“I’ll do my best.” Nick dragged in a deep breath and took up a commanding stance. When Ashley had showed him how to hold the cane, he said, “I’m ready.”
Damian snapped some shots, but he wasn’t satisfied. He was shooting digital, instead of Polaroids, trying to get his idea to work, but something wasn’t gelling. Ashley remained silent. He would have been satisfied with the first shot, but he respected Damian’s expertise. That’s why he collected Damian’s work: when it was right, it wasn’t merely a beautiful picture; the image sent a visceral charge through viewers, and that intensity was what Ashley was after for this catalog.
“This isn’t working,” Damian said. He was scowling at the monitor.
“Can I see it?” Nick said.
“Sure, knock yourself out,” Damian said in surprise. Nick rarely spoke up like that during a shoot and he wondered if their little encounter had made him feel a bit more sure of himself.
Nick walked to the monitor, and Damian growled softly as he noticed Markie watching the roll of his buttocks in the tight leather pants, although the young man was completely oblivious of both he and Ashley.
“So what do you think?” Damian asked when Nick had studied the image.
“Well, if you don’t mind my saying so….” Nick hesitated.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I did,” Damian said sardonically.
“I think it would be more effective if I weren’t in it, for a start. I’m wearing what he is, practically. I think you should use Ashley’s arm, dressed as he is, but only show his hand, holding the cane. And if you put a rim light there,” Nick pointed, “it would highlight Markie’s, um, ars—uh, backside, uh—”
“His ass. We get it. Go on,” Damian interrupted as Nick floundered around, flustered for a moment.
“It would provide separation from the shadows in the background,” Nick finished.
Damian studied the frame and turned to look at the set. “I’d have to cut a hole in the backdrop.”
“Not if you had a small slave,” Nick pointed out.
Ashley was looking back and forth between them as if at a tennis match, his mouth hanging open, but at that comment, he burst into laughter. “Would that small slave be you, Nicholas?”
Nick flushed angrily, but Damian ignored the interjection. “That’s exactly what this needs. Nick, you know where I keep the small lights?”
Nick nodded, already moving. He thrust the cane into Ashley’s hand as he passed him, causing the older man to laugh even harder.
“So now I’m to be a model as well?” he asked. “What shall I wear?”
Nick called back over his shoulder, “Just what you have on. Markie is naked, but your dark suit and white shirt will lend a contrast that should give it—”
“Erotic tension,” Damian finished for him. He dragged Ashley to the set. “If you stand just here, most of you will be out of frame. We’ll see only your arm. I’ll add a spot so that your hand, the cane, and the stripes on Markie’s ass are the focus of the shot, highlighting the product and the desired end result.”
Loving the pun, Ashley started laughing again, while allowing Damian to push him into position. “Fancy that. I’m going to be featured in my own catalog, after all these years!”
“Think of it as a cameo, like Hitchcock,” Damian suggested.
Nick carried the small light onto the set, carefully positioning it where Markie’s legs would hide it, making Damian consider the practicality of always having his assistant dressed that way while he worked.
“Get a C-stand, Nick,” Damian called out, uncoiling the cord on another small light with barn doors. Together they set up the spot and tested to make sure the slave light went off at the same time as the other lights.
Nick stood behind Damian as he verbally guided Ashley into the proper position. Damian was acutely aware of the younger man’s scent and warmth, but his attention was focused mostly on his shot. He clicked the shutter and the image came up briefly on the screen on the camera. In that split second, Damian saw that he’d captured what he’d envisioned.
“Okay, Ashley, stay right where you are. Nicholas, the other camera!”
Damian started shooting, directing Ashley’s arm to be angled several different ways before he let out a satisfied sigh. “Got it.”
Ashley let his arm down and sighed with relief. The way he’d had to stand, with his body out of the shot but leaning forward so that his arm was in the frame, had strained his back a bit. Suddenly he had a whole different slant on how painful it could be to model. “You all right, Markie?”
“Mmmph,” the blond said around the ball gag.
“I’ll take that to mean ‘I’d like to get up off this bench, if I could’,” Ashley said sympathetically. “Let me just check with Damian. Oi, Ian! Can I let Markie up?”
“Sure,” Damian said. “We’ll get set up for the next shot.” He turned to look at Nick, who was standing slightly behind him and to the right. “Can you stay after work for a bit?”
Nick nodded, his lips parted and stars in his eyes.
THE MODELS were gone, Gabe was packing up, and Ashley was speaking with Damian when Nick emerged from the bathroom, clad once again in his own clothes. He found some busy work to do, wanting to look occupied with something rather than slavering for Damian’s attention when Ashley went to leave.
Ashley kept going to the door and coming back to say one last thing to Damian, but finally he made it out the door, holding it open for Gabe to pass through.
“Everyone gone?” Damian asked.
“I’ll check.” Nick made a sweep of all the rooms and came back to report. “All clear.”
“Good. Lock the door. Go to my office and wait for me, pet.”
“Yes, sir,” Nick said quietly, but his heart started pounding and his breath came quicker with anticipation. He was standing in the middle of the room staring at the wooden chair when Damian came in and closed the door behind him. He was holding a black velvet bag, which he set on the desk.
