A Strong Hand (6 page)

He jumped when he felt hands press down on each of his shoulders, holding him still in his seat.

A husky voice whispered in his ear. "Do you know how hot that photograph made me, Nick? I couldn't sleep that night, thinking about you. About your tight little ass, about you, naked, kneeling in front of me.

"That's what you want, Nicky, isn't it? You want to be naked in my presence, on your knees. You'd like it if I just took my pleasure of you, used you any way I liked. Are you wondering what it will feel like when I kiss you, take your mouth, and fuck it with my tongue?"

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Damian was pleased with the low moan that answered his words. Nick was facing away from him, so the tension in his shoulders and the quickened sound of his breathing were Damian's only clues as to how his verbal seduction was being received.

"What if I found your nipples and pulled on them with my fingers, twisting and pinching until those dark circles were pointed, aching little peaks, 'til you thought you couldn't take it any longer? Do you like it when someone plays with your nipples? Do you like having them bitten?"

Nick's entire body shuddered.

"And if I told you I was going to take down your pants and warm your bottom for you, would that give you a thrill? Did it make you hard when I spanked you, kneeling there, tied and bound into a spreader, completely at my mercy? Only able to move if I moved you, only able to do what I gave you my permission to do? Does that excite you?"

"Yes," Nick whispered. For a moment his body became malleable in Damian's hands, his rigid spine relaxing enough for him to lean back against the hard, solid body behind him.

He felt Damian's arms move to circle him, and he panicked.

He ran.

Damian heard the outer door slam shut and closed his empty hands, smiling as he gazed, mesmerized, at Nick's image on the screen. "You'll be back, boy," he said.

* * * *

After tossing and turning all night, Nick got up in the morning, exhausted and with dark circles under his eyes. He 51

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had jacked off six times during the endless sleepless night, replaying that sultry voice making sinful suggestions hotly in his ear while he looked at his own debauched image, and two strong hands held him in place.

He knew that Damian had let him go; the man was strong enough to hold him against his will if he so desired. It was the very fact that Damian had allowed him to escape that made Nick trust him all the more.

He had never even had fantasies like this before, but Nick admitted to himself that it turned him on unbearably to think of Damian holding him down, turning him over his knee and spanking him. He even wondered how that leather paddle might feel.

He had never even suspected that he might be harboring a desire to go to bed with a man, but all he could think of was his desired reward, of being on his knees, under Damian's control, with the other man's hard cock filling his mouth.

Nick dreamed of the scent and taste of the other man. He knew Damian was big; he filled out his pants very adequately, and he wasn't the type of guy to stuff. Had a nice arse too.

Nick awoke to the fact that he was, yet again, stroking his poor sore dick, and stopped himself, horrified that he'd taken notice of another guy's arse. The thrill of the unknown was turning him on like he'd never been turned on before, even through the succession of girls that he'd pursued and dated; even after the visual stimulus of the beautiful female models clad in S&M outfits.

But there was no question about not going to the shoot.

Nick didn't consider himself unusually brave, but there was no 52

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way he could run away from this. He had to know. He had to face Damian again.

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Chapter Four

Damian was surprised when Nick arrived a little bit early, reflecting that his assistant's punctuality had certainly improved since that memorable night, but today the young man was walking taller, proudly looking Damian in the eye for the first time in a week.

The makeup artist arrived with his assistant, stopping any confidences that might have been forthcoming as Nick helped Gabe carry his gear in. Then Nick was occupied with organizing the models to get them ready.

Ashley arrived, and Nick was sent to fetch coffee and pastries for breakfast.

"Don't you think you should hire a temporary assistant to help Nicholas?" Ashley asked, looking after the young man.

"I'll stand the nonsense; I don't want him so tired he falls over asleep whilst we're shooting."

Damian looked at Ashley with his mouth open. "I never thought of that."

"Dense," Ashley quipped, knocking Damian's head. "I'll have someone sent over from my office. Don't want the lad thinking that he's being replaced. We'll have
my
assistant over."

