Making His Stand

by Thianna Durston

  James’s mouth fell open when Craig winked at him. He glanced toward at Alec who looked like he was trying not to laugh.

  “Dogs aren’t allowed in restaurants.”

  “That’s one of those rules that can be bent,” Craig said slowly. “He’s not in the kitchen which would definitely be a no-no, and he’s sitting nicely in his owner’s arms. I fail to see the problem.” At that moment, Zippo leaned down and picked up a chicken piece from the plate and munched it. “Unless that was your piece of chicken, at which point I’m sure James will get you some more.”

  Alec lost his fight and burst out laughing. Bronick’s face turned red and he stomped off toward a table on the other end of the room.

  Craig shook his head. “If he gives you any more trouble, let me know.” He reached out, patted Zippo twice awkwardly on the head, and walked away.

  When Alec stopped laughing, he smiled at James. “See? Told you Craig’s bark was worse than his bite.”

  Zippo wagged his tail and turned his interest to the rest of James’s sandwich. James pulled out a piece of bacon and handed it to him. “Except for Bronick, everyone here seems to be really nice.”

  “Bronick isn’t a resident. He’s a workman,” Alec pointed out. “And don’t get the idea this place is some sort of idyllica. You’re going to meet people you don’t get along with. That’s life. But we all know what it’s like to live somewhere where we had to hide.”

  “Even you?” James asked, surprised. Alec had been in the lifestyle since college. Surely he hadn’t hid.

  “Most especially me. Twin Falls is a very conservative city in southern Idaho. The people there had no idea I was kinky as shit. Well, the local club did, but nobody on my block knew. It was safer that way. That I was gay my neighbors thought was shameful enough. I didn’t want to add to their ire by showing them my kinky side.”

  He could understand that. He’d only been there a few days and had already found himself interested in things he’d never considered before. As he tore of a little bit of crust and handed it to Zippo, who sniffed at it and ignored it, James asked, “What if I wanted to know more about BDSM? C-could you show me?” His entire body stilled as he waited for the answer. His heart beat pounded so loudly in his ears he wasn’t sure if he would hear the response when it came. Finally looked toward Alec.

  A soft smile lifted the corners of Alec’s lips. “I’d be honored to show you.” He paused and ate another bite of salad, offering his last piece of chicken to Zippo who gobbled it up happily. Alec lowered his voice and leaned in. “If you’re interested in losing that cherry, I can pop it, too.”

  Heat flooded James’s entire body. And not in embarrassment. He’d gone from nervous to turned on. “R-really?” he asked, his voice too breathy. “That would be great.” Yes. He wanted to officially lose his virginity. The thought of Alec fucking him made his skin tingle and his belly dance.

  Alec gave him a warm smile. “Let’s start this way. Are you busy tomorrow night?”

  James shook his head. “Nope. Besides work, I don’t really have anything to do.”

  “I’d say tonight, but I have a piece I need to get finished and shipped by tomorrow. Why don’t you come over after work tomorrow night? You and Zippo. We’ll have some dinner, talk about BDSM, and see what you’re interested in. Depending on how you feel, I’ll pop that cherry or we can wait until you’re ready. Either way, it’ll be a good night.”

  A good night? James thought it could possibly be an amazing night as long as he didn’t scare himself into getting sick, or do something incredibly stupid.

  Lunchtime was up so Alec escorted him and Zippo back to the office. Before he left him, though, he tipped James’s face up and kissed him. James wasn’t sure what to do. He’d never been kissed before. He’d heard opening one’s lips was a good idea, so he did. Alec’s tongue slid inside and his knees almost gave out. The feeling from those wonderful warm, plump lips on his combined with the hot tongue lapping lightly against his own was so erotic, he got a little light headed.