“Are you mine, pet? Do you belong to me?”
Nick looked a little alarmed, but he ventured an answer. “Yes, sir?”
Damian chuckled. “You don’t sound very sure. Let me put it this way: do you want to do any of this with anyone else?”
“No, sir,” Nick breathed.
“Strip!”
Nick started panting at the command thrown at him in the husky voice. He pulled his clothing off hastily, as if this opportunity might never come again, throwing each item onto the couch behind him.
“Kneel.”
Nick dropped to his knees, automatically clasping his hands behind his back and lowering his eyes, although he wanted to watch Damian. The devilish smile when the older man had ordered him to strip was very arousing, and yet very frightening. Nick wasn’t sure whether it was the arousal or fear that got him going the most.
His cock slowly filled out, and he tingled with desire as he knelt. The fact that he was completely bare in front of Damian, who was fully clothed, sent a thrill to his groin and his stomach fluttered with anxiety.
“Look at me,” Damian said. He sat on the edge of his desk, swinging one foot. “What are you studying at school?”
“Um, art, sculpture,” Nick answered, surprised.
“What year are you in?”
“Senior. I graduate this summer,” Nick said, with a little shiver. He didn’t know exactly how things would go after that; he would need to keep this job, or at any rate, a job until he figured out how to sell his work. That was something they didn’t teach you at uni.
“I wondered. That lighting idea of yours today, that must have been your training in form, light, and shadow kicking in. The shadows were very sculptural with that extra light. I expect it’ll be a great shot.” Damian’s eyes raked over the boy kneeling naked in front of him. He had more questions, but he decided to inspect his new acquisition at the same time. Always multitask when you can, he thought.
He got up and slowly circle
d Nick. Beautiful skin, flawless really, smooth and warm and altogether delectable. Amazing ass, round, firm, pert; begging to be spanked. Every outline and angle, perfectly formed and elegantly refined. Nick’s hair was thick and shiny, and from here Damian could see that he barely needed to shave. His chest must be naturally hairless.
“Will you be coming in tomorrow?” Damian asked.
“I have school tomorrow. It’s one of my full days,” Nick responded.
“Sir,” Damian reminded him. He decided there and then that he would schedule most of the work with the female models for days when Nick wasn’t there. He’d already noticed the Bettie Paige lookalike giving his assistant the onceover.
“Sir.”
“Have you been keeping up with your homework?”
“Um, actually, I have an assignment due tomorrow, sir. A paper on Picasso,” Nick muttered.
“Then you should get to it,” Damian said briskly.
“You mean, we’re not going to….” Nick faltered.
“I’m not going to spank you, if that’s what you mean. But I am going to tell you exactly what you’re going to do because I know how you like it when I give you an order. Right, pet?”
“Yes, sir,” Nick said breathlessly.
“Stand up. Hands clasped behind your head.”
Nick rocked his weight back and rose smoothly.
Damian looked at him in surprise. “Very nice. Did you practice that?”
“Um, yes,” Nick blushed, shuffling from foot to foot in embarrassment. “I thought you might not like it if I staggered around when I got up.”
“Initiative. I like a little of that in a sub. Just not too much. Head up. Close your eyes.”
Nick jumped as he felt Damian’s hands stroke the length of his thighs. He shuddered as he felt warm breath on his cock, wondering if Damian was kneeling in front of him! And then Damian’s hands, handling him, fastening something onto him. Nick’s cock was hardening until he felt a tug on his balls; it was uncomfortable but not really painful, although it had the effect of making his erection wilt.
Damian’s hands gave him one last pat and he said, “Open your eyes, pet.”
Nick did so, staring at Damian for a moment before dropping his head to look down at himself. His cock was barely visible for all the black leather and silver buckles strapped around him and he felt a stirring at his groin. A moment later he groaned as his hardening member was constricted by the leather.
“It’s a cock cage,” Damian announced with satisfaction. “You’re not to come until I permit you, pet. This will keep your mind on your studies and off your dick.” He lifted Nick’s trussed penis and stroked his balls, allowing Nick to see that there was a strap dividing and surrounding them as well.
Damian’s breath was hot in Nick’s ear. “Remember how you enjoy it when I give you an order?”
“Yes, sir,” Nick gasped.
“And that you have agreed to submit yourself to me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go do your homework. I’ll see you Friday.” Damian turned and sat behind his desk, swinging his feet up onto it. “Scene over. You may go.”
“Sir!” Nick exclaimed, outraged. “I have to wear this until then?”
“I believe I warned you that you weren’t always going to like everything I require of you, or didn’t I?” Damian asked mildly. He was enjoying the sight of his young assistant, indignantly taking him to task, having completely forgotten he was standing there naked, with his hands behind his head.
“No, you didn’t,” Nick gritted between clenched teeth.
“Well, that’s the deal. I might tell you to bend over or I might tell you to wash the dishes,” Damian smirked.
Nick dropped his hands and turned to pick up his clothing, while Damian ogled his round buttocks. “What if this thing causes major significant damage?” Nick groused as he dressed.
