Taken in Hand (18 page)

offer it to the Doms, right?”

Adam blew out a breath. “You don’t have to be so

sarcastic, damn it. No, Chad. This is a casual get together,

not a scene at the club. Their partners will be sitting next to

them. Simply hold the tray out in front of both of them, but

remember not to make unnecessary eye contact with the

Doms. I’ve always been pretty strict in the past with my

subs, and they’ll notice if things are too different with you.

Really, this is not that difficult, Chad. A trained monkey

could do it.”

Stung by his words, Chad bristled and knew Adam

meant it to chaff at him. Neither said anything further for

several miles before Chad asked another question, his mood

still belligerent. “What about what I’m wearing? This strap?

You said to wear this damn thing in front of your friends.

Should I do a striptease right there in the living room while

you hum a little music, or should I wait until I go back to my

cage like a good monkey?”

Adam shot him an angry look and pressed his lips

tightly together. “Must you be so impertinent, Chad? We’re

the ones being threatened, you know, and we’ve already lost

several of our good friends. I’m sorry if I hurt
your
feelings
.
”

The words would have probably gone a long way to

cool Chad’s temper if Adam hadn’t tacked on that last little

bit.

“You still haven’t answered my impertinent question.

What do I do about my clothes?”

“Oh for God’s sake…” Adam seemed to deliberately

calm himself before he continued. “When you go inside, go to

your room, and take off your pants, shoes, and socks, and

unbutton your shirt. The back of your shirt should come

down long enough to preserve your damn modesty. Does

that suit you?”

“Suits me just fine.
Sir
.”

“You need to lose the attitude, Chad, if we’re to pull

this off. It’ll be the first time my friends are around you for

any length of time. Personally, I don’t suspect any of them,

but word does get around. The idea, according to your chief,

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is to make this look real, and to be as visible as possible.

We’re supposed to be attracting attention.”

“Don’t worry about me, Professor. I know how to do my

job. I know this is all just a sham, but we have to make it

look good.” He stared straight ahead, ignoring the sharp look

Adam gave him and refusing to make eye contact.

They reached Adam’s house and pulled the car into

the garage. Adam got out and went to the front door to greet

his friends as they arrived, while Chad went in through the

kitchen door in the garage. He went to the guest room and

took off his shoes and socks, then slid off the new jeans,

folded them carefully, and left them on the bed. Taking his

time, he went into the bathroom, relieved himself and

washed his hands, then stood looking in the mirror while he

slowly unbuttoned the shirt. He hardly recognized himself.

The red jock strap was shockingly bright against his

pale skin. Adam had been right. The woven pouch in front

lifted his cock and balls, making him look huge. They were

so brief if he got a hard-on, his cock would be peeking over

the band. Not much chance of that, the way he currently felt

about Adam. The shirt would help some. Made of silky

material, long-sleeved, with a tail long enough to reach the

top of his thighs, it covered his bare ass completely. Of

course, with it unbuttoned, it had a tendency to drift away

from his body in the breeze as he walked, but he made a

mental note to hold onto it whenever he could.

Deciding he was as ready as he’d ever be, and he’d

dawdled as long as he could, he left his room and went

directly to the kitchen, looking into the living room as he

passed through. Four of the same men who had been at the

club that horrible night were the guests. Knowing their

names did not make Chad feel any more comfortable around

them. Adam sat alone on the love seat, pouring glasses of

wine, while Cole was on the sofa, his partner Sam lounging

against him. Benjamin, the Dom of the other couple, sat in

the big armchair, with Paul, his sub, sitting between his feet,

his back against his partner’s legs. Benjamin was leaning

forward, drinking a glass of wine and telling some story that

had them all smiling, with an arm draped casually over

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Paul’s bare chest. Benjamin was the one planning on doing a

scene the night Chad ended up in a private room minutes

away from being raped. Cole was the one who warned Adam.

He could like Cole. Benjamin on the other hand grated on

his nerves.

Chad wasn’t the only one who had undressed, to a

degree at least, for the occasion. Both of the other subs had

their shirts unbuttoned. Sam had slipped off his shoes and

unzipped his pants. It was hard to miss Cole’s hand

disappearing under the waistband of his underwear.

Not exactly like any get together he’d ever been to.

Dorothy, you really aren’t in Kansas anymore.
He went

quickly into the kitchen but felt someone’s gaze on him and

glanced back over his shoulder to see all the men in the

room staring at him. Self-consciously, he opened up the

cabinet and got down the heavy crystal cheese tray and put

out the block of cheese and the funny little knife beside it.

Chad held the knife up, studying it. It might have been a

commonly used utensil in Adam’s world, but not in his home

growing up in rural Georgia. In a crazy way, the little knife

seemed to underscore the disparity between them. Though

not so terribly obvious on the surface, it was in the details

where the difference lay.

Chad cut off quite a few slices and arranged them

nicely on the outside edge of the tray, stalling for time.

Finally, he added the crackers in the middle, and there were

no more excuses for him to stay in the kitchen.