"You mean my
former
assistant," Damian sniped.

"Ah, you're not missing much, trust me," Ashley said breezily. "Derek doesn't even fancy a little spanking. I've moved on. But he is an efficient assistant, and I don't have to hide anything from him."

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"Good," Damian laughed. "Glad to hear Derek can schedule your kinky appointments for you without hindrance."

Nick kicked the door open, his hands full, and Ashley sprang forward to help. "Let me get those, lad. I'm calling my assistant over to help out for the duration, so perhaps you'd better get into the makeup chair now."

Nick realized the first two models were already in the studio and hesitantly went to the makeup room, relieved that none of the female models were scheduled to arrive until the stylists were finished readying the men.

"Take off your shirt," Gabe and his assistant chanted to him. The assistant looked very similar to Gabe, except he was a little shorter, rounder, balder, and even more flamboyant in his wardrobe choices.

Gritting his teeth, Nick stripped to the waist, knowing that Gabe was just loving this. "Keep your hands off me," he told the shorter man.

"Oooh, honey, don't worry. I don't want a spanking from
your
master," Gabe taunted.

Nick blushed in agony; the mere words turned him on and embarrassed him. And Gabe was the last person he felt safe around now that he had this huge secret.

Gabe swept a plastic cape around Nick's neck and patted his shoulder gently. "Don't mind me, honey. I just like to tease a bit. Your virtue is safe with me," he said quietly, so the other model couldn't hear.

Nick was surprised at the sincerity in the other man's voice. "Thanks, Gabe. I'm just ... a bit nervous. I've never done anything like this before."

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"Don't worry, sweetie. I've shot with Ashley before. If you don't play, he won't use any of his toys on you. And I doubt Damian would allow you to be hurt anyway."

"Why?" Nick asked, hoping that maybe Gabe knew how Damian felt about him, because he certainly didn't have a clue.

"Lawsuits, honey. Can't let the models get hurt on the job," Gabe simpered. He nudged the other model with his hip, raising his voice. "Unless they beg for it, of course."

"Did someone mention begging?" the blond asked, smiling.

Nick recognized him as the one that Ashley had given a play spanking to at the cattle call. "It's my specialty."

Gabe bent to whisper in Nick's ear. "Markie will be going home with Ashley tonight, if I know Ashley, and he'll show up tomorrow with some lovely stripes on his arse. Fancies the cane, and Ashley's an expert with it. Probably ride him screaming 'til dawn."

Suddenly Nick wondered if he were making a terrible mistake.

* * * *

Modeling was made up of long boring stretches of time, Nick decided, except for the exciting bits. And the terrifying bits. After starting the week out positive that he was straight and never even having heard of some of the devices he'd seen modeled today, Nick had been held in another man's arms for the first time.

And enjoyed it.

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But perhaps it was more because of the fiercely possessive look that ignited in Damian's eyes as he watched the two models twine themselves together. Ashley had been right; Nick's dark beauty was positively exotic next to the larger blond, whose tawny good looks and pale skin made a perfect foil.

Markie was taller and more muscular than Nick, who looked almost delicate in his arms. Both wore black leather chaps over a black thong to cover their genitals. Nick had been turned away from the camera while the blond man held him in position, gripping his upper arms, so that his face was mostly hidden, but his arse fully exposed except for the single strand of silk emerging from between the curved spheres.

Usually Damian had no trouble with these kinds of shoots—he'd done so many; but seeing Nick in various revealing outfits with other men's hands on his body was a horrible tease for him. He was careful to isolate Nick from the female models, and at least he managed to ensure that none of the males touched Nick's ass; that belonged to
him
.

He caught himself short, thinking furiously. Where had
that
come from? Was he really ready to make himself emotionally vulnerable again, let alone to someone ten years younger, and a boy who had never been part of the scene and didn't know the first thing about playing?

