Love is a Stranger

by John Wiltshire

  As they were driving away, Nikolas asked, “Well?”

  “Food first, maybe?”

  Nikolas glanced at his watch and nodded.

  They found an authentic-looking pub—thatch and mounting blocks—and went in. Ben ordered for both of them and came back to their table with two huge steak and kidney pies with chips and peas. He totally ignored Nikolas’s predicable protest and pushed the plate toward him. “Eat. Your bones are starting to bruise me.” Nikolas curled his lip at the food, picked up his fork and began to move things around his plate. Ben hoovered his meal as usual and then went to order some beer. When he got back, Nikolas asked him again about the house. Ben didn’t know what to say, so he ventured noncommittally, “You liked it.”

  Nik shrugged. “In some ways.”

  After lunch, Ben would have preferred a snooze, but he dutifully drove to the next address Nikolas gave him. They were not meeting an agent, apparently, nor actually seeing around the house. They pulled in at the side of the road on a hill that overlooked a large farm with an indoor equestrian centre. Nikolas slid out of the car and went to lean on a gate, staring down into the sunlit valley. Ben joined him. Without glancing over, Nikolas said casually, “This belongs to Philipa’s family. It will be mine this week as part of the divorce settlement.”

  “What? So soon? When?”

  Nikolas nodded then shrugged. “The papers are being signed on Monday. Lady Philipa’s amicable divorce. Etcetera, etcetera. I can see the headlines in tabloid press now.” He glanced over. “No thoughts?”

  “I—So…exactly why are we house hunting?” For one bizarre moment, Ben thought Nikolas was going to spit with derision. In the end, he just kicked the gate and went back to the vehicle then he turned around and came back to Ben, uncharacteristic emotion on his face.

  “I believe he has owned it since 1327. I intend to sell it. Preferably to a footballer with a Ferrari and a huge number of tattoos.” With that Nik stomped back to the Range Rover and climbed in, folding his arms and staring out of the window. Ben slid back behind the wheel and waited meekly for his next instructions. Clearly, Nikolas wasn’t quite so inured to the idea of divorce as he pretended.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  They saw a couple more houses in the afternoon. One, a beautiful Georgian property, would have been a possibility, except the agent had neglected to mention the solar energy farm that covered the hillside opposite. Nikolas had taken one look, told the agent he didn’t want to live in a Jane Austen apocalypse, and left. The second was also good, except here they discovered the land that came with the house…didn’t; it was separated by a busy ring road. Nikolas had stood with his arms folded, watching the traffic tear past the front of the house, and Ben had been wise enough not to comment at all. When Nik climbed back in, he glanced at the satnav and said brusquely, “Put the hotel in. I have had enough.”

  Ben did as he was asked and then began once more to wind around narrow country lanes, one eye on the road and one on the small screen of directions. “Maybe we should look somewhere else. I don’t know—maybe Wales? Great mountains. Trust me, I know every inch of fucking Snowdonia.”

  Nikolas smiled. “I first saw you in Wales.”

  Ben frowned. “No, you didn’t. I came up to that interview in London, remember?”

  Nikolas shook his head. “Sennybridge. You were on an escape and evasion exercise. Dear Leader was under pressure from our American cousins to fall in line with their new torture protocols and wanted to know what the SAS resistance to interrogation training contained.”

  “You were there?”

  “I was.”

  “I didn’t see you.”

  “No. You were the one being tor—interrogated. I think you had other things on your mind.”

  “You were in the observation room?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fucking hell. And then you headhunted me for the department?”

  “Well, you seemed eminently suitable.”

  “I was good at resisting. I didn’t tell them a damn thing.”

  “That is not precisely what I meant—many other of your colleagues resisted as well.”

  “Then why me?”

  Nikolas tried to repress a smile. “Do you really need to ask, Ben? You were naked, being—as your interrogators put it—fucked over, and I was utterly lost. I fell, as if finally falling to earth from a great distance. It was very disturbing, actually.” He was lost in thought for a moment. “Anyway, I remember that my brief to Dear Leader later that day was not one of my most coherent.”

  “Why do you never tell me these things?”

  “I just have. Besides, I have a mission to prevent you from becoming any more vain and annoying than you already are. With great power comes—Did you actually just hit me?” He was laughing and caught Ben’s hand, beginning to twist the wrist.

  Ben took his eyes off the road. “Hey, no fair, I’m driving.”

  “I could take you at any time, even if you were not driving.”

  Ben gave him an incredulous look, his eyes flicking between the road and Nikolas’s smug expression. “In a fight? You’d beat me? In your dreams, mate.”

  “Oh, trust me, I do sometimes dream of beating you down, and I am not even asleep.”

  “Seriously. You think you could best me in a fight?”

  “I am only surprised that you doubt it.”

  “Bloody hell. This is ridiculous.”

  “Unfortunately, we will never put it to the test. The damage would be irreversible, maybe. Come, concentrate on your driving. This is a very expensive vehicle, and you are a very erratic driver.”

  Ben’s head was reeling. He never seemed to catch up. He risked a very brief glance at Nikolas to see if he was being had but, as usual, could tell nothing from the calm, neutral expression.