Holding the tray out in front of him with both hands,

he walked slowly back into the living room, feeling the breeze

taking the flimsy shirt and drift it out behind him, exposing

his ass. With his face blazing, for the first time he thought of

one real advantage for a sub in lowering his gaze. He walked

first to Cole and Sam, holding the tray out to them and

waiting for Cole to select what he wanted. Shit, he’d

forgotten the napkins, but then he saw that a stack was on

the coffee table. Adam must have figured he’d forget them.

He glanced up at Adam and saw him watching his

every move. It made him so nervous he stumbled over Paul’s

foot, but righted himself and held the tray down for

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Benjamin and Paul, reminding himself at the last minute to

not look directly at the Dom, but not before he’s seen the

small smirk on Benjamin’s face. What the hell was that

about? He thought he’d done pretty well except for the one

little blunder.

Making his way over to Adam, he held the tray out.

Adam took some slices and put them on a napkin. “Put the

tray on the coffee table, Pet, and have a seat.”

He did and sank gratefully down beside Adam, furious

at himself for the little thrill that went through him when

Adam immediately put an arm around him, and drew him

back against his chest. He held his wine glass to Chad’s lips,

and Chad took a small sip, trying not to make a face when

the dry, red wine hit his tongue. He hated wine and always

had.

He jumped though, when Adam’s other hand snaked

around to the front of his jock strap and dipped inside.

Adam’s warm hand closed around his shaft, and Chad

sucked in a breath, glancing around to see if anyone noticed.

Only Paul stared back at him with a knowing little smile.

The Doms talked, mostly having to do with their

classes, giving Chad the idea they were deliberately avoiding

the murders. After a few minutes of Adam’s treatment, Chad

zoned out, trying like hell not to respond to the blood

rushing to his cock as Adam continued to caress him. He

only held him gently, his thumb moving in little circles over

the head of his prick, but occasionally, he dipped that

thumb into Chad’s slit, making Chad’s stomach muscles

contract. During the massage, Adam continued to press the

glass to his lips, forcing him to take more, and even the sips,

on his empty stomach, soon made him feel warm and loose-

limbed. The thumb slipped into his slit again and Chad’s

head felt too heavy to hold up. He let it drop back on Adam’s

shoulder.

His soft sounds as Adam played with him must have

become too loud, because Adam whispered “Shh…” to him in

his ear. He pulled the wicked hand away, making Adam sigh

quietly in relief, but then his hand reappeared on Chad’s

thigh. He nudged his thighs apart and slipped his hand

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down to the juncture of his thighs and his pelvic bone,

rubbing hard in a little circle under his balls. Chad let out a

breathy grunt and looked up to see several pairs of eyes

watching him.

Before he had a chance to become self-conscious,

Adam whispered, “Kiss me,” in his ear. Unable to resist him,

he angled his head farther back, and Adam caught his

mouth in a hungry kiss.

Across from them, Benjamin laughed softly. “You’re

right about him, Adam. Once you have him completely

trained, he’ll be something quite special. He has such a

straight boy look that watching him submit to you will be

sweet. Why don’t you let him and Paul do a scene at the club

this weekend? Once they get each other worked up, we could

step in for the finale.” He pronounced the word like in

French,
fee-nahl-uh
, with the emphasis on the middle

syllable.

Pretentious ass.

Adam slipped his hand inside Chad’s waistband again,

going to his balls and giving them a nice massage. In another

minute, Chad was going to spurt cum all over the front of his

jock strap if Adam kept it up. Damn him.

“No, he’s not ready yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to

share him actually.”

Thank God for that.

“Really?” Benjamin said. “Don’t tell me you’re going to

become possessive and selfish, like Cole here.”

Apparently this was an old argument, because Cole

simply smiled and kept right on fingering Sam, or doing

whatever it was his hand was doing in his jeans. Sam was

lying in his lap by then, his jeans pushed down low on his

hips, and his eyes practically rolled back in his head.

“Not all of us are quite as exhibitionist as you,

Benjamin. Sam and I don’t like performing scenes at the

club. We do perfectly fine without it.” Cole’s voice was

languid and soft.

Chad wondered what the hell Cole thought he was

doing now. Not an exhibitionist? He was practically giving

his boyfriend a hand job right there on the sofa in front of all

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of them. As was Adam with him, come to think of it.

“Leave him alone, Benjamin,” Adam said, smiling.

“Take care of your own boy.”

Benjamin glanced down at him and leaned over to give

Paul an openmouthed, wet kiss. Embarrassed, Chad turned

his face toward Adam’s chest, his unease at the openness of

the people in the room growing. If some kind of orgy was

about to start up, Adam could count him out. He could hear

the soft, wet sucking sounds of the kiss across from him and

Paul making low moans. Adam kissed the top of Chad’s head

and snuggled him in closer, apparently realizing how

uncomfortable he was getting.

Benjamin came up for air. “Maybe I’ll just take him

home and take care of him since you both have early classes

tomorrow.”

“Speaking of which, I hate to be a bad host, but I really

do have an early morning,” Adam said. Chad sagged in relief.

Both couples prepared to leave, slipping on shoes,

rearranging their clothing and draining their wine glasses.

Adam pushed Chad gently away and rose to his feet. While

he was still bantering with Benjamin and walking his guests