“Please reconsider. I’ll be good to him. I promise.”
Sitting back, Ben stared at him for long seconds. Paul kept his gaze steadily on the other man, willing him to see the sincerity in his eyes. God, if he couldn’t have Danny, Paul had no Plan B. All of his efforts for the last year had been focused on getting this one boy. Maybe it was foolish of him to be so interested in a particular slave. Plenty of people would certainly believe that. He didn’t. To him, Danny mattered. He’d developed genuine affection for the kid even though their paths hadn’t crossed much. If Danny had been free, Paul would have asked him out ages ago and tried for a real relationship. The way things stood in the world, the best he could do was buy the boy off of Tanner Lumber and hope to give him a happy, loving life.
He sighed inside his head. Perhaps it had all been a pipe dream.
Ben broke eye contact first and hummed to himself before looking back at Paul. “I believe you. But Danny is my responsibility and I’m not going to just sell him off to someone else, even someone I like.”
Paul couldn’t help smiling at the confession. He liked Ben, too. “Thanks, Ben. Isn’t there some kind of deal we can strike?”
“Maybe.” The man’s words gave Paul hope. He scooted to the edge of his chair and stared expectantly. “There are two issues for me. One is that Danny has become a valuable part of my workforce. Fiorello says he does good work, and I’m not willing to give that up.”
Paul nodded, although not sure of where the conversation headed. “Understood.”
“And he’s young, not even nineteen yet if memory serves. I know,” he said when Paul opened his mouth. “I believe you when you say you’ll be good to him, careful, patient. Yes?” He raised his eyebrows and Paul nodded quickly to reassure him.
“Good, that’s all fine. However, I don’t know if he’s gay or not and I’m not inclined to place him into sexual slavery if it will make him miserable.”
Paul didn’t say anything. He’d worried about that very thing. Having spent quite a bit of time watching Danny over the months, he was pretty sure that the kid was gay. He would have given up any idea of having him if he’d thought differently. Even though a slave didn’t have the luxury of a sexual orientation, he still didn’t want someone in his bed who found him revolting.
“So, where does that leave us?” he asked, trying to keep his anxiety down. Ben hadn’t said no, but he also hadn’t said yes, either.
“I’m thinking of maybe a leasing situation.” When Paul once more opened his mouth to say, well, he wasn’t sure what he’d intended to say, Ben overrode him again. “Like I said, Danny is a valuable member of my workforce. I’m not inclined to give him up at any price. You say you don’t want him working your crew anyway. Maybe he works for me during the week, and I lease him to you on the weekends when you’ll be home and in need of him for, um, personal services.”
Paul tried not to fidget in his seat. Ben’s proposal wasn’t the craziest idea. It gave Paul what he wanted most—access to Danny. Except…. “How long would this leasing arrangement last?”
“That would be up to Danny. In fact, this whole deal is up to Danny. I’m going to give him the choice of being leased to you. I won’t force him and if he agrees to give this a try, he’ll be told that he has the power to pull the plug anytime he wants. You’ll have to make and keep him happy or I’ll terminate the lease.”
Paul licked his bottom lip as he considered Ben’s terms. “That’s an unusual position, Ben. You’re giving your slave unprecedented control. Most people wouldn’t do that.”
Ben cocked his head and gave Paul a slight smile. “You’re right. I imagine virtually no one would. And yet, those are my terms. You say you like the boy. Okay, I believe you, but the person you have to convince, if he’s willing to let you try, is Danny. If you treat him as well as you assure me you will, then he’ll want to stay with you. Eventually, I’d be willing to turn the deal around—sell him to you with a lease back for the woodworking. I’ll even agree that your lease payments can be credited toward the purchase price. What do you say?”
Paul took a deep breath and let it out slowly, giving himself time to mull over the offer. There really was only one answer to Ben’s proposition. The thought of having Danny in his home and in his bed even for two days out of the week tempted him enough for him to strike any bargain he had to. He had no doubt, either, that he could make the boy happy because he wanted him to be even without Ben’s prompting. He just hoped Danny would agree to the deal in the first place.