  Alec pulled back and smiled at him. James had to breathe and when he did, he realized how stupid he was acting. “I’m sorry,” he said, shame flooding his system. “You’re this experienced Dom guy and I’m a virgin who was never kissed before today. I—”

  Whatever he’d been about to say went the way of the dodo bird as Alec wrapped an arm around him and kissed him again. This kiss was different. It lit fire along James’s fingers and toes and made him grab hold of Alec’s shoulders and hang on. When Alec pulled away, it was only about an inch. “You’re perfect as you are, James. Don’t apologize for being inexperienced. It just means there won’t be a lot of things I’ll have to retrain you on.” He leaned forward and nibbled a little on James’s lower lip making him moan. “That’s right, James,” Alec said in a deep voice. “It feels good.” Alec slid one hand down James’s body and cupped his erection. “Very nice. I can’t wait to see it.” He kissed James again, long and hard until his knees did give out.

  Finally he helped James gain some equilibrium by taking a step back and holding onto him until he could stand on his own. It was like his limbs had turned to gelatin. It felt good and bizarre at the same time. Alec drew his thumb across James’s lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Five thirty?”

  James nodded, unable to speak.

  Alec bent down, said good-bye to Zippo, and walked away.

  “Holy shit, Zippo,” James murmured. “This is a whole new world.” Zippo barked and headed toward the office as though to remind him he had work to do. He followed his dog, his mind in a daze. Tomorrow night he was losing his virginity. If Alec could make him weak in the knees with a kiss, James would probably pass out from the orgasm.

  “I’m so going to embarrass myself,” he muttered as he opened the door and Zippo trotted in ahead of him.

  The rest of the afternoon went by in somewhat of a daze. He spent two hours with Kendrick going over the accounts so he was familiar with the auto-payments that needed to be made and what needed to go past Kendrick’s desk, but otherwise his head was muddled. By the time he left work, he wondered if he could spontaneously combust from nerves before the next twenty-four hours were up.

  Bronick wasn’t there when he got home so he made a quick meal in the kitchen, poured Zippo some high quality dog food, and they went upstairs to his bedroom to eat.

  Figuring he finally had some news, he pulled out his phone and texted Stan.

  James: You won’t believe this. I met this guy…

  Stan’s text came back almost instantly.

  Stan: Seriously? James, that’s fantastic. What’s he like?

  Stan had never batted an eye at James being gay. He’d figured it out their first semester and brought it up. From then on, he’d encouraged James to date, though James had never actually followed that advice. Stan took James to a few gay bars to try and get him laid but that had not worked out either.

  James: He’s an inch or two shorter than I am, but he’s got muscles. Muscles upon muscles. And he’s jovial and nice. And hot.

  Stan: Way to go. Found those condoms I packed in your bags yet? They’re new and haven’t passed their expiration date.

  James snorted. Every Christmas since they met, Stan had given him a box of condoms.

  James: Looks like I might actually get to use them for something besides water balloons.

  Stan: Really? Shit, James. I’m happy for you. But you’re being smart about this, right? People know who he is?

  Rolling his eyes at Stan’s text, he took a bite of food.

  James: He’s well known here. A Dom with tons of experience. I’m sure he’ll tire of little virgin me, but he did kiss me today and OMG. Stan. Wow.

  Almost instantly his phone rang and he grinned as he answered it. “Hey, Stanno.”

  “I had to call. You got your first kiss.”

  “Yep.”

  “All right, James. Next stop, getting laid.”

  “That’s tomorrow night.” />
  Silence met his words.

  “You’re not joking, are you?” Stan finally said, sounding shocked.

  “Nope. Turns out these BDSM people are honest about, well, everything. I asked him if he’d show me the BDSM ropes, as it were, and he asked me if I wanted him to take my virginity too. I said yes.” Suddenly James wondered if that was wrong and a little sweat broke out along his brow. “Should I have said no?”

  “No!” Stan said vehemently. “I was just shocked. James, this is good. No man should be a virgin at twenty-nine. And if the guy’s been playing for a while, he’s probably good at it. Are you bottoming?”

  Snorting in amusement, James said, “Of course I am. I don’t think Alec’s the type to bottom. And topping has never interested me.”

  “Use your plug tonight is my only suggestion. Or you might be walking funny on Wednesday morning.” Stan paused. “You still might end up walking funny, but who the fuck cares. James Kaden-Scott’s finally going to lose his cherry.” He let out some sort of holler. “I’ll drink some wine in celebration. Since,” he said in an odd tone, “I broke up with Amber.”

