Tears of the Neko (26 page)

Kayden looked a little dejected, but Damien
was rubbing his hands up and down his sides and ribs, admiring the
way that Kayden's thin body had begun to fill out. While he was
still slender, sleek muscles were starting to form over the lithe
little body. He was no longer the skittish, emaciated slave that
Harrison had found in the slave market weeks ago.

But then Damien rose with Kayden wrapped
around him like a limpet. He grinned down at his little neko who
was smiling up at him. Laying the boy on the bed gently, Damien
shed his shirt as he crawled next to the figure stretched out on
the bed.

"I have other plans for you, my little
kitten."

He'd talk to Geoff after Kayden was asleep
about what the boy had said about Roman. And he'd send a messenger
to the king. Of course, he thought, his uncle might not be all that
surprised considering his and Roman's recent encounter.

The next morning, Kayden was restless and
cranky when Damien tried to keep him in the bed to rest. The boy
had rolled away from him in a pout and was flicking his sleek black
tail at him. Damien had to laugh at the image and was glad that
Kayden was feeling well enough to show attitude.

He patted the boy's hip. "Come on, get up and
get dressed then. It's warm enough to enjoy breakfast on the
balcony."

Kayden's face lit up, and he started to move
quickly out of the bed. A slight hiss told Damien that the boy
still had some pain, and he grimaced. But as Kayden dressed in
warmer clothes, he hid any pain he might be feeling.

Damien called out the door to John to bring
their breakfast to the balcony, and he followed the little neko to
the large glass doors. He watched the huge smile spread across
Kayden's face as they stepped out into the sun.

"This is your home, Kayden," Damien reminded.
"You can go anywhere you like, anytime you want."

Kayden just nodded as he stared in awe out
over the gardens he'd admired. The sun was rising in a beautiful
golden-orange glow over the horizon. The slight cool breeze ruffled
his hair. It was an unseasonably warm morning and the sun felt good
on his achy body.

Damien went back inside to get a blanket just
in case and returned to find Kayden perched on the wide stone
balustrade that surrounded the edge of the balcony. He sucked in
his breath suddenly in fear that the boy would fall.

"Kayden, don't sit there," he commanded
sharply. "Come sit here." He patted the stone bench next to
him.

Damien could have sworn he saw a sly smirk as
Kayden eased back down off the railing to the balcony floor.
Kayden's eyes darted around the wall behind Damien, scanning the
tall doors and decorative ledges and ridges well above the
entrance.

Damien glanced back and saw what Kayden was
looking at and his eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about going up
there. I heard about your little tree incident," he warned
playfully.

Kayden's green eyes shifted down as John came
out with their breakfast. The manservant was smiling widely.

"Good to see you are both looking better
today," he greeted.

Damien smiled. "Yes, I believe we are. Thank
you, John."

"May I inform the others? I know a few who
will be anxious to hear word of Kayden feeling better," he said,
then added quickly, "and you too, of course, sir."

Damien smirked. "Yes, I'm sure they are very
worried about me," he said sarcastically, and John flushed a nice
shade of pink. "Based on the amount of chicken present here, I
suspect I am not Garin's top concern at the moment, since I don't
usually have chicken for breakfast."

"Well, sir..."

Damien laughed at his servant looking very
flustered at possibly offending his master. "I understand. Do you
think Garin could be bothered to find some jam for my bread? Oh,
and tell Captain Brenner to meet me in my study at nine."

John turned, blushing bright red as he
hurried to the door. "Yes, sir, of course."

Damien glanced at Kayden who seemed totally
ignorant of what had just transpired, sitting innocently next to
him, nibbling on a piece of chicken.

"You don't know it, kitten," he smiled, "but
you have everyone in this house wrapped around your little finger.
Including me."

****

No one mentioned--out loud at least--the
possible threat that Roman posed. Kayden suspected that only Geoff
Brenner, John Drystan and Harrison knew the real reason for the
increase of security around the manor. The morning after he'd told
Damien about Roman, he had heard the captain, Harrison, and Damien
arguing about the threat to Damien's life. And while Damien didn't
want to truly accept the fact that brother could be behind the
poisoning attempt, it was hard to deny that Roman would be the one
to benefit the most as well.

