by Piper Scott
“Yes, Master.” Lucian’s voice was a pitch higher than it should have been, his voice quivering in anticipation. “I will never forget.”
It was exactly what Marcus wanted to hear. Content with Lucian’s mindset, he slid the cotton along Lucian’s chest, teasing him with the fabric. It traced over his pecs, then along his neck, until it crossed the coarse stubble along his jaw. Lucian puffed out a tiny breath Marcus felt rather than heard—it crossed his knuckles and warmed the back of his hand—and in it, Marcus knew that Lucian had let go. The steady, slow beat of his pulse and his altered breathing patterns confirmed it.
Lucian was gone. The man who stood in his place was fledgling—Marcus’ slave.
“You will see no one, and no one will see you.” Marcus whispered as he began to fit the hood over Lucian’s head. The cotton stretched, lightweight and comfortable. Lucian wasn’t ready for leather just yet, but that would come in time. Before long, Marcus hoped that the very touch of leather to his head would plunge Lucian into subspace, but for now, he accepted a training substitute. “Where we are doesn’t matter. Who watches doesn’t matter. None of it is your concern. None of it is in your control. All you need to do is listen and receive what I give you.”
With Lucian’s arms pinned above his head, forcing the hood into position was difficult, but Marcus saw it through. He guided the fabric over Lucian’s eyes and down the bridge of his nose. It crossed the bow of his lips, then clung to the underside of his jaw. The fabric was solidly woven, offering no eye holes or nose holes. All Marcus afforded his omega was a singular, reinforced eyelet hole located by his mouth. The fabric would breathe enough that Marcus wasn’t worried about suffocation, but he knew that in order to draw in the best air, Lucian would have to struggle with the hole. The struggle would turn his thoughts inward, and inward was exactly where Marcus wanted him to be. When he pushed Lucian’s body to its limits, he wanted Lucian to be deeply aware of it.
“They’re looking at you,” Marcus whispered near Lucian’s ear once the hood was in place. “All of them are looking. Lusting. You’re the one that they want. You’re the one they hunger for.”
Tension rocked through Lucian’s body, betraying his arousal. When Marcus had asked him what he thought about exhibitionism, Lucian had only casually said yes—Marcus wasn’t expecting a reaction so powerful.
But he loved it.
He traced his hands down Lucian’s hips, fingers slipping beneath the delicate band of Lucian’s panties. For a while, Marcus toyed with them. A gentle tug of the elastic dropped the panties down Lucian’s hips before Marcus drew them back up again, concealing skin once revealed. He took his time, varying his motions and refusing to make progress until he was sure that Lucian had no idea what to expect. As soon as Marcus was sure that his movements were unanticipated, he guided the elastic band down until it sat midway down Lucian’s shaft, exposing the pink, glossy head of his cock.
“Look what we have here,” Marcus mused as he traced his fingers over Lucian’s slit. Lucian gasped, the sound muffled by the hood. “Everyone is staring, you know. Everyone wants to see the lace come off. They’re hungry for it. If they could, every one of them would come over here, pull you close, and fill you.”
Praise was so much more rewarding than punishment. Marcus lived for it. To know his meek, subservient partner was on top of the world, even when his body was pushed to its limits? To bridge discomfort with ecstasy? The contrast was what made it all worthwhile.
Lucian was his, and that meant Marcus would spoil him.
“They want to use you, fledgling,” Marcus continued, keeping his voice only loud enough for Lucian to hear. “Every man in this room would breed you until you couldn’t take it anymore, and then even after that, they’d try to fill you. To claim you. But do you know why they don’t?”
“No, Master,” Lucian choked from beneath the hood. His voice was burdened with desire.
“They don’t because I’m here.” Marcus’ fingers slipped beneath the head of Lucian’s cock, stroking the spot on his corona where he was the most sensitive. Lucian’s hips moved of their own accord and he lost his footing. Marcus kept playing, letting Lucian suffer through the punishment he inflicted on himself. “They don’t come close because they know I will protect you. No one is ever going to hurt you again, fledgling. All you need to do is give yourself to me.”