  “Seriously?” James leaned back against his pillows and Zippo climbed onto his chest and curled up.

  “Everyone’s been telling me she just wanted to be a doctor’s wife, and I decided to test her on it. I told her I’d decided to give up medicine and all my worldly possessions and work the land.”

  James burst out laughing. “You didn’t.”

  “I did. And what’s worse? She believed me and freaked out. It took less than an hour before I saw her for what she was and kicked her out.” Stan sighed. “My aunt has decided that’s a sign I should date her bimbo.”

  James hadn’t laughed that long in ages. “I knew she wasn’t smart, but I can’t believe she’d believe that you would ever give up your stuff.”

  “I know. Hell, I just bought the hugest television I could find.” Stan sighed. “So have a full sex life because honestly one of us should and until I’m out of my residency, I’m too tired to do anything except sleep when I’m not working.”

  “I’ll work on it.”

  They teased back and forth for a couple minutes before Stan had to get some sleep. James put his phone on the dresser and scratched Zippo behind the ear. In twenty-four hours, he could lose his virginity. Nerves settled in his stomach and he hoped he hadn’t jinxed himself.

  Chapter Seven

  Enjoying the spray from the water as the boat ate up the waves between Sequim and Elan Isle, Alec thought about the day. He’d gotten his special order done and shipped and he’d purchased a little gift for James. It had impressed him yesterday when James asked Alec to teach him. When he’d agreed to let Alec fuck him, Alec had had an instant erection.

  There was the possibility it might come to naught that evening, but he hoped it worked out. He looked forward to introducing James to the pleasures of anal sex, of being the first man to breach that hole.

  There was something about the guy that tugged at every instinct Alec had. Not only was he cute as hell with his shaggy brown hair that didn’t seem to want to lay flat and those brown eyes that took on a cloudy tinge when he was worried. But he was intelligent, had a good sense of humor when he wasn’t nervous as hell, and his devotion to his little dog was endearing. That look in his eyes when he’d asked Alec to teach him had said loud and clear that he truly expected to be shot down. Who had scared James into being afraid of his own desires?

  Family most likely.

  Alec’s parents died when he was a boy. His grandmother was a loving woman, but she’d worried about him constantly. He’d been beat up more than once in middle school and when he came out in high school, he became the target for all the ultra-conservative homophobes at school and around home. She’d suggested more than once that he date a girl until he was out in the world somewhere away from Twin Falls.

  Hiding who he was had been more painful than the blows to his face.

  So he’d taken up body building to a small extent. He never wanted to be huge, but he ended up with an eight-pack he kept up and his strength stopped the bullies coming at him with their fists.

  He could only imagine the heap of shit that might have been leveled on James’s head. The poor guy grew up in the Bible Belt.

  The docks came into view and he coasted in and tied the boat up. After grabbing the items he’d bought, he headed toward home. Shouting caught his attention. With an island covered in dominant men, loud voices were not unexpected. However, there was a tenor to the voices that made him turn toward them.

  Three men stood in the Faire grounds. The anger seemed to be coming from the one facing away from him. The look of cold fury on Kendrick and Craig’s faces that made a chill go down his back. He dropped his bag on a nearby bench and strode forward.

  “…Fucking mutt. You have no right to—”

  “You,” Kendrick said, “had no right. You were very welcome to live on the Peninsula and take the ferry over every morning. You never had to live here. By living here, you agreed to certain rules.”

  “There was nothing in there about a stupid dog,” the guy barked back.

  The only dog Alec knew of was Zippo. James had mentioned his roommate didn’t like dogs. He quickened his stride.

  “From here on out,” Craig said, crossing his arms, “you aren’t allowed in the township. You’ll confine all your activities to the Faire grounds. I’ll accompany you to your home to pack up your shit. You’ll return to the peninsula with the evening ferry.” With that scowl, he could make Doms quake in their boots, let alone pansy-assed jerks like James’s roommate. Craig leaned in and added, “It’s a good thing you missed. If you’d hurt that little dog, we would not be having this nice little conversation. Instead, you’d be receiving a bit of the lash.”

