by Luna, David
“Don’t be sorry.” He sat up and must have seen the sadness in Sebastian’s eyes and misread its meaning when he took a deep breath and asked, “It’s late. Do you want me to drive you and the menagerie home?”
Sebastian smiled at that and shook his head. “No. We’re already there.”
Gideon looked around his office and rubbed his hands over his face a few times to help wake himself up. Obviously confused and not catching his meaning, he glanced up. “You’re already… What?”
Sebastian watched Gideon closely when he whispered, “We’re already home.”
Shock made itself clear on Gideon’s face and he slouched into the back of the couch just staring at him, hands folded together behind his head as if he was afraid to reach out, afraid it might not be real. Sebastian’s grin broke out when he saw the absolute joy and relief spread across Gideon’s face. They stared at each other, smiling stupidly at each other. His Dom let out a relieved breath, still grinning, brows winging up, he whispered, “Really?”
Sebastian ridiculously charmed by his Dom’s incredulity, nodded and whispered back, “Really.”
Gideon shot to the edge of the sofa reaching out for him. Sebastian fell into his arms and hugged him tight as Gideon pulled him in to straddle his lap, all the while murmuring, “Oh Jesus. Baby, I love you. I love you so much.”
He buried his face in Gideon’s neck, telling him he loved him too, and wrapping himself around his Dom. Gideon’s arms banded around his back even tighter, nearly cutting off his breath, and he’d never, ever felt happier or more at home than he did at that moment, in his Dom’s arms.
They sat there for what felt like hours, only separating when they felt a paw patting at them repeatedly. Lola obviously feeling left out, and seeking some attention. They pulled apart and gave their girl lots of love. She wagged her whole body, tongue lolling out, and practically crawled into their laps. They laughed at her and hugged again, her between them.
Gideon pulled away first and helped Sebastian to his feet, then Lola, and then himself. He wrapped his arm around Sebastian, kissing his head, and made a kissy noise to Lola, who followed them out of the office and around the corner to the elevator.
Once upstairs, they both undressed and crawled into bed, Gideon told him he wanted to talk in the morning, that all he wanted to do at that moment was hold his boy. Sebastian was okay with that. They kissed and whispered softly to each other until they both fell asleep in each other’s arms.
When Sebastian woke the next morning, he smiled shyly when he realized Gideon was watching him. “Good morning, Sir.”
He squirmed when he heard the deep rumble of satisfaction in Gideon’s chest. “Good morning, boy.”
They kissed, and Sebastian realized right away Gideon’s breath was minty fresh. He squeaked and jumped out of bed. Gideon tried to catch him but he had evasive morning maneuvers down pat and was in the bathroom immediately, relieving himself and brushing his own teeth before returning to the bed. When he gazed at Gideon, however, he saw the serious expression and knew he’d need to sideline his libido for a while.
“You’re calling me Sir and you said this was home, but I don’t really know what that means.”
Sebastian ran his thumb over Gideon’s brow, smoothing out the confused wrinkles marring them. “It means exactly what you want it to mean. Or, at least what I hope you want it to mean. I want to move in here, permanently, and I want to be your submissive, twenty-four seven. It’s what I’ve wanted from the beginning but wasn’t brave enough to allow myself.”
Gideon’s eyes roamed over every inch of his face several times, a gentle smile finally blooming before it slowly melted away. “I still can’t fully believe that you’ve forgiven me.”
Sebastian moved in closer, their faces only inches apart. “I haven’t.”
When Gideon tried to pull back, confusion in his eyes, Sebastian pulled him back in and whispered, “Because there’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t cheat, you didn’t lie, and you never hurt me. I was scared because I didn’t know anything of your past, but I trust that you would have told me before we’d taken the steps I’m hoping we’ll be able to take together now.”
Gideon sagged in relief and pulled him closer, grabbing his upper thigh and pulling it over his hip, hooking Sebastian’s heel behind his leg and rubbing his large, calloused palm up Sebastian’s thigh to his side capturing his arm and wrapping that around his neck. They kissed for several minutes until Sebastian pulled back.