"He is just a year younger than you,"
Harrison had argued. "If ... something happens to you, he is the
next in line for the throne."

"I know," Damien had sighed. "It's just hard
to accept."

"And he is the one who brought in the extra
help for the dinner that night. I suspect he brought in so many so
we'd have a hard time finding the culprit," Geoff reiterated.
"There isn't a record of every person he brought in, since they
were just one day hires. And he seems to have paid them all in coin
in advance. But we have no proof that he's even involved."

Damien paced the room. "Except for what he's
said to Kayden."

"Unfortunately--" Brenner started but was
waved off.

"I know, I know," Damien said. "It's not real
proof."

"I think we should keep the speculation just
between us three," Brenner said. "I don't want word to get out that
we are onto him."

"What? So you just want to wait and see if he
tries again?" Harrison snapped. "What if he succeeds?"

And Kayden had flinched visibly at that, but
none of the men were paying him any attention at the moment.

"He won't," Brenner snapped irritably. "But
I'm willing to bet he'll try."

"Well, he has always been a little
power-hungry," Harrison said. They let the silence hang between
them for a few moments. "And you know he's not patient. After he
comes of age, if you are out of the way, he'll go for the
king."

"I've already sent a messenger to the king,"
Damien stated.

"You have?" Harrison asked in disbelief.

Damien frowned at his brother. "I may not
want to believe that my brother is guilty of treason and wishes my
head on a platter, but I'm certainly not going to risk the life of
the king on that hope either."

Harrison and the captain had nodded, taking
in Damien's dark mood.

Kayden hadn't been surprised that Damien and
Harrison were a little more morose after that. Believing their
brother could be guilty of treason was a huge step beyond just
thinking he would flex his power over a defenseless slave. But they
had all believed him, this time.

It hadn't escaped his notice that a guard
even stood outside their bedroom at night now. Kayden blushed to
think that the guard could hear what was happening inside the room
at night.

Kayden had only seen Roman a couple times
now. It was from the window as he perched there idly looking out
over the gardens and stable. Kayden bristled at the sight of the
man. Even though he hadn't seen the Marquis inside the main house,
Kayden still didn't trust that the man wouldn't show up. Both
brothers acted cordial to each other in passing outside, and Roman
was almost too nice lately, as if he knew that Damien was aware of
what he'd done, but of course couldn't prove anything.

Damien came back in the room to hear the
water running in the washroom. He stepped over to the open door and
saw Kayden standing over the tub, watching the water swirling as it
filled the tub. The boy stood in just his light sleeping pants; the
bandages on his back were gone now.

He smiled at the boy's innocent curiosity of
the movement of the water. He also liked to watch the toilet flush.
It was the slight tilt of the boy's head, a small frown creasing
his brow, that had Damien grinning at the pure wonder in the young
neko's face. He wondered if he had ever been that innocent.

But then of course, Kayden wasn't innocent at
all, he thought with sad frown. He'd been through more than anyone
he'd ever known. Damien couldn't imagine losing his parents at such
a young age as Kayden had, much less seeing them killed in front of
him. Then to be held captive and tormented into silence and
submission for years...

He sighed, causing Kayden to look up at him.
The smile he was greeted with melted his heart.

"It helps if you get in the water," Damien
chided, as he stalked closer to the boy, pressing his body up
behind him gently so as not to hurt his healing welts.

Kayden's green eyes glanced up at him before
turning back to the swirls of water.

"I am," Kayden said. "I just like watching
it."

"I've noticed," Damien whispered, sweeping
the boy's hair aside. Kayden instinctively tilted his head,
exposing his neck, and Damien kissed long pale skin. The bruising
from the collar had almost faded, and Damien swore Kayden would
never wear a collar like that again.

His hands trailed down the thin arms. He
could feel more muscle there now, not just the skeletal frame that
the boy had been when he'd first seen him.

"Would you like some help?" Damien asked, his
hands resting on the jutting hipbones.