“Okay. You’ve got a deal.”
Ben treated him to a bright smile. “Great. I’ll see what Danny has to say about all of this and if it’s a go, I’ll have my lawyer draw up the papers. The lease can start this weekend.”
Paul’s heartbeat sped up at the idea. If all went well, he’d have the boy safely tucked under his arm within a couple of days.
Chapter Two
“Hey, Danny. Wait up.”
Danny came to an abrupt halt and turned, the reflex of a slave responding to a perceived order. He recognized Oliver’s voice, of course, only another slave, but still. Although he’d only known Oliver for less than a year, he recognized that the guy had become different than other slaves, more confident and relaxed, less on guard. Danny supposed that when your master loved you, life would be different. He wondered if there could be anything that Oliver could do that would lead Master Ben to shackling him to the whipping post, not that Oliver was ever anything other than polite and deferential to free people. Maybe Oliver got his beatings at home, but Danny bet not. The way the master looked at him made Danny wishful that someone, anyone other than his parents, would look at him the same way.
Besides, no one at the lumberyard had been beaten since Master Ben had taken over control. There had been no need for it. All the slaves were happier and worked extra hard just to please the man. Food was better, their quarters warmer in winter and cooler in summer, and everyone got an extra half day off during the week to spend how they pleased. There was even a small allowance paid to each slave now and a shuttle once a month to take the slaves to the shops designed to serve them. Still, wariness had been ingrained in Danny, so he eyed Oliver with a certain amount of concern.
“Is something wrong?” he blurted out when the other boy reached him.
Oliver flashed him a reassuring smile. “No, of course not. Master Ben just asked me to talk to you about something.” He looked around at the other slaves heading back to the barracks. Taking Danny by the arm, he led him over to a quiet spot near the main building.
Danny went docilely, his heartbeat speeding up just a bit. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I promise.” When they reached a spot beyond anyone else’s hearing, Oliver stopped and let Danny’s arm go. He smiled again. “In fact, this might be good news.” Oliver took a deep breath and blew it out. “Okay, first I have to ask you this one thing. Are you gay?”
Danny blinked back at him a few times. Well, that wasn’t something he’d expected to be asked. Who you wanted to fuck was a question for a free person. Slaves did as told whether they liked it or not and with other slaves, you often didn’t have too many choices in sex partners. You took what you could get and were grateful for the opportunity. Fucking counted as one of the few pleasures in a slave’s life. But, given a choice….
“Um, yeah,” he replied, ducking his head. He found the topic embarrassing. “I mean I find guys attractive.”
Oliver’s smile widened. “Great. So have you ever, you know fooled around with another guy? I mean, other than that thing when you were younger.” Oliver averted his gaze.
Shit, what had ever possessed him to tell Oliver what had happened? Except he’d thought Oliver would understand being in the same boat, as it were. And, it had felt great telling someone, even another slave, especially another slave, because no free person would have cared. Still, he didn’t want Oliver to be uncomfortable.
Trying to lighten the moo
d, he rolled his eyes at Oliver when he looked back at him. “Seriously? Who’d dare to come on to Big John’s kid?”
There were eighteen slaves working at the lumberyard, all male, and the barracks they lived and slept in saw a lot of action. The showers in particular were a favorite place for guys to trade off hand jobs and blowjobs and sometimes even fucking. The idea that someone would ask Danny to do anything where his father could see or hear them, however, was laughable. How awkward would that be for Big John to see his kid on his knees with some other slave’s cock down his throat? The stacked cots they slept in weren’t big enough or sturdy enough for two people to occupy, let alone bounce around in. Even so, lots of jerking off could be heard. Danny existed in a near constant state of arousal while in the barracks and because he slept in the cot stacked right above his father, he had to keep his self-gratification really, really quiet.
Oliver chuckled at the question and nodded. “I get it.” He paused. “So, there’s this customer, Mr. Graham, do you know him?”
A vision of sexy green eyes and tousled hair flashed in his mind, sending sudden heat coursing through his body. “Yeah, I know who you mean.”
