Rick made a face. "I glanced

at it anyway. Why? Is there something in it you

don't like? Something Ben wouldn't do?"

"Not something Ben wouldn't do; something I

wouldn't do."

"Matt - you aren't making any sense. Come

and sit here," Rick commanded, patting the seat on

the couch beside him. Matt obeyed instantly, which

made Rick glow a little. "What's in the script that's

bothering you, Matty?"

"They told me there'd be a big sex scene, but

this…" Matt gestured to the open script on the

coffee table in front of them. "This is really

explicit! Ben goes to Jason's playroom, and…

well, it's borderline non-consensual. Ben says he

doesn't want to do bondage, but Jason talks him

into it and once he's got him tied up Jason is really

forceful. There's flogging, clamps, full sex… Ben

freaks out and tries to safeword out of it but Jason

won't listen. It's pretty intense."

"A lot of actors would give their right arms

for such a great scene. What's the problem?" Rick

asked, watching Matt carefully.

"The problem is that I'm going to fuck it up!"

Matt snapped. "When I work, I imagine myself in

the character's shoes, but I'd never do anything this

stupid and reckless! I can't get into Ben's head, and

I don't know how to play it. He's taking me to a

place where I can't follow."

"Well, let's think it through," Rick said

calmly. "To start with, he's a virgin - why is that

by the way? He's what, twenty-five, same age as

you? And he's never had sex? What's his deal with

that - did the show ever tell us?"

"Yes." Matt waved his hand impatiently. "It

was in an episode last season. His parents belong

to a strict Lenkan sect, and he was brought up to

believe his body was a gift to be offered only to

the dom he marries."

"Right. The Lenkans take sex really seriously,

don't they? Sounds like a crock of shit to me."

"Actually, I think there's something to be said

for treating sex with respect and not just whoring

yourself out to any passing dom - or sub," Matt

flung at him.

"Ouch." Rick winced. "Okay, maybe you're

identifying too much with the character you play."

"I'm not a virgin, and I'm not afraid of sex,

like Ben is!" Matt protested hotly.

Rick shrugged. "You might not be a virgin…"

He grinned suggestively as he said that, "But you

certainly seem to be afraid of having the kind of

sex you really want."

Matt glared at him. "What the hell is that