It was probably just passing curiosity on Nick's part, he reminded himself. Even if something did develop, he would not get emotionally involved with the younger man. The inevitable parting would be so much easier that way.

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Ashley walked onto the set to make some slight adjustment and called ready to Damian when he finished and skipped out.

Damian looked up and growled; the blond had dug his fingers into Nick's luscious ass, pulling the slighter man against him so their crotches were ground together. Nick was twisting slightly, leaning his upper body away, his hands pushing at the other man's bare chest, as if he were an unwilling participant.

It was a great picture, so Damian shot it, his mind clearing as he worked. Nick
was
unwilling, with anyone but him. As if to provide confirmation, when Nick was released by the blond model, he staggered slightly in his haste to get away, and for the first time he wasn't filling out the soft cup that covered him.

Damian strode over to Nicholas and grabbed his arm to steady him, handing him a towel to cover himself for modesty. "Last shot for the day. Go get dressed."

Nick nodded in relief and whispered, "Sorry. I didn't know he was going to do that."

Damian nodded and gave him a little push in the direction of the changing room. "Get dressed. We'll talk later."

When Nick and Markie had left the room, Damian turned on his mischievous client, eyes blazing. "What the fuck did you do that for?"

"I didn't do anything, dear boy. I wasn't in the shot,"

Ashley said airily. He picked up a rattan cane and swished it through the air, making it whistle threateningly.

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Damian caught his arm, stopping the larger man's swing.

"You told that blond model to grab Nick's ass. Tell him to keep his hands off my—" He stopped short, shocked at what he was going to say.

"Don't worry, Ian. Despite looking the part of a top, Markie is strictly a bottom. And tonight he's going to feel
his
bottom, trust me," Ashley said, swinging the cane again. "It's about time you came to your senses."

"I came to—what are you talking about?" Damian asked angrily.

"He wants you. You want him. Nick's curious. Claim him before someone else does. He's an innocent, and he could easily get hurt. He'll never be a heavy player, but he's so beautiful, if you don't train him, he'll stumble into some seedy club and get torn to pieces," Ashley said seriously. "You have a responsibility to him."

"Why me?" Damian sighed, rubbing his hands through his sandy hair. "I don't want this."

"You're lying, and you're most generally an honest man,"

Ashley pointed out. "Look, Ian, you don't have to tell me a thing, although I'd love to hear every juicy detail, every moan and groan, with a full description of what his arse looks like nicely reddened, but you own him. Even worse, he's beginning to own you."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Damian agreed with a sudden rueful smile.

Ashley laid a hand on Damian's shoulder. "We like to think we're in charge, but we poor Tops are the real slaves. We have to do all the work and still deliver the sensations the 59

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bottom is looking for, or they complain and we're drummed out of the life in disgrace," Ashley ended dramatically.

"Poor Ashley," Damian mocked.

The blond came into the studio in his street clothes and slipped his arm around Ashley's waist. "Ready, lover?"

"That's sir to you," Ashley said sternly, before giving Damian a big grin. "Duty calls. This arse will be nicely striped tomorrow for the cane shots."

"Keep them even," Damian teased.

"I always do," Ashley boasted, squeezing Markie's arse and then giving him a brisk swat. "Get going, you."

"Yes, sir," the blond said meekly, but he winked at Damian before he followed Ashley out.

Nick was standing there in his usual baggy jeans, his mouth agape as he watched the two men leave.

"Lock the door, Nick," Damian said.

Silently Nick went to do as he was told. He came back and waited quietly for Damian to say something more.

Damian puttered around, taking no evident notice of Nick's discomfiture. Finally he led the way to his office, saying

"Follow me."

Nick complied, walking quietly behind the older man.

Although the office was designed in a spare and modern style, there was one old-fashioned, wooden straight chair. It always stood in the corner, and Nick had wondered what sentimental associations it held for Damian, because it clearly did not go with the clean, modern lines of the other furnishings.