Two Doms For Angel (6 page)

“Do I need to carry you to
my den or do you think you can walk?”

Zach didn’t bother
answering. His leg came down and he stood.

Hard-muscled strength
embraced him in a hug.

“It’s good to see you, my
friend.”

“I appreciate you coming to
the hospital,” Zach said gruffly, “even if I wasn’t in a talkative
mood.”

“I’m surprised you even
remember.”

“How could I forget waking
up and seeing your ugly mug?”

“And to think I’ve been
worried about you.” Monroe led the way through the house but walked
at a slower than usual pace.

Zach noticed but let Monroe
get away with coddling him. After the long drive, he was man enough
to admit he overdid it. He wanted to be semi-normal for the show
the following evening.

They entered the den and
Monroe pulled out an ottoman. “Pants off.”

“You have such a lovely
bedside manner, Nate.”

“And you’re loopy even
before the pill takes effect. That’s how I know you’re in
pain.”

Monroe walked away and Zach
removed his pants. He leaned back in the overstuffed chair, letting
his eyelids lower, and waited for the devil to do his worst. He
heard the door open and then close but didn’t bother opening his
eyes.

Heat, almost too hot,
settled over his injury. He inhaled sharply but didn’t move and was
actually too tired to continue with his smart ass comments. Just
when the heat began to feel good, it disappeared. Oiled hands began
soothing into the muscles and tendons around his knee.

“The swelling should have
improved after three months. You haven’t been obeying doctor’s
orders. Don’t even try to deny it.”

“Uhh.”

The velvet laugh that Zach
occasionally heard in his dreams rumbled from Monroe’s throat. The
hands continued their magic and Zach lost himself in the memory of
the first time Monroe rubbed him down with oil. It wasn’t a memory
he could easily forget.

Chapter Eleven

“
Damn it,
Zachery, stop flexing. You continue to tighten your muscles and the
rope loosens when you relax. The binding can cause just as much
damage when it’s too loose as it can when it’s too tight. Do you
need me to explain everything again?”

“Fuck you, get me out of
this.”

“Hold on. Sara, I’m
unbinding you first. I’m sorry, my love, but as you can see I have
an unwilling hostage.”

Zach gritted his teeth
while the rope was coming off Sara’s body. He did understand the
mechanics but he was having trouble and didn’t know quite how to
deal with it.

Monroe helped Sara sit up
and took a minute to give her a kiss and rub the marks on her skin,
making sure her blood was flowing with the least amount of
pain.

He stood her up on the
floor. “I want everyone out. Zach and I need to discuss a few
things.”

Monroe didn’t sound happy
but that was too fucking bad. Zach’s position kept him from seeing
everyone hustle from the room, but he could hear their feet beat a
hasty retreat. A hand tightened in his hair and his head came up.
He was looking into the piercing eyes of Nathaniel Monroe:
specialized killer, artist, and sexual deviate
extraordinaire.

“You think I don’t know the
problem, but I do. What’s your safe word, Zach?”

“I don’t have a fucking
safe word. I’m not a sub.”

“You think you need to be a
sub to have a safe word?”

Monroe’s laugh zinged along
Zach’s skin and made his teeth clench tighter. “Would. You. Mind.
Untying. Me.”

“Yes, I mind. Your safe
word is red.”

“What the fuck is this all
about?”

“I’ll let your filthy
language go for now because we have other work to do.” Monroe
walked away, opened a cabinet, and then returned to
Zach.

But instead of facing Zach,
Monroe moved around behind him. For a moment nothing happened, and
Zach was confused. Then he felt a warm, oily palm touch the skin of
his back. Zach’s entire body jumped.

“You were
raised by liberal, worldly parents but you joined the Marines and
fell for all the ‘Gays don’t belong in the military propaganda.’ I
don’t think of myself as gay, but I told you I love the human body,
both male and female. You are tightening your muscles because I am
touching you and you believe the touch of a man shouldn’t feel
good.”

Monroe’s hands began
kneading the muscles of Zach’s back.

“If you were a professional
athlete, a man would be working out your kinks and doing exactly
what I’m doing. You wouldn’t have a problem with it and would just
enjoy the sensation. But, you’re not a professional athlete and I’m
not a masseuse, so we have a problem. The women who model for me
place their power in my hands. They submit fully to my will. That
was not our deal and I didn’t think I really needed your
submission.”

“I won’t submit to
you.”

“No, I don’t think you will
but you can learn to trust me. If we were in a life and death
situation, would you trust me to have your back?”

Zach’s breathing had picked
up as the assault on his muscles continued, but he was listening to
Monroe’s words. “Yes.”

“I’m
asking you to trust me here, right now. You have a safe word, I
won’t go farther than you allow but for this to work, you cannot be
timid about my touch.”

His hands began moving over
Zach’s body, and Zach couldn’t help his indrawn breath when
Monroe’s hands touched his thighs.

“While I
am working, my headspace is completely in the scene. In battle, we
train to alleviate tunnel vision. I’ve become quite good at looking
around me when I’m in danger but with Shibari; the rope, the model,
and the binding become a tunnel for me. I don’t fight my erection.
I never try to hide it.”

His hands continued their
journey down Zach’s legs and then began to massage the tops of his
feet after adding oil.

“
There
will come a time when my cock rubs against you. I don’t expect you
to particularly enjoy it, but, it’s only an extension of my body
while I work. I think I can overlook your hard-on in the same
manner. If there ever comes a time you would be interested in
experienceing a woman with me it will probably make it easier for
you to ignore a simple fact of life. I’m continually judging a
sub’s condition and limits. You are not a sub and I don’t know
yours. From what I saw when you were facing death, you may not have
the usual limits.”