“I can’t understand what you went through in your past. I’ve tried to put myself there and I failed because that’s not the life I’ve lived. But I can’t place blame on you for things I don’t understand. No matter what you think of yourself, I know you’re kind, you’re strong, you’re brave and you’re loyal. You give of yourself freely, you’re protective and you’re generous. You’re a good man, Gideon.”
When he saw Gideon look down and away from him, he recognized himself in that gesture and clasped Gideon’s chin to tilt his head back up. “You don’t have to prove yourself worthy of me. You are worthy of me, just as I’m worthy of you. I think you may have some form of PTSD from your past and it probably wouldn’t hurt for you to seek help. But I at least want us to see Dr. Price together, to see how we can become stronger as a couple. Would you be willing to do that with me?”
“Yes. I’d do anything for you,” Gideon replied, immediately.
“I think you mentioned you were consulting for Custos—”
“If you want me to stop, I will.”
Sebastian kissed him and shook his head. “No. No, I don’t want you to stop if it’s something you enjoy. But I’m hoping it won’t be fieldwork. I don’t think I could handle you going off and possibly getting hurt.”
“No. I’m done with fieldwork. Zavier knows this and is only seeking my expertise when he knows I have knowledge on a particular case and might be able to gather some information he may not be able to get.”
“All right. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’d do anything for you. If it bothers you at all, I can stop.”
Again, Sebastian shook his head. “No. I don’t want that. I like that you’re close with your brothers. I want you to help if you can.”
Gideon drew him closer and they kissed before Gideon finally asked, “What made you change your mind about moving in with me and becoming my submissive, twenty-four seven?”
“I haven’t been happy on my own. I got the apartment before you came back to me. I never wanted to be alone, I was just scared of being hurt again. But it didn’t feel right. It felt like I was still only in a contract with you and like I wasn’t giving us a chance. When I would think about coming over here I felt like I’d be visiting. I don’t want to visit my life, I want to live it, full time. So, I’m done with that. I’ve been in control of everything in my life since my sixth birthday. I’m tired and I need more than anything to hand that control over to you. It’s the only time I feel at peace. So, I’m all in, if you’ll have me.”
Gideon leaned in and bit the juncture of his neck and shoulder, Sebastian’s favorite spot. “You know I will. That’s everything I’ve wanted. But are you sure you want to be under my control, twenty-four seven? Meaning I make our decisions and I care for your needs: physical, emotional, and financial?”
Sebastian grinned and answered without hesitation. “Yes, Sir.”
Gideon nodded and his deep voice rumbled out when he ordered, “Get out of bed, boy. Let’s take a quick shower. There’s something I want to show you.”
They were walking down the street, hand in hand, carrying cups of coffee from a local café. It wasn’t Sugar n’ Spice coffee, but it was almost as good. They were a couple blocks from the club when Gideon stopped and pulled a key out of his pocket. Sebastian watched as Gideon slid it into the lock on a shop door, opened it and ushered Sebastian inside.
He looked around the empty space, not understanding what they were doing there, but feel
ing a prickle at the base of his neck, his hair standing on end. The floors were gorgeous hardwoods and the walls were freshly painted. The windows were sparkling and the front door had a huge glass cutout, letting more natural light into the space. It was a big, open room, a hallway in the middle of the back wall, leading to an exit out the back, rooms on either side of the hallway, and what Sebastian thought might be a staircase on the left side.
Before he could ask what was going on, Gideon set his coffee down on the low windowsill and walked to the center of the room. “I thought this might be a good place for your new tattoo studio. I’ve had the walls painted a neutral, light color, the windows and front door are new. You’ve got a new A/C unit, water heater, and furnace. And the floors have been refinished and re-stained.”
Sebastian, setting down his own coffee, waited a beat to make sure Gideon was done and then took a deep breath, barely believing what he was hearing. He turned around in a circle. “You got me a tattoo studio?”