The further Lucian slipped into pleasure, the harder Marcus became. His finger continued to work in small circles against the ridge of Lucian’s cock, wanting to see him fall further.
“You’re going to come just from this, aren’t you?” Marcus asked, allowing his voice to embody his devilish enjoyment. “I can’t have you do that. We can’t waste your cum.”
Marcus’ fingers only parted from Lucian’s cock to pull his panties back into place. Once the thin garment covered the entirety of Lucian’s length, Marcus went back to stimulating it. His fingers found the same spot on Lucian’s corona that made him gasp and twist, showering it in attention through the lace. It wasn’t long before Lucian sucked in as much of a breath as he could through the eyelet hole and let his hips lurch forward.
Cum soaked through the lace.
The more time passed, the more of it beaded through the woven design until finally it grew too heavy and dripped on the floor.
“Greedy fledgling,” Marcus scolded. Both of his hands went to Lucian’s hips, and he guided Lucian’s panties down his thighs, then let them fall to the floor. “Do you really think I’m going to let you stop now?”
“No, Master.” Lucian’s voice was gritted, the tension in his body from orgasm not yet dispelled.
“Of course not.” Marcus nuzzled the back of Lucian’s arm and along his bunched shoulder. With affection, he bit down. Lucian cried out, the mask only partially successful in blocking the sound. The noise was based in shock, not pain. Marcus had barely bitten hard enough to leave a mark. “No matter what you do, it’s not over until I say it is. You know that. You know that you belong to me.”
The clack of Marcus’ zipper down its track should have been too quiet for Lucian to hear, but Marcus noticed the way his body tensed and his head dipped. The balls of Lucian’s feet struggled to find traction, but even while they did, Lucian tried to push back against him. Marcus’ fly yawned open, and he shoved his underwear only low enough so that his cock was exposed. It was all he needed.
Marcus’ recently revealed cock brushed against Lucian’s ass, a vow that his suffering was to be rewarded. The world would know them as a couple. Marcus had never wanted something so much.
“Grip the O rings, fledgling,” Marcus instructed. He braced his hands on Lucian’s hips, then lifted him up. Lucian did as he was told, his fingers seeking the O rings of his suspension cuffs by touch. When he’d found them, he held onto them tightly. Marcus could only imagine the relief his shoulders must have felt—and the crushing disappointment that ripped through Lucian when Marcus took that relief away.
Gradually, Marcus lowered Lucian back down. He continued to support some of Lucian’s weight, but the rest was entrusted to his submissive. Lucian groaned, his arms shaking. Marcus knew that Lucian’s body was exhausted and couldn’t tolerate much more.
It wouldn’t have to.
“Trust in me,” Marcus ordered, keeping his tone soft and soothing. He guided Lucian’s body back, forcing his feet to leave the ground. “Do you trust in me?”
“Yes.” The word was minced, pushed through Lucian’s teeth as he struggled with the burden of his weight. Marcus held him more securely, affording his shoulders that much more relief. “Yes, Master.”
“Then open your legs,” Marcus instructed. “Wrap your thighs as best you can around me. Cling to me for the support you need.”
Lucian’s legs spread. The position was awkward, but Marcus helped him as best he could, and it wasn’t long before Lucian’s legs framed the outsides of Marcus’ thighs. Marcus’ cock rubbed against the valley of Lucian’s ass.
His hole was already wet. It dripped lube, waiting to be used.
Just like Marcus had asked.
“Do you know how many sets of eyes are on you right now?” Marcus asked as he shifted his hips, allowing the head of his cock to catch against Lucian’s tightened hole. “Do you know how many men want to steal you from me and rut you? Do you know how wanted you are?”
Lucian choked out a noise.
“You’re all they want, fledgling. You’re the only one they’re looking at. And do you know what they’re going to see?”
A cry, oversexed and pleading, was Marcus’ reply.