For a moment, Damien thought he'd pushed too
far when Kayden hesitated so long. He felt the boy tremble in his
arms.

"Yes," came the breathy whisper.
"P-please?"

And it was then that Damien realized that
Kayden was having trouble saying yes, admitting out loud what he
wanted. Kayden still rarely initiated anything other than laying
his head on Damien's thigh, never assumed that it was okay to touch
Damien back without some sort of reassurance.

"It's okay to ask for what you want, kitten,"
he said softly.

Kayden only nodded, unable to find his voice
again.

Damien smiled and leaned over to turn off the
water. Kayden looked surprised when Damien started to unbutton his
shirt.

He noted that Kayden's gaze shifted from his
chest as he unbuckled his pants, and he briefly wondered if Kayden
was afraid of the belt. One of those first days, when Damien had
undressed, Kayden had flinched violently when he'd whipped off his
belt. But now Kayden only watched with interest. There was no fear
in the deep green eyes this time. But before he pushed his pants
down, Kayden looked away nervously.

"Do you still want me to help you wash?" he
asked, not wanting to make Kayden anxious. Even though they had
played together several times, the boy was still a little nervous
around him when he was naked, so Damien had remained casual about
it. He didn't hide, but he didn't flaunt it either. Damien had
always been comfortable in his own skin, always slept naked until
Kayden had started joining him in bed. He wanted Kayden to realize
that it was okay to look, okay to touch, whenever he was ready.

Kayden nodded, however, even if he didn't
meet Damien's eye. So he slipped into the water, grabbing the soap
and wash cloth as he did.

"Well, hop on in," Damien said as casually as
he could, even though he knew seeing Kayden undress would nearly
cause him to come undone right there.

"I-Is there r-room?" Kayden glanced briefly
towards his master, and Damien smirked as the boy's eyes lingered
at the spot between where his knees jutted out of the water.

"Plenty, kitten," Damien laughed, as Kayden
slowly pulled at the ties of his pants. Damien watched the silky
material slide down the thin hips, taking in the sharp angles of
his hipbones and the obvious interest the boy's groin displayed
before Kayden nearly jumped in the water, his tail wrapped around
his leg.

Damien pursed his lips to hold back a chuckle
as Kayden scooted as far forward in the tub as he could. He could
feel the boy's hips brushing against his thick legs. The neko's
back was displayed to him, and Damien felt a pang of regret and
anguish wash over him. The whip marks were healing well. They would
probably blend into the older ones and be indistinguishable to
almost anyone.

But not to him.

Damien would always know which scars he'd
been responsible for, because he had let them take Kayden away that
night. And he had let Brenner stop him from going to his boy right
away.

Damien finally lifted the rag and wrung warm
water over the thin back. Kayden tensed briefly but then his
shoulders relaxed.

"Can you slide back a little, kitten?" Damien
said. "So I can reach your back?"

Kayden responded by shifting closer. Damien
could feel the soft fur of his tail tickling the side of his leg.
He soaped up the rag and slowly began to rub Kayden's back, and he
felt the boy's muscles release even more. He took his time,
leisurely caressing the pale skin. He picked up the large cup that
sat next to the bath for rinsing and scooped up water, pouring it
down the scarred skin.

"Do you want me to do your hair?" he
asked.

At first, he only received a slight nod, but
then he heard the boy's voice. "Y-yes, sir."

He scooped up more water. "It's not 'sir',
kitten. Only Damien. It's just us here."

But Kayden only nodded, and Damien sighed
before pouring the water over the boy's head. Kayden suddenly shook
his head, sending a spray of water all over him and the washroom
floor.

Kayden cast a glare over his shoulder and he
rubbed at his ear.

Damien started laughing. "Sorry," he said
between chuckles. "Maybe you should take care of your hair."

Kayden's slow smile was enough to put both of
them at ease. He handed Kayden the soap, watching as the boy's thin
fingers created a lather in the black locks. Damien couldn't help
but thread his fingers up the back of Kayden's head, massaging his
scalp and loving the feel of the the boy's thick hair entwined in
his fingers. Kayden's hands dropped and his head fell forward to
his chest almost bonelessly.