  They arrived at the country hotel on the fringes of Dartmoor just after tea. It had a shabby elegance about it they both liked. Nikolas had booked two rooms for form’s sake, but Ben didn’t even bother finding his, he just flung himself on the bed in Nikolas’s. He watched Nikolas as he went to the window to look out over the grounds.

  “Did you pack any painkillers?”

  “Huh? Why?”

  Nikolas gave him a look. “Because I am in pain. You bit me, Benjamin, and it hurts still.”

  Ben managed to look contrite. “In the side pocket of my bag.” He lay back, outwardly contemplating the ceiling, but in reality remembering the taste and feel of Nikolas’s skin between his teeth and the intense pleasure of making Nikolas wince and, for once, not be so bloody superior. Take me? As if…He heard water running in the bathroom. Nik came out removing his suit jacket and tie. He began to unbutton his shirt, wandering back into the bathroom. Suddenly, there was an uncharacteristically outraged yell. “Kusse! Come here!”

  Ben debated making a dash for his own room but sighed and went into the spacious bathroom. “Oh, Jesus.” He went up to Nikolas’s back and stroked his thumb very gently over the livid bite mark now surrounded by yellow and deep purple bruised flesh. He put his lips to the bite and kissed it gently. Nikolas jerked away, staring down at his ruined, bloody shirt. “You will pay for this.” Ben wasn’t sure if he meant literally or metaphorically. Both, probably, given his luck. “This is not funny anymore, Benjamin. You bite me one more time, and we will maybe find out which of us is stronger. Do you understand me?”

  Ben nodded, unconcerned. “Those pills working yet?”

  “Do I sound as if they were?”

  “You are such a baby it’s hard to tell. Wait here.” He went out to his bag and rummaged in the side pocket. “Where did you put them?”

  Nikolas wandered out, dressed in just his suit trousers, still holding his shirt, which he dropped on the bed. He opened Ben’s bag and pulled out the box of pills.

  “Oh.”

  Instantly, Nikolas’s gaze snapped up. “What? Why oh?”

  “Those are…They’re Radulf’s…His…worm pills.”

  H
e’d never seen Nikolas’s calm, elegant mask fall so quickly before. It just shattered. He said something vicious in Danish again and spun on his heel heading to the bathroom, where Ben heard retching and then vomiting. That wasn’t like Nikolas either. Most of the time Ben actually doubted the man had bodily functions. Ben debated going in and explaining they were pills for worms and not, as the name implied, pills with worms in them, but he decided against it. Eventually, Nikolas came out and lay prone on the bed. He was still wearing his suit trousers and shoes. Ben approached cautiously.

  “Go away. If you have any pity for me, just go away and ruin someone else’s life.”

  He sat down and began to stroke his fingers through Nik’s blond hair. “Sorry.”

  Nikolas let him stroke his hair for a while then said more calmly, “I should have read the packet. That part was not your fault.”

  “Look on the bright side, at least you won’t have worms.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ben began to undress him fully, pulling off his shoes, reaching beneath to unbuckle his belt and ease his trousers down and off. He ripped off his own clothes and threw them in a heap on the floor. Very slowly and carefully, he turned Nikolas over, staring at the long, lean body. He scratched his fingernail over the shape of Nikolas’s cock concealed under the black shorts. It twitched. He did it again then circled the hidden tip with his thumb, feeling the material dampen. Lowering his mouth to the dampness, he increased it, sucking gently until all beneath his mouth was hard and straining. Nikolas was arched, eyes closed, clearly enjoying the experience. He put a hand to Ben’s head, running his fingers through the long black strands, not forcing him at all, but just connecting them in another way. Ben opened the buttons on the shorts and released the cock, letting it lie hard over the waistband, admiring the flushed, leaking hole first then pushing his tongue into it. Nikolas groaned and did try to press Ben’s head lower, his arousal now very evident, a stream of pre-cum running down the glistening, swollen cockhead. Ben smirked then slid off the bed. He knelt on the floor. Nikolas stood, puzzled. Ben lifted his head. “You can’t make me talk.”

  He saw the eyes widen. Nikolas understood. He remembered. He looked at him for a very long time, staring down into Ben’s eyes. Very deliberately, he picked up his silk tie from the floor, running it through his hands as he moved around to stand behind Ben. “Give me your hands.” Ben hesitated for a moment—he couldn’t help it—but then he put them back. Nikolas bound them with the tie. He came back to stand in front of Ben. His cock was jutting out parallel to the floor, twitching up occasionally at the sight of Ben bound and kneeling in front of him. He tipped his head to one side, regarding his prisoner, and then plucked the bloodstained shirt off the bed, tearing a long strip. This he bound around Ben’s eyes.

  Ben had been blindfolded many times, but it never ceased to have an instant, debilitating effect, just for a moment, until his training took over. For that moment, all he could feel was his nakedness, his helplessness. He sensed Nikolas moving around him and turned to follow the movement. He got a slap on the side of the head for his efforts—not hard, but hard enough. “Face front.”