“They’re going to see you filled with me.” Marcus pushed inside, letting his tip stretch Lucian open. “They’re going to see how I make you come.”
The babbling was muffled, but even without the hood, Marcus was sure it was indistinguishable. He pushed deeper into Lucian, letting Lucian’s ring close behind the rim of his cock. Lucian had never been so tight before, and Marcus had to fight the urge to push all the way in and use him for selfish pleasure.
“And when they see how handsome you look stuffed with my cock?” Marcus asked in a hot whisper. “They’re going to know you’ve given your body to me, and me alone.”
A single push of his hips united them.
32
Lucian
The world lost meaning. Deprived of sight, voice muffled, and noise dampened, all Lucian had left to rely on was the feedback from his body.
Pain, low-burning and constant, became like white noise—it faded into the back of Lucian’s mind and narrowed his attention to the pleasures his body was subjected to. There were people watching—he knew it—but it didn’t stop Lucian from responding to the pleasure in the only way he knew how.
He bucked and twisted his hips, sinking back against Marcus as Marcus thrust up into him.
The pleasure was greedy and unpredictable. The highs chased shrieks of delight from deep inside Lucian’s gut while the lows made him moan with regret. He felt Marcus inside of him, pushing, pressing, and stretching. Lucian’s body tightened for him, wanting to feel every second of the intrusion. He’d never wanted something so badly.
“You’re dripping.” Marcus’ voice cut through the haze, the clarity startling. “You’re so hot for me your cock is dripping. You’re making a mess on the floor, fledgling. Am I going to have to make you clean it up?”
Excitement burst in Lucian’s chest like a firework in the night sky. It dazzled him, blinding him to the clarity he’d so recently found. All that was left were the bass notes of Marcus’ voice and the pleasure that twisted through Lucian like a corkscrew. He’d just come, but he already longed to shoot again.
“You’ll clean it up while everyone watches,” Marcus uttered. “On your knees, nose to the ground…”
Another explosion rocked Lucian from the inside, and he strained to push back against Marcus. The dull throbbing of his palms as they chafed against the O rings vanished. Only pleasure remained.
“… Cum dripping from your ass.”
Every ounce of gunpowder in Lucian’s soul ignited at once, the grand finale unexpected and show-stopping. Lucian’s shaft pulsed again and again as it shot, his load thicker and more plentiful than it had ever been before. His balls drew up tight against his body, and the same tension that brought on his ejaculation caused his hole to flutter against Marcus’ cock, begging it for what Marcus had promised.
Marcus delivered.
With a low grunt, he pushed inward. Lucian felt him come.
“Knot me.” Lucian didn’t realize the words were his until he noticed how his jaw strained against the hood. “Knot me. Knot me. Knot me.”
No knot came. Instead, Marcus eased out of Lucian’s body, then left him. Lucian’s legs fell, meeting the floor once more. The full burden of his weight was restored to his shoulders.
Lucian sobbed.
His distress wasn’t brought on by pain, but by a sudden, crippling fear of abandonment. Too many times he’d shared a bed with a man, only for that man to leave his side the second sex was over. Lucian couldn’t put up with it—not now that he’d found a man who meant so much to him.
“Marcus,” he sobbed. “Marcus, no, please come back. Please.”
It didn’t matter if he got in trouble, and it didn’t matter if Marcus decided to punish him for acting out. Lucian needed him. He needed to feel Marcus’ gentle touch and to hear Marcus’ loving, reassuring words. He needed to be held close while Marcus stroked his hair. He needed to know that he’d done a good job.
A metallic noise was rapidly followed by the sound of moving chain, and the force holding Lucian’s arms above his head went slack. Lucian dropped his arms, the sudden relief comforting, but not what he needed. Desperation built and was about to boil over when a familiar scent flooded Lucian’s nostrils through his hood and a pair of strong arms locked around him from behind.