Oliver tipped his head to one side. “He’s hot, don’t you think?”
Now the heat crept up Danny’s cheek. “Yeah, I guess. Why?” This conversation had taken a weird turn.
“Because yesterday he offered to buy you.”
Air got trapped in Danny’s lungs for a second as his brain processed the information. “What?” His voice came out in a strangled whisper. “The master is selling me?” The idea of having to leave the lumberyard, his parents, the only life he’d ever know, terrified him, regardless of how attracted he was to Mr. Graham.
Oliver clasped him by the shoulder. “No, shit, no, Danny. He isn’t. Sorry, I don’t know why Ben asked me to do this. I’m making a hash out of it already.”
Despite his anxiety, Danny didn’t fail to notice that not for the first time, Oliver referred to the master by his first name only or that he implied the master had asked him to do something as opposed to telling him. Oliver’s relationship with the master made Danny long for something he knew he couldn’t have—a loving partnership with someone else. His parents had been allowed to mimic a marriage like free people had, but the awful truth was that they could be separated any time and never see each other again.
He forced air back into his lungs. “I don’t understand.”
Oliver released his hold and ran his fingers through his own hair. “I know. Okay, so the master told Mr. Graham that he wasn’t willing to sell you at any price.” The words washed relief over Danny, chasing the earlier heat away. “Especially because Graham doesn’t want you for his construction crew.” Oliver paused and looked meaningfully into Danny’s eyes. “He wants you for personal use.”
Now Danny’s heart skidded to a halt for a couple of seconds before lurching back to a faster beat.
“Do you understand what that means?”
“Yeah. I get it,” Danny hastened to answer. Holy crap! Mr. Graham wanted him in his bed? He wanted him as a body slave, or maybe just as a pure pleasure slave, a living sex toy? “Wow.”
“Hmm, that’s what I said. Master Ben made a counter proposal and that’s what I’m here to talk about. He told Graham that he would lease you to him on the weekends, but only if you agree to it and only for so long as you’re happy with the arrangement.”
Danny stood there with his mouth hanging open like a hooked carp as his mind tried to make sense of what Oliver had just said. Master Ben was giving him a choice? He got to decide his fate and not someone else? Nothing had ever prepared him for such a thing. Absolutely nothing. As a slave, his body, his time, his very life didn’t belong to him. His parents had been good slave parents, drilling the harsh reality into him from the very first, making sure he knew his place and didn’t do anything to get himself punished or worse. He didn’t know how to make such a big decision.
“What should I do?” He hated the plaintive tone of his voice, but he really needed someone’s help here and he trusted Oliver.
The other boy sighed. “I know this is hard. You’re not used to having a choice. It’s scary.” When Danny nodded in agreement, Oliver continued. “I think the best way to approach this is to ask yourself how you’d feel being in Mr. Graham’s bed. Do you want him to touch you? Do you want to touch him?”
The blush came back, bigger and hotter than before. “I guess.”
He pictured the man again and imagined what it would be like to be held by him, to be able to roam his hands around the hard body he’d seen under those worn work clothes. Danny’s blood managed to head in two different directions. Not only did his face feel as if it were on fire, his cock started to fill, as well. He swallowed convulsively a few times.
He dropped his gaze, unable to look Oliver in the eye. “Does it feel as good as I imagine it would?”
Oliver chuckled. “With the right master it does.”
Danny raised his gaze again. “I think I’d like to see for myself what it can be like. But I’m not sure. It’s a big change.”
“You don’t have to decide now. Think about it overnight. It only has to be for one weekend. If you don’t like it, it ends. The master said so.”
“Okay. I’ll give it some thought and let you know tomorrow morning, if that’s okay?”
Clasping him by both shoulders, Oliver pulled him in for a quick hug. “It’s perfectly fine. Now, go on, I’ve kept you from your dinner long enough.”