  Ben did, but when he heard a click that sounded suspiciously like a phone camera, he twisted his neck around again, about to complain. He got another slap. This one wasn’t so light. “I said face front.”

  “That. Hurt.”

  He sensed Nikolas behind him then felt teeth on the fleshy muscle of his shoulder. It wasn’t nearly so much fun to be on the receiving end of a bite, and he tensed. “Want to know hurt, Ben? Want to know what it feels like to be bitten?” Ben flinched. Nikolas laughed and moved away, just the feel of light touch left where he’d licked instead of bitten. “Maybe I taste something else, hmm?” Ben tried to hear where he was, but then knew when his cock was sucked into a tight, wet mouth.

  “Oh, God!”

  He got an even harder slap. “I did not give you permission to speak.”

  His head was ringing; he was disorientated. But he was also desperately aroused and needed to come. He could feel pre-cum leaking out and trickling down his cock, tickling and driving him insane. “Please, Nik!”

  There was a chuckle. “That did not take long. So much for resistance.”

  “Fuck you! Please…Just…”

  “Just what? What did you like best? This?” The mouth came down again on his shoulder—and Nikolas did bite. Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough for Ben to hiss with pain. “Oh, not that. Maybe this?” The lightest touch of a finger landed on his cockhead and swirled around.

  If his hands had been free, nothing would have kept Ben from forcing Nikolas to do something more, but they weren’t, and it was agony. He tried to strain up, pushing his groin high toward the touch. “Please! I’ll beg if that’s what you want! Please…” He heard the click of the camera again. “Hey! Fuck you, you bastard!”

  The expected blow made him fall face first toward the carpet, but Nikolas caught him and pulled him back upright. “What did I say?”

  Ben stayed silent.

  Nikolas chuckled again. “Good boy.” Very slowly and deliberately, he put pressure on the back of Ben’s head until Ben’s forehead was on the floor, his hips raised, his cheeks spread. Nikolas took hold of the tie around his bound hands and used it like a rein to ride the helpless figure beneath him. Ben swallowed to the pain that always flared at this intrusion. It was more intense this time, the game just real enough to make this a rape as much as it was consensual. He hissed slightly and tried to change position. Nikolas pulled out, and the shock of suddenly being empty made Ben cry out and beg once more. Then a mouth closed over his aching emptiness. That was new. Nikolas had licked and played with most of his body, but not there—yet. Ben felt hands parting his cheeks and a tongue rasp over his hole. He felt like screaming. He didn’t know if begging would get him reward or punishment—or exactly what the difference between those was anymore. He risked a low, heartfelt moan, “Nik, just fuck me, yeah?”

  Nikolas lifted his mouth from Ben’s hole and then bit him hard on one arse cheek. Ben yelled in shock and fury, and on that shout, Nikolas thrust back in, the invasion brutal. With a few well-placed strokes, he found the spot inside Ben that made it all worthwhile. Ben tried to rise to the incredible pleasure, but Nikolas held him down, forehead to the ground, arms pulled back straight as he thrust in and out, working himself deep inside Ben’s tight body. Ben’s cock was aching for touch. He couldn’t come without it, and he desperately needed to now. He tried to rub his erection on the floor but was hauled back up and given a slap on his backside for his disobedience. And then he felt a change in the rhythm of the hard fucking. Nikolas stilled, leaning heavily over his back and groaning very softly. A delicious wash of warm, easing fluid filled Ben’s raw hole. Nikolas withdrew.

  Once more he heard a camera. That was too much! “No!” He rolled onto his back and neatly brought his legs through his tied hands so his wrists were now fastened in front of him. He was about to remove the blindfold when he felt Nikolas straddling him, pinning his hands down. Then, to his intense relief, a hand began to work on his swollen cock. He sensed breath on his lips, and Nikolas kissed him. He opened his mouth and took Nikolas in, their tongues meeting in a familiar dance of desire.

  As Nikolas played with Ben’s mouth, he eased himself up and onto the long, hard cock he’d been preparing with his hand. Ben cried out with pleasure, felt hands on his face and then the blindfold removed. He blinked and moaned into the kissing, lifting his hips to fuck Nikolas, even though he was the one helpless beneath. Nikolas brushed their lips together, smiling. He stroked his thumb over Ben’s cheekbone, staring into his eyes, the pupils wide from the darkness of the blindfold. Ben brought his bound arms up and slid them over Nikolas’s neck and then, bound together, he used his phenomenally strong abdominal muscles to ram and thrust until he came in a shiver of deep release into Nikolas’s body. Fully used, Nikolas draped boneless upon him. Ben vaguely remembered closing
his eyes, and then they were both asleep, exhausted from the various rigours of the day—some more pleasurable than others.

  §§§

  Ben only woke when the circulation in his hands felt threatened. He jolted awake from dreaming about food and realised his hands hurt and he was starving again. When he’d processed both these, he realised Nikolas was fast asleep and stretched out on top of him still, as far as Ben could feel, embedded on his cock. He wasn’t sure, it was all pretty numb down there. He twitched and grunted softly. “Hey, wake up.”