“I’m here, fledgling,” Marcus whispered. He removed the hood and nosed against the side of Lucian’s head to kiss the rim of his ear. “I’m here. You don’t have to worry. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
The leather cuffs on Lucian’s wrists loosened, then tumbled to the floor. Hands worked the sore skin there, rubbing feeling back into the spots that had lost it and smothering the burn of Lucian’s chafed skin. All the while, Marcus whispered reassuring messages against the back of his ear, sometimes stopping to kiss him.
The relief was overwhelming. Lucian didn’t have to be alone.
“You did such a good job,” Marcus said. “You could never know how happy you’ve made me. I’m so pleased with you. So pleased.”
“I love you.” The sentence came from a hidden part of Lucian and sprung from his lips without filtering, but he didn’t regret it. “I love you, Marcus.”
“And you know that I love you.” The words melted Lucian from the inside, infusing him with the joy he so desperately needed now that their play had ended. “Everything we did tonight, we did because I love you. I don’t want anyone to question it.”
Lucian nodded. Tears beaded in the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t let them fall.
“Are you ready to go home now?” Marcus asked. His hands trailed up Lucian’s wrists until his arms locked loosely across his chest. “Are you ready to start again?”
“I’m ready,” Lucian replied, pushing through his insecurities and his delicate emotional state.
He’d never been so sure of something in his life.
For Marcus, he’d quit his job at The Shepherd, and in return, Marcus had said his goodbye to the club he loved. Marcus had validated their relationship to the people who mattered most to him, and he’d driven home a powerful message to the man who thought he could stand in their way. Now they would leave together, more certain in their relationship than ever before.
It was a goodbye to the past and a hello to the future.
Lucian was ready for it.
33
Marcus
It was the shrill, frantic buzzing of Marcus’ alarm that woke him on a Saturday morning six months following his last night at The Shepherd, and Marcus groaned as he reached for the bedside table and smacked the off button with his palm. He rolled back into bed, eyes still shut, and nestled into the pillows. Mornings should have been outlawed on weekends. Whoever had come up with them deserved to be locked away.
Beside Marcus, the mattress moved. An arm looped around his waist, and Marcus opened a single eye to find an eager onlooker watching him wake up.
As it turned out, Lucian coped with mornings much easier than Marcus did.
“It’s too early to be awake,” Marcus grumbled. He pushed his head back into the pillows, but Lucian didn’t budge. “I’m going back to sleep.”
“You can’t go back to sleep.” The bed shifted again as Lucian scooted closer. “It’s the wedding today. We can’t be late.”
Lucian was right, of course. Crawford and Owen’s wedding was to be held at noon, and that meant Marcus and Lucian had to be
out of the house by ten.
On a Saturday.
Marcus was convinced Crawford had done it to him on purpose.
“We need to shower and get dressed,” Lucian continued. “We didn’t even stay up late last night. You have no reason to be tired.”
“Says the twenty-one-year-old.” Marcus rolled onto his back, taking Lucian with him. As Lucian gasped in delight, Marcus rubbed his eyes and then blinked them open until he was comfortable with the light. “When you’re pushing forty with an incredibly demanding job, let me know if you still feel the same way.”
“Let’s see if you say the same thing after coffee.” Lucian’s lips met his in what Marcus figured was supposed to be a short kiss, but Marcus didn’t care for brevity. He wove his fingers through Lucian’s hair and held him there. The kiss intensified, growing passionate, until Lucian shoved away from him. His cheeks were red. “Coffee.”
“Not sex?” Marcus grinned. He watched as Lucian climbed from the bed, nude, and made his way to the closet. A robe hung on the back of the door, a pale blue that contrasted the color of Lucian’s eyes. He slipped into it, tightening the cloth belt around his waist.
“No, no sex.” Lucian rolled his eyes playfully. “I’m going to put on some coffee. You want to meet me in the shower, where we can continue the whole no-sex thing?”
“That sounds awful.”
“Like you didn’t get enough of it last night.” Lucian crossed his arms over his chest, but he smiled while he did it. “One morning of celibacy isn’t going to kill you… especially when we have the whole evening to look forward to. You know what they say about after-wedding sex.”