“I did.”
He turned again, taking it all in, and faced Gideon. “You got me a tattoo studio.”
His Dom’s grin melted his heart. “I did.”
Sebastian let out a whoop, ran across the room, and jumped into Gideon’s arms, wrapping himself around him. He peppered Sir’s face with happy kisses in between his happy words. “You. Got. Me. A. Tattoo. Studio.”
Gideon’s hands flexed and squeezed his ass cheeks as he took Sebastian’s mouth in a heated kiss. When they came up for air, Gideon answered yet again. “I did.”
Not bothering to get down, Sebastian pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. “So, you own the whole building?”
Gideon shook his head. “No. You do.”
“What? How is that even possible?”
Gideon shrugged. “Money makes everything possible. You’ll have to sign the paperwork, obviously, but other than that, it’s done.”
“When have you even had the time to close on a building?”
“It closed in eleven days. You’ve owned it for nine.”
“How the hell did you do that?”
“Cash.”
Incredulous, Sebastian asked, “No mortgage payments?”
“None.”
Sebastian carded his hands through Gideon’s hair and gazed into his eyes. “I shouldn’t accept this.”
Gideon raised a brow. “But you will, because I’m asking you to.”
Sebastian kissed him sweetly. “And because it pleases you, Sir.”
“It does, boy.”
“Then I accept. Thank you, Gideon.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
They kissed for a few more minutes and then Sebastian slid down Gideon’s body and grabbed his hand. “Show me the rest.”
They walked down the hallway and into the office and then the break room on the left-hand side, and the two rooms on the right-hand side. Sebastian already started making plans. He’d want to make sure he had a fully outfitted clean room for employees only. And he’d use the other room for a piercing room. He’d want two gender neutral bathrooms, so he’d be adding one, which might make the clean room smaller, but that was just fine.
As they reached the stairs, Gideon took the lead, holding Sebastian’s hand behind his back. When they got upstairs, Sebastian fell even more in love with the space. It was a huge open room with windows on one end, letting in a lot of light. He knew immediately that he’d be working up there. He’d hire two, possibly three tattoo artists to work downstairs, ensuring that one or more of them was also trained in piercing, and figure out how to arrange the studio to fit the needs of the clients they’d serve.
The upgrades, additions, and changes he’d be making to the space, both upstairs and down would be costly, but he had quite a bit of money at his disposal now with the house selling, the surgical costs being refunded, and moving out of his apartment. He could afford to do what he wanted and he could visualize all of it. The possibilities were endless and he couldn’t wait to get started.
He might have to work only three days a week for a while so that he could focus his other days on getting up and running. The mental checklist he was making was interrupted when he realized Gideon was speaking to him. “I’m sorry, Sir. I missed that.”
Gideon smiled patiently at him and began again. “You’ve been added to all of my personal accounts and been given your own business account. Anything you purchase for or spend on the studio will be put on that account. You’ll not spend a dime of your own, boy. Am I understood?”
Shit. He wanted to argue. He so wanted to argue. But from the looks of it, that’s exactly what Gideon expected and he’d literally just agreed to being his submissive and allowing him to make any and all decisions. One thing was for damned sure, Gideon was going to be getting lots of gifts from him and extravagant vacations were going to be a regular occurrence, and that was that.
He smiled wide, and when he saw Gideon’s answering grin, he nodded and replied, “Understood, Sir.”
“Good. Let’s get going, shall we? There’s plenty of time for planning later. I think we’re in need of an intense session, don’t you?”
Sebastian hummed at Sir’s choice of words, knowing intense would mean painful, but also cathartic. He knew he needed both. His heart picked up its pace and he sucked in a breath, nodding. “Yes, Sir.”
“That’s my good boy. Come.”
IT WAS THE FIRST DAY of June, Gideon’s forty-first birthday, and about six weeks since Sebastian had permanently moved in with him. Since they’d had Sebastian’s recovery time together, there had really been no adjustment period, but he knew it helped tremendously that they’d had multiple therapy appointments together with Dr. Price to help with the transition. As a result, things couldn’t have been better. His boy had been seizure free since the surgery, and even though he’d have to keep on the anticonvulsants for the next year or two before they tried to wean him off them, they both felt the surgery had been a success.