  “You can’t do your kinky shit with me,” Bronick spat out. “I know you weirdos are all about consent.”

  Craig snorted. “When you signed on to the crew, you agreed to punishment if you broke certain rules. And hurting a little dog who did nothing to you would have had major repercussions.”

  “You roomed me with a fucking fag,” the guy spat out.

  There was no way to know who moved faster, Alec or Kendrick. “What did you say?” they both asked. The disgust in Kendrick’s tone was just as real as Alec’s as they got right up in Bronick’s face.

  Bronick stumbled back, obviously not expecting that reaction. “You heard me. He’s a homo. Have to lock my door every night. Everyone knows those bastards can’t control themselves.”

  Alec shook his head at the nonsense coming from the bastard’s mouth. “Do you hear yourself?” he asked, derision in his tone. “Being gay only means one is attracted to people of their same sex, not every person of their sex. And being gay is not synonymous with rapist,” he said, a little louder than he expected.

  Craig put a hand on Alec’s shoulder and pulled. It wasn’t forceful. In fact it was more a slight pressure with his fingers. Alec got the silent message and took a step back.

  Kendrick’s eyes were so cold, they were practically glacial. “There are several gay men and a few lesbian women on the island. It would seem that you would be uncomfortable being around them. As such, you can leave today and not return. Your boss can replace you.” He continued in a tight clipped tone that spoke of how furious he was.

  Alec turned toward Craig while Kendrick read Bronick the riot act. “What happened?”

  Craig leaned in and by the way he tightened his grip on Alec’s shoulder, he knew it wouldn’t be good. “Bronick had to drop off some stuff at the office. For some reason he doesn’t like James’s little dog. James was in the bathroom and Zippo was in his office behind that doggie door. Becca saw everything as she was entering the office at the time. I guess Zippo came up to the gate to say hello and Bronick went postal. He grabbed the doggie door and, well…” Craig tightened his grip even further. “He tossed the gate at Zippo.”

  “Oh shit.” Alec wasn�
�t sure what he wanted to do. Slam the guy into the ground or run toward the office to see how James and Zippo were.

  “Zippo scrambled forward as the gate crashed down. It missed him but he’s only on three legs and then Bronick kicked out. Becca screamed and Kendrick came out of his office at a run.” Craig shook his head. “The guy’s going down. I know you want to beat him into a pulp, but that’s not going to help. However, I imagine there’s a sweet little accountant who wouldn’t mind a little care. By the time he came out of the bathroom, Becca was holding and protecting Zippo, but James was shook up. He could use a firm hand.”

  Alec was too furious to speak, so he nodded, sent a glare Bronick’s way that had him turn a little gray, and strode toward the office.

  He could feel the fear as he stepped inside. Alice and Becca’s soft voices came from James’s office. James was huddled in the corner with Zippo in his arms. He looked terrified. He glanced up at Alec’s entrance, his entire body shaking. “He tried to kill Zippo,” he whispered.

  Alec walked over to him, sat down, and pulled James onto his lap. “It’s okay,” he murmured as James turned his head into Alec’s throat and burst into tears. “I’ve got you. It’s okay.”

  “Please tell me that Craig castrated the bastard,” Alice hissed.

  “Kendrick’s kicking him off the island. Craig sent me in before I punched Bronick’s lights out. Guy’s a fucking homophobe.” He rubbed James’s back as he sobbed and noted that Alice was giving Becca the same treatment. Poor Becca’s face was blotchy with tears. “Becca,” he said quietly. “Can you tell me what happened? I got Craig’s third party view, but I hear you saw it.”

  She blew her nose into a tissue and nodded. “It was horrible. I opened the door and stepped in and Zippo was standing at the gate wagging his tail. Before I could go over and say hello, that guy walked up, looked down at him and it all happened so fast,” she said in a shaky voice. “He grabbed the gate, lifted it, and threw it at Zippo. I still don’t know how he missed hitting the poor little dog. But when Zippo ran forward to get away, he kicked at him.” Her voice broke. “By then Kendrick was there and he grabbed him and yanked him out of the office. I picked up Zippo and James came running out of the bathroom.” Her mouth squinched up and it was obvious she couldn’t continue.