His warm hands traveled
back up Zach’s legs and then went to the black silk underwear and
stilled. “You need to trust that I will always stop, Zach.” His
fingers went under the elastic of the leg and grazed against the
tight sack of Zach’s balls.

“Red.” Zach said with
relief.

The hand left
immediately.

“Yes, red and it stops. I
will put you into some tight bindings for my art, mostly securing
you to the subs. I will touch you.” The loops of the rope began
unwrapping. “I will ask you to be completely nude when you are
ready, but I will never betray your trust. Zach. This will not work
if you cringe when my fingers graze your body. Get used to
it.”

When the ropes came off,
Zach sat up and placed his head down into his hands, resting them
on his knees. “How did you know what was bothering me?”

“Oh, Zachery, I knew we
would have this problem before I ever requested you model for me.
You need to ask Sara about dominance and submission tonight. Let
her guide you. I want you attending the models when my work is
done. There is nothing sexier than a woman when a scene is finished
and she’s still in that blissful headspace of submission. I’m
talking about when the scene is over, and the sex is over. We call
it ‘aftercare.’ It’s the time a sub needs and craves, to be held
lovingly, to be praised and petted, and allowed a safe place to
come fully back to herself. When possible, I will always release
your bindings first, and then I want you to unbind the sub. You
will need to touch her body, praise her beauty, and give of
yourself. This is a work in progress for me. It’s something I’ve
dreamed about, but all the rough edges are not yet polished. That’s
the amazing thing about art. It’s always changing.”

***

Zach’s mind drifted away
while Monroe worked out the stiff muscles surrounding his knee. His
touch hadn’t caused a problem since that day, and, for months after
he left Monroe that first time, he actually missed the
interaction.

As the years and their
relationship continued, Zach finally admitted to himself that he
loved Nathaniel Monroe. He loved his art; his willingness to teach
an arrogant young Jarhead to control his dominance; and he loved
the man himself. He was a part of Zach’s life, but much more than a
father. Accepting the love was easy, but knowing how to define it
was much harder.

Zack let out a groan when
the ice pack landed on his knee.

He opened his eyes and saw
Monroe wiping his hands on a towel.

“I am not your doctor, nor
your physical therapist, so don’t expect me to put up with your
shit when it comes to your leg.”

“You actually said ‘shit,’”
Zach laughed. “In all the years I’ve known you, it’s only the
second time I’ve heard you swear.”

Monroe ignored
him.

“You’ll sign a medical
waiver tomorrow, and we’ll get your medical records. I’ll have
Stephens begin physical therapy with you.”

“Is there anything Stephens
can’t do?”

“Not that I’ve discovered.
That’s why I pay him so well.”

“So tell me about
Angel?”

Zach noticed Monroe’s
hesitation before he finally spoke.

“Angel is part of the
reason I needed you here. You’ll meet her tomorrow night at the
Club. She’s an amazing sub and Shibari model. She’s also my
slave.”

The silence hung in the
air.

“A slave? Why?”

“It’s more complicated than
I’m prepared to go into right now but I need you to stay with her
for a few weeks while I’m out of the country. She’s quite unique
and comes from an exceptional set of circumstances. As I asked once
many years before, I need you to withhold your answer until you
meet her, and to trust me.”

“Is there a reason I’m not
meeting her tonight?”

“Yes, though you won’t like
that answer either. She’s being punished.”

Zach’s jaw tightened. He
had been in the lifestyle for many years but when it came down to
it, he played around the edges. Hardcore sadism and masochism
wasn’t his thing. He enjoyed administering a little pain with
pleasure and loved the eroticism of bondage. But he knew Monroe
went for some of the extremes but Zach didn’t think 24/7 slavery
was Monroe’s style any more than it was his.

He gave Monroe a direct
stare. “At some point in our relationship, the Wookie debt will be
paid in full.”

Monroe smiled, causing the
stern muscles in his face to soften.

“No Zach, it’s a debt for
as long as both of us lives. The rules are defined on the Internet
and I refuse to argue with the Force.”

Chapter Twelve

Zach kept his leg propped
up until dinner. The swelling receded and the pain medicine kicked
in. What he would give for an ice cold beer!

Marguerite served dinner.
She seemed a little upset with Monroe, and only spoke to him in
clipped sentences when she had to.

Monroe acted as if nothing
was out of the ordinary.

“Has Angel eaten her
dinner?”

“
I took
it to her, signor, but she only nibbled.”

“Please keep a plate warm
and I’ll take it up to her later and see she eats.”

“
Si.” With
that, Marguerite left the room.

Monroe put down his napkin
and looked at Zach.

“She’s angry that I
punished Angel.”

“You think?”

“Yes, I think.”

“Do you mind if I ask what
Ang…your slave is being punished for?”

“She’s not happy that I’ll
be leaving and showed her displeasure in an inappropriate
way.”

“Is she locked up?” Zach
couldn’t help the distaste in his voice.

“No, I assure you, she is
comfortable in my room.”

The conversation wasn’t
adding up.

“Do you love her?” Zach
asked suddenly.

Monroe didn’t hesitate,
“Yes I do, and our relationship works for us. Our bond just seemed
to happen. It wasn’t planned. But she has special problems: night
terrors and the very occasional panic attack. I’ve been worried
about leaving her. But I can’t back out of the current situation
overseas. I have to go, but I’m thinking of retiring
soon.”

“Then you’re definitely in
love.” The thought made Zach feel better.

“I assure you, it was just
as big a shock to me.”