Sebastian was becoming more confident by the day. He held his head high, he no longer wore his colored contact to hide his different colored eyes. He didn’t hide behind hoodies and sunglasses and he made eye contact wherever he went. That confidence was growing in his professional life as well. After Gideon had given it some thought, he realized Sebastian’s taking ownership of the tattoo studio had been a turning point. So much confidence had stemmed from that alone.
Gideon could practically see him becoming more and more excited about his personal and professional lives. He was so damn proud of his boy. Sebastian would be opening the studio by the beginning of July. He’d already found two talented tattoo artists that he’d rent space to and was searching for a third. He’d also found a piercer that would work as the front desk clerk, so he’d have one employee to manage.
Gideon had commissioned a permanent, bespoke chastity belt for his boy and it was the sexiest fucking thing he’d ever seen and could be worn comfortably twenty-four seven. It wrapped around his waist just above his hips and was extremely strong, but so thin it appeared delicate and lay flush against his skin. When he’d opened the beautiful display storage box to show Sebastian, his boy had gasped and then smacked him on the arm and chastised him for getting him a gift when he wasn’t the one having a birthday. Gideon had argued that it was just as much a gift for him and his boy had blushed at that and conceded the point.
He’d been so excited to be in full-time chastity again that Gideon had had to take matters into his own hands, quite literally, to soften Sebastian’s excited cock. Afterwards, he’d locked on the most revealing of the three cages he’d purchased with the belt itself, the blush his choice caused his boy’s beautiful cheeks made it all the sweeter.
Gideon could still remember the feeling of his sub’s hands in his hair when he’d kneeled to attach it. Sebastian hadn’t been able to keep his hands to himself, and Gideon couldn’t fault him for knowing just how much his Dom loved the feel of his hands in his hair. Sebastian never failed to do wh
at he thought would please his Dom and Gideon couldn’t be more grateful that they’d found each other.
That night was going to be a huge night for them and the chastity device was just the beginning. Besides that, he’d also be wearing the markings from Gideon’s ropes. Two days prior, he’d found some of the thinner jute he had for adornment knotting. Creating a spider web effect on both arms and legs and his torso, he’d covered most of his boy’s body, leaving the throat bare for Sebastian’s collar. His boy had even surprised and pleased him earlier that day by using his clippers and buzzing his hair down to half an inch all over and shaving his face bare. The night of the scene, he’d have a bit of scruff, which suited Gideon just fine.
Gideon had continued the intricate knotwork over the beautiful landscape of alabaster skin, interspersed with intricate inked artwork. He’d been so proud of him as he’d tied off the last of the ropes and thought back to when things had started for them. He’d had no clue they’d end up where they had, but he’d known the second he’d laid eyes on his boy that he was special and that parting from him would be next to impossible. They’d come a long way since last fall. The confidence he could sense in his boy was a beautiful thing to see. He was happier than he could ever remember being, and Sebastian had said nearly the same to him.
He knew he’d love seeing the lines in his skin from the knotwork when he was up on that stage, but as he removed the two-day old adornment knotting from Sebastian’s lithe body, the night of the public scene, the dents and grooves left behind turned him on, knowing how visible they’d be in the spotlights of the stage. Next, he took time to lube his boy’s ass and inserted a lubed butt plug. Squeezing those beautiful cheeks.
Afterwards, he watched as Sebastian pulled a pair of gray, threadbare, soft jeans on. They were ripped in several places, his beautiful skin framed in denim, tantalizing and teasing him. As he hadn’t put back on all the weight he’d lost, they hung low on his hips, showing off the chastity waistband. His boy looked delectable and he wondered if he’d feel the confidence to remove the pants for their scene. He hoped so, but he’d understand if it felt like too much, in front of so many people.