He straightened up and squeaked in alarm as Damian swung his feet off the desk and lunged at him. The man was unbelievably fast and Nick didn’t have time to react before Damian’s forearm pinned him against the wall.
“I would never do anything to harm you permanently, Nicholas,” Damian said, his eyes intense and commanding. “I didn’t even lock it. If it causes you pain, you may phone me and I may, may, allow you to take it off. If you can’t reach me and you’re in dire straits, you take it off yourself and explain it to me later. You have a brain; use it. What I expect from you, however, is that you will control yourself. I’m trying to make that order easier for you. You will not come until I allow it. Understood?”
“Y—yes, sir,” Nick squeaked. He could barely breathe with Damian’s arm across his chest and yet the sensation of being pinned, not being able to free himself, was unbearably erotic. He could feel his cock pushing at the cage, but the constriction kept him from getting hard.
“Fine.” Damian dipped his head to take Nick’s mouth for the first time and thrilled to feel the boy submit eagerly to him before he released him. Nick’s eyes were dazed and his lips swollen and wet, parted as he tried to catch his breath.
“Go home and do your homework. Attend your classes and pay attention. Those are my orders. Go!” Damian stepped back, watching the boy’s hands search blindly for the wall to steady himself.
“Yes, sir,” Nick muttered and ran for it.
Damian heard the outer door close quietly and sat at his desk for a quiet laugh. Only one week and Nick’s manners had improved immeasurably already.
THAT EVENING was torture for Nick. He kept starting to get hard whenever he thought of kneeling naked in front of Damian while the other man inspected him. The sensation of firm hands stroking his thighs lingered but each time he had an erotic thought, the discomfort to his dick had the effect of refocusing his mind.
Finally, he gave up thinking about Damian at all and applied himself to his homework. He was surprised at how quickly his paper was written. He proofread it, but he’d made remarkably few errors. He printed it out and put it in a report holder.
The moment he was finished, thoughts of Damian’s hands on his cock came surging back. “Ow, fuck, ow,” he complained out loud.
He decided to go to bed early, hoping his usual dreams weren’t going to make the night a misery. In fact, he did have to get up several times to piss, but that seemed to relieve the pressure a bit and he was able to get back to sleep.
Why do I want to do this again? he wondered, but the thrill of not knowing what Damian would do next was too alluring to resist.
Once at school, he found it easier to concentrate in his lectures, but trips to the restroom made him nervous. Obviously he couldn’t use a urinal out in the open with that device strapped to his dick, so he had to use a stall.
The cage made him conscious of his penis all the time, the way it felt when his trousers brushed over it while walking frustrated him. He couldn’t remember speaking to anyone at school; his thoughts were firmly fixed on the symbol of his submission to Damian and his own cock.
By the time he arrived home, Nick was so tired, he didn’t even eat; he simply went to bed.
FRIDAY MORNING, Nick was waiting for Damian outside the locked door, fuming and pacing.
“Take this fucking thing off me!” he demanded.
“Good morning to you too, Nick,” Damian said mildly. He unlocked the door without haste and went to his office, Nick dogging his every footstep.
“Did you—?”
“I didn’t touch it or myself. Take it off right now!” Nick said angrily.
Damian sat down and motioned Nick closer. “We’re going to have to have a talk about topping from the bottom. I don’t allow that, pet.”
“Yes, sir,” Nick gritted, without knowing what Damian was talking about. He sighed with relief as Damian unbuckled him and rubbed at his limp organ.
Damian inspected him; a few reddened areas, but no damage. “If it bothered you that much, why didn’t you just take it off?”
“You said not to,” Nick said
, as if that was self-evident.
Damian nodded. “I’m very proud of you. You did well.”
Nick’s lips curved in a tremulous smile. “Thank you, sir.”
“Go make me a coffee,” Damian said, and gave him a little swat.
Nick’s eyes darkened with desire but he turned obediently and made for the door.
ASHLEY ARRIVED with a young man in tow, with tufty dark hair and amazing green eyes. His voice was noticeably colder as he ordered, “Make yourself useful, Derek.”
“Sure,” the young man said agreeably, although his gaze was resentful. “How’s it hanging, Damian?” he asked the photographer with a familiarity that stunned Nick and also made him jealous.
Then Derek came up to Nick and asked, “Are you one of the models?”
“No, I’m just the assistant, but they asked me to model a couple of things for this catalog,” Nick answered modestly, wondering if he would ever be able to talk to Damian with such familiarity. “My name is Nick Sayers.”
“Oh, the assistant. You have my old job. I’m Derek Stearns. Boy, you wouldn’t catch me dead wearing any of that gear,” Derek declared, glancing over his shoulder to see if Ashley was within earshot. “Eyeball those chicks. Man, they’re tough.”
“You fancy the birds then?”
“Not really. I’m more of a man’s man, if you get my drift.”
“You’re an American, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Came over to get some life experiences before I buckle down to real work. I’ve traveled all over Europe; it’s a real lark over here. Hey, doesn’t this stuff of Ashley’s give you the willies?” Derek asked curiously.
“No, not at all,” Nick lied boldly.
Dreamspinner Press Year Three Greatest Hits Page 7