Normally, meals were a highlight in Danny’s life, but as he walked away from Oliver, his stomach was so tied up in knots, he didn’t know if he could eat. And how would he ever get to sleep with such a big thing weighing on his mind? Depending on what path he chose, his life could change in an unimaginable way. The thought both excited and scared the fuck out of him.
****
Danny stood outside Master Ben’s office, wearing his one good pair of jeans, a clean T-shirt, a thin spring jacket and a smile that he prayed looked more happy than sick. He also clutched a paper bag containing a clean pair of underwear and socks. He hoped Mr. Graham, no, Master Graham now, would allow him to do laundry on Sunday because he didn’t possess anything more in the way of clothing. Normally, no one expected him to be particularly clean at the lumberyard, but he knew things were different when working in a household.
He tried to tune out the big bundle of nerves vibrating beside him in the form of his father. Big John was not happy about this new arrangement. When Danny had tried to explain it to him, he thought his father’s head would explode. Worse, he worried that his father would go talk to the master and get himself whipped for his troubles. It had taken a lot of reassuring and downright pleading to make the older slave accept that Danny wanted this. He’d spent a sleepless night mulling things over and finally decided that if there was a chance that he’d have a happy life with this new master, he wanted to take it.
Of course, his nerves jangled as much as his father’s did. It was impossible to predict how this one weekend would go and even though he believed Master Ben when he said Danny could put a stop to the arrangement at any time, he also knew that even a couple of days could prove hellish for a slave. That type of thinking got him nowhere, though. He had to believe the master knew enough to have made the offer in the first place and that Master Graham would be careful not to kill the deal by being unnecessarily harsh.
Big John let out a low grunt. Danny pulled himself out of his reverie and followed his father’s gaze. Master Graham approached, a smile on his face, his hair wet and wearing clean-looking jeans and a casual button-down shirt. No way had the man just come off a job site looking like that. Had he gone home and showered? Why, for Danny’s sake? That made no sense. Danny had made sure to ask Mr. Fiorello if he could knock off work early in order to make himself more presentable, more attractive, to his new master. That was the job of a slave, especially one who would have the privilege to sleep in the master’s
bed.
Master Graham stopped in front of Danny’s father and stuck out his hand. “John, I want to assure you that I’ll take good care of your son. You have my word on it.”
Danny couldn’t hide his surprise. Freemen didn’t shake the hands of slaves, nor make heartfelt promises. His father did a better job of accepting the gesture. With only a second’s hesitation, he took Master Graham’s offered hand and pumped it. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate your saying that.”
Master Graham gave him a firm nod and turned his attention to Danny, who pulled himself together enough to avoid staring the freeman in the eye. Even if custom hadn’t required it, he felt suddenly too damn shy to do anything else. Master Ben’s door opened and he and Oliver came over and joined the group. Master Ben and Master Graham shook hands and exchanged greetings. Oliver caught Danny’s eye and gave him a reassuring smile. Danny returned the gesture, although he didn’t think he’d been able to mask his nervousness.
“So, Danny,” Master Ben said. “You go with Mr. Graham now and have a nice weekend. Be a good boy for him.”
“Yes, Master.” Danny stared at his feet, sure his cheeks had once again turned a bright red. Everyone, even his father, knew that being a good boy in this case meant being a good fuck toy.
“You be a good master, too, Paul,” Master Ben murmured.
“Don’t worry, Ben,” Master Graham said softly. Then, in a louder voice, he said, “Let’s go, Danny.”
A shiver ran down his body as his new master cupped him gently at the elbow, part fear, part excitement. At least this man’s touch didn’t cause revulsion like with Fahey. The warmth of the man’s fingers seeped through the sleeve of Danny’s threadbare jacket. Before Danny could dwell on how he felt about the contact more, Master Graham slid his hand up and over Danny’s shoulders. The people they passed on the way to the parking lot, slave and free alike, shot glances in their direction. Danny thought he saw some pity in the slaves’ faces, so he looked down at his feet. He didn’t like being the center of anyone’s attention, especially when he could just imagine what they were thinking—there goes a slut. Poor kid.
Slave For Rent Page 2
